Follow along on this chart as I count through the three days and three nights. (I have placed this same chart several times in the article for ease of reading and comparison as you scroll down.)
In summary, just as Jesus declared, He was in the “heart of the earth” for three days—Thursday, Friday, Saturday days—and three nights—Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights Remember night preceded the daytime hours, but Jesus stated it “…days and …nights” because He went into “the heart of the earth” at the time of His death during the daytime hours. Let’s count this:
Thursday—3pm Death
DAY 1 = Thursday day, Nisan 14.
Friday—A High Holy Day Sabbath
NIGHT 1 = Friday night, Nisan 15. Feast of Unleavened Bread
DAY 2 = Friday day, Nisan 15. The Feast had taken place during the nighttime hours of Nisan 15, but the entire 24 hour day, sundown to sundown was a Sabbath—a time of rest.
Saturday— The Weekly Sabbath
NIGHT 2 = Saturday night, Nisan 16.
DAY 3 = Saturday day, Nisan 16.
Thursday Nisan 14 would have been the Day of Preparation for both the High Sabbath/Feast of Unleavened Bread (Friday, Nisan 15) and the weekly Sabbath (Saturday, Nisan 16).
Sunday— “when it was yet dark”
NIGHT 3 = Sunday night, Nisan 17 (remember this precedes the daytime hours). According to Scripture, Jesus rose from the dead prior to the daytime hours of Sunday:
Matthew 28:1 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.
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.
Matthew and John are very specific in recording that it was not yet the daytime hours of Sunday when the women went to the tomb and found it empty. Jesus rose on Sunday night before dawn (nighttime hours preceded the daytime hours).
Thursday Crucifixion—Three Days and Three Nights
In summary, just as Jesus declared, He was in the “heart of the earth” for three days—Thursday, Friday, Saturday days—and three nights—Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights (remember Sunday night preceded the daytime hours).
Matthew 12:40 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 nightsin the heart of the earth.
Thursday Crucifixion
In Three Days and After Three Days
Two more references to the number of days are recorded in John and Mark. The phrases “in three days” and “after three days”are used by Jesus. The counting method is different for each.
“In three days”—John 2
John 2:19-21 Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days? But he spake of the temple of his body.
This counting method uses 6 half days– 3 evenings and 3 mornings to equal three full days. A Thursday crucifixion fits with Jesus being raised up “in three days.”
- Thursday day = ½ day
- Friday night and
- Friday day = 1 day
- Saturday night and
- Saturday day = 1 day
- Sunday night = ½ day
Total: six ½ days = 3 days
“After three days”—Mark 8
Mark 8:31 . . .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 daysrise again.
This counting method counts each daytime period as one day, with the resurrection taking place “after three days.” The day was not over when Jesus died in the afternoon, so this begins with the day of the crucifixion. A Thursday crucifixion fits with Jesus being raised up “after three days.”
After Thursday (day 1), after Friday (day 2) and after Saturday (day 3), Jesus rose after three dayson Sunday.
Problems with a WednesdayCrucifixion
Too Many Days and Nights
Matthew 12:40 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 nightsin the heart of the earth.
Wednesday Crucifixion—Four Days and Four Nights
Regarding Jesus’ words of “three days and three nights” in Matthew 12:40, a Wednesday crucifixion accounts for four days and four nights. It doesn’t fit with what Jesus said.
In Three Days and After Three Days—Too Many Days
John 2 says, “In three days”
John 2:19 Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.
- Wednesday day = 1/2 day
- Thursday night and
- Thursday day = 1 day
- Friday night and
- Friday day = 1 day
- Saturday night and
- Saturday day = 1 day
- Sunday night = 1/2 day
Total: eight ½ days = 4 days—too many days with a Wednesday crucifixion.
Mark 8 says, “After three days”
Mark 8:31 . . .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.
After Wednesday (day 1), after Thursday (day 2), after Friday (day 3) and after Saturday (day 4), Jesus rose after four days on Sunday—too many days with a Wednesday crucifixion.
Problems with a FridayCrucifixion
Too Few Days and Nights
Matthew 12:40 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 nightsin the heart of the earth.
A Friday crucifixion accounts for two days and two nights. It doesn’t fit with what Jesus said.
In Three Days and After Three Days—Too Few Days
John 2 says, “In three days”
John 2:19 Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.
- Friday day = 1/2 day
- Saturday night and
- Saturday day = 1 day
- Sunday night = 1/2 day
Total: four ½ days = 2 days—too few days with a Friday crucifixion.
Mark 8 says, “After three days”
Mark 8:31 . . .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.
After Friday (day 1) and after Saturday (day 2), Jesus rose after two days on Sunday—too few days with a Friday crucifixion.
In Conclusion
Next week we’ll consider two more reasons for a Thursday crucifixion. In closing, let’s review the counting of “three days and three nights.” In Matthew 12:39, Jesus said: “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. . .” With those words, Jesus said that “three days and three nights” was to be a “sign”for them.
Thursday Crucifixion—Three Days and Three Night
Thursday night began the Day of Preparation. Events included Jesus’ Last Supper in the upper room, Jesus’ last discourse with His disciples, and the arrest of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. Thursday daytime hours followed with the trials and crucifixion, and at three in the afternoon Jesus breathed His last and died.
Review of counting:
Thursday Day=DAY 1(afternoon hours): Jesus died at 3 pm. His soul went into the heart of the earth. His body was buried before sundown. Then the High Sabbath day began.
Friday Night=NIGHT 1(the High Sabbath)
Friday Day=DAY 2 (the High Sabbath)
Saturday Night=NIGHT 2(the weekly Sabbath)
Saturday Day=DAY 3 (the weekly Sabbath)
Sunday Night=NIGHT 3 Jesus rose before sunrise on Sunday.
The Bible tells us that the women came to the tomb before sunrise and the angel said to them,
…He is not here: for he is risen, (Matthew 28:6)
Three days and three nights — Just like Jesus said!
This is the first and foremost reason why I believe the crucifixion took place on a Thursday. Thursday is the only day that fits precisely with Jesus’ words. Remember, Jesus said He would be “three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” He was speaking of His soul that went into the “heart of the earth,” Abraham’s Bosom at the time of death, Thursday afternoon. His body was laid in an above ground tomb (not in the earth) before sundown.
Be a Berean (Acts 17:11) and study for yourself. Come to your own conclusion, but always remember it’s not about the day of the week on which the crucifixion took place. It’s all about the One who was crucified in our place and rose from the dead and lives. He offers forgiveness of sins and life eternal to all who repent and trust in Him.
1 Corinthians 15:1-4 Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you; unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures,
For as Jonah 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. (Matthew 12:40)
If Matthew 12:40 literally means three days and three nights then the crucifixion cannot be on Friday. Some say rather than a literal three days it is an old idiom referring to the two days prior to the day being spoken of. We have found nothing to substantiate this view. The Friday crucifixion is the most widely held view due to the traditional celebration of Easter. Did the crucifixion actually take place on Wednesday, Thursday or Friday?
In order to make the most informed estimate, we need to examine the Sabbath. The original Hebrew word "Shabbath" is defined as: an intermission, the day of rest, the holy seventh day; a week (Leviticus 23:15[cf. Deuteronomy 16:9; Matthew 28:1]), the sacred seventh year, a sabbatical year.
Leviticus 23:1-4 lets us know about the "weekly sabbath," that day set aside each week to honor the Lord. Verse three defines how a sabbath is to be observed, i.e., "...but the seventh day is the sabbath of rest, an holy convocation: you shall do no servile work therein: it is the sabbath of the Lord in all your dwellings."
However, these are NOT the only sabbaths. Besides the weekly sabbaths there are the High Sabbaths related to the Hebrew Feasts (or Festivals), described in Leviticus 23:4-44.
These are the feasts of the LORD, even holy convocations, which ye shall proclaim in their seasons. 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. In the first day ye shall have an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein. But ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD seven days: in the seventh day is an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work. (Leviticus 23:4-8)
For example, the verses above speak of two feasts, Passover and Unleavened Bread. Passover starts on the 14th day of Nisan (Hebrew month) and lasts one day. The Feast of Unleavened Bread starts the next day (i.e., the 15th of Nisan) and lasts for seven days.
Please note, the Passover is not a High Sabbath day, this important fact is often overlooked. You can tell because the usual command for a sabbath of "an holy convocation and no servile work is to be done," is not given for Passover. So while Passover is a feast day, it is not a sabbath day. "Why is that important?" you ask. It was on this day Jesus did the work of redemption. Servile work would have been unlawful on a Sabbath day, so God ordained for this day to be a festival, remembering the lamb's blood that caused the angel to "Passover" the Israelites in Egypt and pointing to the Lamb who would shed His blood for all mankind.
One other important feast day is not a High Sabbath day, the Feast of First Fruits. Interestingly enough, this is the day of Jesus' resurrection.
The Lord set forth two sabbath days each for the Feast of Unleavened Bread and the Feast of Tabernacles. Leviticus 23:7-8 tells us that both the first and seventh (last) day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread is an holy convocation and to do no servile work therein. Leviticus 23:35-36 states the same for the Feast of Tabernacles. As you go through the remaining feasts you will see the same instruction.
Next we need to examine what Jesus said regarding His death.
For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. (Matthew 12:40 NKJV)
(Just a side note: for those who say the story of Jonah is untrue and just a legend—it appears that Jesus doesn't agree with them!)
Jesus said three days and three nights. There is absolutely no way to get three days and three nights from Friday to Sunday. The chart below shows this, remember a Jewish day starts at sunset rather than midnight.
Day 1 = Friday before Sunset
Night 1 = Friday sunset - Saturday sunrise
Day 2 = Saturday sunrise - Saturday sunset
Night 2 = Saturday sunset - Sunday sunrise
Day 3 = Sunday sunrise - resurrection
Assuming Jesus rose from the dead AFTER sunrise on Sunday, which is not stated as such in the Scriptures (the Scriptures merely state that Mary Magdalene went to the tomb right after sunrise), there still are only two nights. There is no way to get three nights in this scenario. To dogmatically choose this position of crucifixion on Friday and Resurrection on Sunday is to choose a position contrary to Jesus' own prophecy.
Another Scripture to consider is John 12:1, "Then Jesus six days before the passover came to Bethany...". Jesus was travelling from Jericho. If the crucifixion took place on Friday (which had to also be Passover), then this journey took place on the sabbath. Travelling that distance on the sabbath was legally out of the question for a devout Jew.
What if the crucifixion took place on Thursday? This would certainly add the additional night we need to fulfill Jesus' prophecy, but it raises a problem with the days because you have to count partial days for either the crucifixion or resurrection, but not for both. The partial days problem can be argued successfully but not conclusively because, as stated earlier, all we are told about the resurrection is that Jesus arose on the day after the weekly sabbath. This could be anytime from Saturday just after sunset to the point where Mary Magdalene saw Him, after sunrise.
Proponents of a Thursday crucifixion might argue counting a partial day for Thursday (the crucifixion), a day for Friday, a day for Saturday (day) and that Jesus arose just after sunset at the beginning of the fourth day which would not be counted. In addition, there would be three full nights in between as well. So Thursday can be argued from the Scriptures.
It is possible to argue for a Wednesday crucifixion if you don't count partial days (i.e. knowing that Jesus died at 3:00 p.m., you don't count the three hours of Wednesday as a full 12 hour day). The scenario would be as follows:
Day 0 = Wednesday 3:00pm - sunset
Night 1 = Wednesday sunset - Thursday sunrise
Day 1 = Thursday sunrise - Thursday sunset
Night 2 = Thursday sunset - Friday sunrise
Day 2 = Friday sunrise - Friday sunset
Night 3 = Friday sunset - Saturday sunrise
Day 3 = Saturday sunrise - Saturday sunset
In this view, Jesus is resurrected sometime between sunset on Saturday and sunrise on Sunday, which would be a partial night and therefore not counted.
Now why did the early church decide it was Friday? Read the following verse:
Now when evening had come, because it was the Preparation Day, that is, the day before the Sabbath, Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent council member, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, coming and taking courage, went in to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. (Mark 15:42-43 NKJV)
They assumed since it was the day before the sabbath, it meant Friday. Here is where our background on the sabbath sheds some light. We know that since the crucifixion was on the Passover, it was automatically the day before a sabbath, no matter what day it was on, because the High Sabbath day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread was the next day. Again, no matter what day Passover was on, the next day was automatically a sabbath.
Holding to a Friday crucifixion really is at odds with Scripture. Scripture does say that it was the Feast of First Fruits when He arose, so we know that the resurrection was Sunday (i.e., sunset Saturday — Sunday sunrise). Therefore, using Jesus' own words we conclude it was a Wednesday or Thursday crucifixion
If we factor in two more important points there is a stronger case for a Thursday crucifixion:
- When the Holy Spirit inspired the writing of the Bible (66 books, written by 40 authors over 2000 years), He wove various clues into the text in order for us to verify the authenticity of the Bible. As we see prophecy come to pass we gain more respect for the Word because only the God who knows the end from the beginning could predict with 100% accuracy. God's plan for redemption is the message of the Scriptures, it is the gospel, or "good news." There are proclamations or subtle clues on literally every page.
The Feasts were not only historic (i.e., to be celebrated once they left Egypt and settled into the Promised Land of Israel), but also prophetic, pointing to the Savior (read Hebrews 8:1-10:39). It is no coincidence that Jesus was crucified on Passover, the same day God saved the Hebrews from the death in Egypt by placing blood of a lamb on the door posts and door jambs (making a cross). It is no coincidence that Jesus arose from the dead on the feast of First Fruits. It is no coincidence that the Church was officially given the power of the Holy Spirit to proclaim the gospel on the Feast of Pentecost.
There are many other accounts in the Scripture that point specifically to Christ's redemption of mankind. Let's go back to Genesis and visit Noah. It is generally held that the ark is a "type" of Jesus. The ark saved Noah and his family from the wrath of God's judgment upon the evil world. Jesus offers salvation to all those who trust in Him, sparing them from judgment for their sins.
The ark rested, or finished the work of saving Noah's family on a significant day.
God instituted a calendar change explained in Exodus, and the seventh month became the first month. It turns out that the same day the ark rested is the 17th day of Nisan, which just happens to be three days and three nights after the 14th of Nisan (the future Passover feast). So that would mean that in prophetic illustration, God caused the ark to rest from the flood (His wrath on an evil world) on the same day that Jesus would rise from the dead to save mankind from the future wrath upon a Christ—rejecting world. Coincidence? Highly unlikely.Then the ark rested in the seventh month, the seventeenth day of the month, on the mountains of Ararat. (Genesis 8:4 NKJV)
Note that for this to be a true prophetic model, the only day of the week that works for a Sunday resurrection on the 17th of Nisan, is a Thursday crucifixion on the 14th day of Nisan. - The last argument for a Thursday crucifixion comes from the actions of Mary Magdalene. Why did Mary wait until Sunday to go to the tomb with the ministering oils and herbs? If the crucifixion took place on Wednesday, then Thursday would have been the High Sabbath, making it impossible for her to go to the tomb on that day, but Friday would have been a normal day, with no restrictions. If on the other hand Thursday was the day of the crucifixion, then Friday would have been the high sabbath, and Saturday would have been the weekly sabbath (making it impossible for her to go on Friday or Saturday), leaving Sunday as the first "legal" day she could have made the trip.
With all of that said, it must be noted that the day of the week is not something we know from Scripture. If God wanted us to know whether it was Wednesday, Thursday or Friday, it would have been clearly stated.
What we do know is that it occurred on Passover as a model of the sacrifice of the perfect Lamb, and that He rose again on the Feast of First Fruits, since He is the First Fruit of the resurrection. It is fine to hold a personal view, but unwise to become dogmatic about it. We should celebrate the cross and the resurrection every day of our earthly visit.
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