Christian Living
Good Friday...or Good WEDNESDAY?
WARNING:The following study is definitely for the Student of the Word. However, all Christians seeking truth will be blessed by heeding the Spirit of the message. Another sacred cow may come tumbling down for some. If that's you, embrace it, for that's where the tastiest cuts of beef come from. If you happen to disagree, love me anyway, thank you.
Too often, throughout the Body of Christ, we do things out of religious obligation, often never clear - or never asking - why we observe this or that tradition. As "Believers," we simply believe, assuming that SOMEBODY (our leaders, we hope), has a handle on things, and we move along, often too ashamed to make waves. Multitudes of sincere Believers step out and solemnly perform their denominational duties on an almost "professional" level. A new Christian can only hope to one day become as adept at their own performance of the prescribed methods.
THE GOOD FRIDAY CONUNDRUM
For a moment, let's take a good look at one of Christendom's MOST special days, Good Friday.
Ask any child how many hours are in a day and he will probably know there are twenty-four. Three days would, of course, equal 72 hours. A no-brainer, as they say, agreed?
What did Jesus mean when He said He'd be "3 days and 3 nights in the heart of the earth" and so fulfill "the type of Jonah" (Matt 12:39-40)? How about when He said, "The Son of Man must suffer…be killed and AFTER 3 days rise again" (Mk 9:31)? Three days and three nights is 72 hours, remember? Working BACKWARDS from Resurrection Sunday brings us to…Good Friday??
NO! Good WEDNESDAY!
Before labeling this as heretical teaching, observe: the confusion comes from the variations between Hebrew and Roman time-telling, as well as the MUCH overlooked fact that there was an EXTRA festival Sabbath (meaning: day of rest) taking place in that final week BESIDES the regular weekly Sabbath. Matthew 28:1 was translated from the Hebrew/Chaldee and Greek as "After the SABBATHS, toward the dawn of the day following the SABBATHS…," but any of the SEVEN days of the Paschal Week were possible EXTRA Sabbaths on the old Hebrew calendar. Obviously, the translators did not understand the distinctions in the Hebrew Sabbaths in the Passover Week. Because of this, they assumed Jesus was crucified on Friday, because He was crucified on the day before the usual WEEKLY Sabbath, which would normally have been logical. In the Passover Week, THURSDAY was a Sabbath, a HIGH DAY, an EXTRA Sabbath. Two Sabbaths in one week, causing confusion in the Church to this day.
The early translators of the Scriptures translated the Greek word for "Passover" (the whole week of the festival) as "Easter." Why? This was a pagan festival named for the Saxon goddess, Eastra, which no doubt got her name from the Assyrian/Babylonian goddess of fertility, Ishtar (which explains the eggs and reproductive rabbits as the poster children for the occasion). God does not seem to be as impressed with our religious festivals as much as His people seem to think He is (Amos 5:21-24).
Yes, Jesus participated in them, but He was under the Law as much as any other good Jew. He was without sin, so we know this was perfectly acceptable that He should do this. When it comes to Holy days, today is as Holy as any, in my opinion. "THIS is the day the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in IT!" For that matter, because the Spirit of Christ dwells within you, when it comes to the Holy Lands, the ground you're standing on is about as holy as it gets! So, save your money if you're planning a trip.
IN KEEPING WITH TRADITION...
Remember, before reading one more word: "The traditions of man make the Word of God of no effect," (Mk 7:13). We must not check our brains at the sanctuary door. If we do that in regard to Good Friday, when ELSE are we doing so? We are not obligated to buy every can o' peas on the shelves of our denominational grocery stores. The Bible does NOT say that the truth will set us free. It says "they shall KNOW the truth and the truth will set them free." KNOWING the truth... is THAT the key?
Jesus said, "I am the Way, the TRUTH, and the Life." Knowing JESUS, having a RELATIONSHIP with Him…THAT is the key!
Whether you agree or not, the message you're reading will not save or condemn a single soul. DO ask yourselves, however, if there might be any OTHER erroneous doctrines of devils or of man which you may have been spoon-fed all your life, when it's the doctrines of GOD and of Christ that are ALL that matter. All others simply serve to put us, and keep us, in bondage. The word "religion" actually MEANS "a return to bondage." Jesus came to set us FREE!
WHY THREE DAYS AND NOT TWO OR FOUR?
As you will see below, God apparently has a "thing" about 3's.
He's a triune God, right?
We're 3-part beings ourselves, body, soul & spirit, right?
Made in His image?
He seems to prefer 3-Day events as well, as you'll see below. If this study presents enough evidence to convince anyone that they've been spiritually misdirected regarding the Good Friday tradition, I advise that they rejoice in the revelation and leave it at that. Paul gave us some pretty good instructions for handling this type of situation in Romans 14:4-7.
Numbers 19:11,12 says that a man who touches death was to purify himself on the 3rd day. Leviticus 7:17,18 says the flesh of a peace offering was NOT to be kept beyond the 3rd day, but was to be cast into fire as unfit for eating. Didn't Jesus become sin at the cross (2 Cor 5:21; 1 Peter 2:24)? God is Holy and can not look upon and turns from sin. is it not commonly believed that Jesus descend into the flames of Hell upon His death (Eph 4:9; Rev 1:18)? Also, Herodotus (AD 86-89) wrote that embalming took place AFTER three days. Finally, the Jewish custom was not to accept as evidence the identification of a dead body AFTER 3 days because, in the Middle East, decay occurs quickly. The fact that Lazarus was dead 4 days was proof that he was REALLY dead, without hope, and 'he stinketh,' (Jn 11:17,39).
Here are examples of Old Testament 3-Day types:
Gen 22:1-14; Gen 40:12-19;42:17; Ex 3:18; 5:3; 8:27; Ex 15:26; Num 33:8; Num 10:33; Josh 1:11; 3:2; Esther 4:16; Jonah 1:17; 3:3
MORE: Josh 2:16,22; 9:16; 14:14; 19:4; 1 Sam 9:20; 20:5,19; 30:12-13; 2 Sam 20:4; 24:13; 1 Chron 21:12; 1 Kings 12:5; 2 Kings 2:17; 1 Chron 12:39; 2 Chron 10:5; 20:25; Ezra 8:15,32; Neh 2:11; Hosea 6:3
Here are examples of New Testament 3-Day Signs:
Matt 12:39-40; Matt 14:32; Mk 8:2; Lk 2:46; Lk 13:32; Jn 2:1; Jn 2:18-21; Acts 9:9
The following examples speak of 3 days AND 3 nights: Jonah 1:17; Esther 4:16; Matt 12:40.
Was Jesus referring to a LITERAL 3 Days/3 Nights in Matthew 12:39-40 and Mark 9:31? Like most languages OTHER than English, the Hebrew norm was to use 3 days AND nights ONLY when referring to a STATEMENT OF FACT. The Hebrew day was measured from one sunset to the next (6PM to 6PM), generally referred to as "evening to evening" (Lev 23:32; Ex 12:18). On the other hand, the Roman time-keeping method was midnight to midnight. Several Scriptures refer to this variances in Hebrew vs. Roman time: Jn 19:14 (6AM to sunrise); Mk 15:25 (9AM on the day of crucifixion); Matt 27:45 (noon to 3PM). The 'twelve hours in the day' referred to in John 11:9 referred to sunrise and the twelve hours of the night FROM sunset. Here's where the expression 'a night and a day' in 2 Corinthians 11:25 denotes a complete day.
So, 6PM on Saturday (the usual Hebrew Sabbath) started the first day of the week (our modern Sunday), important when studying the resurrection accounts. Jesus was killed the 3rd hour (Hebrew time, 9AM) and hung on the cross 3 hours. At the 6th hour (Hebrew time) darkness covered the land until the 9th hour (noon to 3PM), completing the 9 hours of agony on the cross. Because the NEXT day (our Thursday) was the HIGH Sabbath, beginning at 6PM Wednesday, the body was placed in the borrowed tomb just before sunset (Jn 19:31).
TGI...Sabbath Day!
Israel observed the weekly Sabbath, the 7th day of the week, our modern Saturday (Ex 20:8-11; 31:12-18; Deut 5:12-14). Besides their WEEKLY Sabbath, there were FESTIVAL Sabbaths! If any of these fell during the ordinary week, they counted it as an EXTRA Sabbath in that week, meaning there were sometimes TWO Sabbaths in a week: the FEAST Sabbath and the WEEKLY Sabbath. Need proof? Lev. 23:1-4 deals with WEEKLY Sabbaths of rest. Leviticus 23:4-44 deals with holy convocations, or Sabbaths, which are ADDITIONAL Sabbaths in the week. Note verses 7-36 where "holy convocations" are referred to and verses 24-39 where "Sabbaths" are referred to. There were ALSO Sabbath YEARS of rest for the land, including Jubilee (the 50th year), Lev. 25.
So, there were TWO Sabbaths in the Passover week, the week of the crucifixion: the FEAST Sabbath, or HIGH Day, as well as the WEEKLY Sabbath.
Got it?
Why does the Church get confused? First, we don't take time to note the "fixed" points of Scripture. Second, the Gentile translators of the Scriptures did NOT understand the Law concerning Hebrew feasts and Sabbaths. Finally, the accidental, if not blatantly arrogant assumption that the imperialistic Roman method (rulers of the world at that time), and their midnight-to-midnight method, was the method used by the original writers.
There are 16 references in the NT speaking of the 3 Days/3 Nights of Christ's redemptive work. In His first mentioning of His sufferings (Matt 16:21), Jesus says He would be 'raised again the third day.' In John 2:19, He had already mentioned 'three days' as the time after which He would raise up 'the Temple of His body,' This expression occurs 11 times in regard to His resurrection. The expression 'after 3 days' (Mk 8:31), is used to describe the same event. This shows that 3 Days/3 Nights MUST include 3 days and the 3 PRECEDING nights. The full 3/3 is evidence of the resurrection on the THIRD of the THREE DAYS, each preceded by a night.
ALLOWING SCRIPTURE TO GUIDE US
1) the HIGH Day of Jn 19:31 was the FIRST day of the feast
2) the FIRST DAY OF THE FEAST was the 15th day of Nisan
3) the 15th of Nisan began at SUNSET on the 14th
4) SIX DAYS BEFORE THE PASSOVER (Jn 12:1) takes us BACKWARD to the 9th of Nisan
5) AFTER TWO DAYS IS THE PASSOVER (Matt 26:2; Mk 14:1) takes us to the 13th of Nisan
6) THE FIRST DAY OF THE WEEK (resurrection day, Matt 28:1) was from our Saturday sunset to Sunday sunset, fixing the days of the WEEK.
7) Going BACKWARD from the THREE DAYS AND THREE NIGHTS (Matt 12:40) we arrive at the day of BURIAL, before sunset on the 14th of Nisan, BEFORE our Wednesday sunset!
Not a Good Friday in sight.
This makes the 6th day before Passover the 9th of Nisan, our Thursday sunset to Friday sunset. Before Wednesday, Nisan 14th (commencing on Tuesday at sunset), was the PREPARATION DAY on which the crucifixion took place. All four gospels agree this was the day of the Lord's burial (before our Wednesday sunset). The bodies should not remain on the cross the Sabbath day, "for that Sabbath was a HIGH DAY," therefore, not the USUAL 7th day, or WEEKLY Sabbath (Jn 19:31).
Since Jesus was crucified on PREPARATION DAY, He could not have eaten the Passover lamb, which wasn't slain till evening of the 14th of Nisan (afternoon). On that day, the daily sacrifice was killed at the 6th hour (noon) and offered by the 7th hour (1PM). The killing of the lambs began immediately afterwards. Clearly, if this did not take place till 4 hours AFTER the Lord was hung on the cross and wasn't completed till the 9th hour (3PM) when HE GAVE UP THE GHOST, no Passover Lamb could have been eaten at the last supper the previous evening. Rather significant that the lambs were killed when THE Lamb of God actually died, eh? With these facts, we can piece together the events of the Lord's last week as recorded in the Gospels.
LOCATING THE 3 DAYS AND 3 NIGHTS PRIOR TO THE RESURRECTION
As for the 3 Days and 3 Nights before His resurrection, they were as follows:
1) FIRST NIGHT AND DAY IN THE TOMB: The First Day of the Feast (THE HIGH DAY), the 15th of Nisan, our Wednesday sunset to Thursday sunset.
2) SECOND NIGHT AND DAY IN THE TOMB: The Second Day of the Feast, the 16th of Nisan, our Thursday sunset to Friday sunset.
3) THIRD DAY AND NIGHT IN THE TOMB: The Third Day of the Feast, the 17th of Nisan, our Friday sunset to Saturday sunset.
4) THE FIRST DAY OF THE WEEK, the 18th of Nisan, our Saturday sunset, the THIRD DAY of Matthew 16:21, NOT the third day of the feast.
Considering these details, Jesus had to have been crucified on a Wednesday, NOT a Friday.
In short, Jesus was crucified Wednesday morning, the third hour. From noon to 3PM, there was darkness on the land. By 6PM, He was in the tomb, as the bodies could not remain on the cross on a Sabbath day, for "THAT SABBATH was a High Day" (Jn 19:31). It was NOT a weekly Sabbath, NOT a usual Sabbath-Saturday. It WAS the Passover Sabbath…a Thursday.
In other words, Jesus was crucified on Wednesday at 9AM.
"Good Wednesday," if you like.
Every blessing,
Michael Tummillo
A servant of God
www.YourTown4jesus.org
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