There are various accounts as to when the phrase “Good Friday” originated. Of course, there is no debate as to what it represents, that is, the day Jesus Christ was crucified. But just when it came to be known as Good Friday is up for discussion.
Many passages in the Bible reference the next day being the Sabbath and thus most of humanity concedes the LORD was crucified on Friday. But was He?
Should it be “Good Thursday”?
We have recently concluded a lengthy study in the Gospel of John. There are passages worthy of a closer look in this great book. John 19:31 is one such passage.
Our focus will be on the parenthetical phrase – for that Sabbath was a high day.
To begin our thoughts, please allow me to express the following disclaimers.
- It is not important what day it happened because we don’t hold any day above any other except the LORD’S Day. Outside of the observance of Sunday, the first day of each week, Galatians 4:10 warns against observing holy days.
- I am not adamantly saying the LORD was crucified on Thursday BUT I am saying it is possible and it offers a better explanation to the 3 days and 3 nights of Matthew 12:40. A Friday afternoon death and Sunday morning resurrection has always been a puzzling situation. We have explained it by saying the Jews reckoned any part of the day as the whole day and thus Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, were the 3 days. But when the time from late Friday afternoon to early Sunday morning is little more than 36 hours and only 2 nights, is that explanation satisfactory?
- One’s salvation doesn’t hinge on knowing the day the Lord was crucified. The fact He was crucified and rose again does impact my salvation!
I do believe Jesus was crucified on Thursday rather than Friday. I shall now give the reasons for my belief.
We did a lengthy study called the “Road to Calvary” a few years ago in which we looked at the events of that week. About 1/3 of the gospel accounts deal with this week. Surely such a detailed account of this week is intentional.
As we did this study, we noted that holding to a Friday crucifixion means this important busy detailed week has an entire day (Wednesday) for which there is no recorded activity.
In our study, we noted the LORD rode into town hailed as a King and by week’s end was put to death. Much activity occurred on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday; and we said Wednesday was a silent day, a day of rest perhaps. But I think it is not silent at all but rather the Day of Preparation before the high Sabbath referenced by John. This high Sabbath of which John speaks (John 19:31) occurred on Friday. The Jewish reckoning of time saw each day beginning with sundown. This stems from the beginning of time wherein GOD noted the evening and morning comprised each day. Thus this high Sabbath, that we would say was on a Friday, actually began at sunset on Thursday.
We normally think about the Sabbath day being the weekly Sabbath occurring on Saturday. But are there other Sabbaths? Consider the following points.
- Go to Leviticus 23 and note v3 is discussing the weekly Sabbath. Note v15 and following discuss the Pentecost celebration that is to be observed 50 days after a regular Sabbath. Counting 50 days from a Saturday means Pentecost will always be on Sunday. This is a vital point to note when studying Acts 2 and the beginning of the church. Observe this annual celebration of Pentecost was on a Sunday.
- Note vv23, 24 wherein a yearly feast, the feast of Trumpets, is described. Note this day is to be observed on the first day of the seventh month. Thus it could be any day of the week and it is called a sabbath-rest. So we have a sabbath-rest occurring on a day other than Saturday.
- The Day of Atonement, also an annual observance, is discussed in vv 26-32. We read about this in Hebrews 9:6-7 and we note this is Yom Kippur to the modern Jew. We note it is to be observed on the tenth day of the seventh month and again, can fall on any day of the week. Note v32 states this is a sabbath of solemn rest.
- All we have observed here, so far, is that some of these observances fall on the same day of the week (Saturday or Sunday) and some of them can fall on any day of the week.
- Vv 4-8 describes the Feast of the Passover and Unleavened Bread. This is important in our discussion because it was during the Feast of the Passover that Jesus was crucified (Matt 26:2).
- The Passover is on the 14th day of the 1st month and thus could fall on any day of the week. Note the Feast of Unleavened Bread begins the next day and runs for 7 days. The 1st day and the 7th day are to be holy days, i.e. Sabbaths!
- Now here’s the point. These Festivals were to be observed once each year. Thus there were special Sabbaths to be observed. Occurring once each year means these Sabbaths could fall on any day of the week. Consider our July 4th holiday falls on a different day each year.
- For a review of the institution of the Passover, see Exodus 12. The Jews were instructed to kill a lamb and put the blood on the doorposts. In verses 2, 3 we observe this to be on the 10th day of Nisan. Verse 6 describes the period from the 10th day to the 14th day. The lamb is to be killed on the 14th day. Verse 13 contains specific instructions and in verses 14ff we note the day is to be observed as a memorial.
- As a side note, some have observed from the 10th to the 14th is 4 days with the lamb being killed on the 4th day. Could this foreshadow Jesus Christ entering Jerusalem on Sunday and facing crucifixion on Thursday?
- The Feast of Unleavened Bread discussed in Exodus 13:3ff occurs in the month of Abib. Note Abib and Nissan are the same. It seems the month Abib became Nisan after the Babylonian captivity.
- Now with this information, let’s return to John 19:31.
That Sabbath was a high day.
John’s mention of the Sabbath immediately after the Preparation mentioned by all 4 gospel accounts strongly suggests it was not the ordinary Saturday Sabbath but another kind of Sabbath. This one discussed in Exodus 12:16 instructed the Jews to observe both the 1st and 7th days of the Passover week as days of rest and holy days. This is the 15th of Nissan and thus a holy day. These special Sabbaths were called “high days” and this is likely what John is referring to in v31.
One final note can be found in Matthew 28:1. The Greek word translated Sabbath here is used in the singular sense AND the plural sense. Most translations have it singular but the Greek text literally is “end of the Sabbaths”. In fact, Young’s Literal Translation renders it as “Sabbaths”. This would suggest there were back to back Sabbaths.
The Jewish calendar is based on lunar cycles. The first month of the Jewish year is Nissan and corresponds to our March and April. Easter always falls during this time.
All of these lunar cycles were fed into a computer with the hope of finding the High Sabbath falling on Friday, the day before the weekly Saturday Sabbath. These would be the “sabbaths” referred to in Matthew. Taking into account the years around 29 AD to 33 AD produced a Friday/Saturday combination in the year AD 30. If this is true, then Thursday, April 6, A.D. 30, is the most plausible date suggested for the crucifixion of Christ.
This is why I believe He was crucified on a Thursday. But let me emphasize this point. At the end of the discussion, it is not important that we know what day this momentous event occurred. We are just thankful that it did. The Son of GOD came to earth, lived and died and lived again! Through His death, burial and resurrection, I have hope to live with Him throughout eternity. That, my friend, is all that is important!