Crucifixion Week PT1
Bible Prophecy Research
Misc Study: Chronology of the Crucifixion Week
Submitted by: research-bpr@philologos.org
Date: May 30, 1998
URL: http://philologos.org/bpr/files/Misc_Studies/ms007.htm
The original from Chapel Library at http://www.mountzion.org/ and just wanted to pass it along.
CHRONOLOGY OF THE CRUCIFIXION WEEK
Radio Sermons
by Wayne Carver
The Christian Jew Foundation
Foreword
The Lord Jesus Christ clearly said in Matthew 12:38-40 that He would spend "three days and three nights in the heart of the earth," just as Jonah had spent "three days and three nights" in the belly of the great fish. Isn't it strange, however, that almost universally throughout Christendom we find that the remembrance of Christ's crucifixion is held on "Good Friday" and that His resurrection is acknowledged as occurring on Sunday morning, at dawn? By no stretch of the imagination or masterful manipulation of Scripture is it possible to stretch the period from Friday evening to Sunday morning into "three days and three nights"! Many have attempted to do so and millions of Christians have accepted this viewpoint; but in all honesty, it just can't be done.
There are two vital issues at stake: the trustworthiness of the Bible and the Deity of Jesus Christ. If the Lord only spent 36 hours in the grave--from Friday at 6 PM until Sunday at 6 AM--then the Bible is not correct and the Lord Jesus is a false prophet. And if this is true, then we are foolish to believe the Bible and to follow Christ. We would be just as well off becoming Buddhists, Muslims or atheists.
So you see, this is no small matter. As a Bible-believing Christian who openly and unashamedly professes the Deity of Jesus Christ, I make no apology for standing on the Word of God and against the teaching of men--even sincere, godly men--who have explained away the prophecy of our Lord and the clear statement of Scripture. For in so doing they have committed a terrible act against the integrity of the Christian faith. I believe that diligent study of the Word of God will yield the truth, and this is what we seek.
Perhaps you're wondering why the vast majority of Christians accept the Friday-to-Sunday burial of Christ if it is wrong? The only honest answer that can be given is tradition. I firmly believe--and hope that you will to after you have finished this book--that tradition is wrong in this instance and that the Bible is clear and we have to make no apologies or excuses for Christ's words.
The key to properly understanding the "three days and three nights in the heart of the earth" is knowing the chronology, or time-event sequence, of the crucifixion week. As creatures of time, we always want to know when something happened, and what happened before and after. The Bible has recorded the significant events of the last week of our Lord's life on this earth. We'll have to do a little "digging" to find them, but then the Word of God commands us to "study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." II Tim. 2:15.
In this study, Scripture will be our basis, and the upholding of the honor of our Lord and His infallible Word will be our motive.
Contents
The Sign of the Prophet Jonah
The Passover Pilgrimage
First Century Jewish Traditions
The Time of the Resurrection
Two Key Days
Chronology: Friday Through Sunday
Chronology: Monday and Tuesday
Chronology: Wednesday and Thursday
Chronology: Friday Through Sunday
Chronology of Crucifixion Week Illustrated
1. The Sign of the Prophet Jonah
There are several preliminary details that we need to consider before we actually begin to set forth the chronology of the crucifixion week. Although they may seem unrelated on the surface of things, as the study progresses, we will see their importance and relevance.
The Prophecy of Jonah
"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." Matt. 12:38-40.
Repeatedly the scribes and the Pharisees refused to accept the Messianic claims of the Lord Jesus. His words were not good enough for them. They wanted something more. They demanded an unmistakable sign. The Jews walked by sight, not by faith.
The Lord Jesus Christ responded to their demand by quoting Jonah 1:17, which says that the prophet Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish. Then He clearly applied this passage to His own coming experience, saying that He would be "three days and three nights in the heart of the earth." Our Lord said that three full days would pass between the time of His entombment and the hour He arose from the dead. The Jews did not question the literalness of Jonah's three days and three nights in the great fish, and there is no reason to believe that our Lord did not mean that His own entombment would not be literally fulfilled.
The Typology of Jonah
Jonah's captivity in the great fish and his subsequent deliverance is a type of the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. The death and bodily resurrection of Christ after three days in the tomb is the sign that God is now using to authenticate the Gospel message. That's why the Apostle Paul wrote, "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." I Cor. 15:3-4.
Jonah was the only Old Testament prophet who was ever sent away from Israel as a missionary to the Gentiles. He was sent to that great and wicked city of Nineveh. After passing through a death-illustrating experience and being restored to his commission, God used him to bring repentance to the Ninevites.
At the time our Lord gave the sign of Jonah to the Jews, He was about to depart from Israel. The religious leaders had rejected His Messianic claims and had persuaded most of the people to do the same. But before the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ would be carried to the Gentiles, it was necessary for Him to be crucified, buried for three days and three nights as Jonah was and resurrected to newness of life and commission.
The importance of the sign of Jonah is that if Jesus Christ did not spend exactly three days and three nights in the tomb, then the Gospel message is not being authenticated, the Lord Jesus Christ's words are in error and the Bible is not true. No wonder Satan is so eager to perpetuate the "Good Friday" crucifixion and the Sunday morning resurrection. For in so doing he is attacking the Lord, the Bible and the Gospel at the same time.
2. The Passover Pilgrimage
The appropriate point to begin our detailed consideration of the crucifixion week is with an incident that occurred at Jericho. The healing of blind Bartimaeus stands at the beginning of the end of our Lord's life on this earth.
The Jericho Road
"And they came to Jericho: and as he went out of Jericho with his disciples and a great number of people, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the highway side begging. And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, and say, Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me. And many charged him that he should hold his peace: but he cried the more a great deal, Thou son of David, have mercy on me." Mark 10:46-48.
There is a significant point in Mark's record that we should not overlook. Bartimaeus called the Lord Jesus Christ the "Son of David." This is the only place in Mark's Gospel that this title appears. Elsewhere the Lord is referred to as the "Son of man." But Bartimaeus called Him the "Son of David," and he was healed of his blindness.
The spiritual blindness of the nation Israel, God's chosen people, is pictured by Bartimaeus' physical blindness. The Son of David, the Anointed One of God, had come to give sight to that spiritually blind nation. And in Jericho the Son of David once more showed His gracious power as Bartimaeus, who is a type of the remnant that will someday recognize Jesus of Nazareth as David's greater Son, had his vision restored.
The Passover Feast was, by far, the greatest crowd gatherer of all Israel's annual feasts. The pilgrims were young and old. The aged who were unable to walk the entire distance rode upon the backs of donkeys. The crowded road and the plodding asses made for slow progress along the road.
It is approximately 17 miles from Jericho to Bethany. Seventeen miles seems quite a short distance to us today because of our modern roads and means of transportation. But to the pilgrims of Jesus' day the distance was not short and the journey was not a minor undertaking. The road was wild, rough and a continuous upgrade.
The Outskirts of Jerusalem
When the pilgrim crowds reached the vicinity of Jerusalem, it was necessary that a camp be made before the sun went down and darkness settled over the land. Historical records indicate that on the eve of the Passover there were vast numbers of pilgrims in and around Jerusalem. Some estimates run as high as a million. The city of Jerusalem certainly did not have accommodations to handle so many people; therefore, it was necessary for the people to camp wherever they could find room. The campsites had to be prepared and the booths erected, which served as temporary shelters, after the destination was reached. It would frequently require several hours for a family to find a suitable campsite and to get properly settled down for the night.
The purpose in considering the details of the journey from Jericho to Jerusalem is to help us understand today that it would have been next to impossible for a group of traveling pilgrims to leave Jericho in the morning and arrive in Jerusalem on the same day. It took a minimum of two days to make the trip. And this fact has an important bearing on establishing the day of the week as well as the day of the month on which our Lord's last journey to Jerusalem was made.
Messianic Expectations
When our Lord began His journey to Jerusalem to keep the Feast of the Passover as the true Paschal Lamb, a relatively small company followed Him. By the time He reached Jericho, the band of disciples had been joined by other religious pilgrims who also were headed for Jerusalem to keep the Passover. Having seen and heard of the miracles performed by Jesus, many in this assorted company expected Jesus to openly declare Himself as the Messiah when He reached Jerusalem. They anticipated the Roman yoke being thrown off by a force of arms, aided by a display of supernatural miracles from the Messiah Himself. Thus by the time the group reached Jerusalem, Messianic hopes were running high, and the stage was set for a triumphal march into the city.
Entry into Jerusalem "On the Next Day"
The Apostle John tells us of our Lord's arrival at Bethany after His long journey along the Jericho road. Leaving most of the traveling party at the outskirts of Jerusalem, Jesus and His disciples went to nearby Bethany.
"Then Jesus six days before the passover came to Bethany, where Lazarus was which had been dead, whom he raised from the dead. There they made him a supper; and Martha served: but Lazarus was one of them that sat at the table with him." John 12:1-2.
The last eight miles on the Jericho road were the steepest part of the uphill grade; so we can be sure that our Lord and His party were quite weary when they arrived at the home of Mary, Martha and Lazarus. They certainly must have appreciated the supper that was prepared as a token of their great love.
Notice, however, John 12:12-15, which reads:
"On the next day much people that were come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, Took branches of palm trees, and went forth to meet him, and cried, Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord. And Jesus, when he had found a young ass, sat thereon; as it is written, Fear not, daughter of Sion: behold, thy King cometh, sitting on an ass's colt."
The basis for what is known as Palm Sunday is found in this passage. It is generally taught that the triumphal entry occurred on the first day of the week, and that by observing Palm Sunday, Christians are properly commemorating the first significant event in the crucifixion week.
Let me point out that verse 12 definitely states that the so-called triumphal entry took place "on the next day" after our Lord's arrival in Bethany. If this occurred on the first day of the week, then the preceding day was the seventh day of the week. In other words, the Lord Jesus completed His journey from Jericho on the Sabbath.
One thing that was deeply ingrained in the consciences of the Jews of that day was the Sabbath. The Rabbinical laws of the Sabbath had been worked out to the minutest detail, one of which pertained to the "Sabbath day's journey."
The Sabbath day's journey is mentioned only in Acts 1:12, where we read, "Then returned they unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is from Jerusalem a sabbath day's journey." Davis' Dictionary of the Bible states that the distance between Mount Olivet and Jerusalem, measured as the crow flies, is about 2,250 feet. The regulation of the Sabbath day's journey had its origin in God's injunction found in Exodus 16:29, which states that the Israelites on the wilderness journey were not to leave the boundaries of the camp on the Sabbath day. These were reckoned to be about 2,000 cubits, or just under 3/4 of a mile.
We know from secular records that some flexibility was allowed in the length of the Sabbath day's journey to permit Passover pilgrims encamped on the outskirts to come into Jerusalem. The walls of Jerusalem were considered as extended to encircle the encamped pilgrims during this season. The man-made regulation always permitted travel to any point within the city wall, since the Sabbath day's journey was considered to end at the city gate.
Bethany is fifteen furlongs (about 1 7/8 miles) from the actual walls of Jerusalem. John 11:18. Though this would have been slightly longer than a Sabbath day's journey, travel from Bethany to Jerusalem was permissible on the Sabbath, due to the "extended walls" of the Passover season.
But, a long eight-mile journey toward Jerusalem along the Jericho road by the Lord Jesus and all who were with Him would have been a clear violation of the Sabbath laws as most Jews understood them. Furthermore, the supper that Martha and Mary had prepared for Jesus on the day of His journey (if that day was a Sabbath day) would have placed them in violation of the Sabbath. The penalty for Sabbath violation was stoning to death by command of the religious authorities.
These facts lead to only one valid conclusion: the journey from Jericho was not made on a Sabbath day. Therefore, the triumphal entry could not have been made on a Sunday!
3. First Century Jewish Traditions
The observance of the Passover recalls Israel's deliverance from Egypt and the beginning of her national life. But in a much deeper sense, the Passover foreshadowed the sacrifice of that true, spotless Lamb of God, slain on Calvary's tree for the sins of the world.
The Law of the Passover
God's law of the Passover is considered in three books of the Pentateuch: Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers. Three specific days are mentioned in conjunction with the observance of the Passover Feast. The first date of importance is the tenth of Nisan, the first month of the Jewish year, which in Moses' day was known as Abib. This is the date on which the Israelites were to select their Paschal lamb. "In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb." Exodus 12:3.
The next important date is the fourteenth of Nisan. Exodus 12:6 has these instructions: "And ye shall keep it (that is, the Paschal Lamb) up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening."
The Passover lamb was to be slain on the fourteenth. However, God's instructions permitted some tolerance as to the exact time of the slaying of the sacrifice, and this is extremely significant. The literal translation of the last clause of verse 6 is "between the evenings," not "in the evening."
According to Hebrew reckoning, a day begins at sunset. So the fourteenth of Nisan begins at 6 PM on the day we would call the thirteenth. And the fourteenth ends and the fifteenth begins at 6 PM on the following day, the day we would consider as the fourteenth. Therefore, the Passover extends from sunset on the thirteenth to sunset on the fourteenth.
In the observance of the first Passover, God specifically instructed Moses that the lamb was to be slain in the evening of the fourteenth, which was the evening that ushered in the day of the fourteenth. The Jewish custom down through the centuries, therefore, was to slay the lamb early in the evening of the fourteenth of Nisan (which actually was done late in the afternoon of the thirteenth) and partake of it at the Paschal supper, which was on the evening preceding the day of Nisan fourteenth. The highly significant point, however, is that the law permitted the sacrifice to be slain any time "between the evenings." Thus God made provision for His Son, the true Paschal Lamb, to partake of the symbolic Paschal lamb on the evening of the fourteenth and still offer Himself as an acceptable sacrifice before the setting of the sun on the day of Nisan fourteenth. God's way is perfect just as His Word is perfect.
Immediately upon the setting of the sun upon the day of the fourteenth of Nisan, the fifteenth of Nisan began. And according to Leviticus 23:6-7 and Numbers 28:18, this was the day that initiated the Feast of Unleavened Bread. In it, the assembly of Israel was to "have an holy convocation" and to "do no servile work therein." Don't miss this point, the day of Nisan fifteenth was always a Sabbath day! It made absolutely no difference on which day of the week it fell.
The nation of Israel was given a number of Sabbath days, among which the seventh-day Sabbath was only one type. The other Sabbaths, such as the fifteenth of Nisan, were considered to be "high" days; that is, they had even more significance than the regular seventh-day Sabbath.
One of the main reasons the Christian church holds to a Friday crucifixion is because the crucifixion day was followed by a Sabbath. Early church leaders jumped to the conclusion that this was a seventh-day Sabbath without carefully consulting the Scriptures. The Old Testament clearly teaches that every Nisan fifteenth was a Sabbath--and a high Sabbath at that. But John 19:31 tells us "that sabbath day was an high day." Therefore, the day of our Lord's crucifixion did not necessarily occur on Friday. It could have occurred on any day of the week.
Modifications to the Passover
When Israel was finally settled in Palestine, there was a modification in the manner the Passover Feast was observed. For instance, in our Lord's day the Passover was no longer eaten in a standing position. Instead, it was eaten in a reclining position just as the regular meals.
In the days of our Lord, it had become customary to kill the Passover lambs on the afternoon of the thirteenth of Nisan rather than on the evening of the fourteenth. Josephus, the Jewish historian, tells us that there were sometimes as many as 250,000 lambs slain on the occasion of the Passover. It was necessary that the lambs be slain by the priests in the temple. We can imagine the momentous traffic jam that resulted from this and we can well appreciate that several hours of time would be required to sacrifice all these lambs.
So the killing of the Passover lambs began about two or three o'clock in the afternoon of Nisan thirteenth. Then by five to five-thirty in the afternoon, all the lambs were slain. Josephus confirms that in the years just before the time of Titus's destruction of Jerusalem, in 70 A.D., it was customary to slay the lambs between the ninth and eleventh hour (that is, between 3:00 PM and 5:00 PM).
At sundown on the thirteenth of Nisan, the fourteenth began. The lamb had been prepared, and when the roasting was complete, the participants gathered around the table and ate the Passover supper. God's law of the Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread calls the fourteenth of the month Nisan "the Passover." However, by the time of our Lord, the Jews had come to call this day the "Preparation day." To them the major feast day, the "high" day, was the fifteenth of Nisan, the day the Scriptures designate as the first day of Unleavened Bread.
So at the time of our Lord's crucifixion, the fourteenth of Nisan, the day on which the Passover lamb was eaten, was called the day of "Preparation." The following day (the high Sabbath day, the fifteenth of Nisan) was called the "Passover day," although this was actually the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread.
This modification is confirmed by Matthew 26:17-19. Notice particularly verse 17: "Now the first day of the feast of unleavened bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying unto him, Where wilt thou that we prepare for thee to eat the passover?" If this passage were to be interpreted in strict accordance with the law of Moses, it would not make any sense. "The Passover" was the fourteenth of Nisan and the Paschal lamb was to be eaten on that day. "The first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread" was Nisan the fifteenth. So we can conclude that the terms associated with the observance of the Passover Feast which appear in the New Testament are used in accordance with popular usage in that day and not strictly according to the definition of the law of Moses.
4. The Time of the Resurrection
In developing the chronology of the crucifixion week, there is one event that we can definitely associate with a particular day of the week. That event is the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.
He is Risen
"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. And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun. And they said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre? And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great. And entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment; and they were affrighted. And he said unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him." Mark 16:1-6.
This passage records the discovery of our Lord's resurrection and tells us the time of this discovery. More literally translated, this passage reads as follows: "And the Sabbath being past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the (mother) of James, and Salome brought aromatics, that having come, they might anoint him. And very early on the first (day) of the week, they come upon the tomb, the sun having risen." This account shows that this visit came very early on a Sunday morning.
The same incident is recorded in Luke 24:1-3. "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 they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre. And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus." So Luke also recorded that the discovery of the empty tomb came very early on a Sunday morning.
"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. Then she runneth, and cometh to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and saith unto them, They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulchre, and we know not where they have laid him." John 20:1-2.
Note carefully that none of these Gospel reports describe our Lord's resurrection. These passages tell of the discovery of the empty tomb when the women came to anoint the Lord's body very early on a Sunday morning. The resurrection had already taken place sometime prior to this event. The idea that the resurrection took place at sunrise on a Sunday morning is not Scriptural. All three Gospels positively state that as early as the time was--even while it was "yet dark"--the Lord had already risen.
The Sabbath is Ended
We could know for certain when the resurrection of our Lord happened if we had just one definite witness to the exact hour of its occurrence. Well, God has seen fit to give us this witness in the Gospel of Matthew.
"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, 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." Matt. 28:1-2.
Matthew described an event that seems to have occurred very closely in conjunction with the actual resurrection. This is the earthquake that took place when the angel descended from heaven to roll back the stone from the door of the tomb.
Matthew's emphasis here is upon the descent of the angel and the accompanying earthquake. The time of this event is set by the opening phrase "in the end of the sabbath." This designates a specific time of the day.
The word translated "began to dawn" in Matthew 28:1 is the Greek "epiphoskousa," which literally means "the coming of the light." Dr. H. A. Griesemer, a Greek scholar, has made the following remarks concerning this word. "The word 'dawn' is very misleading. We speak of the dawn as the opening of the day, the light that comes with the rising of the sun. We always associate the dawn with the sunlight, but the Greek word here is 'epiphoskousa,' which means the shining of the sun or the moon. You will observe that the passover feast always occurred at the time of the full moon. Just as the sun was setting, the moon would be rising."
Dr. George R. Berry in his Interlinear Greek-English New Testament translates the opening part of Matthew 28:1 as follows. "Now late on the sabbath, as it was getting dusk toward the first day of the week..." We can establish the time referred to by Matthew as the time of the setting of the sun on the seventh-day Sabbath. So, just as the sun had set at the beginning of the Jewish first day of the week (remember, the Jewish day always began with the evening at the setting of the sun); there was an earthquake, the angel of the Lord descended, and he rolled away the stone and sat on it.
The resurrection occurred at the "end of the sabbath," just as the first day of the week was beginning, which according to Hebrew reckoning would have been sunset on Saturday, or around 6 PM.
Certainly the stone would not have been rolled away from the tomb before our Lord arose from the dead. Furthermore, Matthew 27:51 tells us that there was an earthquake at the time of our Lord's death. So it seems reasonable that the second earthquake would have occurred at the moment of our Lord's resurrection. Therefore, Matthew supplies the definite witness to our Lord's resurrection at sunset on Saturday afternoon, 72 hours after His burial.
Prophetic Requirements
The requirements of prophecy also help us to pinpoint some of the key events of the crucifixion week. The Lord Himself prophesied that He would be resurrected on the third day. Matthew 16:21 says, "From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day."
According to Jewish reckoning, the setting of the sun marked the end of the day, but that point in time was also a part of that day. However, sunset also marked the beginning of the next day. So Christ also was resurrected on the first day of the week.
There is another prophecy that required the Lord Jesus Christ to be resurrected on the first day of the week. The Apostle Paul wrote in I Corinthians 15:20, "But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept." Jesus Christ in His resurrection fulfilled the law of the firstfruits. Leviticus 23:9-11 contains God's instructions concerning this law: "And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye be come into the land which I give unto you, and shall reap the harvest thereof, then ye shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest unto the priest: And he shall wave the sheaf before the LORD, to be accepted for you: on the morrow after the sabbath this priest shall wave it." The offering of the firstfruits, which typified the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, was to be waved before the LORD "on the morrow after the sabbath"--on the first day of the week!
The evidence that our Lord was resurrected at sunset on Saturday is overwhelming. Only this exact point in time permits our Lord's resurrection to literally fulfill the prophecy for three seemingly incompatible situations: (1) resurrection after "three days and three nights in the heart of the earth," (2) resurrection "on the third day," and (3) resurrection on the first day of the week--"the morrow after the sabbath."
5. Two Key Days
The most important day in conjunction with the crucifixion week is obviously the day of resurrection, which we have seen is Saturday-Sunday (Nisan 18). However, there are two other key days that we need to investigate from a Scriptural position before we can unfold the chronology of the crucifixion week.
"Good Wednesday"
"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 they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre. And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus." Luke 24:1-3.
Since it has been shown from the Word of God that the resurrection took place at sundown on the day that we would call Saturday, the traditional "Good Friday" myth can be dispelled once and for all. All arguments supporting a Friday crucifixion evaporate when we come to this realization. Furthermore, we can unreservedly apply the prophetic typology of Jonah, who was (according to our Lord's words) in the belly of the great fish for "three days and three nights." And this definitely fixes Wednesday as the day our Lord was crucified and buried.
The Lord died about three o'clock in the afternoon. Matthew 27:46-50. He was placed in the sepulchre at sunset. The Lord was crucified "between the evenings" on Nisan fourteenth in order to literally fulfill the Levitical law of the Passover. Therefore, Nisan the fourteenth began at sunset Tuesday, and that day extended to sunset on Wednesday. The Lord Jesus Christ partook of the Paschal supper on the evening of Nisan fourteenth, and He died as the true Paschal Lamb on the day of Nisan fourteenth. So both the type and antitype were fulfilled. Both were slain "between the evenings" as required by God's law.
Thursday was Nisan fifteenth, the "high Sabbath" of the Passover. Levitical law called this day "the first day of Unleavened Bread." Friday was Nisan sixteenth, Saturday was Nisan seventeenth, and Sunday (the first day of the week and the day on which the offering of the firstfruits was to be brought) was the eighteenth of Nisan.
"Palm Saturday"
Now, let's count backward from Wednesday, Nisan fourteenth, and see where other significant events of the crucifixion week fit into the chronology. First, we need to recall God's detailed instructions for the selection of the Paschal lamb. These are given in Exodus 12:1-3.
"And the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you. Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house."
The Paschal lamb was to be selected and set apart from the other members of the flock on the tenth day of Nisan. Now, if Wednesday was Nisan fourteenth, then Tuesday would have been Nisan thirteenth; Monday, Nisan twelfth; Sunday, Nisan eleventh; and Saturday, therefore, would have been Nisan tenth. The tenth day of Nisan occurred on a regular seventh-day Sabbath.
Many prophecies and types were fulfilled during the crucifixion week; so it only seems natural to wonder what event of the crucifixion week fulfilled the selection of the Paschal lamb on Nisan tenth. Certainly if Jesus is the true Paschal Lamb, there must be some event that pointed to His selection and acceptance during the week. The answer seems obvious. Let's notice the words of Mark 11:7-9.
"And they brought the colt to Jesus, and cast their garments on him; and he sat upon him. And many spread their garments in the way: and others cut down branches off the trees, and strawed them in the way. And they that went before, and they that followed cried, saying, Hosanna; Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord."
Hosanna means "Save now!" The triumphal entry was the fulfillment of the prophetic type represented in the law of the selection of the Paschal lamb. It was on this day that the multitude turned out to greet our Lord Jesus Christ and to recognize Him both as the King of Israel and as the One who had come to bring physical salvation from Roman oppression. The nationalistic fervor that had arisen on the Jericho road pilgrimage reached its peak with the entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem.
The triumphal entry into Jerusalem by our Lord not only fulfilled the type of the selection of the Paschal lamb, it also fulfilled several Old Testament prophecies. Some 450 years prior to this event, the prophet Zechariah had written, "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass." Zech. 9:9. Zechariah's prophecy is quoted in Matthew 21:5 and John 12:15.
But this is not the only prophecy that was fulfilled on that day. About a century earlier than Zechariah's prophecy, the prophet Daniel was chosen of the Lord to give us the great time prophecy found in Daniel 9:25-26. "Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself."
Daniel prophesied that Messiah the Prince would be cut off after 69 "weeks of years," which is 483 years (in 360-day prophetic years exactly 173,880 days), after "the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem." Sir Robert Anderson, in his book The Coming Prince, has done a remarkable job of showing that this prophecy terminated on the very day of the triumphal entry.
There is one further piece of evidence that shows that the triumphal entry took place on a Saturday rather than a Sunday. This comes from noticing what our Lord did after He arrived in Jerusalem on that day. Mark 11:11 says, "And Jesus entered into Jerusalem, and into the temple: and when he had looked round about upon all things, and now the eventide was come, he went out unto Bethany with the twelve." So ended the events of that day.
The focal point of the activity of the next day comes in Mark 11:15-16, where we read, "And they come to Jerusalem: and Jesus went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the money-changers, and the seats of them that sold doves; And would not suffer that any man should carry any vessel through the temple."
On the day of the triumphal entry, Jesus entered into the temple, He looked around, and He left. On the following day, He entered into the temple and drove out the money-changers. Why did He not do this on the first day? The answer is obvious. The Lord did not cleanse the temple on the first day because it was the quiet Jewish Sabbath. There was no merchandising on that day! The Lord would not have hesitated to cleanse the temple on the first day if the business activities were in progress. And He did not need 24 hours to decide what to do about the disgraceful situation there. This passage is powerful circumstantial evidence that the triumphal entry did indeed occur on the seventh-day Jewish Sabbath.
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