On which day of the week was Jesus crucified - Wednesday or Thursday?

Question

My question does not involve understanding what the meaning of the Day of Preparation is. This is about which day of the week.

While there are contrary opinions on this, I believe all gospels point to Christ's crucifixion on the day of the Passover, Nisan 14. My question is, and I've searched far and wide on this, which day of the week was this? The Day of Preparation is the day before the first day in the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which is Nisan 15.

*"Now when evening had come, because it was the Preparation Day, that is, the day before the Sabbath..." (Mark 15:42)

"On the next day, which followed the Day of Preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees gathered together to Pilate..." (Matthew 27:62)

"That day was the Preparation, and the Sabbath drew near." (Luke 23:54)

"So there they laid Jesus, because of the Jews’ Preparation Day, for the tomb was nearby." (Luke 19:42)*

Because the first day of the week (Sunday) was when Jesus was recorded as being resurrected, it seems the following increments in time appear to be true:

Jesus was crucified and buried on Nisan 14
The next day was the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, a day where no work could be done (Exodus 12). In essence, treated as a Sabbath. This day was called a High Day in John 19:31.
The following day after #2 above could have been a regular Sabbath day.
Jesus was resurrected on Sunday.

If these four things above are true, and it's difficult to find reliable data on #3, Jesus did indeed stay in the tomb for 3 days and 3 nights. But, because of the lack of clear and scientific proof of #3 above, I'm not certain upon which day Nisan 14 fell. It appears to be Wednesday or Thursday, per my posted increments above.

Because in my research I'm not seeing any consistent proof about this particular question, I'm curious what proof exists. Also interested in anything clear, even though contrary to my stated assumptions.

https://hermeneutics.stackexchange.com/questions/67143/could-matthew-1240b-and-matthew-1723a-be-both-true-literally — , Nov 14 '21 at 15:36
Thanks Tony. Multiple understandings, I see. What did you take from your question about this? This does bring a related question into this - where do we see that Jesus actually rose on Sunday morning per scripture? He was definitely alive on Sunday morning, but could he have risen Saturday and no one saw him because of the Sabbath observance? — Rob Callicotte, Nov 14 '21 at 16:40
In any case, I do my reasoning probabilistically when there is no clear binary (yes or no) answer. — , Nov 14 '21 at 17:00
Seeing your researching - consider looking into what’s coming out from the translations of the Dead Sea Scrolls, especially regarding the difference in calendars used by the Essenes and the Pharisees. There is an argument that John was possibly using a different calendar (to that used in the other gospels) in his book. Overall, IIRC the scrolls support your increments. — Dave, Nov 14 '21 at 17:43
Possible duplicate. Does this answer your question? In Matthew 27:62, what is "the day of preparation"? — Ray Butterworth, Nov 14 '21 at 18:50
The item suggested by Tony Chan is worth reading, especially the chart in the accepted answer, which puts the 14th on Wednesday. There's also a more detailed explanation in my answer to judaism - In Matthew 27:62, what is "the day of preparation"? - Biblical Hermeneutics Stack Exchange. — Ray Butterworth, Nov 14 '21 at 18:50
@Dave, I will look more into the latest findings I've read about from Dead Sea Scrolls and look for info throughout about these calendars. Had read something, but not in depth. Thanks! — Rob Callicotte, Nov 14 '21 at 19:58
@RayButterworth, I had heard about and not done more research into the idea of a break of time between the High Day and the regular Sabbath, as you posted. I will look into this. It's interesting. Thank you! That chart is useful, in this case. — Rob Callicotte, Nov 14 '21 at 20:01
If there were a break between the 2 Sabbaths, why would the women not buy the spices and take them to the tomb to further prepare the body on Friday? Perhaps the sabbaths were back to back and Jesus rose early Sunday morning before the women arrived. — Martin Hemsley, Nov 14 '21 at 20:32
@MartinHemsley, "why would the women not buy the spices and take them to the tomb to further prepare the body on Friday?". Mark says they bought the spices when the sabbath was past. Luke says they then prepared those spices and then rested on the sabbath. Either that's a contradiction, or they bought and prepared the spices on Friday, after the Thursday high sabbath and before the Saturday weekly sabbath. — Ray Butterworth, Nov 14 '21 at 21:04
@RayButterworth, this last clarification has helped to settle my mind on this point of view as described by you and the graphic on the question above asked by Tony Chan. Thank you so much. By the way, mine is not a duplicate, since the real question is which day was Nisan 14. It appears to me, at this point, it was most likely Wednesday...though it could have been Thursday. Wednesday is looking more and more like it can be proven as Nisan 14, the Passover. — Rob Callicotte, Nov 14 '21 at 21:09
@RobCallicotte, I don't know whether you noticed a link to my Crucifixion/Resurrection Synoptic Time Table when you read the other items, but that might help you too. — Ray Butterworth, Nov 14 '21 at 21:16
@RayButterworth It is a difficult contradiction to figure out. It doesn't take a whole day to prepare spices since people were buried quickly. There were a lot of devoted women following Jesus. Perhaps Luke and Mark are talking about different groups of women. Also, you have the problem of God performing one of the greatest works in history on a day of rest and during the day when people certainly would have been near the tomb. — Martin Hemsley, Nov 15 '21 at 02:02
@MartinHemsley, He was buried just before sunset, so three days and three nights later would also be just before sunset at the end of the weekly sabbath. Most people would have been at home then, and the rest of them on their way home, so they could prepare and eat dinner after sunset as the first day of the week began. (E.g. Acts refers to meetings on the first day of the week to "break bread", meaning eating dinner on Saturday evening.) — Ray Butterworth, Nov 15 '21 at 04:04
@RayButterworth If Jesus were crucified Thursday, Friday being considered a high holy day, he would have been in the tomb Saturday night. If he had risen Saturday afternoon, the tumult at the tomb would have been noticed. Breaking bread on the first day of the week technically could also refer to lunch on Sunday, but either way it has no bearing on when Christ arose. Mt. 28:1-2 says "after the Sabbath" apparently when the women were on the way to the tomb, there was a great earthquake and Christ arose. — Martin Hemsley, Nov 15 '21 at 04:38
@MartinHemsley, I never said the crucifixion was on Thursday. I said he was buried just before sunset as Wednesday ended, and rose just before sunset as Saturday ended. Also noote that the women went to the tomb before sunrise, not allowing sufficient time for them to buy and prepare spices after the weekly sabbath. — Ray Butterworth, Nov 15 '21 at 14:48
@RobCallicotte https://hermeneutics.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/3863/could-a-4th-bible-related-site-fly-in-area-51 — , Nov 15 '21 at 15:13
@RayButterworth Like I said, no interpretation is easy but i think the Thursday crucifixion fits best. Like Nicodemus, one group bought and prepared the spices before Thursday evening, and the other Saturday evening. If the grave had opened Saturday afternoon, there would have been a huge commotion. — Martin Hemsley, Nov 15 '21 at 16:15
Hey Rob, is your question significantly different from this one? https://hermeneutics.stackexchange.com/q/62640/44735 — Martin Hemsley, Nov 17 '21 at 08:30
@martin - My question is about the specific day per a calendar day, first. Then, the lesser is all the rest connected. Once we know the exact answer to this main question I have asked, all the rest aligns appropriately. — Rob Callicotte, Nov 18 '21 at 17:33
Okay, if it's the day of the week you are emphasizing, you might clarify that more in your question, such as, "On which day of the week was Jesus crucified (Nissan 14), Wednesday or Thursday? — Martin Hemsley, Nov 18 '21 at 20:38
I do not presently entertain a back and forth engagement on this site, consequently this comment should not be seen as a re-entry. You might, or might not, be interested in my answer to the following Q., which I still stand by 100%. So, take it under advisement, or not, it's of no consequence to me. I will not be commenting further on the matter.....https://hermeneutics.stackexchange.com/questions/53715/time-of-jesus-crucifixion-in-relation-to-the-passover?rq=1 — Olde English, Nov 22 '21 at 18:12
Martin Hemsley correctly pointed out there could have been two different groups of women who bought spices, one group BEFORE resting on the Sabbath, the other group, buying them after the sabbath, at sunset. When you read Luke 23:54-56 IN CONTEXT you will see the Sabbath was drawing on (verse 54) and just two verses later they (the women) rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment. Luke was a careful historian and if there had been two different Sabbaths that weekend he surely would have made that clear. I believe it is clear that the weekly Sabbath in verse 56... — Saber Truth Tiger, Dec 24 '21 at 04:40
has as its antecedent the Sabbath in verse 54. We know the Jews did not reckon as Nisan 21 as a Sabbath because that would throw off the counting to First Fruits. If Nisan 21 was NOT reckoned as a Sabbath then why would Nisan 15 be reckoned as a Sabbath unless it fell on the weekly Sabbath. The combination of the weekly Sabbath with an annual holy convocation would indeed be a "great" Sabbath. Also Joseph and Nicodemus were trying to bury the body as fast as they could because the Sabbath that was drawing on was the weekly Sabbath in which NO work of ANY KIND could be done, Nisan 15... — Saber Truth Tiger, Dec 24 '21 at 04:40

Saber Truth Tiger · Answer 1 · 2022-12-11T02:06:56.127

On which day of the week was Jesus crucified - Wednesday or Thursday?

1 Jesus was crucified the day before the Sabbath (Mark 15:42). He also died on the Preparation Day that was not only the preparation day of the Passover but the preparation of the weekly Sabbath. This would be on a Friday, not Wednesday or Thursday. The reason the Passover holy convocation had a preparation day was that all leaven had to be cleansed from the homes. This required some work and inspection. On the other hand, all weekly sabbaths had a preparation day that preceded them (that was Friday). It is interesting to note that the Greek word today for Friday is still "preparation".

2 The confusion comes from mislabeling Nisan 15 as an annual Sabbath. Nisan 15 was never called a Sabbath in the Hebrew Scriptures. It didn't qualify as a Sabbath because it did NOT forbid ALL work like the weekly Sabbaths and the Day of Atonement did. Nisan 15 made an exception to the NO WORK rules in Exodus 12:16 and later, after Israel left Egypt it was modified to forbid only servile work. Once you realize what made a Sabbath a Sabbath then confusing Nisan 15 as a Sabbath disappears.

3 However, despite all that, the Pharisees (Rabbinic Authorites) of Jesus day celebrated Nisan 15 as a Sabbath but not as strictly as an actual Sabbath. Work at your occupations and strenuous labor was forbidden but not all work was forbidden. If Nisan 15 had fallen on a Thursday and the crucifixion had fallen on a Wednesday then there would have been no rush to bury the body as the Nisan 15 drew on. However, if Nisan 15 had fallen on the weekly Sabbath that would not only be a "great" Sabbath but Joseph and Nicodemus would have had to rush the burial of Jesus.

4 So, I believe Wednesday or Thursday could NOT be the day Jesus was crucified. It had to be on a Friday. This of course leaves us with Matthew 12:40 where Jesus said he would be in "the heart of the earth" three days and three nights. That verse is a thorn in the side of those who hold to the Friday crucifixion. It's hard to "explain it away" but there are holes in the arguments one puts forth to place the crucifixion on a Wednesday or Thursday.

5 It's interesting to note that Matthew is internally consistent with himself. There is a conflict between Matthew and the other three gospels though. It's also interesting to note the spurious Gospel of Peter places the crucifixion on a Wednesday or a Thursday, depending on how you interpret "night and day" in verse 27. The writer probably had the gospel of Matthew as his source.

http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/gospelpeter-brown.html

6 See my answer here: can Nisan 15 be referred to as "the sabbath"?

+1. The three nights and days only fits on Jesus food consumption, because there is exactly three nights and three days between the last supper and his consumption of fish and honey comb on Sunday evening. — Constantthin, Dec 19 '21 at 23:17
The difficulty most have with the "three days and three nights" comes from focusing on the time rather than the event. The "heart of the earth" does not necessarily mean the tomb. If one considers that it might mean in custody of the kingdom of Rome, at that time the greatest kingdom in the known world, then this would have begun at his arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane, Thursday evening. Three nights (by Biblical reckoning): preparation day, Sabbath, first day ; three days: preparation day, Sabbath, first day. Modern reckoning would have the nights as Thursday, Friday, Saturday. — Biblasia, Dec 11 '22 at 03:12
The ancients did not see earth as we see it. They did not know how deep the earth was; all they knew was Hades was the subterranean region where all departed souls would go. A tomb was not in the center of the earth or even under the earth. The tomb Jesus was in was ABOVE the surface of the earth. — Saber Truth Tiger, Dec 12 '22 at 18:52
The question of whether Hades or the tomb was meant is discussed here: https://hermeneutics.stackexchange.com/questions/78708/jonah-21-2-why-say-sheol-to-refer-to-the-literal-belly-of-a-literal-fish — Saber Truth Tiger, Dec 12 '22 at 19:30
Josephus wrote an article on Hades. Here it is: http://penelope.uchicago.edu/josephus/hades.html — Saber Truth Tiger, Dec 12 '22 at 19:32
Man has body, soul, and spirit. Sometimes soul and spirit are interchangeable. The body of Jesus was laid in the tomb and John 19:42 says if was JESUS they lay in the tomb. His soul went to the subterranean region of HADES. So we see the duality of man, body and soul. The spirit of man returns to God who gave it. — Saber Truth Tiger, Dec 12 '22 at 20:01
What is often overlooked is that in Jesus day most people believed there was a subterranean region where the departed's spirit or soul would would go at death. In the Hebrew language that was SHEOL and in the greek it was HADES. If true that would mean Jesus' soul went to Hades when he died at 3pm Friday. There is still a problem with the three nights though. Some have speculated Jesus was therefore crucified on either a Wednesday or a Thursday and was resurrected on either Saturday at sunset or early Sunday morning. In this case Hades would be in the heart of the earth. — Saber Truth Tiger, Jan 08 '23 at 19:05

score 2 · Answer 2 · answered Jan 14 '24 at 17:23

When we collect all the evidences from the four gospel accounts and place them side by side, we get the following sequence in the right order:

(In the modern reckoning):

Tuesday evening – Jesus ate the Passover meals, went to Gethsemane and was arrested (Nissan 14 Passover night);

Wednesday daytime and evening – Pilate’s judgment, Crucifixion (1 Cor 5:7) and Burial (Nissan 14 Passover day as the "Preparation" of the fast approaching Nissan 15, feast of Unleavened Bread);

Thursday daytime – chief priests and Pharisees request Pilate to secure the sepulcher (Matt 27:62-66). (Nissan 15 first UB day, an annual Rest/Sabbath, a great/high day);

Friday daytime – the ladies “bought” spices and prepared spices and ointment – Mark 16:1 (Nissan 16 UB day, a working day);

Saturday – the same ladies rested on Sabbath “according to the commandment” – Luke 23:56 (Nissan 17 UB day, unless Saturday, is a working day);

Sunday early morning – the ladies see the risen Jesus (Nissan 18 UB day, a working day; Wave sheaf offering day).

Counting

Wednesday night, Thursday night and Friday night = 3 nights

Thursday day, Friday day and Saturday day = 3 days

Were these the same ladies?

Yes, the Scripture says so:

“And the sabbath (annual Sabbath, a high day, first day of the UB on Thursday) passing, Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Salome, bought spices, so that coming they might anoint Him” (Mark 16:1). This was on the Friday.

But according to Luke, the same ladies “rested on the Sabbath (Saturday), according to the commandment” (Luke 23:56). On Sunday, “still very early, they came on the tomb, carrying spices which THEY prepared” (Luke 24:1).

Who were they who prepared the spices?

“And they were Mary Magdalene, and Joanna, and Mary mother of James, and the rest” (verse 10).

Yes, they were the same ladies who bought spices on Friday after the annual Sabbath of Thursday and rested on Saturday Sabbath. They were not two groups of different ladies.

Resurrection on Sunday?

The gospels actually don’t say that Jesus rose on Sunday or the first day. It simply says the ladies saw the risen Jesus on Sunday, the first day.

The only Scripture people use to support a Sunday resurrection is Mark 16:9: “And having risen early on the first of the sabbath, He first appeared to Mary Magdalene”.

But we know very well that there was no punctuation in the original Greek. So, we see, “And having risen, early on the first of the Sabbath He first appeared to Mary Magdalene”.

That is, ‘And having risen, He first appeared to Mary Magdalene early on the first of the Sabbath’.

Answer

So, yes, Jesus was crucified on a Wednesday.

I agree with your conclusion. However, Mark 16:9 in almost every translation on Earth says, "Now after He had risen early on the first day of the week..." Early could have been when it was still dark or just at dawn. But, anyway, it doesn't say "the first of the sabbath" but rather "the first of the week". — Rob Callicotte, Mar 28 '24 at 12:20
Please read my answer to this question. I believe I have answered the issue there. Thanks. https://hermeneutics.stackexchange.com/questions/27997/in-acts-207-why-is-the-phrase-%cf%84%e1%bf%87-%ce%bc%ce%b9%e1%be%b7-%cf%84%e1%bf%b6%ce%bd-%cf%83%ce%b1%ce%b2%ce%b2%e1%bd%b1%cf%84%cf%89%ce%bd-translated-the-first-day-of/89692#89692 — Nephesh Roi, Mar 28 '24 at 15:57
Nephesh, does the word 'sabbath' change its meaning whether plural or singular? I ask because in Mark 16:9 it's singular. In Acts 20:7 (from your link), it's plural. — Rob Callicotte, Mar 28 '24 at 18:58
Sabbaton is a loan word from Hebrew/Aramaic and is used both as singular and plural. See https://hermeneutics.stackexchange.com/questions/50939/what-is-the-significance-that-the-word-sabbath-is-often-plural — Nephesh Roi, Mar 29 '24 at 03:10
https://hermeneutics.stackexchange.com/questions/4144/why-is-sabbath-often-plural-in-the-greek-text-both-lxx-and-nt-yet-translated seems to provide the best answers I've seen so far. — Rob Callicotte, Mar 29 '24 at 21:11

score 2 · Answer 3 · answered Mar 27 '24 at 10:17

First of all, dawn (beginning) of the first day of the week is not early in the morning according to the bible, it is towards the end of a day to begin another which falls around the present 6 pm (12th hour of the day). That means John testified that he rose on the Shabbath (John 12:12-13). This is because he was buried towards the end of the day (Passover) he died (John 19:31). Christ could not have gone to Bethany on the Shabbath (John 12:1) because it is a rest day. So three days and three nights from "towards the end of the Shabbath" on which he rose was a Wednesday which was prophesied by Daniel (Dan 9:27). This means that he enter Bethany on the 6th day of the week (Friday) which was the 9th of Abib, made the triumphal entry on the 10th which is the Shabbath as a king, never left Jerusalem till the Passover which is the 14th (midst of that week) which was Wednesday and he was killed and buried towards the end of that day. The women rested on the High/Annual Shabbath (Thursday) which falls on the 15th of Abib every year (the first day of the feast of unleavened bread- Luke 23:56, Leviticus 23:7). The women bought spices on Friday, which was the 16th Abib (Mark 16:1). Then they rested on the weekly Shabbath which was the 17th of Abib. By the time they came on the first day of the week (Sunday) he was already risen at the same time he was buried. And that Sunday was the the waving of sheaf which began the feast of Shavuot (Pentecost) which lasts for seven Shabbaths and ends on the fiftieth day which is the first day of the week (Sunday) and he had to present himself to the Father (God) as the sheaf and lamb without blemish (Leviticus 23: 10 - 12, John 20:17, John 20:26-29). Once you remove the scriptures from the death, burial and resurrection of Christ, you must make mistakes. Christ is come but to fulfil the law of Moses and the prophets. Therefore it is important to understand God's commandment about the Passover and the feast of Unleavened Bread. But the question is - are we still going to celebrate this feast or should we go with Christians that replaced it with Easter. 1 Corinthians 5:7 and 8: Purge out therefore the old leaven so that you will be a new lump- like the unleavened bread the Israelites ate. This is because Christ our Passover has already been sacrificed for us. Then if we believe that Christ our Passover has been Sacrificed for us, we should keep the feast which is the feast of unleavened bread not with physical unleavened bread but by throwing away the leaven of malice and wickedness and embracing the unleavened bread which is being sincere and truthful. Will this just happen for seven days. No - seven days means completeness. it is something you celebrate throughout your life, throwing away all vile including wickedness, malice, envy, backbiting, bitterness, etc. and embracing sincerity, truthfulness, love, peace, etc. for the rest of our lives.

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score 0 · Answer 4 · answered Jan 13 '24 at 23:13

Because God is perfect, Jesus Christ fulfilled the Old Testament perfectly. Therefore, the crucifixion of Jesus at Passover must match the Passover described in the Old Testament as follows:

The 10th day of the first month (Nisan) the Passover lamb is selected (Exodus 12:1-3)--------Jesus enters Jerusalem to many hosannas (John 12:1-13).

The Passover lamb is inspected for four days 10th, 11th, 12th and 13th (Exodus 12:1-6)---------Jesus is questioned by Jewish leaders and they could find no fault in Him (Luke Ch.19-20, Matthew Ch. 21-25 and Mark Ch. 11-13).

The Passover lamb is slain on the 14th day of Nisan (Exodus 12:6)-------Jesus crucified on the day of the Preparation Day of the Passover Seder on the 15th making it the 14th (John 19:14).

The Passover Seder and the First Day of Unleavened Bread on the 15th of Nisan (Leviticus 23:6-7)-------Bodies could not remain on the cross on a Sabbath (John 19:31).

I believe the 16th day of Nisan was the weekly Sabbath the year of the crucifixion.

Firstfruit Wave Offering (Leviticus 23:3-11)--------Jesus is the first fruit of the resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:20), 17th day of Nisan.

Six days before Passover, Jesus entered Bethany (John 12:1). I think John is saying six days before the Passover Seder on the 15th of Nison, making the date the 9th of Nisan. Then, the next day Jesus went to Jerusalem, the 10th of Nisan (John 12:12-13). Jesus was born under the law (Galatians 4:4) therefore, to violate the law would be a sin and Jesus was without sin (Hebrews 4:15). It is generally accepted that Jesus entered Jerusalem before the crucifixion on the first day of the week or our Sunday, but the scripture does not state the day. In Acts 1:12 Luke states that from Jerusalem to the Mount of Olives is a Sabbath’s day journey. So, how does this fit into the journey of Jesus to Jerusalem preceding His crucifixion and can we believe He entered Jerusalem on the first day of the week. In Luke 19:1-11 we learn that Jesus passed through Jericho and told Zaccheus that today I must stay at your house. Then in verse 11 of the same chapter we learn that the house of Zaccheus was near Jerusalem. In John 12:1-13, we learn that Jesus entered Jerusalem on the next day after entering the home of Lazarus in Bethany. Bethany to Jerusalem is farther than a Sabbath day’s journey and Jericho to near Jerusalem at Zaccheus’ house is certainly farther than a Sabbath day’s Journey. Therefore, it seems logical that the Sabbath day’s journey was from the house of Zaccheus to the house of Lazarus in Bethany making the Triumphal Entry on the first day of the week, Palm Sunday. Then if the 10th of Nisan was on a Sunday, then the 14th of Nisan, when the Passover lamb thus Jesus was crucified was on a Thursday. Note, parts of 3 days & 3 nights in tomb, if He arose before dawn on Sunday (John 12:12-13). And He arose on the 3rd day after entombment as per scripture. 10th -16th is 7 days, the number for complete. 17th is the 8th day, the number for new beginnings.

On which day of the week was Jesus crucified - Wednesday or Thursday?

4 Answers4