On what Day was Jesus Crucified? ----- Did Jesus Die on Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday?

Today's question is, on what day was Jesus crucified? In this video I'll answer that question from a biblical perspective. Afterwards, as always, I'll share some helpful resources, so stick around until the end.

The Bible Does Not Explicitly State the Day of Jesus’ Crucifixion

The Bible does not explicitly state on which day of the week Jesus was crucified. The two most widely held views are Friday and Wednesday. Some, however, using a synthesis of both Friday and Wednesday arguments, argue for Thursday as the day.

Arguments for a Friday Crucifixion

Jesus said in Matthew 12 verse 40,. Those who argue for a Friday crucifixion say that there is still a valid way in which He could have been considered in the grave for three days. In the Jewish mind of the first century, a part of a day was considered as the full day.

Since Jesus was in the grave before a part of Friday, all of Saturday and a part of Sunday could be considered to have been in the grave for three days. One of the principal arguments for Friday is found in Mark chapter 15 verse 42, which notes that Jesus was crucified the day before the Sabbath.

If that was the weekly Sabbath, that is, Saturday, then that fact leads to a Friday crucifixion. Another argument for Friday says that verses such as Matthew 16 verse 21 and Luke chapter 9 verse 22 teach that Jesus would rise on the third day, therefore, He would not need to be in the grave a full three days and nights.

But while some translations use on the third day for these verses, not all do, and not everyone agrees that on the third day is the best way to translate these verses. Furthermore, Mark chapter 8 verse 31 says that Jesus will be raised after three days.

Arguments for a Thursday Crucifixion

The Thursday argument expands on the Friday view and argues mainly that there are too many events—some count as many as 20—happening between Christ's burial and Sunday morning to occur from Friday evening to Sunday morning.

Proponents of Thursday view point out that this is especially a problem when the only full day between Friday and Sunday was Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath. An extra day or two eliminates that problem. The Thursday advocates could reason thus, suppose you haven't seen a friend since Monday evening.

The next time you see him, it was Thursday morning, and you say, I haven't seen you in three days, even though it had technically only been 60 hours or 2 .5 days. If Jesus was crucified on Thursday, this example shows how it could be considered three days.

Arguments for a Wednesday Crucifixion

The Wednesday opinion states that there are two Sabbaths that week. After the first one, the one that occurred on the evening of the crucifixion in Mark chapter 15 verse 42, the women purchased spices.

Note that they made their purchase after the Sabbath in Mark chapter 16 verse 1. The Wednesday view holds that this Sabbath was the Passover. See Leviticus 16, where high holy days that are not necessarily the seventh day of the week are referred to as the Sabbath.

The second Sabbath that week was the normal weekly Sabbath. Note that in Luke chapter 23 verse 56, the women who had purchased spices after the first Sabbath returned and prepared the spices, then rested on the Sabbath.

The argument states that they could not have purchased the spices after the Sabbath to get prepared the spices before the Sabbath, unless there were two Sabbaths. With the two Sabbath view, if Christ was crucified on Thursday, then the high holy Sabbath, the first Sabbath, occurred on Thursday at sundown and ended Friday at sundown, at the beginning of the weekly Sabbath, or Saturday.

Purchasing the spices after the first Sabbath, Passover, would have meant that they purchased them on Saturday and were breaking the Sabbath. Therefore, according to the Wednesday viewpoint, the only explanation that does not violate the biblical account of the women and the spices and holds to a literal understanding of Matthew 12 verse 40 is that Christ was crucified on Wednesday.

The Sabbath that was a high holy day, Passover, occurred on Thursday. The women purchased spices after that on Friday and returned and prepared the spices on the.

Same day.

They rested on Saturday, which was the weekly Sabbath, then brought the spices to the tomb early Sunday. Jesus was buried near sundown on Wednesday, which began Thursday in the Jewish calendar. Using a Jewish calendar, you have Thursday night, night 1, Thursday day, day 1, Friday night, night 2, Friday day, day 2, Saturday night, night 3, Saturday day, day 3.

We do not know exactly what time He rose, but we do know that it was before sunrise on Sunday. He could have risen as early as just after sunset Saturday evening, which began the first day of the week to the Jews.

The discovery of the empty tomb was made just at sunrise, Mark 16 verse 2, before it was fully light, John 20 verse 1. A possible problem with the Wednesday view is that the disciples who walked with Jesus on the road to Emmaus did so on the same day of His resurrection, in Luke 24 verse 13.

The disciples, who do not recognize Jesus, tell Him of Jesus' crucifixion and say that today is the third day since these things happened, in Luke 24 verse 22. Wednesday to Sunday is four days. A possible explanation is that they may have been counting since Wednesday evening at Christ's burial, which begins the Jewish Thursday, and Thursday to Sunday could be counted as.

Three days.

The Exact Day Is Less Important Than the Death and Resurrection of Christ

In the grand scheme of things, it is not all that important to know what day of the week Christ was crucified. If it were very important, then God's Word would have clearly communicated the day and time frame.

What is important is that He did die and that He physically, bodily rose from the dead. What is equally important is the reason He died, but take the punishment that all sinners.

Deserve.

John 3 .16 and John 3 verse 36 both proclaim that putting your trust in Him results in eternal life. This is equally true whether He was crucified on Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday. Hungry for more? Subscribe so you don't miss the next video!

Visit GotQuestions .org for more great content. And check out the details section below this video, there is one book I recommend, along with links to several related articles. If you'd like to learn about Bible Munch, or if you're interested in Bite-sized devotionals, subscribe to Bible Munch on YouTube, it's linked right here.

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