WHEN DID CHRIST DIE?

The question of when Christ died, that is, the day on which the crucifixion took place has been debated by some for centuries. The day of Jesus’ crucifixion also has direct import on the day of His resurrection. As we approach Good Friday at the end of this week, I want to try to present a viable and biblical answer to that question. In ascertaining when Christ actually died, there are three predominant views that must be considered.

Wednesday

This view holds that Jesus died around sunset Wednesday and was resurrected exactly 72 hours later. Those who hold this view do so for two main reasons: [1] they interpret Matt. 12:40, “For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth” extremely literally and [2] they believe there are too many events happening on Friday. Thus, they have Jesus dying around 3 PM Wednesday and being buried. The body lying in the tomb Thursday (Passover day), being embalmed Friday, and rising Sunday after the Sabbath. [3] The Paschal lamb (sacrificial lamb) was typically chosen on Nisan 10. Jesus’ triumphal entry as the Lamb of God must have been on Saturday, Nisan 10.

This view has several major criticisms that cannot be ignored. Firstly, it is primarily based on one [1] verse of Scripture, which, if taken as proposed, has Jesus rising from the dead on the 4^th day not the 3^rd. For if one agrees that we must have a full 72-hour period, then Christ must have risen no later than 6 PM on Saturday, otherwise He would have risen on the 4^th day. Other passages clearly teach that Jesus rose on the 3^rd day (Matt. 16:21; 17:23; 20:19; 27:64; Luke 9:22; 18:33; 24:7, 21, 46; John 2:19-21; Acts 10:40; 1 Cor. 15:4). Secondly, it is true that many events occurred between Christ’s death and burial, but not so many as to prohibit it all happening on the same day. When you examine the events, many of them could have been happening simultaneously with each other. Lastly, Jesus did not appear in His triumphal entry as the Lamb of God, but as the King of Israel and Son of David. Also, if His triumphal entry was on Saturday, Nisan 10 then both Jesus and all who followed Him would have been in violation of the Law (Deut. 5:14; Num. 15:32-36) as this would have broken Sabbath day protocol.

In short, this view is not biblically tenable.

Thursday

This view is similar to the previous view in that it is based primarily on Matt. 12:40. Those who hold to a Thursday crucifixion order the events as follows: [a] triumphal entry on Sunday Nisan 10 in fulfillment of OT typology, [b] Monday – Wednesday Jesus appears in Jerusalem and celebrates Passover with His disciples, [c] Jesus is crucified and buried on Thursday, Nisan 14. Since Friday, Nisan 15 was the first day of Unleavened Bread it would have been a holy day in which no one was to work and considered to be a Sabbath, with the regular weekly Sabbath following it on the next day. Friday would have been referred to as the Passover Sabbath. Therefore, Jesus would have been crucified before that Sabbath on Thursday. [d] Christ then rose on Sunday morning, placing Him in the tomb three full nights and two full days and part of the third.

Like the preceding, this view has several criticisms. Firstly, it is again primarily based on one [1] verse of Scripture. Secondly, there is nothing that requires Jesus’ triumphal entry on Sunday Nisan 10 when He could have entered on Monday Nisan 10 (explanation to follow). Thirdly, the argument that Nisan 15 is a holy day of consecration in which no one works is an argument from silence. There is no evidence, either biblical or secular, to support this claim. There is then no real case for a Passover Sabbath to have occurred before the regular weekly Sabbath. Fourthly, this view forces the expression “the day of preparation” into a meaning other than its normal one. Normally this expression refers to preparation for the weekly Sabbath, but in this view it changes to mean a day of preparation for the Passover. Those who hold this view refer to John 19:14 in support of their belief that this phrase refers to the day of preparation before the Passover, namely Thursday. However, they ignore both biblical and secular proof to the contrary. The normal meaning of the phrase referred to the day of preparation for the weekly Sabbath not Passover (Matt. 27:62; Mark 5:42; Luke 23:54; John 19:14, 31, 42 – esp. Mark 15:42). Josephus also states that “the day of preparation” had reference to the weekly Sabbath, not Passover. Therefore, John 19:14’s use of the phrase must refer not to preparation for Passover but for Sabbath. If one further examines the context of John 19:31, 42 he will find that John clearly states that Jesus was put in the tomb on the Jewish day of preparation day for fear of violating the Sabbath. Thus, this must and can only refer to Friday.

This view, unlike the Wednesday view, seems possible, but there are too many problems to make it viable.

Friday

The view that Jesus was crucified on Friday holds that Jesus was crucified on Friday and rose from the grave on Sunday. The reasoning underlying this view is as follows. Jesus predicted He would die and be raised on the third day (Matt. 16:21; Mark 8:31; Luke 9:22).  Scripture clearly teaches that Jesus’ body was laid in the tomb on the day of preparation, which would have been Friday (Matt. 27:62; 28:1; Mark 15:42; Luke 23:54, 56; John 19:31, 42). The women who attended Jesus’ body returned home and rested on the Sabbath (Luke 23:56). Early on the first day of the week (Sunday) the women returned to find Jesus had risen (Matt. 28:1; Mark 16:1-2; Luke 24:1; John 20:1). Furthermore, that same day (Sunday) Jesus walked with two of His disciples on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13, 21). All of this points to Jesus having been crucified and buried on Friday and rising on Sunday. This view also fits with OT typology. Jesus presented Himself as the paschal lamb late on Sunday, Nisan 10. 

This view, like the others is not without some issue. The major problem with this view is the interpretation of Matthew 12:40. Scripture most frequently refers to Jesus’ resurrection occurring ON the third day not the fourth day (Matt. 16:21; 17:23; 20:19; 27:64; Luke 9:22; 18:33; 24:7, 21, 46; John 2:19-21; Acts 10:40; 1 Cor. 15:4). In John 2:19-22, Jesus said He would be raised up in three days and not ON the fourth day. There are four passages that speak of Christ’s resurrection as occurring “after three days” (Matt. 27:63; Mark 8:31; 9:31; 10:34). These passages are equivalent to the passages that refer to the resurrection as ON “the third day” for two reasons: [1] the three Markan passages are paralleled by one or two of the other Synoptic Gospels, and in each case the parallel passages do not use “after three days” as Mark does but “on the third day” (Mark 8:31 = Matt. 16:2 / Luke 9:22; Mark 9:31 = Matt. 17:23; Mark 10:34 = Matt. 20:19 / Luke 18:33). Thus, the two phrases mean a period of time extending to the third day but not necessarily encompassing a full 72-hour period. In Matthew 27:63 where the Pharisees ask Pilate for a guard of soldiers to be placed at the sepulcher, they quote Jesus as saying “after three days I will rise again.” They only asked for the soldiers to be placed until the third day, not the fourth. If they understood Jesus to mean a full 72-hour period why not request the soldiers stay until that full time had elapsed? Also, one must take into consideration the Jewish accounting of time. Jewish time measurement of the first century measured days differently than we in the West that have traditionally a strict 24-hour period. Jews reckoned half a day as a full day. This Hebraic concept was called the “Onah.” And Jewish days were measured from sunset to sunset. That said, Thursday sunset to Friday sunset would be one day. Friday sunset to Saturday sunset would be the second day. Saturday sunset to Sunday morning, though half a day, would be the considered a full day; the third day.

If Jesus was crucified on Wednesday or Thursday, as some propose, that would obviously be too many days. With the idea of the Onah, a period of 27 hours (Friday sundown to Sunday morning) in the Jewish mind could be considered three days. With all things taken into consideration, as we interpret Scripture in its normal hermeneutic; the Friday view of the three is the most consistently biblical view.