Hebraic Insight - Three days in the grave?
Ever wondered how Jesus was
crucified on Friday, resurrected on Sunday and in the ground for 3 days?
That year was unique in that
Passover, 15th of Nissan, started on our Wednesday evening,
continuing through daytime Thursday.
Like-wise in AD 31 when Jesus was crucified, Passover also started
Wednesday evening. This helps explain
what Matthew tells us in 12:40 “For
as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the
Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.”
(NIV) This provides an explanation
that makes more sense if we take into account the timing of G-d’s Feast Days
(unfortunately the world refers to them as ‘Jewish Feast Days’ or ‘Jewish Holy
Days’).
First, remember that G-d’s
and Jewish days start at sunset (3 stars visible in the sky) and end at sunset
the next day. Not Midnight to midnight
as we are accustomed.
Second, there is more than
one Sabbath to consider. In addition to
weekly Sabbaths on Saturday, the Jewish calendar has seven Annual Sabbaths,
also called "High Days", which can fall on any day of the week.
Third, Passover in the
year 31AD started on our so-called Wednesday evening.
So, now let’s try to count the
days G-d’s way and better understand the daily calendar of Holy Week?
Once we recognize that Passover
occurred on Wednesday, and we recognize then the Passover Seder (Meal) would
have been on Tuesday evening. (Some figure that as Rabbi’s and members of
the Priestly family, they may have had to celebrate their Passover Seder on the
prior evening, Tuesday evening, so they could minister/work, sacrificing lambs
on the Passover Sabbath.) This meant
Tuesday night, the start of Wednesday for the ‘Last Supper’. Here is how an Hebraic Scholar friend of mine
explained it.
Joe, it is easy for me to let
my knowledge of Passover A.D. 31 being on Wed. April 25 that I forget that
Seder night would have been Tuesday night, as the Passover day would begin the
evening before. Yeshua was crucified
Wed. April 25, 31 A.D. and gave up His spirit at 3 PM just as the Temple Passover lamb gave up his
breath as well. Yeshua was taken to the
tomb that evening. He was in the grave
from Wednesday night until Thursday night - one day. He was in the tomb Thursday night until
Friday night - two days. On Saturday
night, after the third day, He rose in His once cold body. Scripture tells us that the ladies came to
the tomb very early in the morning, in fact before it was daylight and found
the tomb empty. Yeshua rose from the
dead hours before the Ishtar sunrise service.
He rose from the dead on Yom HaBikkurim (The Day of Firstfruits), on the
Havdalah or Motza'ei-Shabbat (departure of the Sabbath - cf.1st Cor 16 and Acts
20:7 CJB). This is why for four
centuries Christians, Jewish or otherwise came together on Shabbat in the local
synagogue and particularly for the Havdalah afterwards (before Constantine shut
all that down).
This timing also explains why
Joseph of Arimathea was anxious to bury Jesus before the Passover Sabbath began
at sunset.
And some Hebraic Midrash claims
that Jesus was able to see through the western gate of the temple and see the
Passover lambs being slain while He was on the cross. (True or not, it is an interesting picture)
Additional
opinions, if and as interested:
Proponents
of the Wednesday crucifixion argue that this special Sabbath was the Feast of
Unleavened Bread, which commenced on the 15th day of the Jewish month of Nissan
and was preceded with a Passover meal on the 14th of Nissan. If Jesus was
crucified in 30 A.D. or 31 A.D., the 14th of Nissan would have fallen on a
Wednesday, with the next day being an Annual Sabbath. All of this fits perfectly within the
Scriptural timeline. If true, Jesus would have been crucified the day before a
Sabbath, as recounted in the Bible, and His ultimate sacrifice would have
occurred on a day typically reserved for the sacrifice of the Passover Lamb.
Other
pieces of the puzzle add weight to the Wednesday crucifixion theory. Modern versions of
Points to Ponder
Is when Jesus died important?
Or that He died for us sacrificially for our sins?
In any case, have a Happy Resurrection Day!
“And
when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, heard his cry and saw
how he died, he said, ‘Surely this man was the Son of God!’” Mark 15:39
Yosef a.k.a.
Joe Brusherd April 15, 2025
Author: “Hebraic Insights – Messages
exploring the Hebrew roots of our faith”
“Biblical Marriage (by Yosef)” Weekly “Hebraic Musings”
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