Because of the influence of Catholic teaching on the Protestant church over the centuries, church tradition and the great lack of bible knowledge within both the church and church leadership we have held on to a “Good Friday” crucifixion with Jesus Christ raising on Sunday. We have counted these as the 3 days that Jesus was dead with his resurrection happening on the “Third Day. There are numerous problems with this including the following quote from Jesus;
“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.”
– Matthew 12:40
Jesus was very clear. Three days, three nights. On a Friday Crucifixion you can only get 3 days and 2 nights. Was Jesus mistaken? No we are, we don’t count days correctly. We do not understand that under Jewish law there could be 2 Sabbaths within one week. There is a special day called a High Sabbath. According to Wikipedia…
“High Sabbaths” are observed by Jews and some Christians. Seven annual Biblical festivals, called miqra (“called assembly”) in Hebrew and “High Sabbath” in English and serving as supplemental testimonies to Sabbath, are specified in the books of Exodus and Deuteronomy; they do not necessarily fall on weekly Sabbath. Three occur in spring: the first and seventh days of Pesach (Passover), and Shavuot (Pentecost). Four occur in fall, in the seventh month, and are also called Shabbaton: Rosh Hashanah (Trumpets); Yom Kippur, “Sabbath of Sabbaths” (Atonement); and the first and eighth days of Sukkoth (Tabernacles). “High Sabbaths” is also often a synonym of “High Holy Days“, viz., Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.”
(Wikipedia – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabbath)
According to the scripture the following dates and times are outlined:
- Before the feast of passover (same night Jesus was taken), John 13:1, Also part of the passover festival time frame, and called passover in Luke 22:1-14.
- Crucifixion Day, also called the Day of Preparation (passover, sabbath), John 19:14 (6th hour), Mark 15:42
- “Next Day was the sabbath…”, John 19:31 (that sabbath was a high day…), Math 27:62 (next day that followed the day of preparation…)
- Resurrection Day (First Day of the week, Sunday), John 20:1, Luke 24:1, Mark 16:1-2
There are 2 major problems, one because of our western viewpoint we do not correctly understand a “day”, therefore not understanding a “sabbath”. According to the author of days, in Genesis 1:4-5,8,13,19,23,31 the statement is repeated, “the evening and morning…”. A day according to the bible starts on sunset, “evening”, through the night and the next daylight. A new day starts at sunset again. This is important because how can you count days, if you do not know what a day is?
This now brings us to the next problem. Many of you know that the Jewish weekly sabbath starts on Friday evening at sunset and ends at the following sunset. Now you know why. But if you remember no labor was allowed on the sabbath, and understanding that were possibly 2 sabbaths back to back in that week you can understand the following verse better.
“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 a high day,) besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away.”
— John 19:31 KJV
Understanding that Jesus and the thieves had to die, be removed from the crosses and buried before sunset is very important. The sabbath was not the next day (western view of days) but that evening began the sabbath, and not just any sabbath but a “high day” sabbath, one of the feast day celebration Sabbaths.
So to summarize, we have proven that there can be more than one sabbath in a week. The sabbath that the religious leaders were concern about was a “high day” or special sabbath. There are no verses saying that the preparation or sabbath was specifically on the 5th (Thursday) or 6th (Friday) day of the week. So we have to use the information supplied by the scripture to get the right day. Remember Jesus said 3 days and 3 nights. Notice this key verse in John 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.
So Jesus was already raised from the dead before sunrise on the first day of the week. Although an evening and morning counts as a day and it is clear that Jesus was raised on the “first day of the week”, we cannot count the morning of sunday as the first day. Lets count backwards western style.
- Saturday evening/night
- Saturday morning/day
- Friday evening/night
- Friday morning/day
- Thursday evening/night
- Thursday morning/day
There we have 3 days and 3 nights. The first day is the day that he was placed in the borrowed tomb. It had to happen before sunset so it was still a part of that day. We must get away from 24 hours is a day in this understanding. A part of a day is still a day. Even if you choose to count Sunday and not the daytime of Thursday you still come out with 3 days and 3 nights. It is not possible to get 3 days and 3 nights with a Friday crucifixion.
The bible commands us, “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” As I was discussing this with my daughter, I showed her how someone who is an enemy of God can use our lack of knowledge of the Scripture and church tradition of a Friday crucifixion against us in believing the biblical account. I have spoken with fellow ministers and pastors about this, and some knew this truth, but did not teach it and continued to promote “Good Friday” as the day of the crucifixion. I am reminded of the warning of Jesus concerning the “leaven (yeast) of the Pharisees” Mat 16:6. And Paul’s warning that “Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?” 1 Corinthians 5:6b.
Let us not teach traditions of men, but the word of God in truth. This Resurrection Celebration is the most important part of the Christian year, let us teach and practice it in biblical truth.
Minister Franklin Mayfield
Ministry Director of trueGOD Television
[email protected]
