How come good Friday is only two days from Easter Sunday?

ByTheSpirit

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That sounds brilliant yeshua ( I love that name :) ). Do you have a Turkey? The celebrations for Easter in my country are rubbish.
My wife has just bought me the DVD " Jesus of Nazareth" we wanted to watch it on Easter Sunday to try and make Easter actually mean more than Easter eggs but unfortunately we didn't get a chance to see it. Hopefully we will see it soon, it's about 7 hours long!
It is very good movie. A bit slow paced compared to more modern ones but still a good one. Be warned they do take some artistic license when discussing the life of Jesus, but it still holds true to the message of Christ. Another great video to consider would be "The Bible" miniseries. That was a joy to watch
 
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buzuxi02

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That sounds brilliant yeshua ( I love that name :) ). Do you have a Turkey? The celebrations for Easter in my country are rubbish.
My wife has just bought me the DVD " Jesus of Nazareth" we wanted to watch it on Easter Sunday to try and make Easter actually mean more than Easter eggs but unfortunately we didn't get a chance to see it. Hopefully we will see it soon, it's about 7 hours long!
We Greek Orthodox love Pascha, doesn't matter I'm in America. 20170416_114037.jpg
 
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~Anastasia~

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I thought Catholics were the first church to be built after Jesus sacrificed himself? Can you prove they actually changed it?

Actually, Christ established The Church. One Church. It spread to many places, and so had leaders in place over the Churches of several places. One of those places was Rome. Rome did have a few points of not getting along with the others, and after 1000 years they finally broke completely away and out of communion. That became the Roman Catholics. The others remained in communion, and spread to new places (such as Russia) adding new leaders for new countries, but remained in communion, as they were, and have resisted change. The Church under them is now called the Orthodox Church. Because of various issues in Catholicism, some wanted to reform it, and those led to the first Protestant groups. All other Protestants have descended from those as they further changed in various directions and separated off.

That's the basic outline of Church history. It does essentially ignore the non-Chalcedonians and Anglicans.

Catholics say their Church was established first, Orthodox say the same. It's really a question of who left, and not something I like to argue about.
 
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~Anastasia~

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That sounds brilliant yeshua ( I love that name :) ). Do you have a Turkey? The celebrations for Easter in my country are rubbish.
My wife has just bought me the DVD " Jesus of Nazareth" we wanted to watch it on Easter Sunday to try and make Easter actually mean more than Easter eggs but unfortunately we didn't get a chance to see it. Hopefully we will see it soon, it's about 7 hours long!
Oh, yes, we have a HUGE celebration for Easter (Pascha). We do observe Great Lent as a period of fasting, prayer, giving to the poor, and increased Church services. The week before Pascha we have Church every day, reliving the raising of Lazarus from the dead (which made the Jewish leaders determined to kill Christ), the Triumphal Entry, days of focusing on Christ with an eye to being ready for His coming, repentance, etc. We go through the Last Supper, the Betrayal, the trial, the Crucifixion, and decorate a funeral tomb for Christ. We look forward with joy to the Resurrection we know is coming. And for the Resurrection service, we sing hymns, put out all the lights and the light of a single candle glows behind the altar, and is brought out and passed to everyone - we all receive the light of Christ! We go outside and proclaim the Gospel, and sing the Paschal Hymn "Christ is Risen" over and over with lines from the Psalms in between, and we go back inside to celebrate a full Divine Liturgy, then share a meal together in fellowship to break the long fast. It is a HUGE event. And it's not like a "play" but going through all of that, you really feel as if you were there and walked with Christ through the last week of His life. The Church is always packed - people from various denominations come just to experience it, and we welcome them! And then during the whole season, all the doors in the Church remain open, the curtains to the altar, and everything, to remind us that the veil is torn and all have access to God directly now. And the Cross is empty. It is a joyous season, but the Easter service is over the top.

It's such a big deal, I was supposed to go on for surgery for cancer a few weeks ago. I told them they'd have to reschedule it after Easter - I didn't want to miss it for anything. And good thing, because I'm unable to get out of the house now for a while. I am thankful that I was able to be there for many of those services, and most importantly for the Resurrection service. It's WAY bigger than Christmas for us, which we do celebrate.

Oh, and we have lamb. But there is usually chicken, beef, pork, and other things as well. But lamb is traditional.
 
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Jennifer Rothnie

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The phrase "three days" to a Hebrew can mean any part of 3 days (Friday, Saturday, Sunday), or three days and nights, or it can mean the "day after tomorrow." If it is said on a Friday, the day after tomorrow is Sunday.

I personally hold to a Thursday crucifixion but this is how they arrived at a Friday timing.

While that is an often idea used to excuse Fri-Sun, it doesn't actually fit with Jewish custom on a couple counts.

#1 If one is dealing with a sequence of days, such as celebrating a festival or serving a prison sentence, one could only use the 'part of a day' reckoning once. For example, you could come late to the first day of your sentence or leave early - but not both.

#2 The 'part of a day' reckoning only was used in some cases - it was not a general application. One could not rest 'part of a Sabbath' and claim to have rested the whole, for example.

#3 The fuzzy period around sunset could not be counted as 'part of a day' for a whole day without a determination of the exact moment sunset began by a priest. Sundown was considered a fuzzy period belonging to both days on either side of it without that reckoning. Yet Joseph and Nicodemus had to wash Jesus' body and wrap it in linen clothes with a hundred pounds of embalming ointments - not something to be quickly done in an hour. Jesus' burial was most likely completed in the fuzzy period around sunset, not immediately after his death.

#4 "Three days and three nights" does not mean the same thing in Hebrew as "three days." This seems to be a common misunderstanding in Christian tradition, but it is not backed up by Jewish writings or scripture. "Three days and three nights," having the explicit time modifiers, refers only to a literal three days and three nights - so it will span a period of approx 62-72 hours depending on how much of the last day or night is in consideration. "Three days" is more generic, and can refer to a lesser period of time.

For example, when Esther says she will fast for "three days, day and night" in Esther 14:16, she is not explicitly saying she must fast for three days and three nights. Rather, during those three days, she will not break the fast at night as was custom. The last day period only needed to be part of a day. Her two and a half day fast fits this.

When Jesus states the sign that He will be in the heart of the Earth "three days and three nights" in Matt 12:40, He is specifically referring to three days and three nights.

The distinction is shown well in I Sam 30:12-13. The specific time the servant hadn't eaten is given as three days and three nights. Yet a more generic time of three days is given for when his master left him behind, implying that the master left the servant behind shortly after, but not necessarily coinciding, with the moment the servant got sick.
 
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AFrazier

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How come good Friday is only two days away from Easter Sunday?
It's three days if you count like a first century Jew. They counted inclusively. Friday is one day, Saturday is two days, and Sunday is three days.
 
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AFrazier

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The phrase "three days" to a Hebrew can mean any part of 3 days (Friday, Saturday, Sunday), or three days and nights, or it can mean the "day after tomorrow." If it is said on a Friday, the day after tomorrow is Sunday.

I personally hold to a Thursday crucifixion but this is how they arrived at a Friday timing.
Thursday is impossible. If you chronicle the days of Passion week, a Thursday crucifixion would have Jesus riding a donkey on the Sabbath, which is a direct violation of one of the ten commandments. Not allowed to burden thine ass.

Just food for thought.
 
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AFrazier

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it was something the catholics changed. Jesus actually died on a wednesday,and their days started different. ours is at 12 am, theirs is at 6pm.
[Staff edit]. Wednesday is not possible. The entire hypothesis depends upon a Nisan 14th crucifixion so the holiday Sabbath of the 15th can satisfy the next day Sabbath requirement, and Mark and Luke are both plain as day that the Last Supper was the day when the Passover was slain, or the 14th. Ergo, Jesus was crucified on the 15th, and the 16th isn't a holiday Sabbath. It's only a Sabbath if it falls on Saturday.

There are many other difficulties and inconsistencies. That's just the most glaring of the bunch.
 
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AFrazier

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I really shouldn't have said anything and regret it now. :) I am hesitant not because of you, but there are some who just look for reasons to argue. But... we're here... the bottom line is that there are different ways to count. If 3 days means "any part of 3 days" then Friday can work. If "three days and nights" means we must also include counting parts of the nights (which is how I take it) then you simply can't get to Sunday morning at sunrise from Friday afternoon because you can only get two nights that way. But again... this isn't that huge of a deal and there are so many more important tings to get into. :)
Ken, you did fine. It's not possible nowadays for someone to ask about the day of the crucifixion without the trolls all coming out to play. If he's going to ask about it, he might as well hear the arguments, because they're inevitable. And my previous comment to you was not an attempt to pick a fight. It was exactly what I said. It was food for thought.
 
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Jennifer Rothnie

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Why do some people believe different days of the week? Ive never heard of that,it's always been good Friday and Easter Sunday as far as I can remember. But I must admit it has that squeezed into a weekend type of feeling about it to me. I wish we celebrated the resurrection of Jesus with the same vigour that the world claims to celebrate Christmas with. I don't know one decent Easter hymn.

One reason that many people do not know that there are several competing theories as to the timeline of Jesus' last week goes far back to the early centuries after Christ - the Quartodeciman controversy.

In brief, Christians early on had various customs about 'when' they celebrated Jesus' death and resurrection. Christians in Jerusalem and Asia, such as the disciples of the Apostle John, tended to celebrate Jesus' death and Ressurection (with footwashing and communion) at sundown on Nissan 14th - Passover.
(Quartodecimen means '14th')

Christian in Rome and the surrounding regions usually kept the celebration on the Sunday after Passover. Passover was not fixed to a specific day of the week, but rather a specific date - so there was variation in the number of days between these two celebrations.

Part of this differing custom was a difference in focus. The Jewish converts usually highlighted Christ's atonement by His death, while the Gentile converts, having no history of celebrating Passover, tended to highlight the Ressurection.

This difference in custom was causing friction in the church in the second century, to the point where Polycarp, the bishop of Smyrna, and Anicetus, the bishop of Rome, met to try and convince each other of their own preferred 'best day' in 155 AD. Polycarp promoted Nisan 14, while Anicetus promoted the Sunday after Passover. After discussing it, they agreed to 'live in peace.' They took communion together, upholding the scriptural principle that personal customs do not trump unity in the spirit (Col 2:16-17, Rom 14:5-6)

"Anicetus conceded the administration of the eucharist in the church to Polycarp, manifestly as a mark of respect. And they parted from each other in peace, both those who observed, and those who did not, maintaining the peace of the whole church." (Irenaeus, writing several decades later to Pope Victor)

Unfortunately, this peace did not last. A few decades later, near the end of the second century, Pope Victor, did not wish to 'live in peace' with those of differing customs, despite the pleading of Irenaeus. several synods and conferences had been convened, with their decrees sent out in letters to all Christians, that "never on any day other than the Lord's Day (the Sunday after Passover) should the mystery of the Lord's resurrection from the dead be celebrated, and on that day alone we should observe the end of the Paschal fast."

Polycarp's response was, "We observe the exact day; neither adding, nor taking away. For in Asia also great lights have fallen asleep, which shall rise again on the day of the Lord's coming...All these observed the fourteenth day of the passover according to the Gospel, deviating in no respect, but following the rule of faith. And I also, Polycrates, the least of you all, do according to the tradition of my relatives, some of whom I have closely followed. For seven of my relatives were bishops; and I am the eighth. And my relatives always observed the day when the people put away the leaven."

Pope Victor then attempted to 'excommunicate' Polycarp and all those who followed the Quartodeciman custom. Fortunately other leaders in the church of the time, like Irenaeus, opposed this act of Victor's and did not treat his 'excommunication' as valid, and Victor eventually relented. Yet it still had an effect - the quartodecimens were losing favor within the larger Christian community and facing mounting pressure.


In 325 AD, the Nicene Council rebuked the Quartodecimen position. It's not hard to understand why given the nature of man; Jewish Christians had become a small, persecuted minority in the church by that point, unlike the early days of the gospel where Jewish converts were closer in number to gentile converts, even the majority in some areas. Jewish customs, because they were the minority, were viewed as 'divisive' and accused of being a return to the law.

Following the rebuke of the Nicene Council, Emperor Constantine went a step further, banning the celebration on 14 Nissan entirely, and ordered active persecution against the Quartodecimens. Constantine also declared the Sunday after the first full moon after the spring equinox (not the Sunday after Passover) to be the one and only 'official' date for the Paschal celebration.

The Quartodecimen practice quickly died out after that, albeit with some holdouts who were persecuted by bishops Crystosostom and Nestorius.

All that to say - Constantine 'set the date,' those of differing customs either caved or were pushed out of the church, and the Catholic church unified around the date that had been set. Further liturgy and tradition sprung up around that. Palm Sunday, for example, had its start in 8th century Italian Catholic tradition - and then more explanations and 'history' were added to support that. (Despite that scripture actually gives more evidence that it could not have been on a Sunday than that it was - for example, no one would be cooking a dinner on the Sabbath (serving, maybe, but never making Jn 21:2).

It's not surprising, then, that the 'official' timeline of the Catholic church is the one most people are aware of or the only one they have heard about. It doesn't help that the events of Jesus' last days are often presented in the stylized tradition of Holy Week, and not always with a thorough examination of scripture.
 
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AFrazier

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While that is an often idea used to excuse Fri-Sun, it doesn't actually fit with Jewish custom on a couple counts.

#1 If one is dealing with a sequence of days, such as celebrating a festival or serving a prison sentence, one could only use the 'part of a day' reckoning once. For example, you could come late to the first day of your sentence or leave early - but not both.

#2 The 'part of a day' reckoning only was used in some cases - it was not a general application. One could not rest 'part of a Sabbath' and claim to have rested the whole, for example.

#3 The fuzzy period around sunset could not be counted as 'part of a day' for a whole day without a determination of the exact moment sunset began by a priest. Sundown was considered a fuzzy period belonging to both days on either side of it without that reckoning. Yet Joseph and Nicodemus had to wash Jesus' body and wrap it in linen clothes with a hundred pounds of embalming ointments - not something to be quickly done in an hour. Jesus' burial was most likely completed in the fuzzy period around sunset, not immediately after his death.

#4 "Three days and three nights" does not mean the same thing in Hebrew as "three days." This seems to be a common misunderstanding in Christian tradition, but it is not backed up by Jewish writings or scripture. "Three days and three nights," having the explicit time modifiers, refers only to a literal three days and three nights - so it will span a period of approx 62-72 hours depending on how much of the last day or night is in consideration. "Three days" is more generic, and can refer to a lesser period of time.

For example, when Esther says she will fast for "three days, day and night" in Esther 14:16, she is not explicitly saying she must fast for three days and three nights. Rather, during those three days, she will not break the fast at night as was custom. The last day period only needed to be part of a day. Her two and a half day fast fits this.

When Jesus states the sign that He will be in the heart of the Earth "three days and three nights" in Matt 12:40, He is specifically referring to three days and three nights.

The distinction is shown well in I Sam 30:12-13. The specific time the servant hadn't eaten is given as three days and three nights. Yet a more generic time of three days is given for when his master left him behind, implying that the master left the servant behind shortly after, but not necessarily coinciding, with the moment the servant got sick.
For all this explanation, Jesus was still crucified on the 15th of Nisan, since the day leading up to the last supper was the 14th, when the Passover was slain. Without the holiday Sabbath of the 15th following the crucifixion, the hypothesis falls apart. Jesus died on a Friday.
 
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prodromos

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Why do some people believe different days of the week? Ive never heard of that,it's always been good Friday and Easter Sunday as far as I can remember. But I must admit it has that squeezed into a weekend type of feeling about it to me. I wish we celebrated the resurrection of Jesus with the same vigour that the world claims to celebrate Christmas with. I don't know one decent Easter hymn.
You should visit an Orthodox Church for the services during Holy week (the week leading up to Easter) and especially in the evening on Saturday of Easter. We have many beautiful hymns. For Orthodox Christians, Easter is the biggest event of the liturgical year.
In regards to your question, some of us recognise that the expression "days and nights" is a figure of speech which appears many times in Scripture, whether it be 3 days and 3 nights or 40 days and 40 nights, and is an example of what is known as "synecdoche", where the part indicates the whole or the whole indicates the part. This is made clear by the fact Jesus also stated that He would rise ON the third day. There are others who insist that "3 days and 3 nights" means exactly 72 hours or that there must be 3 daylight periods and 3 night time periods and to arrive at the conclusion that there was a non 7th day sabbath occuring mid week which would give a preparation day other than Friday for the crucifixion. There are plenty of threads where this has been discussed at great length but as Ken has already suggested you are much better off not worrying about such things at this time.
 
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Der Alte

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Jewish Encyclopedia – DAY
By : Emil G. Hirsch Michael Friedlander
In the Bible, the season of light (Gen. i. 5), lasting "from dawn [lit. "the rising of the morning"] to the coming forth of the stars" (Neh. iv. 15, 17). The term "day" is used also to denote a period of twenty-four hours (Ex. xxi. 21). In Jewish communal life part of a day is at times reckoned as one day; e.g., the day of the funeral, even when the latter takes place late in the afternoon, is counted as the first of the seven days of mourning; a short time in the morning of the seventh day is counted as the seventh day; circumcision takes place on the eighth day, even though of the first day only a few minutes remained after the birth of the child, these being counted as one day. Again, a man who hears of a vow made by his wife or his daughter, and desires to cancel the vow, must do so on the same day on which he hears of it, as otherwise the protest has no effect; even if the hearing takes place a little time before night, the annulment must be done within that little time. The day is reckoned from evening to evening—i.e., night and day—except in reference to sacrifices, where daytime and the night following constitute one day (Lev. vii. 15; see Calendar). "The day" denotes: (a) Day of the Lord; (b) the Day of Atonement; (c) the treatise of the Mishnah that contains the laws concerning the Day of Atonement (See Yoma and Sabbath).E. G. H. M. F.
DAY - JewishEncyclopedia.com
All four gospels agree that Jesus was crucified on parasceue.
Mark 15:42 And now when the even was come, because it was the preparation, [παρασκευή/Parasceue] that is, the day before the sabbath, [προσάββατον/prosabbaton]
Luke 23:54 And that day was the preparation, [παρασκευή/Parasceue] and the sabbath drew on.
John 19:14 And it was the preparation [παρασκευή/Parasceue] of the passover, and about the sixth hour: and he saith unto the Jews, Behold your King!
John 19:31 The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation, [παρασκευή/Parasceue] that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the sabbath day, (for that sabbath day was an high day,) besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away.
Matthew 27:62 Now the next day, that followed the day of the preparation, [παρασκευή/Parasceue] the chief priests and Pharisees came together unto Pilate,
Parascue was the Greek name for the day we call Friday.
Bauer, Arndt, Gingrich, Danker [BAGD] Lexicon of New Testament Greek.
παρασκευή

paraskeue, h`", hJ ( trag. , Hdt. +; inscr. , pap. , LXX , Ep. Arist. , Philo , Joseph. ) lit. preparation ( Polyaenus 7, 21, 6 tou` deivpnou ; 7, 27, 3 polevmou ), in our lit. only of a definite day, as the day of preparation for a festival; acc. to Jewish usage ( Jos. , Ant. 16, 163; Synes. , Ep. 4 p. 161 D it was Friday, on which day everything had to be prepared for the Sabbath, when no work was permitted Mt 27:62 (CCTorrey, ZAW 65, ’53, 242= JBL 50, ’31, 234 n. 3, ‘sunset’. Against Torrey, SZeitlin, JBL 51, ’32, 263-71); Mk 15:42 ; J 19:31[color] . hJmevra paraskeuh`" Lk 23:54 ( v.l. hJm. prosabbavtou, cf. Mk 15:42 ). paraskeuh; tw`n jIoudaivwn J 19:42 . paraskeuh; tou` pavsca day of preparation for the Passover (or Friday of Passover Week ) vs. 1 4. For the Christians as well paraskeuhv served to designate the sixth day of the week (ESchürer, ZNW 6, ’05, 10; 11 f ) Friday MPol 7:1, and so in Mod. Gk. For Christians it is a fast day, as the day of Jesus’ death D 8:1.— M-M. B. 1008.*
BAGD Lexicon online
According to Justin Martyr Jesus was crucified on Friday.
Justin Martyr [A.D. 110-165.] First Apology Chap. LXVII.
But Sunday is the day on which we all hold our common assembly, because it is the first day on which God, having wrought a change in the darkness and matter, made the world; and J
esus Christ our Saviour on the same day rose from the dead. For He was crucified on the day before that of Saturn (Saturday); and on the day after that of Saturn, which is the day of the Sun, having appeared to His apostles and disciples, He taught them these things, which we have submitted to you also for your consideration.
 
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Jennifer Rothnie

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  1. For all this explanation, Jesus was still crucified on the 15th of Nisan, since the day leading up to the last supper was the 14th, when the Passover was slain. Without the holiday Sabbath of the 15th following the crucifixion, the hypothesis falls apart. Jesus died on a Friday.

    I was debunking the 'part of a day for a whole day' tradition as applied to the fri-Sun timeline. Explaining alternate timeline theories would take a great deal more space!

    However, in brief, scripture does not say that the weekly Sabbath followed the crucifixion. It says that the day Jesus died was a preparation day for a High Sabbath. (Jn 19:31, Mk 15:42, Jn 19:42) We know that the Passover was followed by the First day of the Feast of Unleavened bread, which was a special Sabbath where no work was done (Ex 12:15-16). Passover was also the preparation day for the seven day Feast of Unleavened bread, where every last bit of leaven would be removed from the house, if it had not been already, before noon. Passover was a bit of an unusual holiday, as it was was considered to be the same day, but was conducted over the 14th (such as the slaughtering of the Passover lamb) as well as the evening of the 15th. Thus, Passover and the seven day Feast of Unleavened bread were not just back to back, but slightly overlapping as well.

    To further complicate matters, in the time of Christ, both the 14th of Nissan and the 15th were celebrated as the first day of Passover (so the 14th/+night 15th or 15th/+night 16th) due to differences in the calculation of the timing by the Saducees and Pharisees. (This common Jewish practice is called 'doubling')

    To complicate things even further, the Passover meal could be had during the twilight right after the sunset that began the 14th (Leviticus 23:5-6) or the twilight just after sunset which began the 15th. Both were allowed by the law.

    This is a more likely timeline than Fri-Sun:
    - Ate the last Supper with his disciples in the twilight just after the 14th began
    - Prayed in Gethsemane and was betrayed during the night of the 14th
    - Was crucified about the time that the Passover lambs were being slaughtered on the 14th, on the preparation day for the High Sabbath of the first day of the Feast of unleavened bread
    - Was buried around sundown (around the time most people were beginning to eat the Passover lamb)
    - In the tomb the night/day of 15th (High Sabbath), night/day of 16th (second day of Feast of Unleavened bread), and the night/day of the 17th - the weekly Sabbath.
    [This also explains how Mary and the women could rest on a Sabbath, buy and prepare spices, then rest on another Sabbath before going to the tomb in Mk 16:1, Lk 23:36-Luke 24:1.]
    - Rose about sundown on the weekly Sabbath (which as mentioned in the previous post was a fuzzy period, so also classified as Sunday)
    - The empty tomb was discovered during the night of the 18th, on Sunday while it was still dark, before morning. (Jn 20:1)

    He would have then been in the tomb three days and nights, just as He gave as a sign in Matt 12:40. (Our Wed. sundown to Sat. sundown)


 
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buzuxi02

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The scripture says on the third day or within three days. Every early christian already knew that the 3 nights is in reference to his descent into Hades, a place where the light does not shine. It's funny how some people in the past 30 years discovered this saying of Jonas and devised an entire doctrine around a literal 72 hours of death when Christ was just saying he would fulfill the prophecy of Jonah 2:1-9 about ascending from a pit. Read what Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 He makes clear that scripture says he resurrects ON the third day.
 
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Soyeong

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How come good Friday is only two days away from Easter Sunday?

In Genesis 22:4, Abraham was told to offer Isaac, the next day he set out, and on the third day he saw the place from afar. In Genesis 31:22, Jacob was told to flee Laben, the next day he set out, and on the third day Laben was told that Jacob had fled. In Genesis 40:20, the cupbearer and the baker had a dream, the next day they told Joseph, and on the third day their visions came to fruition. In Exodus 19:10-11, they were told to consecrate themselves today and tomorrow, and be ready on the third day. So there are a number of instances in Scripture where "on the third day" refers to the day after tomorrow. Whether "on the third day" and "three days and three nights" have the same meaning is a different issue, but would not be unreasonable to think that both phrases have the same meaning.
 
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Jennifer Rothnie

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... Mark and Luke are both plain as day that the Last Supper was the day when the Passover was slain, or the 14th. Ergo, Jesus was crucified on the 15th, and the 16th isn't a holiday Sabbath. It's only a Sabbath if it falls on Saturday...

The Passover meal could be taken during the -first- twilight of the 14th, just after sundown. (Lev 23:5-6, Ex 12:6) Most took it on the 15th, after sundown on the 14th - but either way was permissable. (By the time of Christ, the Pharisees and Saducees also differed on the dating of Passover, so technically there were three nights it could be eaten!)

If Jesus had the Last Supper with His disciples just after the 14th began (Lev 23:5-6), the lamb slaughtered near the 'first evening' (Ex 12:6), then He would have died on the cross about the same time that the majority of people had their Passover lambs slain - about 3pm on the 14th. (Mk 15:25, 34).

Scripture says that this day (the 14th) was a preparation day for a High (or special) Sabbath. This Sabbath was the First Day of Unleavened Bread. "On the first day hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work." Lev 23:7. There were about seven such special Sabbaths without work throughout the Jewish year. The first and last days of the seven day Feast of Unleavened Bread were among these.

Passover was a preparation day for the first day of the Feast of Unleavened bread, as all leaven needed to be out of the house by noon if it had not already been removed, and as work could be done on Passover to prepare for the next day.

Passover contained a lot of preparation for its own celebration on the same day as well. Passover lambs had to be prepared for slaughter, and the meal had to be prepared for eating at evening. This is why John can call the 14th both "the preparation of the passover" (Jn 19:14) and preparation for a Sabbath that was a High day (Jn 19:31.)
 
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inkaboutit

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Over the years i have heard many different explanations of this.

But the most interesting one was a Radio Pastor's research the Jewish calendar and discovered that there were 2 Sabbath days the weekend Jesus died. They call this "annual Sabbath day. Or "high day" Sabbath

He explained that every year they had to add days to the calendar to get the right number of days. The weekend Jesus died, is the weekend they added another Sabbath day.


The below url explains Jesus died on Wednesday NOT Friday.

http://inkaboutit4u.com/?p=Bible_Jesus_Died_on_Wednesday_NOT_Friday

Jesus Wasn't Crucified on Friday or Resurrected on Sunday: How long was Jesus in the tomb?

Most people have no idea that the Bible talks about
two kindsof Sabbath days—the normal weekly Sabbath day that falls on the seventh day of the week (not to be confused with Sunday, which is the first day of the week), and seven annual Sabbath days, listed in Leviticus 23 and mentioned in various passages throughout the Bible, that could fall on any day of the week.

Because traditional Christianity long ago abandoned these biblical annual Sabbath days (as well as the weekly Sabbath), for many centuries people have failed to recognize what the Gospels plainly tell us about when Jesus Christ was crucified and resurrected—and why “Good Friday–Easter Sunday” never happened that way.

Most people fail to note that John explicitly tells us that the Sabbath that began at sundown immediately after Jesus was entombed was one of these annual Sabbath days. Notice in John 19:31 his explanation that “that Sabbath was a high day” —” high day” being a term used to differentiate the seven annual Sabbaths from the regular weekly Sabbath days.

So what was this “high day” that immediately followed Jesus Christ’s hurried entombment?

The Gospels tell us that on the evening before Jesus was condemned and crucified, He kept the Passover with His disciples (Matthew 26:19-20; Mark 14:16-17; Luke 22:13-15). This means He was crucified on the Passover day.

Leviticus 23, which lists God’s festivals, tells us that on the day after the Passover a separate festival, the Feast of Unleavened Bread, begins (Leviticus 23:5-6). The first day of this Feast is “a holy convocation” on which “no customary work” is to be done (Leviticus 23:7).

This day is the first of God’s annual Sabbaths. This is the “high day” of which John wrote. Several Bible commentaries, encyclopedias and dictionaries note that John is referring to an annual Sabbath here rather than the regular weekly Sabbath day.

Passover began at sundown and ended the following day at sundown, when this annual Sabbath began. Jesus kept the Passover with His disciples, then was arrested later that night. After daybreak the next day He was questioned before Pontius Pilate, crucified, then hurriedly entombed just before the next sunset when the “high day,” the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, began.



Hebrew Calendar From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Hebrew lunar year is about eleven days shorter than the solar year and uses the 19-year Metonic cycle to bring it into line with the solar year, with the addition of an intercalary month every two or three years, for a total of seven times per 19 years. Even with this intercalation, the average Hebrew calendar year is longer by about 6 minutes and 40 seconds than the current mean tropical year, so that every 216 years the Hebrew calendar will fall a day behind the current mean tropical year; and about every 231 years it will fall a day behind the mean Gregorian calendar year.


There are additional rules in the Hebrew calendar to prevent certain holidays from falling on certain days of the week. (See Rosh Hashanah postponement rules, below.) These rules are implemented by adding an extra day to Marcheshvan (making it 30 days long) or by removing one day from Kislev (making it 29 days long). Accordingly, a common Hebrew calendar year can have a length of 353, 354 or 355 days, while a leap Hebrew calendar year can have a length of 383, 384 or 385 days.
 
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buzuxi02

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In Genesis 22:4, Abraham was told to offer Isaac, the next day he set out, and on the third day he saw the place from afar. In Genesis 31:22, Jacob was told to flee Laben, the next day he set out, and on the third day Laben was told that Jacob had fled. In Genesis 40:20, the cupbearer and the baker had a dream, the next day they told Joseph, and on the third day their visions came to fruition. In Exodus 19:10-11, they were told to consecrate themselves today and tomorrow, and be ready on the third day. So there are a number of instances in Scripture where "on the third day" refers to the day after tomorrow. Whether "on the third day" and "three days and three nights" have the same meaning is a different issue, but would not be unreasonable to think that both phrases have the same meaning.


Precisely! The 3 day motif is common in the OT. It simply signifies a beginning, middle and end (as in goal). Jesus in Luke 24:45-46 makes clear that he had to open their minds to the scripture for them to understand how scripture teaches that Christ Rose ON the third day. He was buried on the first day, rested the entire second day because it was the sabbath and achieved his goal on the third day. Oh and just to make sure those who use 20 English translations to come up with innovative theories like this recent literal 72 hour period doctrine. When Jesus and Paul said, He Rose on the third day according to the scriptures he was referring to the Septuagint Text of Hosea 6:2
Thus the souls are prepared in 2 days and the goal of resurrection comes to fruition On the third day.
 
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Der Alte

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I was debunking the 'part of a day for a whole day' tradition as applied to the fri-Sun timeline. Explaining alternate timeline theories would take a great deal more space!
  1. However, in brief, scripture does not say that the weekly Sabbath followed the crucifixion. It says that the day Jesus died was a preparation day for a High Sabbath. (Jn 19:31, Mk 15:42, Jn 19:42) We know that the Passover was followed by the First day of the Feast of Unleavened bread, which was a special Sabbath where no work was done (Ex 12:15-16). Passover was also the preparation day for the seven day Feast of Unleavened bread, where every last bit of leaven would be removed from the house, if it had not been already, before noon. Passover was a bit of an unusual holiday, as it was was considered to be the same day, but was conducted over the 14th (such as the slaughtering of the Passover lamb) as well as the evening of the 15th. Thus, Passover and the seven day Feast of Unleavened bread were not just back to back, but slightly overlapping as well.
    To further complicate matters, in the time of Christ, both the 14th of Nissan and the 15th were celebrated as the first day of Passover (so the 14th/+night 15th or 15th/+night 16th) due to differences in the calculation of the timing by the Saducees and Pharisees. (This common Jewish practice is called 'doubling')
    To complicate things even further, the Passover meal could be had during the twilight right after the sunset that began the 14th (Leviticus 23:5-6) or the twilight just after sunset which began the 15th. Both were allowed by the law.
    This is a more likely timeline than Fri-Sun:
    - Ate the last Supper with his disciples in the twilight just after the 14th began
    - Prayed in Gethsemane and was betrayed during the night of the 14th
    - Was crucified about the time that the Passover lambs were being slaughtered on the 14th, on the preparation day for the High Sabbath of the first day of the Feast of unleavened bread
    - Was buried around sundown (around the time most people were beginning to eat the Passover lamb)
    - In the tomb the night/day of 15th (High Sabbath), night/day of 16th (second day of Feast of Unleavened bread), and the night/day of the 17th - the weekly Sabbath.
    [This also explains how Mary and the women could rest on a Sabbath, buy and prepare spices, then rest on another Sabbath before going to the tomb in Mk 16:1, Lk 23:36-Luke 24:1.]
    - Rose about sundown on the weekly Sabbath (which as mentioned in the previous post was a fuzzy period, so also classified as Sunday)
    - The empty tomb was discovered during the night of the 18th, on Sunday while it was still dark, before morning. (Jn 20:1)
    He would have then been in the tomb three days and nights, just as He gave as a sign in Matt 12:40. (Our Wed. sundown to Sat. sundown)
But for the fact that there was one and only one Sabbath day in passion week. The first and seventh day of Unleavened bread [ULB] are holy convocations not Sabbaths. They are never called a Sabbath anywhere in the OT. They differ from the Sabbath in that preparing and cooking food was specifically permitted on the 1st/7th days of ULB. There was no preparation day for ULB since preparing and cooking food was permitted. What made the Sabbath a high Sabbath was the fact the 1st day of ULB occurred on the Sabbath.
Exodus 12:14-16
(14) And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the LORD throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever.
(15) Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread; even the first day ye shall put away leaven out of your houses: for whosoever eateth leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall be cut off from Israel.
(16) And in the first day there shall be an holy convocation, and in the seventh day there shall be an holy convocation to you; no manner of work shall be done in them, save that which every man must eat, that only may be done of you.
According to the Jewish Encyclopedia, which I quoted in my previous post, the "'part of a day for a whole day' tradition" has not been debunked.
 
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