Was Good Friday on a Thursday??

Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. So there they laid Jesus, because of the Jews’ Preparation Day, for the tomb was nearby.
John 19:41-42

How do they figure out when Easter falls each year? Why is it not always the Sunday after Passover? I find these questions interesting, but I’ll be honest, the answers I found on the internet were complicated and boring. But one question that interests me and has some interesting possible answers is this: how do we reconcile Jesus only being in the tomb two nights, when he clearly said in Matthew 12:40 that it would be three?

For 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.

We know that Jesus “gave up the ghost” about 3:00pm (Luke 23:44-46) and was then hastily buried because the Sabbath was approaching (Luke 23:50-56). The weekly Sabbath was Saturday (beginning Friday at sunset) and so we assume he was put to death on a Friday, but that only has him in the tomb on Friday and Saturday nights.

Because Jesus was crucified during Passover week, there was another Sabbath in play— a “High Sabbath,” (John 19:31). As I understand it, the Jewish liturgical calendar cannot be traced all the way back to the time of Christ, but the High Sabbath of Passover that year could have fallen on a Friday. And if it did, that would mean the Preparation Day on which Jesus was crucified would have been a Thursday. A Thursday crucifixion and burial just before sunset would allow for three days and three nights in the tomb.

But for centuries the Christian community at large has understood the crucifixion as being on Friday. There is reasonable argumentation that “three days and three nights” was just a Jewish idiom meaning three days. Some also say that Jesus echoed the words about Jonah simply to call attention to that comparison. Perhaps there is no need to take literally the phrase “three days and three nights.”

Is it wrong to be curious about these kinds of things? Is this one of those “foolish questions” that Paul told Timothy and Titus to avoid (2 Timothy 2:23, Titus 3:9 KJV)? Certainly it is wrong to dwell on questions if they are generating strife.

Some people are eager to point out what they perceive to be contradictions in the Bible, their motive often being to discredit the entire book. For them I might point to this question of three nights in the tomb as a good example showing that, even though we probably can’t know with 100% certainty which theory is correct, there are various ways to explain the perceived discrepancy. That being the case, it’s not hard to believe that there are reasonable explanations for other so-called contradictions; we may just not know what they are.

On the other hand, believers who hold the Bible in very high esteem can also get themselves into trouble over minor controversies that really have no bearing on our salvation. We can end up biting and devouring one another (Galatians 5:15). We can be the cause of “doubtful disputations,” which are actually a sign of weak faith (Romans 14:1ff KJV).

Paul said in Romans 14:5-6, “Let each be fully convinced in his own mind. He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord; and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it.” We need to be fully convinced about the things we do. If we’re questioning a practice, it’s better not to violate the conscience. But Paul wasn’t saying we have to be fully convinced about every controversial Bible question. Some things can’t be fully known this side of heaven.

I’m not fully convinced that Jesus was crucified on a Thursday, and I hope it’s not a foolish question, but certainly, such questions should not undermine our faith or cause division in the body of Christ. What matters is the truth of the resurrection. Jesus became our Passover lamb and did rise from the dead on that Sunday morning. This is worth believing, defending, and celebrating every day!

by Christie Cole Atkins

Dear God, we thank You for Your written word and ask You to increase our faith. Help us to approach Your word thoughtfully, but keep us from stumbling over questions that You have not answered. May we respect one another’s opinions without ever compromising biblical truth. In Jesus’s name, Amen.