"Whoever desires to come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me." Jesus speaking Mark 8:34

 

The Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread

First let us understand that the Jewish “day” is different to ours.

• The western day lasts from midnight to midnight.
• The Jewish day lasts from nightfall to nightfall which ties in with Genesis 1:5 “so the evening and the morning were the first day”, also in 1:2 we see darkness before light in 1:3.

So the weekly Sabbath lasts from nightfall, on our Friday, to nightfall the following day, our Saturday. The first day of the week, our Sunday, will begin at nightfall on what would be our Saturday – the end of the Sabbath.

But there were other Sabbaths that were termed “holy convocation” or simply “high day”. Let’s look at Exodus 12 (and see also Lev 23):-

The Passover

• v2, “This month (Nissan roughly equivalent to our March-April) shall be your beginning of months”
• v3, on the 10th of the month a lamb is selected, (v5) without blemish a male of the first year
• v6 the lamb is kept until the 14th and then it is killed at twilight (as evening draws near, most probably the ninth hour)
• v8, the lamb is eaten that night with unleavened bread – so the Passover meal will stretch over two days, the afternoon of the 14th and the evening/night of the 15th

The Feast of unleavened Bread

v15, “seven days you shall eat unleavened bread”, on the first day (the preparation day for the seven following days i.e. Passover was also the preparation day for the Feast of unleavened bread) all leaven was removed and, v16, there was a holy convocation on the first and seventh days upon which no work was done – i.e. Sabbath days, not the normal weekly Sabbath but a “high day” (John 19:31) v18, “In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at evening you shall eat unleavened bread, until the twenty first day of the month at evening”

Jesus is our Passover (1Co 5:7 Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us) and to fulfil all righteousness He would need to be killed at twilight on the 14th Nissan. This would have been on Passover but before the Feast of unleavened Bread. (See The Plot below – Matthew 26:3.)

Passover was also the preparation day for the Feast. Jesus ate the Passover with His disciples at the beginning of the preparation day, at night, rather than the following afternoon when the lambs were slaughtered. Why was this?

The answer probably lies in Luke 22:15:-

Then He said to them “With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer”

Jesus could not eat with His disciples the following afternoon as His blood would be pouring out for them and so He chooses to eat with them earlier. He still had important information to tell them, He had to institute the new covenant; he needed to pray for them all. He knew they would all stumble that night and He needed to reassure them, particularly Peter, that their faith would not fail.

We know how much Jesus loved these men and this is shown in His fervent desire to be with them for this last meal together before He suffered and died for them. Only Jesus truly knew what lay ahead and this was perhaps His way of strengthening the men.

How long was Jesus in the grave?

Three days can mean whole days or parts of days, so if it’s Monday then three days time could be Wednesday (three parts) or this time on Thursday (three whole days). So to be crucified on a Friday Jesus would have been in the grave for three (part) days if He was resurrected on the Sunday. However He could not have been three whole days as that would mean a Monday resurrection.  He cannot have been resurrected on a Monday as He was seen on the first day of the week i.e. Sunday. Also the ladies came to the tomb on the first day of the week to find it empty.

What do the scriptures say? Well the prophecy is very precise “Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights” and “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”.  So three days and three nights is the prophecy and if that were to fail, or prove false, then we must throw away our Bibles because God cannot be trusted to keep His word. But:-

• Tit 1:2 In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;
• Heb 6:18 That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us:

So we know God can’t lie and thus the prophecy must stand and Jesus was, therefore, in the grave for 72 hours.

Now when was He crucified? At what time? At the third hour (9am) according to Mark.

When did He give up the ghost? Matthew Mark and Luke all agree on the ninth hour or 3pm, it having been dark for three hours between the sixth and ninth hours. So Jesus died between 3 pm and 4 pm (or at the latest 6pm if the three hour time slot is being used). Logically then for Jesus to be in the grave for 72 hours He must have risen between 3pm and 4pm (or 6pm) three whole days and nights later.

So now we know that he cannot have been raised from the dead on Sunday (at 3-4pm) as He was not there when the ladies came to Him (early in the morning). In John 20 it was still dark when Mary Magdalene came to the tomb, so it was indeed very early on the Sunday morning and this can only mean that Jesus had rose from the dead the preceding day – Saturday between 3pm and 4pm.

But what about Mark 16:9

“Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils”?

This is the only scripture that purports to support a Sunday morning resurrection. Nowhere else in scripture are we told when Jesus rose from the dead, we have to exercise our minds to uncover this hidden fact.

We probably all know that in the Greek language there are no punctuations, so no commas or full stops. To make sense in English the translators insert the punctuation (see also Luke 23:43). Here in Mark 16:9 the translators have put a comma at the end of “week”, so that the phrase “Jesus was risen early the first day of the week” supports a Sunday resurrection but does not support a 72 hour period in the grave.

So were the translators trying to add substance to the accepted norm of a Sunday resurrection? Why did it need to be a Sunday anyway? Why do we have Good Friday as the accepted day of the crucifixion? The answer is Roman Catholicism and its marriage with the pagan religions. But we need not go there for our answers.

Let us put the comma in a different place - “Now when Jesus was risen, early the first day of the week he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils”. Now it is perfectly acceptable for Jesus to have risen before the Sunday morning. All the verse says is that after Jesus rose from the dead He appeared to Mary first and that this meeting took place early on the Sunday morning.

Now Mark can be brought into alignment with the fulfilment of the prophecy of Jonah.

But what about the Sabbath?

Mar 15:42 And now when the even was come, because it was the preparation, that is, the day before the sabbath, 43 Joseph of Arimathaea, an honourable counsellor, which also waited for the kingdom of God, came, and went in boldly unto Pilate, and craved the body of Jesus.

Luk 23:50 And, behold, there was a man named Joseph 51 he was of Arimathaea, a city of the Jews 52 This man went unto Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus. 54 And that day was the preparation, and the sabbath drew on.

If the Sabbath here spoken of was the weekly Sabbath then Jesus would have had to be crucified Friday at around 3pm, as the Sabbath would begin at sunset, about 6pm. But if this is the case then He cannot have been in the grave for 72 hours.

The answer lies 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.”

Here John tells us that the Sabbath referred to was not the weekly Sabbath but a “high day” and so this is referring to the first day of the Feast of unleavened Bread which was a Holy Convocation to the Lord upon which no work was done – a Sabbath.

If we read carefully Mark and Luke they both confirm this by referring to the preparation day. This was the day before the Feast when all leaven was removed, and of course the Passover day.  So the week Jesus died had two Sabbaths, the weekly Sabbath and a high day Sabbath.

Ok but what about the ladies?

Luke 23:55 And the women also, which came with him from Galilee, followed after, and beheld the sepulchre, and how his body was laid. 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.

In Luke we see the ladies follow Joseph and Nicodemus to the grave where they laid Jesus’ body. This would have taken place between 3pm and 6pm on 14 Nissan and they then rested on the Sabbath which was the high day – the first day of the Feast of unleavened bread.  Once that Sabbath had passed the ladies then went to the market place to purchase the spices which would be used to anoint Jesus’ body. So whilst they purchased the spices they did not yet go and anoint the body, this takes place in Luke 24:1:-

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. 6 He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee,

So the ladies did not actually get to anoint Jesus’ body and this is why the woman with the alabaster flask of costly fragrant oil is so important – it was she who anointed our Lord for burial (Matthew 26:6-13, Mark 14:3-9).

So why the delay in going to the grave?

Because of the two Sabbaths!

They rested the first Sabbath and then the day after went to the market and then prepared the spices for Jesus’ body. They then rested for the weekly Sabbath and then on the first day of the week went to the grave to perform the anointing.

So when did Jesus die and when did He rise from the grave?

We have already seen that he died at 3pm and therefore must have risen at 3pm three whole days, or 72 hours later, to fulfil the prophecies.  We know that He did not rise on the first day of the week as the ladies found the tomb empty early on the first day of the week (possibly 12 hours before 3pm).  We know there were two Sabbaths that week separated by a day.  So let’s put together what we know.

Jesus dies at 3pm, then comes the high day Sabbath, then the ladies go shopping, then we have the weekly Sabbath when the ladies rest again, then the ladies find the tomb empty on the first day of the week.

So using our calendar we have:-

• Wednesday 3pm Jesus dies
  • Thursday 3pm ladies at rest
    • Friday 3pm shopping done
      • Saturday 3pm ladies at rest
        • Sunday 3am the tomb is empty

Thus the three days and three nights are Wednesday 3pm till Saturday 3pm, a total of 72 hours that agrees with all the information that we find in the scriptures.

Jesus died on a Wednesday and rose on a Saturday.

APPENDIX

The prophecies

• Jon 1:17 Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
• Joh 2:19 Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.
• Mat 12:40 (Jesus speaking) 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.
• Mat 16:4 (Jesus speaking) A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. And he left them, and departed.
• Mat 16:21 From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things ...and be killed, and be raised again the third day.
• Mar 8:31 And 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.
• Mar 9:31 For he taught his disciples, and said unto them, The Son of man is delivered into the hands of men, and they shall kill him; and after that he is killed, he shall rise the third day.
• Luk 9:22 Saying, The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be slain, and be raised the third day.
• Mat 20:17 And Jesus going up to Jerusalem took the twelve disciples apart in the way, and said unto them... 19 And shall deliver him to the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify him: and the third day he shall rise again.
• Luk 18:33 And they shall scourge him, and put him to death: and the third day he shall rise again.
• Mat 26:1 And it came to pass, when Jesus had finished all these sayings, he said unto his disciples,2 Ye know that after two days is the feast of the passover, and the Son of man is betrayed to be crucified.

The Plot

• Matthew 26:3 Then assembled together the chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders of the people, unto the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas,4 And consulted that they might take Jesus by subtilty, and kill him.5 But they said, Not on the feast day, lest there be an uproar among the people.
• Mar 14:1 After two days was the feast (note ‘feast’ is in italics, thus not in the original) of the passover, and of unleavened bread: and the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might take him by craft, and put him to death. 2 But they said, Not on the feast day, lest there be an uproar of the people.

The Passover meal

• Mat 26:17 Now the first day of the feast (note ‘feast’ is in italics, thus not in the original) of unleavened bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying unto him, Where wilt thou that we prepare for thee to eat the Passover?
• Mar 14:12 And the first day of unleavened bread, when they killed the passover, his disciples said unto him, Where wilt thou that we go and prepare that thou mayest eat the passover?
• Luk 22:7 Then came the day of unleavened bread, when the passover must be killed.
• Mat 26:20 Now when the even was come, he sat down with the twelve.21 And as they did eat,
• Mar 14:17 And in the evening he cometh with the twelve.
• Mat 26:31 Then saith Jesus unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad.
• Mar 14:27 And Jesus saith unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered.
• Joh 13:1 Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end. 2 And supper being ended....30 He then having received the sop went immediately out: and it was night.

The arrest and trials

• Joh 18:13 And led him away to Annas first; for he was father in law to Caiaphas, which was the high priest that same year....24 Now Annas had sent him bound unto Caiaphas the high priest.
• Mat 26:57 And they that had laid hold on Jesus led him away to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were assembled..
• Mar 14:53 And they led Jesus away to the high priest: and with him were assembled all the chief priests and the elders and the scribes.
• Luk 22:54 Then took they him, and led him, and brought him into the high priest's house. And Peter followed afar off.
• Matt 27:1 When the morning was come, all the chief priests and elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death: 2 And when they had bound him, they led him away, and delivered him to Pontius Pilate the governor
• Mar 15:1 And straightway in the morning the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council, and bound Jesus, and carried him away, and delivered him to Pilate.
• Luk 22:66 And as soon as it was day, the elders of the people and the chief priests and the scribes came together Luk 23:1 And the whole multitude of them arose, and led him unto Pilate.
• Joh 18:28 Then led they Jesus from Caiaphas unto the hall of judgment: and it was early; and they themselves went not into the judgment hall, lest they should be defiled; but that they might eat the Passover. (therefore still day of Passover)
• Luk 23:7 And as soon as he knew that he belonged unto Herod's jurisdiction, he sent him to Herod, 9 Then he (Herod) questioned with him in many words; but he (Jesus) answered him nothing.
• Luk 23:11 And Herod with his men of war set him at nought, and mocked him, and arrayed him in a gorgeous robe, and sent him again to Pilate.

The crucifixion

Jewish time

Night time

• Sundown (6pm) till 9pm First Watch
• 9pm till midnight Second Watch
• Midnight till 3am Third Watch
• 3am till sunrise (6am) Fourth Watch

Daytime

• 1st hour 6am till 7am
• 3rd hour 9am till 10am
• 6th hour Noon till 1pm
• 9th hour 3pm till 4pm

Scriptures

• Mar 15:25 And it was the third hour, and they crucified him.
• Mat 27:45 Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour. 46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? :50 Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost.
• Mar 15:33 And when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. 34 And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? 37 And Jesus cried with a loud voice, and gave up the ghost.
• Luk 23:44 And it was about the sixth hour, and there was a darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. 46 And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost.
• Joh 19:14 And it was the preparation of the passover, and about the sixth hour: and he saith unto the Jews, Behold your King!

(There is a potential conflict between the account in Mark and John. In Mark 15:25 we read that it was the third hour (9am) and they crucified Jesus but in John Jesus is being presented to the crowds by Pilate at the sixth hour (noon). How do we reconcile these two accounts? Three possibilities are put forward:-

• John’s gospel is using Roman time rather than Jewish so the sixth hour will be the sixth hour of the day counting from Midnight i.e. 6am. This then leaves three hours for all the other events to take place before the crucifixion.
• There was a copying error in the Greek ἕκτη (6th) ἐνάτης (9th)
• Mark and John were using the extremes of time i.e. the sixth hour can mean the three hour period from the sixth, so the third hour may be at the end of that three hour period (around noon) and the sixth hour may be at the beginning of that three hour period (around noon).)

The burial

• Mat 27:57 When the even was come, there came a rich man of Arimathaea, named Joseph, who also himself was Jesus' disciple: 58 He went to Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the body to be delivered. 59 And when Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, 60 And laid it in his own new tomb,
• Mar 15:42 And now when the even was come, because it was the preparation, that is, the day before the sabbath, 43 Joseph of Arimathaea, an honourable counsellor, which also waited for the kingdom of God, came, and went in boldly unto Pilate, and craved the body of Jesus.
• Luk 23:50 And, behold, there was a man named Joseph 51 he was of Arimathaea, a city of the Jews 52 This man went unto Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus. 54 And that day was the preparation, and the sabbath drew on.
• Joh 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.
• Joh 19:42 There laid they Jesus therefore because of the Jews' preparation day; for the sepulchre was nigh at hand.
• 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. 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.
• Mat 27:62 Now the next day, that followed the day of the preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees came together unto Pilate, 63 Saying, Sir, we remember that that deceiver said, while he was yet alive, After three days I will rise again. :64 Command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure until the third day,

The resurrection

• Mat 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. 5 And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. 6 He is not here: for he is risen, as he said.
• 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. 6 And he (the angel) saith 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.
• Luk 24:1 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. 6 He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee,
• Joh 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.
• Mat 28:9 And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail. And they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him.
• Mar 16:9 Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils.
• Mar 16:12 After that he appeared in another form unto two of them, as they walked, and went into the country.
• Luk 24:15 And it came to pass, that, while they (the two on the road to Emmaus) communed together and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near, and went with them. Luk 24:21 But we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel: and beside all this, to day is the third day since these things were done.
• [24:21 we yet expected that he is the one-being-about to-be-loosening (to-be-redeeming) the Israel but surely together to-all with-all these third day it-is-leading today from which these these-things became occurred]
• Mar 16:14 Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat
• Joh 20:19 Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.