In reading this writing I hope we can
all agree upon the death and resurrection of the Messiah Yeshua as
fact. That he existed and was crucified
is up for little debate amongst even secular scholars, that he rose from the
grave we hold to the Scriptures, as the account in Acts 1:3 which states: After his death he showed himself to them
and gave many convicting proofs that he was alive. During the period of forty
days they saw him, and he spoke with them about the kingdom of God.
We must first see the
difference between the Gregorian calendar week and the Jewish calendar week, as
both will be needed to comprehend what is being said. In this let us refer to
the following:
Gregorian
|
Jewish
|
Midnight
to Midnight (12am)
|
Evening
to Evening (6pm)
|
Sunday
12am-6am
|
Day One
of the Week 12am-6am
|
Sunday
6am-12pm
|
Day One
of the Week 6am-12pm
|
Sunday
12pm-6pm
|
Day One
of the Week 12pm-6pm
|
Sunday
6pm-12am
|
Day Two
of the Week 6pm-12am
|
Monday
12am-6am
|
Day Two
of the Week 12am-6am
|
Monday
6am-12pm
|
Day Two
of the Week 6am-12pm
|
Monday
12pm-6pm
|
Day Two
of the Week 12pm-6pm
|
Monday
6pm-12am
|
Day
Three of the Week 6pm-12am
|
Tuesday
12am-6am
|
Day
Three of the Week 12am-6am
|
Tuesday
6am-12pm
|
Day
Three of the Week 6am-12pm
|
Tuesday
12pm-6pm
|
Day
Three of the Week 12pm-6pm
|
Tuesday
6pm-12am
|
Day Four
of the Week 6pm-12am
|
Wednesday
12am-6am
|
Day Four
of the Week 12am-6am
|
Wednesday
6am-12pm
|
Day Four
of the Week 6am-12pm
|
Wednesday
12pm-6pm
|
Day Four
of the Week 12pm-6pm
|
Wednesday
6pm-12am
|
Day Five
of the Week 6pm-12am
|
Thursday
12am-6am
|
Day Five
of the Week 12am-6am
|
Thursday
6am-12pm
|
Day Five
of the Week 6am-12pm
|
Thursday
12pm-6pm
|
Day Five
of the Week 12pm-6pm
|
Thursday
6pm-12am
|
Day Six
of the Week 6pm-12am
|
Friday
12am-6am
|
Day Six
of the Week 12am-6am
|
Friday
6am-12pm
|
Day Six
of the Week 6am-12pm
|
Friday
12pm-6pm
|
Day Six
of the Week 12pm-6pm
|
Friday
6pm-12am
|
Sabbath
6pm-12am
|
Saturday
12am-6am
|
Sabbath
12am-6am
|
Saturday
6am-12pm
|
Sabbath
6am-12pm
|
Saturday
2pm-6pm
|
Sabbath
12pm-6pm
|
Saturday
6pm-12am
|
Day One
of the Week 6pm-12am
|
We must also keep in mind the Hebraic and Greek words used when we review the scriptures involved. We will review these as we go through the passages.
When I speak of Sabbath as a 6pm time, this is simply for the purpose of this writing to keep it simpler. The correct timing is as soon as dusk hits every day, and thus fluctuating some from one day to the next. Rabbinical law at the time mandated that to ensure Sabbath was never breached they actually had to be prepared and start it an hour beforehand and go until an hour afterwards.
With these precursors let’s dig in. Personally, I first must know, “Why does
this even matter?” Before I dig into anything, so let’s start with that. How do
we know that Yeshua is the Messiah? Because he fulfilled all the prophesies,
indeed according to Revelation 19:10 he Is the Spirit of prophesy: I fell at his feet to worship him; but he
said, “Don’t do that! I am only a fellow servant with you and your bothers who
have the testimony of Yeshua. Worship God! For the testimony of Yeshua is the
Spirit of prophesy.” or ...For
it is the Spirit of prophesy who bears testimony to Jesus. (NIV)
This means we must first
separate the prophesies of his first and second comings. For the sake of this writing we won’t go into
that, I’m sure most reading this already grasp that concept. What is applicable
now is the prophesies around three days. Matthew 12:39-40 says: He replied, “A wicked and adulterous
generation asks for a sign? No! None will be given to it but the sign of the
prophet Yonah (Jonah). For just as Yonah was three days and three nights in the
belly of the sea monster, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights
in the depths of the earth. This verse is direct play off of Jonah
2:1 Adonai prepared a huge fish to
swallow Yonah; and Yonah was in the bell of the fish for three days and three
nights.
So let’s dissect this a
little, and dig into that language thing! First we must recognize that three
days and three nights can be used as a Hebrew idiom, in the sense that it
doesn't have to mean full twelve hour periods of day and night, but it does
have to mean going over the course of three Jewish days. We can use this as we
review, but let us look harder at the Matthew verse, specifically that he would
“in the depths of the earth” for this
time frame. What this means then is that in order for these words of the Messiah to
be fulfilled, he has to be in the tomb over the duration of three separate
Jewish days, but not necessarily for a full 72 hours. The necessary three days
is reinforced when we look at John 2:19 Yeshua
answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up
again.” and Matthew 26:61 “This
man said, ‘I can tear down God’s Temple and build it back again in three
days.’” The Greek word used, hmera, once against instates that while
it does not have to be a full day, it does have to be separate entities of
three days. Matthew 17:22-23 goes on to say As
they where going about together in the Galil (Galilee), Yeshua said to them,
“The Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of people who will put
him to death, and on the third day he will be raised.” And Chapter 20,
verse 18 says “We are not going up into
Yerushalyim, where the Son of Man will be handed over to the head cohanim
(priests) and Torah teachers. They will sentence him to death and turn him over
to the Goyim (gentiles), who will jeer at him, beat him and execute him on a stake as a criminal.
But on the third day he will be raised.
So from there we can
clearly see that three distinctly separate days and nights must be involved to
meet this prophetic requirement, although they do not have to be complete 12
hour periods of day and night. To not meet a prophetic requirement is to
diminish Yeshua’s claim as the Messiah, and thus is a very large issue! We can
all agree that he did meet the needed prophesies of his first coming so let us
now continue and see how this aligns to the rest of our Biblical information.
Let us look at the order of events now around the crucifixion and resurrection. First, of course, we have Jesus and his followers coming to Jerusalem as can be found in Matthew 21, Mark 11, Luke 19 and John 12. John 12 gives us a big start here right from the start of the chapter, verse 1 Six days before Pesach (Passover), Yeshua came to Beit-Anyah (Bethany), where El’azar (Lazarus) lived. Verse 12 carries on The next day, the crowd that had come for the festival heard that Yeshua was on his way into Yerushalayim (Jerusalem). So now we can see that it was 5 Jewish days before the day of Passover that Jesus came into Jerusalem. This in itself holds a large symbolism tied to the Passover lamb to be sacrificed and the gate he came into the city on. The exact time of day that he entered the city is up for some dispute and various theories.
Many things happen in Jerusalem and the surrounding area with Jesus during these next few days, parables and such that do not affect the purpose of this writing.
Matthew 26:2 begins the plot to kill Yeshua, with Yeshua himself saying, “As you know, Pesach (Passover) is two days away, and the Son of Man will be handed over to be nailed to the execution stake” Come verse 14 we now have Judas plotting with the High Priests to betray Yeshua. At this same time frame Mark 14 reports that upon the same day he was anointed at Bethany. Luke speaks only briefly on the Judas and the Priests plotting, with no mention of the time. We do run into a perceived issue in John however, as John 12:1-3 says Six Days before Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honor. Martha served while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. Then Mary took a pint of pure nard, and expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of perfume. Another issue is that the head of the household have two separate names. One being Simon the Leper (Mark) and the other Lazarus (John). Matthew’s rendition states the name as Simon the Leper at the time of the Annointing. Now, we also see in Matthew 21:17 With that, he left them and went outside the city to Beit-Anyah, where he spent the night. So we can see that he hasn’t been staying in Jerusalem every night, but returning to his friends home. One theory to this is that in John he is not meaning it was on that day that the anointing was done, but while Jesus was staying at his home, which could be stated right up to two days before the Passover. Which then leaves the idea of a discrepancy in names, after all, these are all men who have met Lazarus before, should they not know his name? This is a cultural issue, as at the time there was the Hebrew Name and the Greek name, almost all people had two; for example, Saul and Paul. Leaving the only conclusion for the anointing to be two days before Passover, as supported by more accounts and a reasonable explanation for the offset account.
Following this we have the Last Supper. Matthew 26:17 tells us, On the first day of Matzah (Unleavened Bread, this day is Passover), the talmidim (disciples) came to Yeshua and asked, “Where do you want us to prepare your Seder (Passover Dinner)?”. Mark 14:12 gives us, On the first day of Matzah, when they slaughtered the lamb for Pesach, Yeshua’s talmidim asked him, “Where do you want us to go and prepare your Seder?”. Luke 22:7 says Then came the day of Matzah, on which the Passover Lamb had to be killed. Yeshua sent Kefa (Peter) and Yochanan (John), instructing them, “Go and prepare our Seder, so we can eat.” Now at first glance this looks to say that it was the seder itself which was the last supper, but this could not be. Exodus 12, Leviticus 23 and Deuteronomy 16 show us that the seder meal is after the slaughter of the lamb, not before it. So the seder meal could not have been eaten by Yeshua, the lamb, before his crucifixion. Instead I propose that this is saying that he evening before the crucifixion Yeshua and the disciples found a place to have a last supper, planning to be there the next day to prepare for the seder which takes a long time to be prepared for and could not have been done in a matter of a couple hours. This would have still been the day of Passover, the night before the lamb would have been slaughtered, and could then be seen as preparation or even the first 'day' to unleavened bread. This is supported by the reality that in Matthew the idea of it being the day of unleavened bread is not in the original Greel. John 13 supports this, saying, It was just before the festival of Pesach, and Yeshua knew the time had come for him to pass from this world to the Father….They were at supper…
Matthew 26:20 says When evening came, Yeshua reclined with the twelve talmidim. Showing it was just later that evening in which they indeed sit down to the Last supper. Mark 14:17 Backs this up with when evening came. Luke simply refers to it as the hour and John has nothing to say on this time.The last supper then would not have been the seder itself, as that happened after the slaughter of the lamb as per Exodus 12, Leviticus 23 and Deuteronomy 16, but it would have been a special dinner. Similar to the Sabbath every special dinner involved the bread and wine which we now view as communion from the events of this night.
Upon finishing the last supper the group moves on to the Mount of Olives, to a place called the garden of Gethsemane. We know this from Matthew 26:30 When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives, and verse 36 Then Yeshua went with his talmidim to a place called Gat-Sh’Manim (Gethsemane)…; Mark 14:32 They went to a place called Get-Sh’manim…; Luke 22:39 On leaving, Yeshua went as usual to the Mount of Olives…; and John even decided to be obvious in cooperation and says in Chapter 18 After Yeshua had said all this, he went out with his talmidim across the stream that flows in winter through the Vadi Kidron, to a spot where there was a grove of trees; and he and his talmidim went into it. Now, we do not have an exact time for this, but we do know it was before Peter’s denials and we have a time for that, so it was sometime throughout the night.
In the garden Yeshua is arrested and immediately taken to the Sanhedrin, the jury of priests, teachers of the law and elders and presented to Caiaphus, the High Priest for questioning. We see this in Matthew 26:27 Those who had siezed Yeshua led him off to Kayafa (Caiaphus) the cohen hagadol (HighPriest), where the Torah teachers and elders where assembled; Mark 14:53 They led Yeshua to the cohen hagadol, with whom all the head cohanim (chief priests), elders and torah teachers were assembling; Luke 22:55 Having seized him, they led him away and brought him into the house of the cohen hagadol; and John 18:13 and took him first to ‘Anan (Annas), the father in law of Kayafa (Caiaphus), who was cohen hagadol that fateful year. Now we know for sure that we are in the next morning, as while Yeshua in with the Sanhedrin Peter denies Christ and the rooster crows. We see this in Matthew 26:69-75, Mark 14:66-72, Luke 22:54-62 and John 18:15-18 and 25-27.
Because of the events with the Sanhedrin Yeshua is now taken to Pilate. Mark 15:1 says As soon as it was morning, the head cohanim held a council meeting… Then they put Yeshua in chains, led him away and handed him over to Pilate. The section can also be found in Matthew 27:11, Luke 22:66 and John 18:36. This John passage again appears to contradict the timeline as it speaks that the priests are concerned with entering the palace of Pilate because of their desire to remain clean for Passover dinner. The Seder meal had been consumed the night before, so what is meant? In many ways the terms Passover and the festival of Unleavened Bread seem interchangeable. Passover is a first day, immediately followed by the seven days of Unleavened Bread, it was the meal of the first day of Unleavened Bread that concerns them. So while the priests would be concerned with being clean for a Holy Day meal, it was not the Seder meal they were concerned over. While with Pilate he is sentenced to crucifixion, Barabas is released, and Yeshua gets flogged and beaten.
Now we have reached the point in which Yeshua faces the cross. Matthew 27:33-37 says When they arrived at a place called Gulgotha (Golgotha)(which means “place of the skull”), they gave him wine mixed with bitter gall to drink; but after tasting it he would not drink it. After they had nailed him to the stake, they divided his clothes among them by throwing dice. Then they sat down to keep watch over him there. Above his head they placed a written notice stating the charges against him, This is Yeshua, The King of the Jews. Mark 15:21-24 supports this and then goes on to add in verse 25 It was nine in the morning when they nailed him to the stake. Luck 23:33 and 34 as well as John 19:16-19 make this clear as well.
At Noon, while Yeshua hung on the cross darkness came over the land, and remained until 3pm when he cried out “Eli! Eli! L’mah SH’vaktani?” (My God! My God! Why have you forsaken me?) And gave up his spirit. Immediately at this time the veil in the temple was torn, the ground shook and many holy people resurrected bodily and wandered Jerusalem. As seen in Matthew 27:45-54, Mark 15:33-39, Luke 23:44-49 and John 19:28-30.
And then Joseph of Arimathea enters the scene. Matthew 27:57-62 says Towards evening, there came a wealthy man from Ramatayim (Arimathea) named Yosef (Joseph), who was himself a talmid (disciple) of Yeshua. He approached Pilate an asked for Yeshua’s body, and Pilate ordered it be given to him. Yosef took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen sheet, and laid it in his own tomb, which he had recently had cut out of rock. After rolling a large stone in front of the entrance to the tomb, he went away. Miryam of Magdala (Mary Magdelene) And the other Miryam (Mary) stayed there, sitting opposite the grave. Next Day, after the preparation, the head conahim and the P’rushim went together to Pilate… So from here we see a few things for the timeline. One that it was approaching evening by the time Joseph went to the Pilate, meaning that with travel on foot from Golgotha to Pilate’s Palace, time to see him, and time back to Golgotha to collect the body it is approaching evening, time is running out before Shabbat. Mark 16:42-46 supports this by saying Since it was Preparation Day (that is, a day before a Shabbat), as evening approached, Yosef of Ramatayim, a prominent member of the Sanhedrin, who himself was also looking forward to the Kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for Yeshua’s body. Pilate was surprised to hear that he was already dead, so he summoned an officer and asked him if he had been dead awhile. After he had gotten confirmation from the officer that Yeshua was dead, he granted Yosef the corpse. Yosef purchased a linen sheet; and after taking Yeshua down he wrapped him in the linen sheet, laid him in a tomb which had been cut out of the rock, and rolled a stone against the entrance to the tomb. Not only did Joseph go to Pilate and wrap Yeshua’s body, but he had to get the linen wrap, assist in removing the body from the cross and then transport him to the nearby tomb. Luke goes into repetition in Luke 23:50-54 and John 19:38-42 also strengthens this time line, adding in verses 39-40 that some spices and aloe where added to the body of Yeshua when he was wrapped in linen.
Luke 23:56 states that the women go home to prepare some spices before the Sabbath, saying Then they went back home to prepare spices and ointments. On Shabbat the women rested, in obedience to the commandment. This was probably done around the same time as Joseph doing his tasks.
Jumping back to Matthew 27:62 with another focus we see that it in the next daytime the Priests and Teachers went to Pilate to have the tomb guarded. Mark says nothing on this topic, and neither does Luke or John.
Mark 16:1 gives us the next event in our timeline, When Shabbat was over, Miryam of Magdala, Miryam the mother of Ya’akov (James), and Shlomit (Salome) bought spices in order to go and anoint Yeshua. This tells us that it Had to be done Saturday night, once the Shabbat was finished and the markets re-opened for a few hours. We will see soon when they go to the tomb that it was very early and still dark when they go to the tomb, meaning they cannot have bought those spices that morning, when the market was closed.
He is Risen! Those from liturgical pasts say 'He is risen indeed!' We have surprisingly little scripture, and what we do have to confirm this time is somewhat in question. Only some versions of the Bible include it. The reasoning being that these verses are found in many ancient Greek manuscripts, but not in the two oldest ones. They read, Mark 16:9-20, When Yeshua rose early on Sunday, he appeared first to Miryam of Magdala, from whom he had expelled seven demons. She went and told those who had been with him, as they were crying and mourning. But when they heard that she was alive and that she had seen him, they wouldn’t believe it.After that, Yeshua appeared in another form to two of them as they were walking into the country. They went and told the others, but they didn’t believe them either. Later Yeshua appeared to the eleven as they were eating, and he reproached them for their lack of trust and their spiritual insensitivity in not having believed those who had seen him after he had risen. Then he said to them, “As you go throughout the world, proclaim the good news to all creation. Whoever trusts and is immersed will be saved; whoever does not trust will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who do trust: in my name they will drive out demons, speak with new tongues, not be injured if they handle snakes, or drink poison, and heal the sick by laying hands on them.” So then, after he had spoken to them, the Lord Yeshua was taken up into heaven and sat at the right hand of God. And they went out and proclaimed everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the message by accompanying signs.
Starting again in Matthew, chapter 28 verse one to seven, After Shabbat as the next day was dawning, Miryam of Magdala and the other Miryam went to see the grave. Suddenly there was a violent earthquake, for an angel of Adonai came down from heaven, rolled away the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightening and his clothes where as white as snow. The guards where so terrified at him that they trembled and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid. I know you are looking for Yeshua, who was executed on the stake. He is not here, because he has been raised – just as he said! Come and look at the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell the tamilidim, ‘He has been raised from the dead, and now he is going to Galil (Galilee) ahead of you. You will see him there.’ Now I have told you.” Here we see when the women return to the tomb, dawn of the Sunday. Mark reinforces this with Mark 16:2 saying Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb. Luke 24:1 says On the First day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. John 20:1 repeats this by saying Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Miryam from Magdala went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb.
The women then, in their excitement, rush back to the Apostles and other disciples to tell them of this news! Matthew 28:8-10 says So they left the tomb quickly, frightened yet filled with joy; and they ran to give the good news to his talmidim. Suddenly Yeshua met them and said, “Shalom! (Peace)” They came up and took hold of his feet and fell down in front of him. Then Yeshua said to them, “Don’t be afraid! Go and tell my bothers to go to the Galil, and they will see me there.” The following events all take place at the ends of the four gospels, the women seeing Christ and not being believed, Cleophas and another disciple meeting with Jesus, Jesus appears to the eleven, and so on.
So now that we have looked at what the Bible says about Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection let’s put it into a more basic form. To do this we will go through each day in question. In the order of most commonly held to, to the least commonly held to.
Let us look at the order of events now around the crucifixion and resurrection. First, of course, we have Jesus and his followers coming to Jerusalem as can be found in Matthew 21, Mark 11, Luke 19 and John 12. John 12 gives us a big start here right from the start of the chapter, verse 1 Six days before Pesach (Passover), Yeshua came to Beit-Anyah (Bethany), where El’azar (Lazarus) lived. Verse 12 carries on The next day, the crowd that had come for the festival heard that Yeshua was on his way into Yerushalayim (Jerusalem). So now we can see that it was 5 Jewish days before the day of Passover that Jesus came into Jerusalem. This in itself holds a large symbolism tied to the Passover lamb to be sacrificed and the gate he came into the city on. The exact time of day that he entered the city is up for some dispute and various theories.
Many things happen in Jerusalem and the surrounding area with Jesus during these next few days, parables and such that do not affect the purpose of this writing.
Matthew 26:2 begins the plot to kill Yeshua, with Yeshua himself saying, “As you know, Pesach (Passover) is two days away, and the Son of Man will be handed over to be nailed to the execution stake” Come verse 14 we now have Judas plotting with the High Priests to betray Yeshua. At this same time frame Mark 14 reports that upon the same day he was anointed at Bethany. Luke speaks only briefly on the Judas and the Priests plotting, with no mention of the time. We do run into a perceived issue in John however, as John 12:1-3 says Six Days before Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honor. Martha served while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. Then Mary took a pint of pure nard, and expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of perfume. Another issue is that the head of the household have two separate names. One being Simon the Leper (Mark) and the other Lazarus (John). Matthew’s rendition states the name as Simon the Leper at the time of the Annointing. Now, we also see in Matthew 21:17 With that, he left them and went outside the city to Beit-Anyah, where he spent the night. So we can see that he hasn’t been staying in Jerusalem every night, but returning to his friends home. One theory to this is that in John he is not meaning it was on that day that the anointing was done, but while Jesus was staying at his home, which could be stated right up to two days before the Passover. Which then leaves the idea of a discrepancy in names, after all, these are all men who have met Lazarus before, should they not know his name? This is a cultural issue, as at the time there was the Hebrew Name and the Greek name, almost all people had two; for example, Saul and Paul. Leaving the only conclusion for the anointing to be two days before Passover, as supported by more accounts and a reasonable explanation for the offset account.
Following this we have the Last Supper. Matthew 26:17 tells us, On the first day of Matzah (Unleavened Bread, this day is Passover), the talmidim (disciples) came to Yeshua and asked, “Where do you want us to prepare your Seder (Passover Dinner)?”. Mark 14:12 gives us, On the first day of Matzah, when they slaughtered the lamb for Pesach, Yeshua’s talmidim asked him, “Where do you want us to go and prepare your Seder?”. Luke 22:7 says Then came the day of Matzah, on which the Passover Lamb had to be killed. Yeshua sent Kefa (Peter) and Yochanan (John), instructing them, “Go and prepare our Seder, so we can eat.” Now at first glance this looks to say that it was the seder itself which was the last supper, but this could not be. Exodus 12, Leviticus 23 and Deuteronomy 16 show us that the seder meal is after the slaughter of the lamb, not before it. So the seder meal could not have been eaten by Yeshua, the lamb, before his crucifixion. Instead I propose that this is saying that he evening before the crucifixion Yeshua and the disciples found a place to have a last supper, planning to be there the next day to prepare for the seder which takes a long time to be prepared for and could not have been done in a matter of a couple hours. This would have still been the day of Passover, the night before the lamb would have been slaughtered, and could then be seen as preparation or even the first 'day' to unleavened bread. This is supported by the reality that in Matthew the idea of it being the day of unleavened bread is not in the original Greel. John 13 supports this, saying, It was just before the festival of Pesach, and Yeshua knew the time had come for him to pass from this world to the Father….They were at supper…
Matthew 26:20 says When evening came, Yeshua reclined with the twelve talmidim. Showing it was just later that evening in which they indeed sit down to the Last supper. Mark 14:17 Backs this up with when evening came. Luke simply refers to it as the hour and John has nothing to say on this time.The last supper then would not have been the seder itself, as that happened after the slaughter of the lamb as per Exodus 12, Leviticus 23 and Deuteronomy 16, but it would have been a special dinner. Similar to the Sabbath every special dinner involved the bread and wine which we now view as communion from the events of this night.
Upon finishing the last supper the group moves on to the Mount of Olives, to a place called the garden of Gethsemane. We know this from Matthew 26:30 When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives, and verse 36 Then Yeshua went with his talmidim to a place called Gat-Sh’Manim (Gethsemane)…; Mark 14:32 They went to a place called Get-Sh’manim…; Luke 22:39 On leaving, Yeshua went as usual to the Mount of Olives…; and John even decided to be obvious in cooperation and says in Chapter 18 After Yeshua had said all this, he went out with his talmidim across the stream that flows in winter through the Vadi Kidron, to a spot where there was a grove of trees; and he and his talmidim went into it. Now, we do not have an exact time for this, but we do know it was before Peter’s denials and we have a time for that, so it was sometime throughout the night.
In the garden Yeshua is arrested and immediately taken to the Sanhedrin, the jury of priests, teachers of the law and elders and presented to Caiaphus, the High Priest for questioning. We see this in Matthew 26:27 Those who had siezed Yeshua led him off to Kayafa (Caiaphus) the cohen hagadol (HighPriest), where the Torah teachers and elders where assembled; Mark 14:53 They led Yeshua to the cohen hagadol, with whom all the head cohanim (chief priests), elders and torah teachers were assembling; Luke 22:55 Having seized him, they led him away and brought him into the house of the cohen hagadol; and John 18:13 and took him first to ‘Anan (Annas), the father in law of Kayafa (Caiaphus), who was cohen hagadol that fateful year. Now we know for sure that we are in the next morning, as while Yeshua in with the Sanhedrin Peter denies Christ and the rooster crows. We see this in Matthew 26:69-75, Mark 14:66-72, Luke 22:54-62 and John 18:15-18 and 25-27.
Because of the events with the Sanhedrin Yeshua is now taken to Pilate. Mark 15:1 says As soon as it was morning, the head cohanim held a council meeting… Then they put Yeshua in chains, led him away and handed him over to Pilate. The section can also be found in Matthew 27:11, Luke 22:66 and John 18:36. This John passage again appears to contradict the timeline as it speaks that the priests are concerned with entering the palace of Pilate because of their desire to remain clean for Passover dinner. The Seder meal had been consumed the night before, so what is meant? In many ways the terms Passover and the festival of Unleavened Bread seem interchangeable. Passover is a first day, immediately followed by the seven days of Unleavened Bread, it was the meal of the first day of Unleavened Bread that concerns them. So while the priests would be concerned with being clean for a Holy Day meal, it was not the Seder meal they were concerned over. While with Pilate he is sentenced to crucifixion, Barabas is released, and Yeshua gets flogged and beaten.
Now we have reached the point in which Yeshua faces the cross. Matthew 27:33-37 says When they arrived at a place called Gulgotha (Golgotha)(which means “place of the skull”), they gave him wine mixed with bitter gall to drink; but after tasting it he would not drink it. After they had nailed him to the stake, they divided his clothes among them by throwing dice. Then they sat down to keep watch over him there. Above his head they placed a written notice stating the charges against him, This is Yeshua, The King of the Jews. Mark 15:21-24 supports this and then goes on to add in verse 25 It was nine in the morning when they nailed him to the stake. Luck 23:33 and 34 as well as John 19:16-19 make this clear as well.
At Noon, while Yeshua hung on the cross darkness came over the land, and remained until 3pm when he cried out “Eli! Eli! L’mah SH’vaktani?” (My God! My God! Why have you forsaken me?) And gave up his spirit. Immediately at this time the veil in the temple was torn, the ground shook and many holy people resurrected bodily and wandered Jerusalem. As seen in Matthew 27:45-54, Mark 15:33-39, Luke 23:44-49 and John 19:28-30.
And then Joseph of Arimathea enters the scene. Matthew 27:57-62 says Towards evening, there came a wealthy man from Ramatayim (Arimathea) named Yosef (Joseph), who was himself a talmid (disciple) of Yeshua. He approached Pilate an asked for Yeshua’s body, and Pilate ordered it be given to him. Yosef took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen sheet, and laid it in his own tomb, which he had recently had cut out of rock. After rolling a large stone in front of the entrance to the tomb, he went away. Miryam of Magdala (Mary Magdelene) And the other Miryam (Mary) stayed there, sitting opposite the grave. Next Day, after the preparation, the head conahim and the P’rushim went together to Pilate… So from here we see a few things for the timeline. One that it was approaching evening by the time Joseph went to the Pilate, meaning that with travel on foot from Golgotha to Pilate’s Palace, time to see him, and time back to Golgotha to collect the body it is approaching evening, time is running out before Shabbat. Mark 16:42-46 supports this by saying Since it was Preparation Day (that is, a day before a Shabbat), as evening approached, Yosef of Ramatayim, a prominent member of the Sanhedrin, who himself was also looking forward to the Kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for Yeshua’s body. Pilate was surprised to hear that he was already dead, so he summoned an officer and asked him if he had been dead awhile. After he had gotten confirmation from the officer that Yeshua was dead, he granted Yosef the corpse. Yosef purchased a linen sheet; and after taking Yeshua down he wrapped him in the linen sheet, laid him in a tomb which had been cut out of the rock, and rolled a stone against the entrance to the tomb. Not only did Joseph go to Pilate and wrap Yeshua’s body, but he had to get the linen wrap, assist in removing the body from the cross and then transport him to the nearby tomb. Luke goes into repetition in Luke 23:50-54 and John 19:38-42 also strengthens this time line, adding in verses 39-40 that some spices and aloe where added to the body of Yeshua when he was wrapped in linen.
Luke 23:56 states that the women go home to prepare some spices before the Sabbath, saying Then they went back home to prepare spices and ointments. On Shabbat the women rested, in obedience to the commandment. This was probably done around the same time as Joseph doing his tasks.
Jumping back to Matthew 27:62 with another focus we see that it in the next daytime the Priests and Teachers went to Pilate to have the tomb guarded. Mark says nothing on this topic, and neither does Luke or John.
Mark 16:1 gives us the next event in our timeline, When Shabbat was over, Miryam of Magdala, Miryam the mother of Ya’akov (James), and Shlomit (Salome) bought spices in order to go and anoint Yeshua. This tells us that it Had to be done Saturday night, once the Shabbat was finished and the markets re-opened for a few hours. We will see soon when they go to the tomb that it was very early and still dark when they go to the tomb, meaning they cannot have bought those spices that morning, when the market was closed.
He is Risen! Those from liturgical pasts say 'He is risen indeed!' We have surprisingly little scripture, and what we do have to confirm this time is somewhat in question. Only some versions of the Bible include it. The reasoning being that these verses are found in many ancient Greek manuscripts, but not in the two oldest ones. They read, Mark 16:9-20, When Yeshua rose early on Sunday, he appeared first to Miryam of Magdala, from whom he had expelled seven demons. She went and told those who had been with him, as they were crying and mourning. But when they heard that she was alive and that she had seen him, they wouldn’t believe it.After that, Yeshua appeared in another form to two of them as they were walking into the country. They went and told the others, but they didn’t believe them either. Later Yeshua appeared to the eleven as they were eating, and he reproached them for their lack of trust and their spiritual insensitivity in not having believed those who had seen him after he had risen. Then he said to them, “As you go throughout the world, proclaim the good news to all creation. Whoever trusts and is immersed will be saved; whoever does not trust will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who do trust: in my name they will drive out demons, speak with new tongues, not be injured if they handle snakes, or drink poison, and heal the sick by laying hands on them.” So then, after he had spoken to them, the Lord Yeshua was taken up into heaven and sat at the right hand of God. And they went out and proclaimed everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the message by accompanying signs.
Starting again in Matthew, chapter 28 verse one to seven, After Shabbat as the next day was dawning, Miryam of Magdala and the other Miryam went to see the grave. Suddenly there was a violent earthquake, for an angel of Adonai came down from heaven, rolled away the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightening and his clothes where as white as snow. The guards where so terrified at him that they trembled and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid. I know you are looking for Yeshua, who was executed on the stake. He is not here, because he has been raised – just as he said! Come and look at the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell the tamilidim, ‘He has been raised from the dead, and now he is going to Galil (Galilee) ahead of you. You will see him there.’ Now I have told you.” Here we see when the women return to the tomb, dawn of the Sunday. Mark reinforces this with Mark 16:2 saying Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb. Luke 24:1 says On the First day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. John 20:1 repeats this by saying Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Miryam from Magdala went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb.
The women then, in their excitement, rush back to the Apostles and other disciples to tell them of this news! Matthew 28:8-10 says So they left the tomb quickly, frightened yet filled with joy; and they ran to give the good news to his talmidim. Suddenly Yeshua met them and said, “Shalom! (Peace)” They came up and took hold of his feet and fell down in front of him. Then Yeshua said to them, “Don’t be afraid! Go and tell my bothers to go to the Galil, and they will see me there.” The following events all take place at the ends of the four gospels, the women seeing Christ and not being believed, Cleophas and another disciple meeting with Jesus, Jesus appears to the eleven, and so on.
So now that we have looked at what the Bible says about Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection let’s put it into a more basic form. To do this we will go through each day in question. In the order of most commonly held to, to the least commonly held to.
Friday Resurrection
We all know good old Good Friday, but
is it Biblical?
A good Friday crucifixion would put
the events like this to our view:
-Thursday
Night Last Supper and overnight events
-Friday
at 9am Crucifixion begins, at 3pm Christ dies
-Between
3pm and 5pm Joseph gets to Pilates’ palace, gets cleared to receive the body,
buys burial clothes, gets back to Golgotha, helps remove Jesus from the cross,
wraps him in the linens with some spices and aloe, transports Christ into his
tomb and lays him to rest in addition with getting back home before sundown for
the purpose of Sabbath. While the women are present at the tomb, weep once he’s
been laid to rest, and then go home to work on some spices Before Sabbath comes.
-Sabbath
from Friday night at 6pm to Saturday at 6pm.
-
The women purchase their additional spices Saturday night after Sabbath and
prepare them.
-The
women go to an empty tomb Sunday morning at dawn.
One problem we have is does a
Friday crucifixion actually complete prophesy and allow Yeshua to be our
Messiah? Many will say yes, Marking the three days as Friday, Saturday, Sunday;
but to do so they exclude the nights all together. They also make another fatal
mistake, the Matthew 12:39-40 tells us that Jesus must be in the ground for
three separate days and three separate nights. To barely get him in the tomb on the Friday daytime would count, but then you have Friday night, Saturday day, Saturday Night, Sunday Day.
In essence, to say that Yeshua was
crucified on the Friday is to deny what the scriptures write about his death,
and to break a prophesy he had to fulfill in order to be the Messiah. This is
exactly why it is so important to know what was happening at this time, for Yeshua to not have fulfilled this prophesy means that he could not be our
Messiah!
Wednesday Crucifixion
Next we have the Wednesday
Crucifixion. Most who reject the Friday look to the Wednesday as their answer.
This would put the order of events more like this:
-Tuesday
night last supper and overnight events
-Wednesday
9am-3pm Crucifixion on the Passover
-They
claim he was also buried before 5pm as the Thursday was a Special Passover
(This comes from John 19:31)
-Thursday
being the special Sabbath for Unleavened Bread
-Friday
being the day the Priests and Teachers guard the tomb and when the women buy
and prepare the spices
-
Saturday Sabbath
-
Sunday the Women go to the empty Tomb
So let us go over the verse this
whole idea is based around, John 19:31. Which says It was Preparation Day, and the Judeans did not want the bodies to
remain on the stake on Shabbat, since it was an especially important Shabbat.
So they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies removed. This
version doesn’t add the same confusion others see, so lets look at what the NIV
says in verse 31, Now it was the day of
preparation, and the next day was to be a special Sabbath. Because the Jewish
Leaders did not want the bodies left on the crosses during the Sabbath, they
asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down. So to understand
what is happening here and some of the confusion we do need to understand the Jewish
Holy Days and the Shabbats.
This time frame actually encompasses
a large span of special days. the First being the Passover itself, but immediately followed by the first day of Unleavened Bread which is a 'Special Shabbat. In this they certainly have a point. Yeshua needs to be in the tomb before this special shabbat. Yeshua being crucified on the Passover, which is also a Prep Day of sorts.
Which brings in another issue. The
days and nights. For a Wednesday Crucifixion you are then looking at Wednesday
Night, Thursday Night, Friday Night, and a resurrection at the Very end of
Sabbath on Saturday, the beginning of First Fruits. Christ Has to have risen on
First Fruits, the first day of the week, and this is not generally debated. At
first glance this almost looks right, but to then add that he did Rise on First
Fruits makes it that he then rose on the Fourth Day and not On the Third Day as
Christ himself stated in Matthew 17:23. You’d also have to ignore Mark 16:9 which
states that he rose on the Sunday Morning before dawn. You also run into an issue
with the days. If ignore the “added Sabbath” and have him buried after evening
that makes it Thursday day, Friday day, Saturday Day; but if he’s buried before
that point then you have to count the Wednesday day as well, making it Four
days. Again with the Mark 16:9 Verse, if you follow it, to then add Sunday
Morning is to make the day count actually Five!
If the women bought their spices after the sabbath why would they not do this on the natural prep day? Why wait until the second sabbath of the week to prepare them and bring them to the tomb. This makes no sense in light of Jewish burial tradition.
If the women bought their spices after the sabbath why would they not do this on the natural prep day? Why wait until the second sabbath of the week to prepare them and bring them to the tomb. This makes no sense in light of Jewish burial tradition.
We run into another smaller issue,
one that is purely circumstantial. The angel of Adonai tells the women that
Christ has risen and is on his way to meet the disciples at Galilee, and yet he
appears to them on the road as they leave the tomb. Would the angel lie? No. So
if Yeshua was still within a certain distance of the tomb, and appears again in
the country area to two more disciples shortly thereafter, how long had he been
risen for to have travelled so little?
Thursday Crucifixion
And then we have the Thursday
Crucifixion. To have a Thursday crucifixion goes like this:
-Wednesday
Night is the Last Supper and overnight events
-Thursday
morning from 9am-3pm is the crucifixion.
-Thursday at the cusp of evening he is put into the Tomb, still before the special sabbath.
-Friday
morning, the special sabbath, the Priests and
Teachers go to Pilate to request the placement of the guards. That evening
begins the regular Sabbath.
-Saturday
night after Sabbath closes the women purchase what is still needed of spices
and ointments and prepare them for the next morning.
-
Sunday morning Christ arises and shortly thereafter the women go to find an
empty tomb.
This theory under scrutiny shows us a
few things. First, it aligns even to the disputed Mark 16:1 and does not contradict
any of the Biblical context or Cultural Context.
Next, You see Yeshua being buried Thursday
Night and spending it, Friday Night and Saturday Night in the tomb; then Friday
Morning, Saturday Morning and Sunday Morning he rises – On the third day and
not after it. Plus, the women buy their extra spices the first chance they get, Saturday night, and go first thing in the morning, seeing Yeshua on the road immediately after.
Next, let’s add in some extra-Biblical
support for the Thursday crucifixion. After all, the Bible being true can thus
always be supported by outside sources.
First, we know his Birth was in the
year 3BC/BCE, based upon scripture, history and even astronomy from eschatology!
We know that Christ was about 30
(Luke 3:23) when he began his ministry and his ministry went for about 3 years, making him about 33 when he was crucified.
This then tells us that the year for
the Passover he was crucified would be 30 AD/CE. With the use of modern
technology we can now look back on the lunar cycle and see what the lunar
calendar was for any given year. Abib 14th is always the date of
Passover, which in 30 Ad Aligned to April 6th, a Thursday. Showing
again that the date of Christ’s death had to be on a Thursday. - http://aa.usno.navy.mil/faq/docs/SpringPhenom.php
In closing I will leave you with
this:
1 Corinthian 15:3-4
For among the first things I passed
on to you was what I also received, namely this: The Messiah died for our sins,
in accordance with what the Tanakh says; and he was buried; and he was raised
on the third day, in accordance with what the Tanakh says
Event
|
Time
|
Gregorian
|
Jewish
|
Passage
|
Entering Jerusalem on the Donkey Colt
|
5 days before Passover.
|
John 12
|
||
Yeshua predicts his Death in two days time, he is
anointed at Bethany, Judas and the Priests plot Jesus’ betrayal.
|
2 days before Passover
|
Matthew 26:2
Mark 14:1
|
||
Preparation for the Last Supper
|
6pm Wednesday, start of Passover
|
Wednesday
|
The start of the 1st day of Passover is
the evening, starting the 5th day of the week
|
Matthew 26:17
Mark 14:12
|
Last Supper
|
Later Wednesday Evening,
|
Wednesday
|
Passover
|
Matthew 26:20
Mark 14:17
|
Garden of Gethsemane, Mount of Olives
|
Midnight?
|
Thursday? Or still Wednesday?
|
Passover
|
Matthew 26:30
Mark 14:32
Luke 22:39
John 18:1
|
Sanhedrin
|
Early, before sunrise
|
Thursday
|
Passover
|
Matthew 26:27
Mark 14:53
Luke 22:55
John 18:13
|
Peter’s Denial
|
5 or 6 am Thursday
|
Thursday
|
Passover
|
Matthew 26:69-75
Mark 14:66-72
Luke 22:54-62 John 18:15-18 18:25-27
|
Presented to Pilate
|
After Dawn
|
Thursday
|
Passover
|
Mark 15:1
Matthew 27:11
Luke 22:66
John 18:36
|
Crucifixion
|
9am Thursday
|
Thursday
|
Passover
|
Matthew 27:33-37
Mark 15:21-26
Luke 23:33-34
|
Darkness
|
Noon – 3pm
|
Thursday
|
Passover
|
Matthew 27:45-54
Mark 15:33-39
Luke 23:44-49
John 19:28-30
|
Death. Burial arrangements immediately after to place in the nearby tomb toward dusk.
|
3pm
|
Thursday
|
Passover
|
Matthew 27:45-54
Mark 15:33-39
Luke 23:44-49
John 19:28-30
Matthew 27:57-62
Mark 16:42-46
Luke 23:50-54 John 19:38-42
Luke 23:56 |
Guards to the tomb
|
Late morning, early afternoon
|
Friday
|
Unleavened Bread
Special Shabbat |
Matthew 27:62-66
|
Women buy more spices and prepare them
|
Saturday evening at the reopening of the markets
|
Saturday
|
First Day, First Fruits, Unleavened Bread.
|
Mark 16:1
|
Resurrection
|
Early Sunday
|
Sunday
|
First Day, First Fruits, Unleavened Bread.
|
Mark 16:9
|
Women return to the Tomb
|
Before/at dawn
|
Sunday
|
First Day, First Fruits, Unleavened Bread.
|
Matthew 28:1-7
|
The women meet Yeshua on the Road
|
Morning
|
Sunday
|
First Day, First Fruits, Unleavened Bread.
|
Matthew 28:8-10
|
