What Day of the Week Was Christ Crucified? The following is an attempt to correlate events before and after the week Christ was crucified. By studying which events could not have occurred on the Sabbath we will be able to pinpoint which day of the week He died. (All Scriptures are NIV unless otherwise noted). ) Most of the writers on this topic propose this day is Wednesday, a few believe it is Thursday, and some Friday. However, it appears a lot of them do not understand Jewish terminology where it concerns the time of day compared to how the western world determines time. There are also a lot of problems where it regards understanding the meaning of certain words surrounding Passover and the various traditions that were not spelled out in the New Testament scriptures regarding this feast. It is the intent of this article to clear up this confusion. I dont claim to have all the answers, but as a result of this study it appears there is only one day of the week that could work for the crucifixion. JEWISH vs. ROMAN RECKONING OF TIME Most of the confusion relating to the crucifixion can be traced to the way a Jewish person in the Bible would have interpreted time as compared to how someone from the West interprets time today. The Jewish day starts at sunset, the exact timing of which changes slightly depending upon the season. Therefore, their day is getting dark when it begins. A Roman day, however, started at midnight (as does most of the western world today). So when their day began it would be dark and would soon be getting light--just the opposite of the Jewish day. During the time of Christ the Israelites adopted the Roman practice of counting 4 watches during the night. These watches began at approximately 9:30 PM, 12:00 midnight, 2:30 AM (called the cockcrow watch), and 5 AM. From sunrise they divided the day in sections into what they termed hours(1). Thus when they said that something happened at the 6th hour it was about noon or 6 hours after sunrise, not 6 AM like we would reckon time in the West. Most scholars agree that John wrote his Gospel late in the first century, around 80 AD, from Ephesus--the capital of the Roman province of Asia. Therefore he used Greek terms and would often interpret the meaning of Hebrew words, which would have been unnecessary if he had been writing for a Jewish audience. Therefore he was obviously writing to the Gentiles and would have used terminology related to the time of day that Gentiles would have understood, i.e., Roman reckoning of time. An example of this confusion of the different terminologies can be found when Christ was crucified. According to Mark it was the third hour, the third hour since sunrise or 9 am (Mark 15:25) However John says it was about the sixth hour when he was still being sentenced by Pilate and before he was led to the cross (John 19:14). The difference lies in the fact that John is thinking Roman time, which starts at midnight, and thus it was about 6 am. It probably took a few more hours for Christ to make his way to the cross and thus it is not hard to imagine that it was accomplished by 9 AM. Following is a chart that shows what events took place during the different Hours of the day for both Jewish and Roman readers of the Gospels: Jewish Reckoning of Time Hour of the Day Roman Reckoning of Time Jewish Hours starts at Sunrise Roman Day starts at Midnight Sunrise = 1st hour = 6AM Midnight = 1st hour = 12 AM Luke 22:61 Jesus had already been arrested in the middle of the night and taken to the High Priest. Peter is in the High Priests courtyard and denies Jesus three times and the rooster crows. At daybreak the elders took Jesus to Pilate. The Cockcrow watch began about 2:30 am 2-6 AM John 19:14, It was the day of Preparation of Passover Week, about the sixth hour. . .Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified. Mark 15:16-24 and Luke 22:60-23:32, Soldiers Mocked Jesus, struck him, spat on him and took him to Golgotha. 6-9 AM John 19:17 Jesus carried his own cross, to Golgotha. Mark 15:25, It was the third hour when they crucified him. 3 + 6 = 9 9 AM Mark 15:33, At the sixth hour darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour. 6 + 6 = 12/Noon 12 Noon - 3 pm Mark 15:34, and at the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice. . . With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last. (9 + 6 = 15 hours - 12 = 3 pm 3 PM Mark 15:42-43, It was Preparation Day (that is the day before the Sabbath). So as evening approached, Joseph of Arimathea, . . . asked Pilate for Jesus body. (no work was allowed on the Sabbath). 3-6 PM John 19:21, Now it was the day of Prepartion, and the next day was to be a special Sabbath. Because Jews did not want the bodies left on the crosses during the Sabbath . . . (no work was allowed on the Sabbath). Sabbath starts at 12th hour or Sunset. 6 PM Sabbath starts at Sunset 6 PM Also, they didnt name the days of the week like we do now(2). They gave them numbers instead, i.e., first day, second day, and so on until the seventh day which was the Saturday/Sabbath. The first day of their week would be our Sunday. PASSOVER, PREPARATION DAY & FEAST OF UNLEAVENED BREAD God gave explicit instructions about the Passover: The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in Egypt, This month is to be for you the first month [Abib/Nisan], the first month of your year. Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month [Abib/Nisan 10] each man is to take a lamb for his family, one for each household. . . .The animals you choose must be year-old males without defect, and you may take them from the sheep or the goats. Take care of them until the fourteenth day of the month, when all the people of the community of Isreal must slaughter them at Twilight. . . . That same night they are to eat the meat roasted over the fire, along with bitter herbs, and bread made without yeast. . . . Do not leave any of it till morning; if some is left till morning, you must burn it. . . .On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn. . . (Exodus 12:1-12). [The name of the month in question used to be Abib but was later changed to Nisan, as it is on Jewish Calendars today. Therefore, I will be referring to it as Nisan from now on.] The event in Exodus occurred about 1491 B.C.(3) A year later we see the same instructions only this time they didnt have to leave the same night: The Lords Passover begins at twilight on the fourteenth day of the first month [Nisan]. On the fifteenth day of that month the Lords Feast of Unleavened Bread begins; for seven days you must eat bread made without yeast. On the first day hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work. For seven days present an offering made to the Lord by fire. And on the seventh day hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work (Lev. 23:5-8). About forty years later, 1452 B.C., we see the same instructions again in an abbreviated form, but without new instructions. Therefore, nothing has changed: On the fourteenth day of the first month [Nisan] the Lords Passover is to be held. On the fifteenth day of this month there is to be a festival; for seven days eat bread made without yeast. On the first day hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work. . . .On the seventh day hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work (Numbers 28:16-25). Please notice in all three citations above the instructions were the same before and after the Israelites left Egypt, except they didnt have to leave the next morning on a long trip. This fact will be very important to our study. The word Passover has a wide connotation. In the New Testament it sometimes refers to Preparation Day, when they prepared the sacrifice and the meal for Passover (Luke 22:7), or it could refer to the actual day they ate the Passover feast (Mark 14:1,2), or it could also be referring to the Feast of Unleavened Bread which started on the same day as the Passover Feast (Mark 14:1,2). The term Passover can also refer to the entire season of Passover which can include every event from Nisan 10 (when the Lambs were selected) through the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and clear up to Nisan 21 which was the last day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread(4). This is similar to the way Christians refer to the Christmas holiday when the word for Christmas can mean the whole two weeks from Christmas Eve to the New Years holiday. Trying to determine what exactly is meant by these terms surrounding Passover is one reason there are so many differences of opinion regarding the timing of the crucifixion. The best way to differentiate between these days is to take notice of what is occurring on those days: are they preparing for the Passover or participating in the Feast of the Passover. The Passover Feast and the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread are actually two holidays that traditionally start on the same day, the 15th of Nisan. The first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread is always a High Holy day --a Holy day of rest--not to be confused with the weekly Sabbath. In Jesus day the Feast of Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread were traditionally eaten right after sundown of the 14th (which according to Jewish time would now be the beginning of the 15th). However, as will be shown later, this was according to Jewish tradition and not what God had instructed in the Passover scriptures above. Also, there is some confusion regarding the scriptures that say Jesus sent His disciples to prepare for the Passover on the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Matt. 26:17, Mark 14:12). This seems to imply that Jesus ate His Passover after He died, which is impossible. Other scriptures state that He died on the Day of Preparation (Mark 15:42, Matt. 27:62, Luke 23:54, John 19:14), so there has to be another explanation. The Feast of Unleavened bread involved removing all leaven from the houses before the holiday of Passover started which means they would have started this cleaning at least by Nisan 13. Therefore this is probably what was being referred to in the above passages, i.e., the season of the Feast of Unleavened Bread had begun and it was time to prepare for the Passover. RULES FOR SELECTION OF PASSOVER LAMB The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in Egypt, This month [Nisan] is to be for you the first month, the first month of your year. Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month [Nisan 10] each man is to take a lamb for his family, one for each household. . . .The animals you choose must be year-old males without defect, and you may take them from the sheep or the goats. Take care of them until the fourteenth day of the month, when all the people of the community of Israel must slaughter them at Twilight (Exodus 12:1-6). Notice the selection of the Passover lamb occurred on the 10th day of Nisan, four days before they were slaughtered on Preparation day of Passover, which was on the 14th. JESUS IS OUR PASSOVER LAMB Paul told us, Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed (1 Cor. 5:7b). Also, the day after being questioned about whether he was the Christ, John the Baptist said, when he saw Jesus approaching: Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! (John 1:29). PRESENTATION OF THE PASSOVER LAMB God said that the lambs were to be selected on Nisan 10 in preparation of Passover. After the Lamb was selected they were to take it into their home for four days and examine it each day for flaws. However, this was eventually changed to mean the Priest in the Temple had to inspect and approve of this lamb, not the individual. Thus, the same day that the Jews were presenting their lambs to be inspected for the Passover [Nisan 10] we see our own Passover Lamb presenting Himself to the people of Jerusalem for inspection as their long awaited King on the day of the Triumphal Entry (Matt. 21:1-23; Mark 11:1-19; Luke 19:28-47; John 12:12-18). The people accepted Him, but their leaders did not. He was then examined for four days by the chief priests, teachers of the law, elders, Pharisees, Sadducees, and even the Herodians, but they could not find fault with Him and thus they had to rely on false witnesses in order to convict Him. The Triumphal Entry is one of the major keys to figuring out the day of the week for the crucifixion. RULES FOR SABBATH REST The rules for the Sabbath rest were first given before the Israelites reached Mount Sinai (where the Ten Commandments were given) when God provided them with manna. Moses relayed the instructions that God had given: Tomorrow is to be a day of rest, a holy Sabbath to the Lord. So bake what you want to bake and boil what you want to boil. Save whatever is left and keep it until morning. So they saved it until morning, as Moses commanded, and it did not stink or get maggots in it. Eat it today, Moses said, because today is a Sabbath to the Lord. You will not find any of it on the ground today. Six days you are to gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will not be any. The people disobeyed, then God told Moses: How long will you refuse to keep my commands and my instructions? Bear in mind that the Lord has given you the Sabbath; that is why on the sixth day he gives you bread for two days. Everyone is to stay where he is on the seventh day; no one is to go out. So the people rested on the seventh day. God gave further instructions about the Sabbath on Mount Sinai: Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy (Ex 20:8-11). In Deuteronomy Moses reminded the Israelites about the Sabbath before they entered the promised land. These instructions were almost the same as the Exodus 20 passage except he defined what was meant by animals: nor your ox, your donkey or any of your animals, . . . (Deut. 5:14). Please notice that not even donkeys were supposed to work on the Sabbath. Further Refinement of the Sabbath Rules: They couldnt light a fire: Do not light a fire in any of your dwellings on the Sabbath day (Lev. 26:2). They couldnt gather firewood: While the Israelites were in the desert, a man was found gathering wood on the Sabbath day. . . Then the Lord said to Moses, The man must die. The whole assembly must stone him outside the camp (Num. 15:32, 33). They would be punished for not obeying the Sabbath: But if you do not obey me to keep the Sabbath day holy by not carrying any load as you come through the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, then I will kindle an unquenchable fire in the gates of Jerusalem that will consume her fortresses (Jer. 17:27). This warning was given about 601 B.C. You have despised my holy things and desecrated my Sabbaths. . . .And you have forgotten me, declares the Sovereign Lord. . . . I will disperse you among the nations and scatter you through the countries; and I will put an end to your uncleanness (Eze. 22:8, 12, 15). This condemnation occurred about 593 B.C. Notice how important the Sabbath was to God. It would have been just as important to the Son of God. Therefore Christ would not have allowed people to gather palm branches [wood] on the day of Triumphal Entry, nor would he have instructed his disciples to get a donkey to carry him. He also would have been guilty of having all those people walking from Bethany into Jerusalem on the Sabbath which was more than a Sabbath days walk. SABBATH DAYS WALK The Israelites were not permitted to travel more than about 1,000-1,200 yards on the Sabbath (3,600 feet or about 3/4th mile). This number was derived from the distance between the ark and the people following it (Jos. 3:4). This was also determined to be the distance to pasture an animal (Num. 35:4,5). The distance between Jerusalem and the Mount of Olives was also considered a Sabbath days walk (Acts 1:12) (5). However, we have to determine what part of the mountain was being referred to. If you take a map of Jerusalem from Jesus day and measure from the east side of the temple, through the Golden Gate (it wasnt sealed up in Jesus day), and then follow the road around the Kidron valley to the Garden of Gethsemane, which is located near the base of the Mount of Olives, you have already used up 800 yards (or 2,400 feet). If you go on up to the peak of the mountain you will find it measures about 1,200 yards (or 3,600 feet) or the distance of a Sabbath days walk. Therefore, the disciples couldnt have gone much farther on a Sabbath. Also, keep in mind if they arrived after sunset, at that distance they would have to stay put for the next 24 hours until the Sabbath was over or they would have traveled more than a Sabbath days walk to go back into town. According to a current map of Jerusalem, Bethany appears to be about 1 3/4 miles from the Temple on the eastern slope of the Mount of Olives (on the opposite side of the mountain from Jerusalem). Therefore, when you hear of anyone walking from Bethany to Jerusalem, or back again, it could not have been the Sabbath because it was more than double a Sabbath days walk. As will be shown below, Jesus walked to Bethany to spend the night and returned to Jerusalem the next morning for several days just before the crucifixion. TIME OF THE PASSOVER SACRIFICE God gave Moses explicit instructions about Passover just before the Exodus from Egypt which I will repeat here, Tell the whole community of Israel that on the 10th day of this month [Nisan] each man is to take a lamb for his family, . . . The animals you choose must be year-old males without defect, and you may take them from the sheep or the goats. Take care of them until the fourteenth day of the month, when all the people of the community of Israel must slaughter them at twilight. . . . That same night they are to eat the meat roasted over the fire, along with bitter herbs, and bread made without yeast. . . . That same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn . . .(Exodus 12:3-6). According to Gesenius Hebrew Lexicon of the Old Testament the word twilight used in Ex. 12:6, Strongs # 6153, translated as ereb, means: at evening. . . . only in the phrase between the two evenings Ex 16:12; 30:8; used as marking the space of time during which the Paschal lamb was slain, Ex 12:6; Lev. 23:5; Num. 9:3; and the evening sacrifice was offered, Ex 29:39, 41; Num. 28:4; i.e., according to the opinion of the Karaites and Samaritans (which is favored by the words of Deut. 16:6), the time between sunset and deep twilight. The Pharisees, however, . . . and the Rabbinists considered the time when the sun began to descend to be called the first evening [similar to an Arabian word which means little evening for when it begins to draw towards evening] and the second evening to be the real sunset. Josephus further corroborates the time of day of the sacrifices during a Passover feast in his Wars of the Jews, Ch. IX: So these high priests, upon the coming of their feast which is called the Passover, when they slay their sacrifices, from the ninth hour to the eleventh [3-5 PM], . . . This is the same time of day that Jesus died on the cross according to Matt. 27:45-50, on the 9th hour, or about 3 PM. Please notice that the Pharisees and Rabbinists considered about 3 PM to be the proper time to sacrifice the Passover Lamb. Yet back in Exodus 12:3-6, God said this is to occur on Nisan 14 at twilight and all other events were to occur on that same day also. This would be impossible to accomplish if they waited until the end of Nisan 14 to slaughter their lamb just before sunset (between the evenings). Therefore it appears the Pharisees and Rabbinists have once again set a time contrary to what God had instituted. Keep this discrepancy in mind because it will come up again later. BETWEEN THE EVENINGS Also, in Jesus day, the daylight part of the Jewish day was divided into two sections: the first part was from sunrise to noon and was considered the morning. The second part of the day, from noon to sunset, was called the evening. The night part of the day, which started at sunset was also called evening, and lasted for the next 12 hours. So what we actually have is different parts of the Jewish day being called both morning and evening and the night also being called evening. This is where the phrase between the evenings comes from. Following is a diagram of the Jewish day and how they determine time. You may find it useful to refer back to this diagram while reading the rest of this article. THE JEWISH DAY Approximate time (depending on the season): Watches during the night Hours during the day: 9:30 PM 12:00 AM 2:30 AM 5:00 AM 1st hr 3rd hr 6th hr 9th hr Evening part of the day Day part of the day: Evening part of the day
Posted on: Sat, 17 Jan 2015 19:36:41 +0000
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