Before I begin I want to make it clear that I was neutral about whether the crucifixion date took place on a Wednesday or on a Friday when I conducted the study. I previously wrote in a report about the 70 Weeks of Daniel that the crucifixion took place on a Friday. However, I was willing to revise the report if I found that the date was actually Wednesday because finding out which day is correct is what matters.
Christ’s crucifixion took place sometime during the time Pontus Pilate served as governor of Judea province for the Roman Empire between 26AD to 36AD. Jesus’s crucifixion took place on the Eve of Passover, which is on the 14th day of Nisan of the Jewish calendar (Passover is on Nisan 15). Virtually every Christian scholar believes that the crucifixion took place on either a Wednesday or a Friday between the Year 30AD and 33AD.[1] This criterion leaves two possible dates as the true date of the crucifixion:
- Wednesday April 3, 30AD
- Friday April 1, 33AD
A heavily debated item between those who support a Wednesday crucifixion and those who support a Friday crucifixion is the timing of when Mary and others bought and prepared spices before they went to anoint Christ’s body. Here are the two verses driving this debate.
- Luk 23:54 And that day was the preparation, and the sabbath drew on.
- Luk 23:55 And the women also, which came with him from Galilee, followed after, and beheld the sepulchre, and how his body was laid.
- Luk 23:56 And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the sabbath day according to the commandment.
- Mar 16:1 And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him.
- Mar 16:2 And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun.
I feel that people who argue for a Wednesday Crucifixion and people who argue for a Friday Crucifixion both can put up acceptable explanations for what happened. Here is what each side can argue:
- Wednesday Proponents: The women prepared some spices and ointments before the high Sabbath (Passover). After Passover the women bought and prepared more spices before they rested on the weekly Sabbath.
- Friday Proponents: Some spices and ointments were prepared just before the weekly Sabbath and the Passover high Sabbath (both fell on the same day) and more spices were bought and prepared Saturday evening following passage of the two Sabbaths.
The key detail driving the Wednesday vs. Friday crucifixion date debate is Matthew 12:40. In this verse Christ told the Pharisees that he would spend “three days and three nights in the heart of the earth”:
- Mat 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 nights in the heart of the earth.
Many supporting the Wednesday crucifixion states that the term “three days and three nights” translates to mean a literal 72 hour period. I can see why people would instinctively do that, but there are some people who argue that “three days and three nights” does not mean a literal 72 hour period. There are dozens of articles debating whether “three days and three nights” translate to a literal 72 hours or not. In addition, another complicating factor is that every other verse concerning the timing of Christ’s resurrection says He rose on the Third Day.
The one article that stood out to me was written by a man named Mark Clarke who was a staunch defender of the Wednesday crucifixion for most of his life until he began to interpret the crucifixion timeline from the perspective of someone that lived during the time of Christ and learned about some of the Jewish idioms used back in Christ’s era.
Apparently, talking about the passage of time in Christ’s era was completely different than the way we talk about time today (perhaps due to the fact people back then did not use the number 0 in their daily lives). For instance, Clarke uses scripture to show that talking about “three days” from now back then would be the equivalent of us talking the “day after tomorrow” because partial days were counted as a whole day back then. Here is one of many scriptural examples Clarke used to illustrate this:
The exact meaning of the phrase “the third day” in its Biblical usage is defined in Luke 13:32. “And he said unto them, Go ye, and tell that fox, Behold, I cast out devils, and I do cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I shall be perfected.” Counting of days began with today as the first day, and tomorrow as the second day. The day after tomorrow was the third day, even though we would say only two days have elapsed, because we don't count today as day one.
Clarke uses scripture and Jewish sources to argue that the phrase “‘three days and three nights’ was simply an idiomatic phrase to refer to a period of three days which included partial days at the beginning and end”.[2] Here is one of multiple scriptural examples from the article:
The argument is made that the above verses speak of numbers of days, rather than “days and nights” (except for the reference to Noah's Flood). But we saw from the flood record in Genesis that the phrase “forty days” is equivalent to the phrase “forty days and forty nights.” Nevertheless, there are also at least two other places where “days and nights” are referred to. Esther 4:16: “Go, gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day: I also and my maidens will fast likewise; and so will I go in unto the king, which is not according to the law: and if I perish, I perish.” And then in 5:1: “Now it came to pass on the third day, that Esther put on her royal apparel, and stood in the inner court of the king’s house, over against the king’s house…” In this case, “on the third day” is the end of the period of time described as “for three days, night or day.”
You can read Clarke’s complete explanation at the following link
I feel that Clarke’s argument that we should look at the description of the crucifixion timeline from the perspective of those who recorded it in Christ’s era is fairly reasonable. Back then the Number 0 was not used, which altered the way people calculated the passage of time. In addition, there were expressions used by people back then that we do not use today and vice versa. When you look at the crucifixion timeline from the perspective of those who described it back then the Wednesday crucifixion argument begins to crumble.
Palm Branches in Jerusalem
Using the way people calculated the passage of time in the 1st Century AD, Christ travelled from Bethany to Jerusalem to make His triumphal entry on Nisan 10. Before Christ entered Jerusalem His disciples acquired a colt for Him to ride on.
- Mar 11:4 And they went their way, and found the colt tied by the door without in a place where two ways met; and they loose him.
- Mar 11:5 And certain of them that stood there said unto them, What do ye, loosing the colt?
- Mar 11:6 And they said unto them even as Jesus had commanded: and they let them go.
- Mar 11:7 And they brought the colt to Jesus, and cast their garments on him; and he sat upon him.
Three accounts of Christ’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem on a colt tell us that the citizens of Jerusalem went to cut down palm branches to lie on the ground as He passed by (Matthew 21:8-10, Mark 11:8-9, and John 12:12-13). Here is Matthew’s account:
- Mat 21:8 And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way; others cut down branches from the trees, and strawed them in the way.
- Mat 21:9 And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest.
- Mat 21:10 And when he was come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, Who is this?
These details are where I feel Wednesday crucifixion proponents have a major problem if we view the passage of time how the people back in Christ’s era viewed the passage of time. Under a Wednesday crucifixion scenario, these events would have taken place on a Jewish Sabbath (Saturday, March 30 30AD). First, riding a donkey on the Sabbath would be a direct violation of the Sabbath as it says in Deuteronomy 5:14 that donkeys and other work animals are supposed to receive rest on the Sabbath.
- Deu 5:14 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; that thy manservant and thy maidservant may rest as well as thou.
In addition, Nehemiah mentioned that loading donkeys is a violation of the Sabbath.
- Neh 13:15 In those days saw I in Judah some treading wine presses on the sabbath, and bringing in sheaves, and lading asses; as also wine, grapes, and figs, and all manner of burdens, which they brought into Jerusalem on the sabbath day: and I testified against them in the day wherein they sold victuals.
- Neh 13:16 There dwelt men of Tyre also therein, which brought fish, and all manner of ware, and sold on the sabbath unto the children of Judah, and in Jerusalem.
- Neh 13:17 Then I contended with the nobles of Judah, and said unto them, What evil thing is this that ye do, and profane the sabbath day?
Second, the act of cutting and placing palm branches on the ground likely would have also been a violation of the Sabbath. A man who gathered sticks on the Sabbath was found guilty of breaking the Sabbath in Numbers 15:32-36.
- Num 15:32 And while the children of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man that gathered sticks upon the sabbath day.
- Num 15:33 And they that found him gathering sticks brought him unto Moses and Aaron, and unto all the congregation.
- Num 15:34 And they put him in ward, because it was not declared what should be done to him.
- Num 15:35 And the LORD said unto Moses, The man shall be surely put to death: all the congregation shall stone him with stones without the camp.
- Num 15:36 And all the congregation brought him without the camp, and stoned him with stones, and he died; as the LORD commanded Moses.
Therefore, if the Wednesday crucifixion date was the actual date and if you view the passage of time from the perspective of someone recording these events in Christ’s era you would have an instance where Christ violated the Sabbath by riding a donkey and caused Jews to violate the Sabbath. In contrast, these events would take place on a non-Sabbath day under the Friday crucifixion date scenario. I cannot see Christ violating or causing people to violate the Sabbath so I feel that Friday is the best candidate to be the day of the crucifixion.
The reason I choose to post the results of my study now is that today is the “anniversary" of the day that Christ was crucified under the Friday crucifixion timeline on our calendar. Yet, in Western culture we consider April 1 to be the least serious day of the year (“April Fool’s Day). We treat April 1 like a joke even though it ought to be treated as one of the most serious days of the year. I don’t know about you, but I don’t think this irony is just a coincidence…
Regardless of whether you agree with my findings or agree with the findings of those who support the Wednesday crucifixion, it is important to recognize that Wednesday crucifixion proponents and Friday crucifixion proponents recognize that Christ was crucified since not every believes He was crucified. Coming soon will be a post about the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ from a perspective you’re probably not used to seeing.
Note and Reference
[1] Some argue that the Crucifixion should have taken place in 31 or 32AD. The problem with these years is that Nisan 14 took place on a Monday: Monday March 24, 31AD and Monday April 12, 32AD
[2] Clarke, Mark. “What Day Did Jesus Die?”. http://godskingdomfirst.org/What%20Day%20Did%20Jesus%20Die.doc
