Does it matter what the Bible plainly says? Is it more important that you believe what you have always believed? What if what you have been taught is wrong? When did Jesus share the Last Supper with His disciples? Which day was His crucifixion and death? Which day was His resurrection? The Bible plainly tells you the answer to these questions and you may be surprised at what it actually says.
The Christian church teaches the Last Supper was on Thursday evening, Jesus died on Good Friday, and rose on Easter Sunday morning. These Christian beliefs are based upon tradition, but are these traditions supported by what the Bible actually says? The Scriptures should be the only basis for your beliefs. It is very important to understand when these events occurred. Let's look at the Scriptures and see what the Bible plainly states, without interpretation, to see the time frame of these events.
John 2:18-19,
"Then answered the Jews and said unto him, What sign shewest thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these things? Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up."
Matt 12:39- 40,
"Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee. But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth."
The only sign that Jesus told the people would prove that He was the Son Of God and their Savior was the sigh of Jonah. Jesus plainly said that
"Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly." The Old Testament confirms this.
Jonah 1:17,
"Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights."
Jesus went on to state plainly and simply, requiring no interpretation,
"so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth."
The Bible says that the Son of man, Jesus Christ himself would be buried in the grave for three days and three nights. If Jesus had only intended to be in the tomb for thirty six hours, traditionally 5:00 P.M. on Good Friday through 5:00 A.M. Easter Sunday morning, He would have said so. The Jews knew how long Jonah was in the great fish. They knew how long a day was, but some people think Jesus didn't know how many hours were in a day. They say He really meant a few hours of a day equals one day.
Does the Bible define how many hours are in a day? Absolutely!
John 11:9.
"Jesus answered, Are there not twelve hours in the day?"
Jesus knew exactly what He was saying when He told the people the only sign would be the sign of Jonah. The Bible tells us there are twelve hours in a day, therefore twelve hours in a night. Notice the Bible does not say Jonah was in the whales belly for one day and two nights. The Bible does not say he was in the great fish for a few hours one day, then one full night, then all of the next day, then one full night, then part of a third day. That does not equal three twelve hour days and three twelve hour nights. A Good Friday to Easter Sunday morning timeframe requires you to ignore Jesus' plain words and believe something the Bible does not say. Jonah was in the whale for three full twelve hour days and three full twelve hour nights.
Anything less would not be three days and three nights.
The Bible says...
"so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth."
Jesus HAD to be in the grave three full days and three full nights to prove He is who He says He is, your Savior. As you can see there is a problem with a Good Friday crucifixion and an Easter Sunday morning resurrection. Even if you count parts of a day as a full day there is no way to get any part of a third night between Friday afternoon and Sunday morning. It simply can't be done!
Matt 27:63,
"Saying, Sir, we remember that deceiver said, while he was yet alive, After three days I will rise again."
Mark 8:31,
"And he began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.
Jesus told His followers that He would rise after three days, not before. These Scriptures make it clear that Jesus had to be dead and buried for three days and three nights to fulfill the sign of Jonah that proved He is your Messiah. He had to rise sometime after 72 hours from his death. Given the fact that Jesus had to be in the tomb for three days and three nights it simply becomes a matter of working backwards from His resurrection to see when Jesus died.
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Tradition tell us that Jesus rose on Easter Sunday morning. Before continuing it is necessary to explain how God counts time. When does the Bible say a day begins and end?
The modern calendar is based upon a twenty four hour day that begins at midnight, in the middle of a dark night. Men have decided that a day begins and ends at midnight. What does the Bible say? God established when a day begins at creation.
Gen 1:5,
"And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day."
Gen 1:8,
"And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day."
Gen 1:13,
"And the evening and the morning were the third day."
Gen 1:19, "
And the evening and the morning were the fourth day."
Gen 1:23,
"And the evening and the morning were the fifth day."
Gen 1:31,
"And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day."
God begins each day in
"the evening". God begins and ends days at evening time, as the setting of the sun ends one day and a new day dawns. The beginning of a day at sunset had been the standard practice for thousands of years and is still practiced by Jews today. The most obvious public reference today is that Jews begin the Sabbath on what the modern calendar calls Friday evening, at sunset.
Lev. 23:32....
" from even unto even, shall ye celebrate your Sabbath."
Evening was considered the time approximately 45 minutes before sunset up until about 45 minutes after sunset. The web site www.simpletoremember.com in an article about time explains a day very clearly.
"The Jewish day does not begin and end at midnight as does the secular calendar day. Midnight is not a distinguishable astronomic event. ......In Jewish time, the day begins with the onset of night (the appearance of the stars) followed by the morning (which technically begins with the appearance of the North Star). According to some Jewish teachers, night and morning begin with sunset and sunrise respectively. For that is how the Torah describes it: "And there was evening and there was morning, the first day." For this reason, the Sabbath begins on Friday night and ends with the appearance of the stars on Saturday night. The same is true for the major holidays such as Passover, Sukkot, Shavuot, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, the fast day of Tisha B'Av, and Hanukkah and Purim. Beginning the day with the night is, in a sense, a metaphor of life itself. Life begins in the darkness of the womb, then bursts into the brightness of the light and eventually settles into the darkness of the grave, which, in turn, is followed by a new dawn in the world-to-come."
According to God's time the Sabbath, the seventh day of the week, begins at sunset the evening before. Jews rest from Friday evening until the Sabbath ends on what the modern calendar calls Saturday evening. The first day of the week, Sunday, according to God's method of counting days would therefore begin at sunset on the day called Saturday. When does the Bible say Jesus rose from the tomb? Was it on the morning of the first day of the week as tradition tells us? No, the Bible is very clear on this.
Matt 28:1-2, 5-6,
"In the end of the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, (after sunset)
came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre. And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it. .......And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay."
John 20:1,
"The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre."
The Bible says Jesus was resurrected as the first day of the week was beginning. Dawn simply means "begin". This is clearly not a reference to the action of the sun rising in the morning because the Bible plainly says the Sabbath was ending.
This can only be early Saturday evening. The Sabbath didn't end on Sunday morning. Notice that Mary,
as the first day of the week was beginning, came to the tomb when it was
dark. The sun had set at the end of the Sabbath, stars were beginning to shine, and it was dark when she came to the tomb early in the evening on the first day of the week.
The forty five minute evening time had ended and it was getting dark. The stone had already been removed. The angel said Jesus
"is risen". The resurrection had already occurred by the time Mary got to the tomb on Saturday evening. Jesus had already risen! Matthew 27:63 and Mark 8:31 both show it had to be
AFTER three days. It had to be after seventy two hours in the grave. It could not have occured during the day of the Sabbath. That would still be only part of day three in the heart of the earth. Jesus had to rise in the
EVENING of the first day of the week after sunset on the Sabbath.
Matt 27:63,
"Saying, Sir, we remember that deceiver said, while he was yet alive, After three days I will rise again."
Mark 8:31,
"And he began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.
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Matthew 27:46, 50
"And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? .....Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost. "
The Bible says Jesus died about the ninth hour. By the time He was removed from the cross, wrapped in clean linen, carried to the tomb and the stone rolled into place it would have been almost the twelfth hour of the day. A great amount of time alone would have been necessary for Joseph of Arimathaea to go to Pilate, request Jesus body, and return to prepare Him for burial. (Matt 27:57-60)
The Bible says Jesus was in the tomb for three days and three nights. He would have risen after seventy two hours from the time He was buried, shortly after sunset and the First day of the week was dawning. Scripture confirms this is exactly the time that Mary Magdalene came to the tomb as the first day of the week was dawning.
Matt 28:1,8
"In the end of the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre
Mary Magdalene is always mentioned by name in the Bible when she is with other people. There are numerous references to other women but Mary Magdalene is always mentioned by name if she is in a group of other women. The other women are mentioned as following Jesus from Galilee, preparing spices for anointing His body, coming to the tomb to anoint Him on Sunday morning, and telling His disciples about the resurrection, but if Mary is with them she is specifically named. If she is not named she is not with them.
Matt 27:55-56,
"And many women were there beholding afar off, which followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering unto him: Among which was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of Zebedee's children."
Matt 27:61,
"And there was Mary Magdalene, and the other Mary, sitting over against the sepulchre."
Matt 28:1,8
"In the end of the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre. .....And they departed quickly from the sepulchre with fear and great joy; and did run to bring his disciples word."
Luke 23:55-56,
"And the women also, which came with him from Galilee, followed after, and beheld the sepulchre, and how his body was laid. And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the Sabbath day according to the commandment."
Luke 24:1,9,
"Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them..... And returned from the sepulchre, and told all these things unto the eleven, and to all the rest."
It's very important not to make assumptions about when Mary Magdalene came to visit the tomb based upon when the other women came to the tomb to anoint Jesus' body. The Bible is very clear that Mary Magdalene visited the tomb on Saturday evening right after the Sabbath ended and the other women came to anoint Jesus' body very early on Sunday morning.
Matt 28:1,8
"In the end of the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalen."
Luke 24:1,
"Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared"
These are two separate events occurring at two different times, one with
"Mary Magdalene" and the other with
"the women"
Luke 24:10,
"It was Mary Magdalene, and Joanna, and Mary the mother of James, and other women that were with them, which told these things unto the apostles."
Some people have assumed from Luke 24:10 that all of the women were together at the tomb and together went to the disciples to tell them about Jesus's resurrection. It is clear from Matt 28:1 and Luke 24:1 this is not possible. Luke 24:10 is simply showing the women met at the house where the disciples were gathered and shared what they knew about Jesus' resurrection.
The Bible says Jesus rose from the tomb after three days and three nights were completed, (Matt 27:63 and Mark 8:31). This would be in the evening at the beginning of the first day of the week. This would be Saturday evening using modern time references. The Bible further says that Jesus was in the grave for three day and three nights, seventy two full hours. Anyone who believes Jesus rose on the Sabbath would be have to say Jesus was only in the grave two days, three nights, and only part of the third day. That was not the sign Jesus gave in Matthew 12:39-40.
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So when was Jesus buried? Working back three full twenty four hours days from the end of the weekly Sabbath would bring you to late Wednesday afternoon. Could Jesus have been crucified on a Wednesday afternoon? What is the significance of this day? How does this fit with all the Scriptures that state the day Jesus died was a preparation day for the Sabbath?
Luke 23:54,
"And that day was the preparation, and the Sabbath drew on."
John 19:31,
"The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation, that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the Sabbath day, (for that Sabbath day was an high day,) besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away."
How would it be possible for Jesus to die on a Wednesday if the preparation day was on a Friday? The key is in John 19:31 above. The day Jesus died was a preparation day for an
"high day". This high day is a
"Sabbath day" but it is not a reference to the weekly Sabbath day. What exactly is a high day Sabbath?
Ex 12:14-16,
"And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the Lord throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever. Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread; even the first day ye shall put away leaven out of your houses: for whosoever eateth leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall be cut off from Israel. And in the first day there shall be an holy convocation, and in the seventh day there shall be an holy convocation to you; no manner of work shall be done in them, save that which every man must eat, that only may be done of you."
Lev 23:6,
"And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of unleavened bread unto the Lord: seven days ye must eat unleavened bread.
Lev 23:29,
"Also in the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when ye have gathered in the fruit of the land, ye shall keep a feast unto the Lord seven days: on the first day shall be a Sabbath, and on the eighth day shall be a Sabbath.
Seven times in the year God commanded the Israelites to keep a Feast unto Him. If the Feast Day was a single day it was a High Day Sabbath. If it was a multi-day Feast the first and last days of the Festival were High Days. The first and last days of multi-day Festivals were Holy Convocations, special High Day Sabbaths in which they were commanded not to work but to worship the Lord. The first and last days of these festival were annual Sabbaths that God commanded the Israelites to observe forever. The Israelites kept these annual High Day Sabbaths all the way down to Jesus time. The Jews still keep them today.
Ex 12:17,
"And ye shall observe the feast of unleavened bread; for in this selfsame day have I brought your armies out of the land of Egypt: therefore shall ye observe this day in your generations by an ordinance for ever."
Most Christians assume that the Sabbath mentioned in John 19:31 was the weekly seventh day Sabbath because they never heard about the Festivals and the High Holy Days. Now you can see that the day after Jesus died was actually an annual Sabbath observance, a High Holy Day which was preceeded by a day of preparation just like the weekly Sabbath. Jesus died on this preparation day, which counting back three days from Saturday would indicate it was a Wednesday. So what is the significance of Jesus being killed on this Wednesday?
Exodus 34:18,
"The feast of unleavened bread shalt thou keep. Seven days thou shalt eat unleavened bread, as I commanded thee, in the time of the month Abib: for in the month Abib thou camest out from Egypt."
Ex 12:42,
"It is a night to be much observed unto the Lord for bringing them out from the land of Egypt: this is that night of the Lord to be observed of all the children of Israel in their generations."
Num 33:3,
"And they departed from Rameses in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the first month; on the morrow after the passover the children of Israel went out with an high hand in the sight of all the Egyptians."
The Feast Of Unleavened Bread was a seven day festival that celebrated the Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt. The celebration began at the beginning of the fifteenth day of the month of Abib, which corresponds roughly with the modern month of April. It started with the Passover meal in the early evening, just after sunset on the fourteenth day and it continued late into the night of the fifteenth. The Jews celebrated a night to be much observed of the Israelites fleeing from Egypt with a high hand.
Lev 23:5-6
"In the fourteenth day of the first month at even is the Lord's passover. And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of unleavened bread unto the Lord: seven days ye must eat unleavened bread"
It was necessary for Jesus' body to be removed from the cross late Wednesday afternoon of Passover, the fourteenth of Abib, which was the preparation day for the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. At sunset the Feast of Unleavened Bread and the first High Day Sabbath of this Festival would begin. Jesus could not remain on the cross on this Sabbath Day. He had to be buried by sunset.
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Ex 12:5-6,
"Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year....... And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening."
1 Cor 5:7,
"For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:"
Jesus is our Passover lamb. If Jesus died on a Friday it was just another day. If He died on Wednesday, the day of Passover it has a much greater meaning. Do you see the significance of Jesus,
"the Lamb of God" (John 1:29) being sacrificed for your sins on the actual day of Passover, the very same day thousands of spotless, innocent lambs were being killed for the Passover meal?
The Bible clearly shows that Jesus died on Wednesday, the fourteenth of Abib, late in the afternoon on the day of Passover. This would mean that Jesus did not actually eat the traditional Passover meal with his disciples at the Last Supper as is commonly thought. He would have been dead for several hours when the Passover meal was served at sunset on the fourteenth of Abib. The Last Supper was on Passover but was actually eaten the evening before, Tuesday after sunset. It was a simple meal of bread and wine like so many other Jews ate on a preparation day. There was no fancy dinner of roasted lamb, herbs, and unleavened bread served that night. The Passover lamb would not have even been killed until late the next afternoon.
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This is how the timeline looks based upon what the Bible says.
Jesus celebrated the Last Supper with bread and wine on Tuesday evening after sunset, at the beginning of the Passover day, the fourteenth of Abib.
Jesus was arrested later Tuesday night and taken to the High Priest for his trial.
On Passover Day, Wednesday, (still the fourteenth of Abib) Jesus was tried and condemned to death. He was crucified around the sixth hour. About the ninth hour Jesus died. His body was removed from the cross and buried around the twelfth hour on Wednesday as the evening of the First Day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread was dawning.
Mary Magdalene, all the other women, and all of Jesus' disciples rested on Thursday, the fifteenth of Abib, the first High Sabbath day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread as God commanded.
On the Friday after the High Day Sabbath the women went and bought spices to anoint the body of Jesus. They prepared the spices that day and then rested again on Saturday, the weekly Sabbath as commanded.
On Saturday evening right after sunset, Jesus rose from the tomb exactly as He said, after three days and three nights, fulfilling the sign of Jonah.
Mary Magdalene went to visit Jesus' tomb Saturday evening after the Sabbath had ended, on the first day of the week. Jesus had just risen as He said.
The other women who had prepared the spices came to the tomb on Sunday morning to anoint Jesus' body only to find it empty. Jesus had been resurrected the evening before. The women went to the disciples and joined with Mary Magdalene in telling them all they had seen and heard.
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What the Bible says is clear. Jesus celebrated the Last Supper on Tuesday evening with his disciples. He was crucified on Wednesday afternoon and was buried at sunset. Jesus was resurrected on the first day of the week, but not on Sunday morning as tradition says. He rose on Saturday evening. Is it important to Jesus that you observe these memorials at the correct time? God placed all this information in the Bible for your benefit and blessing.
You are free to believe what tradition says or you can believe what the Bible says.
