Jesus said that He would be in the tomb for “three days and three nights” (Matt. 12:40). Accepting these parameters and taking this statement in the most literal sense, let us examine the possibility of a Thursday crucifixion. Remember, in Jesus' time each day began at sunset, approximately 6:00PM.
We know that the "high day" (John 19:31) was not the weekly Sabbath, as no Jew has ever referred to a weekly Sabbath as a high day; it was the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Lev. 23:4-8; Num. 28:16-18, 25). There are seven annual high days: the first and seventh days of the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Lev. 23:4-8; Num. 28:16-18, 25), the Feast of Weeks (or, Pentecost; Ex. 34:22; Deut. 16:10), the Feast of Trumpets (Lev. 23:24-25; Num. 29:1), Yom Kippur (or, Day of Atonement; Lev. 16:29-31; 23:27-28), and the first and eighth days of the Feast of Tabernacles (Ex. 34:22; Lev. 23:42-43). These were "to be a sabbath of...rest" (Lev. 16:31; 23:32) for the Jews. Whether you refer to them as Sabbaths or sabbaths (days of rest) is irrelevant.
We also know that Matthew 28:1 uses the plural form—Sabbaths. Assuming the crucifixion was on a Thursday, the Friday would have been the high day Sabbath (the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread; Luke 22:1), and Saturday would have been the weekly Sabbath. No problems so far. Could be plausible. "After the Sabbaths" could easily incorporate two Sabbaths back-to-back.
However, Scripture says that after the women had seen where Jesus' body was to be laid, "they returned and prepared spices and perfumes" and "on the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment" (Luke 23:56), and that "when the Sabbath was over" the women "bought spices, so that they might [go] and anoint [Jesus’ body]" (Mark 16:1). How could they buy spices after the Sabbath, yet prepare them before the Sabbath?
Well, in order to give this view a fair shake, let us presume that Mark means that on our Saturday (their Sunday), sometime after 6:00PM, the women had bought some or more spices. If this were the case, we could easily square Jesus' statement concerning “three days and three nights” (Matt. 12:40). We could also easily square the references to the third day: "in three days" (Matt. 16:61; 27:40; Mark 14:58; 15:29; John 2:19-20), "after three days" (Matt. 27:63; Mark 8:31), "three days later" (Mark 9:31; 10:34), "on the third day" (Matt. 16:21; 17:23; 20:19; Luke 9:22; Acts 10:40; 1 Cor. 15:4), "the third day" (Luke 18:33; 24:7, 46), and "third day since" (Luke 24:21). We could likewise easily square the information from the road to Emmaus, where the disciple said, "it is the third day since these things happened" (Luke 24:21).
But... there remain a couple problems that cannot be overlooked.
Scripture informs us that the day on which Jesus was crucified was a "day of preparation" or "the preparation day." This term is always used with reference to the Friday, in preparation for the Saturday.
According to Jack Finegan's Handbook of Biblical Chronology, Table 179, the 14th of Nisan fell on these dates in history:
According to Jack Finegan's Handbook of Biblical Chronology, Table 179, the 14th of Nisan fell on these dates in history:
- Monday, April 18, A.D. 29
- Friday, April 7, A.D. 30
- Tuesday, March 27, A.D. 31
- Monday, April 14, A.D. 32
- Friday, April 3, A.D. 33
- Wednesday, March 24, A.D. 34
- Tuesday, April 12, A.D. 35
- Saturday, March 31, A.D. 36
A chart claiming to use U.S. Naval Observatory data shows that the 14th of Nisan fell on these dates in history:
- Sunday, April 21, A.D. 26
- Friday, April 11, A.D. 27
- Wednesday, April 28, A.D. 28
- Monday, April 28, A.D. 29
- Friday, April 7, A.D. 30
- Wednesday, April 25, A.D. 31
- Monday, April 14, A.D. 32
- Saturday, April 4, A.D. 33
- Thursday, April 22, A.D. 34
According to over a dozen Hebrew calendar conversion calculators I've tested online (www.abdicate.net/cal.aspx, http://www.rosettacalendar.com/, http://www.midrash.org/calendar/),
the 14th of Nisan fell on these dates in history (the first date in
square brackets is the Julian date, while the second date is the
Gregorian date):
- Friday, March [22 | 20], A.D. 26 (Nisan 14, 3786)
- Wednesday, April [9 | 7], A.D. 27 (Nisan 14, 3787)
- Monday, March [29 | 27], A.D. 28 (Nisan 14, 3788)
- Saturday, April [16 | 14], A.D. 29 (Nisan 14, 3789)
- Wednesday, April [5 | 3], A.D. 30 (Nisan 14, 3790)
- Monday, March [26 | 24], A.D. 31 (Nisan 14, 3791)
- Monday, April [14 | 12], A.D. 32 (Nisan 14, 3792)
- Friday, April [3 | 1], A.D. 33 (Nisan 14, 3793)
- Monday, March [22 | 20], A.D. 34 (Nisan 14, 3794)
- Monday, April [11 | 9], A.D. 35 (Nisan 14, 3795)
- Friday, March [30 | 28], A.D. 36 (Nisan 14, 3796)
- Wednesday, March [20 | 18], A.D. 37 (Nisan 14, 3797)
You will notice that according to these different calculations, only once does the 14th of Nisan, the Passover, fall on a Thursday; and this date is too late for the crucifixion. Ergo, while this view could potentially square all the biblical data, nevertheless it fails to square all the data. Thus, it is highly unlikely that the crucifixion took place on a Thursday.