Three Days and Three Nights

Tradition has it that Jesus was crucified on Friday and resurrected on Sunday. However, this position does not conform to Scripture nor does it fulfill the prophecy Jesus spoke of when He said He would be in the earth the same a Jonah was in the fish, three days and three nights. Therefore, it is the intent of this delineation to provide the actualday by day activities of our Lord’s last week here on earth in accordance with the Word. But first,we need to review how the early Christian tradition of Resurrection Day becameEaster with the celebration on Sunday.

Easter, as we know it today,is a convergence of basically three traditions, Christian, Hebrew and pagan. The word Easter is derived fromthe Norse word Eostre, which is the celebration of the festival of spring. The origin of the festival is inGreek mythology based on the Greek gods Demeter and Persephone, which conveys the idea of a goddess returning annually from the nether regions to the light of day. It represents the resurrection of nature after winter symbolized by the egg and the fecundity of rabbits. Originally,Easter was calledResurrectionDayoccurring on a date determined by the Jews. However, Constantine did not want to rely on the Jews for setting this date so through the Church Council of Nicea (325 AD) Sunday was substituted for the Sabbath. The church then embarked on a complicated formula to determine when Easter would occur each year. It was also around this time that Constantine mergedthe Church of Rome with the Christian Church, thus integrating pagan and Christian holy days. Therefore, what the world celebrates as Easter is more paganthan Christian. However, if the Church remains apart from the secular traditions then it is a moot point as to the exact day of the week we celebrate. But, theissue of a Friday crucifixion stillneeds to be corrected.

Before getting into the details it needs to be pointed out that Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem, and the activities thereafter, is based on the Jewish calendar, which like our own, commemorates certain days in accordance with the time of the month and the day of the week. Thus, if the actual day of our Lord’s resurrection were to be celebrated on the correct day within the month it would be like any other date and move with the calendar in respect to the week within the month. Even though this is true, I find no reason to advocate change with what we have been doing for hundreds of years by celebrating the resurrection on Sunday as opposed to Saturday, which is the Jewish Sabbath. The true meaning of the event is not diminished because we celebrate on Sunday. But, I do need to point out that prophecy must be fulfilled exactly as stated with respect to the time duration, otherwise God is not God! Therefore, Christians should be aware of the true picture of this enormous event in the history of Christianity.Herewith is the correct sequence:

2 Peter 1:19 states, “We have also a more sure word of prophecy”.Peter is stating that the fulfillment of prophecy is an absolute indication that God is in control.
There are 3,900 verses of prophecy in the OT, and 1,500 in the NT. One verse in six has a bearing on prophetic subjects, many of which have already been fulfilled,exactly as stated, and with mathematical precision.The result is thatGod’splan is being fulfilled exactly as prophecy indicates therebydemonstrating to us that He is God. No one else has this power. Thus,prophecy is considered to be absolute, and will be fulfilled, as it is the Word of God!
Jesus prophesied in Matthew 12:40, “Three days and three nights the Son of man will be in the heart of the earth”. He also stated that He must be as Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. The story of Jonah and the fishwas a shadow ofJesus’burial and resurrection.
The prophecy of three days and three nights must be fulfilled between the day of Jesus’burial and the day of His resurrection. If this is not accomplished as prophesied then Jesus was not the Son of God.
In proper prospective – A Jewish day is divided into two parts. Night is from sunset (6pm) to sunrise (6am), and day is from sunrise (6am) to sunset (6pm). For example:after 6pm our time on Wednesday begins Thursday Jewish time. This is an offset of six hours from our time. This concept is based on the creation time in Genesis where God states, “The evening and morning of the first day”. NOTE:In Jewish thought any part of a day is a day and any part of a night is a night.
So as not to create confusion,Jesus’ final week is presented herein based on our traditional days beginning with Palm Sunday and ending on Easter Sunday. To see the events based on the Jewish calendar just move the entire scenario left one daybeginning on Saturday the Jewish Sabbath.

Palm Sunday–Nisan 10th.Jesus entered Jerusalem. This is five days before the Passover (John12:1, six days before He was in Bithany.The next day, John 12:12,He came to Jerusalem).NOTE: Nisan is the first month of the Jewish calendar, which begins during March.
Monday – Nisan 11th.Jesus throws the money changers out of the Temple (Mark 11:15-16).
Tuesday – Nisan12th. Jesus curses the fig tree as He enters Jerusalem for the third time (Matthew 21:19). The tree withers. This is also the day when Judas conspired with the chief priests (Mark 14:10-11).
Wednesday – Nisan13th.“The first day of Unleaven Bread…”(Mark 14:12). This is the first of eight days to eat unleavened bread. Jesus tells His disciples to follow a man with a pitcher of water to the upper room (Mark 14:13-15). This is during the day of Nisan 13th.
Thursday – Nisan 14th.“And in the evening He came with the twelve”(Mark 14:17).The evening here is after sunset or6pm, and Passover has begun. This is now the Jewish Thursday, but it is our Wednesday evening.NOTE:This Passover date of Nisan 14this in keeping with the original designated in Numbers 3:33.“They departed from Rameses in the 1st month on the 15thday of the first month;onthe day after Passover the children of Israel went out with boldness in the sight of all the Egyptians.”After the Passover meal, Jesus and the disciples went to the Garden of Gethsemane.
Jesus is arrested, tried, and then crucified at the 3rdhour (9am) (Mark 15:25). He died at the 9thhour (3pm) (Mark 15:34-37). This all takes place on Nisan 14th.
According to Jewish law, the body of Jesus must be taken down from the cross and buried before 6pm.“…that day was the Preparation and the Sabbath drew near.” This is still Nisan 14th, Thursday afternoon. The Sabbath starts at 6pm.
After careful reading you will find there are two Sabbaths being cited in Scripture. “Therefore, because it was the Preparation Day, that the bodies should not remainon the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day)…” (John 19:31). Weekly Sabbaths are not called high days, only annual Sabbaths are called high days, therefore there are two Sabbaths involved.
Friday –Nisan 15th. This is the first of the two Sabbaths and is a high day. This was the Feast of the Unleavened Bread, an annual Sabbath always occurring on Nisan15th. The second of the two Sabbaths was the weekly Sabbath and occurredtwo days later on Sunday Nisan 17th.
Saturday – Nisan 16th. The fact that there are two Sabbaths is based on Mark 16 verses 1 and 2.“When the Sabbath was passed the women bought spices to anointHim.” The women could not buy spices on the high Sabbath, which was Friday. So, they had to wait until Saturday the 16th.
Sunday – Nisan 17th.Then inMark 16 verse 2,“Very early in the morning on the first day of the week they came to the tomb when the sun had risen”. They found the tomb empty. Jesus had already risen. This is Sunday morning. It is also the second of the two Sabbaths or the weekly Sabbath, which is the first day of the week. John 20:1 states, “Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb.” Note the words still dark, which means it was before 6am, therefore it is still considered night. At this time of the year in Jerusalem it is daylight by 6am,thus Sunday cannot be considered as part of the day in the three days and three nights Jesus said He would be in the ground.

Therefore, Jesus was crucified on Thursday, Nisan 14th, and the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the annual Sabbath, occurred on Friday the 15th.
Jesus fulfilled His own prophecy by being crucified on the day the sacrificial lambs were to be slaughtered, and stayed three days and three nights in the earth as He prophesied in Matthew 12:40. The test for the time is partof the day Thursdayall of Friday and Saturday constitutingthe three days. The three nights are Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
Jesus is defined as the Passover Lamb. He died at the very hour (3pm) when the actual slaughter of the Passover lambs was scheduled to begin. Josephus, the Jewish Historian, states that the Passover lambs were sacrificed between 3 and 5pm.

This is all in keeping with God’s Master Plan, and fulfills Biblical prophecy!

Carleton Dowdle

3-24-02