When Jesus was crucified, Part II

“An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth." (Matthew 12:39-40)

So Jesus stated with enough crystal clarity to satisfy Colonel Nathan Jessup that he would be dead for three whole days (see yesterday's post here).


This raises some questions, then. Try this one on, "When was he crucified?" Then there's the sequel, "When was he resurrected?

Before we troll into those waters, let's look at why we think he was crucified on Friday.


In Mark's gospel, he states that the day on which Jesus was crucified was "the day of Preparation, that is, the day before the Sabbath" (Mark 15:42). It doesn't take a PhD in Jewish studies to know that the Jewish Sabbath was Saturday. Therefore the day before the Sabbath would naturally be Friday.  Luke's gospel gives us a similar perspective (Luke 23:54).  In John's gospel, we read that because the Sabbath was fast approaching, the rulers wanted the dead bodies off the crosses as opposed to festering up there over the weekend (John 19:31-32).


Nobody doubts that the events of Jesus' first appearance occurred on Sunday morning.  Three of the gospel writers mention specifically that it was "the first day of the week" (Matthew 28:1, Luke 24:1, and John 20:1). Mark states that it was "after the Sabbath had passed" (16:1). I've often heard pastors and Christians refer to Sunday as the day that Jesus was resurrected, but did you know that nowhere in the Bible does it state that Jesus was raised on the first day of the week? Many think the earthquake occurred because of the resurrection. Others think that Jesus needed the stone rolled away to let him out. Now, if he appeared in a locked room, I think he can make it through a sealed tomb. Might I suggest that the earthquake and the rolling of the stone occurred to let the witnesses into the tomb, that they might see and testify that he was indeed not there?


So, we have come to believe that he was crucified on Friday and raised on Sunday. There appears to be more evidence for the former than the latter, but tomorrow we'll examine the time line with a bit more biblical scrutiny.


In the meantime, he is risen!  He is risen, indeed.
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[NOTE:  None of this should nor is it intended to alter anyone's convictions in the inspired and inerrant word of God nor in the doctrine of the literal (and atoning) death, burial, and resurrection of God the Son, Jesus Christ.]