I have been very reflective lately concerning the importance of Easter and I like many have been observing this important Christian festival.

I like Good Friday, and yesterday I was minded to post an article on the topic ‘Was Jesus crucified on a Friday?’ I wanted to present my thoughts concerning the historic perspective of the crucifixion day rather than the traditional day celebrated by the church.

For many believers and unbelievers it is automatically assumed that Jesus was crucified on a Friday and I don’t want to be insensitive to believers who might want to remember Good Friday as the day our Lord was crucified. I too hold Good Friday in regard. However I have decided to mention a few reasons why I believe it is more likely that Jesus was crucified in the middle of the week either on a Wednesday or a Thursday.

Here are my reasons;

• Mark 15: 42 places the evening of the crucifixion at the beginning of preparation day, “the day before the Sabbath” (NKJV).
• Luke 23; 54 places the burial of Jesus on preparation day with the Sabbath drawing near.
• John 19: 42 also places the laying of Jesus in the tomb on preparation day.
• Matthew 27: 62 places the gathering of the chief priests and the Pharisees on “the next day” after the crucifixion on “the Day of Preparation” (NKJV).

It is important to note that the event of the crucifixion and death of Jesus had already taken place at the point we meet these verses. This means a whole day had gone by where Jesus faced a series of trials leading to His crucifixion and death, and in the Jewish calendar the day begins at sunset, as stated in Genesis 1: 5 “the evening and the morning were the first day.“.

In contrast to our western minds when a new day begins at midnight, the new day in Biblical Israel began at sunset. This means the preparation day began on Thursday evening, meaning that Jesus had been crucified earlier on that day.

Likewise, in Matthew 12: 40 Jesus prophesies that “as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” (NKJV)

I have looked at many arguments concerning this and there seems to be no way around it; no matter how we look at it, Friday to Sunday does not give us three days and three nights. On the contrary, it would be more fitting to say this;

• Thursday evening to Friday evening gives us one day and one night.

• Friday evening to Saturday evening gives us one day and one night.

• A Saturday evening to a Sunday morning gives us one night and a morning.

Thus multiplied together gives us a period of three days and three nights, leaving Jesus rising from the tomb on the third day being a Sunday morning. Luke 24: 1 places the first sighting of the resurrection of Christ on “the first day of the week, very early in the morning,”

If Jesus was crucified on a Wednesday, that would give us even more time, and perhaps too many days. However, if Jesus had been crucified on a Friday, that would only give us a Friday and Saturday evening being only two nights and would not answer the statements made that Jesus was laid in the tomb as the Preparation Day was approaching and just begun.

In order to believe that Jesus was crucified on a Friday one would have to interpret Matthew 12: 40 in a metaphorical or symbolic sense and not literal.

I hope these thoughts give you pause for reflection during this important festival when we remember what Christ has done for us.