THERE are those who seem to feel very much concerned about the date of the crucifixion of Jesus. The important thing is that He "died for our sins" and that He "rose again," that in Him we may be made alive (1 Cor. 15:3, 4). But since some place such emphasis on this question, let us see what the Bible teaches concerning the time of the crucifixion and the resurrection of Jesus.
Some say the crucifixion had to be on Wednesday, because Jesus said that He would be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights (Matt. 12:40). But many texts tell us that Jesus said He would rise again on the third day (see Matt. 16: 21; 17:23; 20:19; Mark 9:31; 10:34; Luke 9:22; 18:33; 24:7, 46; 1 Cor. 15:4). Now, it must be clear that He couldn't possibly stay in the grave the whole day that third day, and also rise on the same third day.
Jesus Knew the Day
It is obvious that the various expressions about the time of His resurrection all refer to the same time. For surely Jesus would not say that He was going to stay in the grave three days and rise "after three days," and then on several other occasions say He would rise "on the third day," if these expressions did not refer to the same time for His resurrection. He must have known when He would come forth from the grave. He was not guessing about it. Nor was He making loose and careless statements about it. He was not saying on one occasion that He would rise on the seventh day, and on another occasion that He would come forth on the first day of the week. Obviously, all the statements He made as to the time of His resurrection must have the same meaning.
Even Enemies Understood
Further evidence of this is the fact that those who heard His statements were not in any doubt as to what He meant. When He said He would rise again "the third day," the disciples didn't say, "Now, wait a minute, Jesus; You said the other day that You would rise again 'after three days,' but now You say 'the third day.' Which do You mean?" No, there was no question or confusion in the minds of His hearers as to what He meant.
Even His enemies used the terms interchangeably. They went to Pilate and said, "That deceiver said, . . . After three days I will rise again. Command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure until the third day" (Matt. 27:63, 64).
There are numerous examples in the Bible of the use of this term, the third day, and always it refers to what we would call the "day after tomorrow." The Jews counted time by the inclusive system. The present day was the first day. In Exodus 19:10, 11, we read of the preparation the children of Israel were to make to meet the Lord: "Sanctify them to day and to morrow, . . . and be ready against the third day." Other examples of today and tomorrow and the third day are found in Leviticus 7:16-18; 19:5-7; 1 Samuel 20:12; Luke 13:32, 33, et cetera. In 2 Chronicles 10:5, we read that Rehoboam told the people to come to him again "after three days," and in verse 12 it says they came "on the third day"—and it says further that this is what King Rehoboam had told them to do. So, "after three days" and "on the third day" meant the same to them. The record says that Jesus rose on the first day of the week: "Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils" (Mark 16:9). The two disciples who were walking out to the village of Emmaus on that same first day of the week (Luke 24:1, 13) said, as they told the story of the crucifixion to the Stranger who came and walked along with them: "Today is the third day since these things were done" (verse 21). This is a positive statement that that first day of the week was the third day after the crucifixion. And no method of counting could possibly make Wednesday the crucifixion day, with Sunday, the first day of the week, the third day after the crucifixion. Sunday would be the fifth day after Wednesday, according to the Jewish inclusive method of counting time.
Record Is Clear
The record of the crucifixion and burial of Jesus as given in Luke is so clear that there need be no question as to the day of the crucifixion and the day of the resurrection. The record says plainly that Joseph "went unto Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus" and buried Him (Luke 23:52, 53). "And that day was the preparation, and the sabbath drew on" (verse 54). After they laid His body in the tomb, they returned and "rested the sabbath day according to the commandment" (verses 55, 56). Then follows the story of their coming early in the morning the first day of the week and finding the tomb empty (Luke 24:1-7).
The Sabbath day according to the commandment is the seventh day of the week (Ex. 20:8-11). Therefore the day of the crucifixion was the sixth day of the week, and the day of the resurrection was the first day of the week. the third day after the crucifixion. The angel said it was the third day (Luke 24:7).
Some have said that the Sabbath that followed the crucifixion was the Passover Sabbath, and that it came that year on Thursday. The Passover Sabbath that year must have come on the seventh-day Sabbath, for we read in John 19:31 that "that sabbath day was an high day." It was called a high day because the Passover Sabbath and the seventh-day Sabbath came on the same day that year.
If the Passover Sabbath came on Thursday that year, and Jesus was crucified on Wednesday, then why did the disciples wait until Sunday morning to come to the tomb to finish the work of embalming the body of Jesus? This they certainly would have done on Friday.
Even Main Prop for Wednesday Crucifixion Fails to Stand
And now let us examine more closely that text which some have felt demands that the crucifixion must have been on Wednesday, regardless of these many texts that say He was to rise on the third day. We refer to Matthew 12:40, and it reads as follows: "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."
Actually this doesn't say anything about the grave. "In the heart of the earth" is obviously figurative language. To take it literally and at the same time apply it to the grave of Jesus would be to say that Jesus' grave was in the "heart" or center of the earth. And of course that is not true. Treating it as figurative language and applying "earth" to earthly powers, the enemies of Jesus, it makes sense.
Up until this time, Jesus had been protected from His enemies. They had often tried to capture Him, 'but he passing through the midst of them went his way" because "his hour was not yet come" (Luke 4:30; John 7:30). But now His time had come and He was no longer protected from arrest, nor did He resist it.
Evidently Judas laid his plans on Thursday for betraying his Master, possibly even earlier. So from Thursday at the latest, Jesus was in the hands of His enemies, at the mercy of earthly powers, "in the heart of the earth." From that time until His triumphant resurrection Satan and wicked men did their worst to destroy the Son of God. He was in their hands three days and three nights. So even the main prop for the Wednesday crucifixion fails to hold.
As to the time of His resurrection, we have already cited nearly a dozen texts that declare it was to be on the third day after His crucifixion. Jesus told the eleven (and perhaps others) in that room where they were "assembled for fear of the Jews" that His resurrection on the third day was in fulfillment of the Scriptures (Luke 24:46). And those two disciples with whom Jesus walked to Emmaus declared that that day, the first day of the week, was the third day.
Therefore it is clearly shown from these many scriptures that the first day of the week was the resurrection day, and that Wednesday could not possibly have been the crucifixion day.
Then let us not allow questions as to the day of His crucifixion or the day of His resurrection to take our attention from the glorious fact that He died for our sins and was raised up again for our justification (1 Cor. 15:3; Rom. 4:25), and that by faith in Him we can have the unspeakable gift of eternal life.
