Jesus Wasn’t Crucified On Good Friday

The fact that most Christians believe that Jesus’ crucifixion and death occurred on a Friday always bugged me so I did some research on it. I present this not to be putting forth new doctrine and not as any great spiritual revelation, but merely as an interesting side light to consider. Over the years I have found many traditional Christian teachings to be inaccurate and the result of misunderstanding or just acceptance without any real research.

Have you ever wondered how it is that Jesus could have been crucified on Friday and resurrected on Sunday morning? How do you get 3 days and 3 nights out of that time period? It is impossible! Yet, He must have been in the tomb for 3 days and 3 nights because that was what Jesus gave as a sign that He was the prophesied Messiah. The only conclusion is that something is wrong somewhere.

By way of background, the Jewish calendar counts days not from midnight to midnight, but from sunset to sunset. The scriptural foundation is in the creation story in Genesis (the evening and the morning were the first day). Darkness always comes before light. We as individuals and our individual world consisting of our concepts, ideas, beliefs etc. begin in darkness. Just like the earth began in darkness (and darkness was upon the face of the deep) OUR INDIVIDUAL WORLD (located between our ears and in our hearts) BEGINS IN SPIRITUAL DARKNESS. But the physical earth repents of darkness and turns toward the sun and darkness becomes light. (To REPENT simply means to TURN away from). So, as we repent or turn from our former way of thinking and understanding, we move from darkness into light and the evening and morning (the darkness and the light) represents one day in our spiritual creation and development.

Because some Christians have understood that the Jewish weekly Sabbath begins Friday at sunset and continues until Saturday at sunset, and because the accounts of Jesus' crucifixion talked about them hurriedly preparing his body to be entombed because the Sabbath was almost upon them, it has been assumed that the crucifixion took place on Friday and that Jesus died late Friday afternoon. What has been oft overlooked (or perhaps not even known about in some cases) is that under Mosaic Law there were 7 other High Holy days or special Sabbaths that occurred during the year. It wasn't a weekly Sabbath that was approaching, but it was the First Day of Unleavened Bread which followed the Passover. The Hebrew name was Pesach I.

In Daniel 9:27 there is a prophecy about the Messiah. It says that he would cause the sacrifice and oblation to cease in the midst (or middle) of the week. Now the Law of Moses dictated that sacrifices and offerings be made for sin and lambs (representing the lamb of God) should be slaughtered and offered up. The Law and the Prophets ALL prophesied of the Messiah (Jesus). In other words, all the physical rituals of the law were there as a spiritual picture and prophecy of Jesus and His saving work as well as our changed lives which result from our acceptance of that sacrifice. Once the literal “Lamb of God” had come and died, there was no more need for symbolic sacrifices and rituals. Thus, for believers, the need for sacrifice and oblation ceased when Jesus died. But this cessation was to take place not at the end of the week, but in the midst of the week. Now I certainly realize that this is a spiritual concept and a spiritual picture, but it is literal events that paint spiritual pictures.

In several places in the Bible the period of three and one half comes up. In Revelation 12:5-6 we find the symbolic woman who gave birth to the man child that was born to rule the nations and was caught up unto God (obviously referring to Jesus) was nourished in the wilderness for a thousand two hundred and three score days. That happens to be 3 1/2 years. Also, in verse 14 of the same chapter it says she is nourished for time, times, and half a time. Greek scholars say that means 3 1/2 years and it also coincides with what it says in verse 6 of the same chapter. In another place it refers to the times of the Gentiles as being time, times, and half a time. Time (meaning 1 year), times (2 years), and half a time (1/2 of a year) for a total of 3 1/2.

Anyhow, the point is that 3 1/2 is a significant and symbolic figure. Remember in Matthew 12:38-40 when the Pharisees asked Him for a sign that He was the prophesied Messiah, Jesus told them that the only sign they would be given was the sign of Jonah. Just like Jonah was 3 days and 3 nights in the belly of the whale, so likewise the Son of Man (Jesus) would be 3 days and 3 nights in the heart of the earth. This 3 day and 3 night period was a big deal because it served as proof positive that Jesus was the prophesied Messiah. Therefore, one day and part of 2 nights simply wouldn’t fill the bill. But, that’s all you can get from Friday at sunset to early Sunday morning.

Also, could it be that Jesus was actually in the tomb for time, times, and half a time?

Since it is totally impossible to get 3 days and 3 nights out of Friday sunset to early Sunday morning, we must realize that either a mistake has been made, or the Bible is unreliable and untrue.

In order for Jesus to have been in the tomb for at least 3 days and 3 nights (and possibly a total of 3 1/2 days which seems very likely), He would have to have been crucified on a Wednesday and buried just before sundown on Wednesday evening. The last thing Jesus did before his crucifixion was to take the Passover with his disciples. Under the Mosaic Law, the Passover is followed the next evening by a High Holy Day or Sabbath. That is the First Day of Unleavened Bread or Pesach I. That was the Sabbath that was quickly approaching as they hurried to prepare Jesus' body and entomb Him. If you check out the URL below, you will see that on the Jewish calendar in 30 A.D., the First Day of Unleavened Bread (Pesach I) came on a Thursday. That means that what we would consider Wednesday evening by our calendar and reckoning was actually the beginning of the Sabbath because Jewish days were reckoned from sunset to sunset. The High Holy Day began on Thursday (which would have begun at sunset on Wednesday). Therefore, Jesus was in the tomb for 3 nights (Wednesday night, Thursday night, and Friday night) and 3 days (Thursday, Friday, and Saturday). Now remember, the scripture says that Mary came to the tomb early on The First Day of the week and He was already risen. Now when did the first day of the week begin? Why, it was Saturday at sunset! That would be exactly 3 days and 3 nights. But, my guess is that He actually rose around midnight Saturday night because that would be exactly three and one half days in the tomb. At any rate, the fact is that He was not crucified on Good Friday (which actually comes from a pagan tradition concerning Nimrod a sun god), but was crucified in the middle of the week on Wednesday and probably died around 3:00 P.M. Wednesday afternoon and was entombed just before sundown Wednesday.

Just thought you might find this interesting.

God Bless and have a great Easter,

Stu

Richard,

No, Passover was not on Wednesday. Your misunderstanding may come in thinking that Passover was a Sabbath or Holy Day. It was not. Passover always comes the NIGHT BEFORE the Sabbath marking the beginning of the Days of Unleavened Bread (there are 7 Days of Unleavened Bread). The First Day of Unleavened Bread was labeled Pesach I by the Jews. This is basically indicating the beginning of the week long Passover season. Remember, to the Jews, the Passover commemorates their last night in Egypt. It was the night the death angel came into the land and killed the first born of everyone who didn't have the blood of a lamb over their doorpost. The Children of Israel were told by God to slaughter a lamb without blemish (picturing Jesus of course) and they were to put the blood of that lamb over their doorpost (which pictures our having the blood of Jesus over the entry to our minds and our temples because you are the Temple of the Holy Spirit). Every thought and concept that comes into our house should come under the blood. That way death won't enter in to our hearts, minds and souls.

Anyhow, when the death angel saw the blood on the doorpost, he "Passed Over" that home and the First Born was spared. Beautiful picture isn't it.

Now Israel was instructed to eat the original Passover Lamb quickly while standing up. They were to have their loins girted up and their shoes on their feet and ready to travel. This pictured their being ready to move and leave the land of Egypt in a hurry. You know the rest of the story. When the first born of everyone in Egypt died that night (including Pharaoh’s son), Pharaoh finally told the Israelites to get out and take their livestock and possessions with them. So, Israel left Egypt the next day and went out with a high hand. Scripture seems to indicate that they practically looted Egypt when they left. The Egyptians were so anxious by now, (after all the plagues etc.), to get rid of the Israelites that they gave them gold, silver, jewels etc. not to mention much livestock. So, the Passover was instituted and first eaten the night before Israel went out of Egypt. Later, under Mosaic Law, to remember and celebrate that first glorious evening of freedom (the evening following the first Passover), an annual High Holy Day or Sabbath was instituted. But that Sabbath WAS NOT PASSOVER! It came after Passover.

If you read Leviticus 23: verses 4-8, there can be no doubt about the time line of the Passover because it is clearly stated. In Exodus 12:, it also elaborates in detail about the Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread and the fact that the first and last Day of Unleavened Bread was a Holy Convocation or Sabbath.

Also, when you read those scriptures remember that the Jewish calendar was very different from our calendar today. The Jewish new year is in the spring and the first month is in the spring. The Passover and the First Day of Unleavened Bread came on the same dates every year (not the same day of the week but the same days of the month). Passover came on the 14th day of the first month. Then the first day of Unleavened Bread was on the 15th. So, Jesus was actually crucified on the day of Passover which was only appropriate. On what other day would the Lamb of God be sacrificed? This alone disproves the teaching that He died on Good Friday.

Now don't be confused when I say that Jesus was crucified on the day of the Passover. Remember, with the Jewish calendar, days begin at sunset, not midnight. The Passover began at sunset Tuesday night which to them was Wednesday morning. Jesus took the Passover (Last Supper) with His disciples. Afterwards they went to the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus' passion began and He prayed and asked the Father to let this cup pass from Him if there was any way. But then he resigned Himself when He said, "Not my will, but thy will be done." After that Judas arrived with the Roman soldiers who arrested Him and took Him before Herod and Pilate. Most scholars think that after a horrible night of beatings and a mock trial, He was crucified around 9:00 A.M. and He finally died around 3:00 P.M.

Now, here's the reason for the rush to get Jesus buried. They were working against time. According to the Mosaic Law, as soon as the sun went down on that Wednesday night, not only was it an annual Sabbath commencing but it was the First Day of Unleavened Bread. During those 7 days of unleavened bread, the Jews could not eat anything that was leavened (no Wonder Bread and no rolls etc. :-) ). Not only could they not eat any thing that had leavening in it, they had to get ALL THE LEAVENING OUT OF THEIR HOMES! Every bread crumb had to be swept out and cleaned up. This is probably the origin of "Spring Cleaning". And this, my friend, was probably at least partially what the hassle was about. It was about preparation for this Sabbath that was approaching. Any Jew that didn't remove all leavening from his home would be "cut off from the congregation of Israel" and would obviously be under the "curse of the law". Since the disciples had not yet come to understand that Jesus was the Passover lamb, and He was the fulfillment of everything the Law had been prophesying, they were really under the gun to get Jesus buried and then finish their preparation for this Sabbath which marked the beginning of the Days of Unleavened Bread. You can well imagine that those disciples who had been with Jesus since the Passover and who closely followed His trial and ultimately His crucifixion had had little time to make appropriate preparations. Another thing was that they were commanded to eat unleavened bread. So they had to cook some up which also would take time.

Some may ask, "What was the big deal about eating unleavened bread and getting the leavening out of their dwellings?" Probably the only explanation an Orthodox Jew could give (or any Jew for that matter from the time of Moses until now) is what is alluded to in Exodus 12: when it explains about the Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread. It was about leaving Egypt in a hurry and not waiting for the bread to rise.

But what was the big deal about putting all leaven out of their homes? Jesus later showed us that there was a lot more to this spiritual picture than just leaving the land of bondage in a hurry. Leaven or yeast is an agent that causes bread and pastries to rise or be puffed up. On one occasion when Jesus was teaching His disciples He said, "Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees." This statement caused His disciples to begin to speak among themselves and wonder just what Jesus meant by it. They speculated, "Did He say that because we didn't bring any bread?" Jesus heard them and rebuked them. He said something to the effect, "Why do you think I was talking about not having enough bread? Don't you remember how I fed the five thousand with 5 loaves and 2 fish? When I said beware of the leaven of the Pharisees I was talking about the DOCTRINE of the Pharisees." (Remember Jesus always spoke in parables or spiritual pictures.) You see, it was the Pharisees religious ideas, concepts, and beliefs that bolstered their ego and made them feel and act superior (spiritually “puffed up”). Any doctrine, concept, idea, or belief that causes us to be lifted up and feel superior is leaven that must be put out of our house (our minds, hearts and souls). This leaven that gets into our hearts, minds, and souls is what makes us feel superior and better than that poor sinner over there. We want to be recognized for our good works and what we do for the church and how much we give etc. It is the same spiritual pride that caused Satan's downfall. This is the leaven that causes us to be judgmental and quick to point out the mote or speck that is in our brother's eye while we fail to see the huge beam in our own eye. This was the true meaning of the Days of Unleavened Bread, at least this is one of the things that was being pictured. And believe me, if you've ever gone 7 full days eating old hard tack unleavened bread, it will humble you :-)

Also note that it is religious ideas and beliefs and doctrines that are based upon physical fleshly understanding instead of spiritual revelation that leads to spiritual bondage. In essence, so many well meaning Christians live in spiritual Egypt or spiritual bondage because, like Jesus’ disciples back then, they are only getting the physical understanding of Jesus’ teachings and the teachings found in the Bible instead of getting the “Spiritual Revelation” of those things.

I might explain that the reason I know about these Jewish Feast Days and Holy Days is that I grew up in a church that kept them. I spent the first 27 years of my life living basically as an Orthodox Jew and keeping all the Holy Days etc., even the weekly Sabbath. Thank God I finally found Jesus and was set free from the Law.

Concerning Herod, his palace was definitely in Jerusalem. It was in the Old City just south of the Jaffa Gate and near what is now called the Tower of David. They are currently excavating it and will make it part of a museum. Here is a quote from an article about it:

So, as you can see, it was no problem for Jesus to be brought before both King Herod and Pontius Pilate in the same evening.

Hope this clears things up. If not, let me know what you still need clarification on and maybe I can help. No guarantees however :-)

God Bless Always,

Stu

Subject: RE: Crucifixion of Christ.

Hi Richard,

All good questions. Give me another couple of days or so to finalize my research but off the top of my head I can tell you that what Christians have come to label "The Last Supper" was The Passover. All Jews were observing this very Sacred evening at the same time.

Question from Richard: Was not The Passover on Wednesday? If so, He would have had to be dinning Wednesday night the night before Passover?

Remember Jesus was a Jew and He kept the Jewish Feast Days and Holy Days and He chose to keep Passover with His disciples. Preparations for the "upper room" had been made a day or two beforehand.

After they ate the Passover meal, Jesus and His disciples retired to the area of the Mount of Olives where the Garden of Gethsemane is located. This is where Jesus began to be very heavy hearted and asked His disciples to pray (or watch) with Him. Jesus went off to pray and came back about an hour later and found His disciples asleep. That is when He asked, "Couldn't you have even watched with me one hour?" Shortly after that Judas arrived with the Roman soldiers and they took Jesus into custody. Remember, at the Passover meal, the disciples asked Jesus who would betray Him. Jesus said something about it being one who dips his bread (or Sup) with Him. (Apparently there was a type of dipping sauce on the table that was used by everyone or at least several disciples, so that didn't really tell them anyone specific, just that it was one of them.) Shortly thereafter, Jesus told Judas to go and do what he had to do. The disciples just thought he had some further preparation to make for the Passover season.

So, you see, the betrayal and Jesus' arrest occurred later on that evening of the Passover.

Also, it was my understanding that Herod's Palace was located there in Jerusalem or at least on the outskirts. Of course the "Hall of Judgment" where Pilot questioned Jesus was the seat of government as dispensed by the Romans.

Richard’s Comments: That is possible but I thought there were two different turfdoms and there would have to be some travel time between both if I am right. At least you see what I'm trying to get at. I went on religious retreat this weekend and got quite a few people thinking including a nun, a priest and the Speaker of the New York City Council who is a close friend and avid catholic. They are waiting for me to email them this info.....I'm sorry to make you do more work...I thought you might know this off the top of your head...

I'll try to get back to you with perhaps some more specifics later. Sorry Pal....

God Bless,

Stu

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