Did Jesus Die On "Good Friday" or
Wednesday?
Pastor David L. Brown, Ph.D.
Sermon Delivered 4/13/01
"For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how 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." 1 Corinthians
15:3-4
Let there be not doubt that Christ died for our sins, was buried and He rose again!
That is a 100% sure thing. But, I have to tell you, from the time I was a youngster, I
could never figure out the "Good Friday" timetable, but I liked the day. Why?
It was a holiday and we either had just a half-day of school or the entire day off,
because, they said, Good Friday (Great Friday to the Greek Orthodox; Charfreitag or
Sorrowful Friday in German) was the day of the crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ.
However, I knew about Matthew 12:40 which says, "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." Try as I would, I could not get three days and
three nights using the "Good Friday" reckoning. After trying to count it out
on my fingers without success, I brushed aside the problem, figuring the adults knew
something I didn’t.
Now, as an adult, I decided to look into the matter much more seriously. There are
several reasons I reject "Good Friday" as the day of death of Christ. Here is
a brief account of my findings.
- "Good Friday" Was Not Celebrated In The Early
Church
Jewish Christians in the early church continued to celebrate the Passover, regarding
Christ as the true Passover lamb (1 Corinthians 5:7 – "Christ our passover is
sacrificed for us."). This naturally developed into a commemoration of the death
and resurrection of our Lord because he was the true Passover sacrifice. But, while
this Pascha or Passover celebration lasted three days, commemorating the death and
resurrection of Jesus Christ, I must point out that this Passover celebration was a
moveable celebration like Pentecost. It occurred on different days each year. There
was NOT a "Good Friday" under this scheme! In fact, another encyclopedia
stated this -- prior to A.D. 325, Easter was variously celebrated on different days of
the week, including Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. So, obviously there was no
"Good Friday" before this time, because Easter could be celebrated on any
day and from time to time, was celebrated on Friday.
All that changed in 325 A.D. when the Emperor Constantine convened the Council of
Nicaea, which issued the Easter Rule, which states that Easter shall be
celebrated on Sunday, but did not fix the particular Sunday. It was left to the
Bishop of Alexandria to determine the exact Sunday, since that city was regarded as the
authority in astrological matters. He was to communicate the results of his
determination to the other churches. But there was disagreement among the churches
about doing it that way. It was not until the 7th century that the Easter
matter was settled. Easter was to be on the first Sunday that occured after the first
full moon, on or after the vernal equinox. However, there is still a twist I need to
mention here. The "full moon" in the rule is the ecclesiastical full moon,
which is defined as the fourteenth day of a tabular lunation (whatever that is), where
day one corresponds to the ecclesiastical New Moon. It does not always occur on the
same date as the astronomical full moon. However, I do know this. The ecclesiastical
"vernal equinox" is always on March 21. Therefore, Easter must be
celebrated on a Sunday between the dates of March 22 and April 25.
Now, back to the key issue – "Good Friday!" Historians can trace the
development of "Good Friday" to the 4th century Catholic festivals
held in Jerusalem. "Good Friday" was an evolution out of the early Pascha
celebrations that took place at Jerusalem that I mentioned earlier. A procession was
staged from Gethsemane to the Catholic Church Sanctuary of the Cross, in Jerusalem. The
assembled group then heard readings about the death of Christ.
Let me review briefly what I have just told you. "Good Friday" is a
man-made invention. It evolved after 325 A.D. because prior to that, there was no set
day for Easter and therefore there would not have been a "Good Friday." It is
the invention of the Roman Catholic Church. So where did Rome come up with the idea? It
comes from a misunderstanding of Mark 15:42 "And now when the even was come,
because it was the preparation, that is, the day before the Sabbath…" We
will unravel the mystery a bit later in this article.
- A "Good Friday" Death Conflicts With What
Christ Said
The second reason I reject the "Good Friday" view of the death of Christ
is because of what Christ said in Matthew 12:40. I must tell you that I do not believe
Christ was mistaken. I believe in the inspiration of the Scriptures. Therefore, what
the Bible says, I deem to be wholly true. So, when our Lord said, "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" I
believe that is true! And, no matter how you slice "Friday" you cannot get three
days and three nights from late Friday afternoon until early Sunday morning?
At the most, there could only be two nights, 1 day, and a part of another! If Christ
had only said three days, I could have understood Him to mean PART of three days, since
both in and out of the Scriptures we use the word to mean only a portion of a day.
However, the Lord Jesus Christ specifically said, "three days and three
nights," and thus verbal inspiration demands three twenty-four hour days.
- A "Good Friday" Death Does Not Take Into
Account The Issue of Floating Sabbaths
Before we look at the Sabbath issue, let’s look at the different ways days are
divided. While all cultures work on the basis of a 24-hour day, not all cultures begin
and end their days at the same time. There are MAJOR difference in the Roman Day,
the Jewish Day, and our Modern Day. The ROMAN DAY began at 6:00
A.M. and closed at 6:00 the next morning. The JEWISH DAY began at sunset and
closed at the next sunset (or from about 6:00 P.M. to the next 6:00 P.M.). OUR DAY
begins at midnight and closes the next midnight. Here is an example of what I am
talking about.
The Lord Jesus was placed on the cross "…the third hour…" according to
Mark 15:25. The context of this time delineation is Roman. The third hour of the day in
Roman time was 9 A.M., which was the time of the daily sacrifice of the morning.
We also know from verse 33 that "there was darkness over the whole land"
from the 6th to the 9th hour (Noon to 3 p.m. our time). According
to the account in Luke’s Gospel, Christ "gave up the ghost" or died some
time after that. I find it interesting that the evening sacrifice of the Jews took
place at the 9th hour (3 p.m.). I contend that Christ died on Wednesday
sometime after 3 p.m. and was buried before sunset or about 6 p.m., which would be
their Thursday and still our Wednesday.
How can I say that? It has to do with fixed Sabbaths and floating Sabbaths. Here’s
what we know for sure. The Lord was taken down from the cross and placed in the tomb
before sunset, before the beginning of the Sabbath. We read in 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."
The parenthetical clause is the key to understanding the entire problem. While it is
true that a normal weekly Sabbath begins on sunset on Friday (about 6 p.m.), did
you know that there are seven other "High Sabbaths," all but one of
which are floating Sabbaths? By "floating Sabbaths," I mean they could occur
on any day of the week. Therefore, there could have been two Sabbaths in one week, a
high or floating Sabbath and a weekly Sabbath.
Can this be true? The answer is "Yes." An example of this is found in Luke
6:1 "And it came to pass on the second sabbath after the first, that he
went through the corn fields; and his disciples plucked the ears of corn, and did eat,
rubbing them in their hands."
In fact, Christ was Crucified on the day before an High Sabbath (floating Sabbath),
not the day before the normal Sabbath! Which high Sabbath was it? It was the first day
of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which was always held on the 15th of Nisan
(see Exodus 12:16; Leviticus 23:3-7; Numbers 28:17). The first day of the Feast of
Unleavened Bread was an Holy Convocation or High Sabbath and though always on the 15th
of Nisan, that High Sabbath might fall on any day of the week, depending on the year.
And, do you know what the day before the Feast of Unleavened Bread was? PASSOVER (see
Leviticus 23:5). Christ our Passover (1 Corinthians 5:7) was sacrificed for us on the
day of Passover!
Now, back to specific biblical support for Christ being crucified just before the
High Sabbath instead of Friday, the day before the weekly Sabbath. Consider 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." The
Greek word for Sabbath in this verse is sabbatwn-sabbaton,
which J. P. Green’s Interlinear Bible, (1985; p. 766) says is Sabbaths –
"In the end of the Sabbaths…" Likewise, my Schofield Bible notes that the
grammatically correct reading, according to the Greek is, "the end of the
Sabbaths." This indicates that Christ was not crucified on the day before the
weekly Sabbath but the day before the "floating" Sabbath, which fell before
the weekly Sabbath.
- "Good Friday" Does Not Allow For Enough Time
Those who claim a "Good Friday" death for Christ have another MAJOR
problem. It just is not possible for all of the "red tape" and preparations
to have been accomplished in less than three hours. I say less than three hours because
we know that Christ’s death took place some time after 3 p.m. on Friday by their
reckoning. The weekly Sabbath began at 6 p.m. Consider the list below. There is not
enough time to do all those things. However, if Christ died on a Wednesday after 3 p.m.
and arose Saturday after 6 p.m. there is ample time to do all of the things the Gospels
list.
- At 3 p.m. Christ calls out "with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama
sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?"
Matthew 27:46. Yet, at this point there are still three other times Christ spoke
– "I thirst" (John 19:28); "It is finished"
(John 19:30) and
"Into thy hands I commend my spirit" (Luke 23:46). How much time elapsed
after 3 p.m.? I don’t know. But, it is safe to say that it was after, and I think
well after 3 p.m.
- John 19:31 – The Jews went to Pilate and requested the legs be broken of those
who were crucified to hasten his death.
- John 19:32-33 – Pilate accepted the request and sent a message to Calvary
instructing the victim’s legs be broken but when they came to Christ, they found
him dead. How long would all that discussion and implementation of orders have
taken?
- John 19:38 – "After this, Joseph of Arimathea" travels
to Pilate and begged for the body of Jesus. We are not told how much later this
was.
- Mark 15:44-45 – Before Pilate would turn over the body of Jesus to Joseph of
Arimathea he sends for the Centurion to be sure Christ is dead. Once that is
affirmed, he gives the OK.
- Mark 15:44 – Joseph of Arimathea goes shopping and buys fine linen for the
burial. Then he and friends take Christ down from the cross.
- Mark 15: 46-47 & Luke 23:55 – Christ is transported to Joseph’s tomb,
placed inside and the opening is sealed with a stone. All of this is done while the
women watch.
- Luke 23:55-56 – The women return to the city and buy the supplies required for
embalming our Lord. Preparing these things requires boiling and grinding and that
took time.
- John 19: 39-40 – Nicodemus brings 100 pounds of embalming materials. The stone
had to be rolled away. They washed and prepared the body for burial and then wound
it in the linen packing in the 100 pounds of spices as they go.
All of the "red tape", procedures and preparations would have taken TIME!
Advocates of a "Good Friday Crucifixion" must have all these things occur in
less than three hours. All of these things could NOT have been accomplished in less
than three hours! However, if Christ was crucified on the 14th of Nisan
(Passover), on Wednesday and put in the grave before sunset of that day, (the beginning
of the Jewish High Sabbath was at sunset on the 15th of Nisan, which was the
Feast of Unleavened bread), there been all day Friday to fit in the many things that
needed to be done before the weekly Sabbath (sunset Saturday) began.
When you understand that, you realize that Joseph of Arimathaea arranged to get the
body of Christ, wrap it and put it in his grave, all before sunset or about 6
p.m. on Wednesday evening when Jewish High Sabbath began (Luke
23:52-54). Therefore, at
about sunset on Thursday He had been in the grave one day and one night. At
about sunset on Friday, He had been in the grave two days and two nights. Then,
on Saturday, just about sunset He had been in the grave three full days and nights.
Then what happened? Some time after 6 p.m. (still Saturday by our reckoning until
midnight) CHRIST AROSE!!! According to Matthew 28:1 "In the end of the Sabbath, as
it began to dawn toward the first day of the week…" the women came early Sunday
morning, our time, but He was already gone.
Many have Sunrise services commemorating the resurrection. There’s nothing wrong
with that. But, perhaps we should have a Sunset service. Christ arose about sunset on
Saturday. Then in the early morning hours according to Mark 16:1-2, the two Mary’s
discovered the Resurrection. Praise God. He IS RISEN!
- In conclusion, I cannot accept "Good Friday" as the day our Lord died
because –
- "Good Friday" Was Not Celebrated In The Early
Church.
- A "Good Friday" Death conflicts with what
Christ said.
- A "Good Friday" Death Does Not Take Into
Account The Issue of Floating Sabbaths.
- A "Good Friday" Death Does Not Allow For
Enough Time To Accomplish All The Things In The Gospels.
I believe that Christ died on the Cross for our sins on Sorrowful Wednesday! But,
regardless of what you believe, remember the most important thing is that He did die
for our sins and rose again for our justification. Is Christ your Savior? If not, there
is no better time to repent of your sins and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ than
right now!
Resources consulted include: Encyclopedia Britannica; Catholic
Encyclopedia; International Standard Bible Encyclopedia; Way of Life Encyclopedia of
the Bible and Christianity; Connolly’s Life of Christ; Chuck Missler’s Friday or
Wednesday.
|
