The evidence of the Gospels is that Yeshua was killed on a Friday and placed in the tomb before sundown on Friday. There is no need to take the term Sabbath any other way than the usual Sabbath, which is from sundown Friday until sundown Saturday. This is the emphasis of Scripture.
For example, John 19:31 states: The Jews therefore, because it was the Preparation, that the bodies should not remain on the cross upon the sabbath (for the day of that sabbath was a high day), asked of Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. The day of preparation was always Friday. On this day, the Jewish people prepared the Sabbath meal in advance because they were not allowed to prepare any food on the Sabbath day. A Sabbath is called a High Sabbath when it falls on a Jewish holiday. In this case, it was the second day of the Passover, and the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread.
Mark 15:42 reads: And when even was now come, because it was the Preparation, that is, the day before the sabbath ... In Jewish terminology, the “day of preparation” or the day before the sabbath is always Friday.
Luke 23:54 adds: And it was the day of the Preparation, and the sabbath drew on. The day of the Preparation was Friday; the sabbath drew on meant that the sun was beginning to set on Friday. The Sabbath officially begins once three stars have appeared in the sky.
Matthew 27:62 reads: Now on the morrow, which is the day after the Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees were gathered together unto Pilate ...
The day after the Preparation is Saturday morning, following Friday night; it is Sabbath morning following Sabbath night. Just from these statements alone, it is clear that Yeshua died around three o'clock in the afternoon on Friday. He was placed in the tomb before three stars appeared in the sky, which is the official Jewish reckoning that the Sabbath begins.
Besides the Gospels, ancient Jewish records also give Friday as the day the Messiah died. The Talmud points out that He died on a Friday during the Passover: “There is a tradition on the eve of the sabbath and Passover they hung Jesu. The heralds went forth crying, ‘Jesu goes to be executed because he practiced sorcery and seduced Israel and estranged them from their God. Let anyone who can bring forward a justifying plea for him, come and give information concerning him.' But no justifying plea was found for him. So they hung Jesu on the eve of the sabbath and the Passover.”
This is a Talmudic quote referring to the trial of Yeshua and His execution. Certain things should be noted. First, twice in this quote it is emphasized that He was executed on the eve of the Sabbath, which is Friday. Secondly, twice it is mentioned that it was at the Passover, which is why John 19:31 stated that the Sabbath was a High Sabbath because it fell during a Jewish festival week. Thirdly, this quote reveals that the exact charge against Jesus was: “he practiced sorcery and seduced Israel and estranged them from their God.” This is a reflection of Matthew 12, where Yeshua was officially rejected on the grounds of being demon possessed; they claimed that He performed His miracles by the power of Beelzebub.
It is interesting that the rabbis of this period never denied that Jesus performed real miracles. In this particular quote, they admit that He performed miracles. But in Matthew 12:24, they explained away His miracles by claiming He performed them by the power of Beelzebub, the prince of demons. In this quote, they say, “he practiced sorcery,” reflecting the Matthew 12 account. But the main import of this quote is that Yeshua indeed died on a Friday before the Sabbath, and during the week of the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. To try to move His death to either a Thursday, Wednesday, or Tuesday because of a Gentile misconception of the Jewish reckoning of time violates not only the clear statements of the Gospels, it also violates the actual historical evidence recorded much closer to the time when these things happened.
“How long was He in the tomb?” Because of the mention of the three days and three nights, some have tried to move the Crucifixion to an earlier day in the week. Some have felt that the above statement requires three full 24-hour periods, so they try to place Him in the tomb for three 24-hour periods.
If this position is thought through, it actually creates more problems than it solves. For example, if Yeshua were in the tomb three full 24-hour periods, and resurrected only one second after the third 24-hour period, what day would it have been? It would not be the third day, but the fourth day. Another example is when He met the two disciples on the Emmaus road. By then, many hours had transpired since the Resurrection. The two relate to Yeshua the events of the trial and crucifixion and point out that it was three days since these things happened! If He had been in the tomb three full 24-hour periods, then certainly it would have been the fourth day since His death.
Actually, if all the statements of Jesus are considered, they seem to be contradictory. For example, sometimes He said: on the third day the Resurrection would occur (Mat. 16:21; 17:23; 20:19; 27:64; Lk. 9:22; 18:33; 24:7, 21, 46; Acts 10:40; I Cor. 15:4). Sometimes He said: after three days, meaning the fourth day (Mat. 26:61; 27:40, 63; Mk. 8:31; 9:31; 10:34; 14:58; 15:29; Jn. 2:19-20). A third statement He made was the expression: three days and three nights (Mat. 12:39-40).
While these three statements appear to be contradictory in Gentile reckoning of time, they are not so in Jewish reckoning of time. In Jewish reckoning of time, part of a day counts for the whole day, just as part of a year counts for a whole year. Yeshua was in the tomb part of Friday. In Jewish reckoning of time, that counted for all of Friday. He was also in the tomb Saturday and part of Sunday, which counts for all of Sunday. All three seemingly contradictory statements can be reconciled from a Jewish reckoning of time.
First, the Resurrection was to be on the third day. The first day in the tomb was Friday; the second day in the tomb was Saturday; the third day in the tomb was Sunday. On that same day, He was resurrected; so, He was resurrected on the third day.
Secondly, the Resurrection was to be after three days because part of the day counted for the whole day. Since He was in the tomb part of Friday, that counted for all of Friday. He was also in the tomb all of Saturday. Since He was in the tomb part of Sunday, that counted for all of Sunday. Therefore, from a Jewish point of view, counting the two partial days as whole days, Jesus was not only resurrected on the third day, He was also resurrected after three days.
Thirdly, the expression three days and three nights can also be reconciled, for this is simply a Jewish figure of speech meaning “any period of time that touches three days.” Since the period of time Yeshua spent in the tomb touched Friday, it counted for all of Friday, including day and night. He was in the tomb both day and night on Saturday. Since He was also in the tomb part of Sunday, it counted for all of Sunday, both day and night. In fact, the statement, three days and three nights, is used in the Old Testament several times (Gen. 42:17-18; I Sam. 30:12-13; I Kg. 20:29, for seven days; II Chr. 10:5, 12; Esth. 4:16 in comparison with 5:1). If the context is looked at carefully, it will show that this expression cannot possibly mean three full 24-hour periods. Contextually , although three days and three nights are mentioned, it does not mean three full 24-hour periods. Sometimes the action was committed on the third day before it went very far into that day, yet it was reckoned as three days and three nights.
Again, there is absolutely no need to try to move the Crucifixion earlier into the week. It must be remembered that the Gospels were written by Jews with a Jewish frame of reference and Jewish reckoning of time. In keeping with the Jewish frame of reference, Jewish terminologies and Jewish reckoning of time, Yeshua was buried on Friday before sundown and before the Sabbath began. He was resurrected some time after the Sabbath, on Saturday night after sundown. From a Jewish perspective, the Sabbath had already ended and Sunday, the first day of the week, had already begun.
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