Did Jesus Die on Wednesday?

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A Friend of mine is saying that Jesus died on a Wednesday as the only Sign he would give this evil generation would be the Sign of Jonah that he would be in the belly of the whale for 3 days and 3 nights. He says something about the High Day Sabbath feast of unleavened bread being that week so he must have died on the Wednesday not the Friday. I reckon that is a weird scenario but the bible does not seem to say that the day was Friday he died, we assume because of the normal sabbath of Saturday is assumed , but could it be the Wednesday somehow because of the high day sabbath(which I never heard of)? Im out of my depth, but I also feel this is a minor issue and distracts as from the important messages of salvation.
 
I wrote a study-and-discussion question for my never-ending Left Behind series. So this is the short version. You can find longer on the Internet, but this gives you a place to start:
Regarding Jesus, most Christians observe Good Friday, Low Saturday, and Resurrection Sunday. Scripture tells us that Jesus died at 3 p.m. (1500 hours) ( Matt. 27:45-50, Mark 15:33-37; Luke 23:44-46 ). The women went to His tomb to anoint Him. They arrived just before sunrise “on the first day of the week” i.e., Sunday ( Matt. 28:1; Mark 16:2, 9; Luke 24:1, John 20:1 ). Again, let us name 6 a.m. (0600 hours) as sunrise. Since the women arrived just before sunrise, let us propose it was as late as 5:59 a.m. (0559 hours). From Friday at 3 p.m. (1500 hours) to Sunday sunrise at 5:59 a.m. (0559 hours) also is 39 hours, less a minute.

The Gentle Browser is invited to check our math. Notice that we have sought the maximum number of hours (39 hours). It could have been less. That’s a bit of a problem, because Jesus said “three days and three nights” ( Matt. 12:40 ). That’s 72 hours, not 39 hours.

As a child, your host was told that two “brights” (part of Friday, all of Saturday), plus two “darks” (Fri/Sat overnight, Sat/Sun overnight), plus one “both” (sunrise Sunday) counted as three days and three nights. As a child, your host was told by another teacher that a 24-hour clock running on modern time can be divided into three days and three nights.

A small but vocal minority argue that Jesus died on Good Wednesday, not Good Friday. Their argument is:

• The Jewish day runs from sunset to sunset, because “the evening and the morning were the nth day” ( Gen. 1:5, 8, 13, 19, 23, 31 ).
• The first month of the Jewish year was called Abib ( Exod. 23:15, 34:18; Deut. 16:1 ).
• Later, that same first month was renamed Nisan ( Esth. 3:7 ).
• The Passover is to be observed on the 14th day of the first month (i.e., Nisan) of the Jewish year ( Exod. 12:18; Lev. 23:5; Num. 9:1-3, 28:16 ).
• The Feast of Unleavened Bread following the Passover is to be observed for seven days ( Exod. 12:15, 18, 34:18; Lev. 23:6; Num. 28:17 ).
• Therefore, The Feast of Unleavened Bread following Passover is to be observed from 15 Nisan through 21 Nisan.
• The lamb is to be slaughtered “in the evening” of the Passover, on 14 Nisan ( Exod. 12:6; Deut. 16:2, 6; Mark 14:12; Luke 22:7 ).
• Jesus was and is the Lamb of God ( Exod. 12:5, 46; Numb. 9:12; Psa. 34:20; Isa. 53:7; John 1:29, 13:1, 19:36; Acts 8:32-35; 1 Cor. 5:7; 1 Pet. 1:19; Rev. 5:6, 13:8 ).
• Most Gentile Christians know only of the weekly Sabbath: the day of rest. In Judaism, that day runs from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset ( Gen. 2:2-3, Exod. 20:8-11, 23:12, 34:21; Deut. 5:12-15; Isa. 58:13 ).
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CONTINUED …
 
• Most Gentile Christians know only of the weekly Sabbath: the day of rest. In Judaism, that day runs from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset ( Gen. 2:2-3, Exod. 20:8-11, 23:12, 34:21; Deut. 5:12-15; Isa. 58:13 ).
• Most Gentile Christians do not know that there can be more than one Sabbath in a week.
• For example, there are three Sabbaths in Passover week. There is the regular weekly Sabbath (the day of rest). Also, the first day (15 Nisan) and the last day (21 Nisan) of the Feast of Unleavened Bread are High Sabbath days ( Exod. 12:16; Lev. 23:7-8, Num. 28:18, 25 )
• All four Gospels agree that Jesus was Resurrected on the first day of the week (i.e., Sunday). At that point, the weekly Sabbath day had ended. See Matt. 28:1; Mark 16:2, 9; Luke 24:1, John 20:1 .
• John clarified for a Gentile audience that Jesus died before a High Sabbath ( John 19:31 ).
• This “high” Sabbath and Day of Preparation referred to the onset of Passover. It actually was not customary to refer to an ordinary Friday as a capitalized Day of Preparation for an ordinary Sabbath (the day of rest).
• Therefore, Jesus may have died before one Sabbath and was risen after another Sabbath. (This was the first day—“the evening and the morning were the nth day”—of Passover/the Feast of Unleavened Bread.) Jesus definitely was Resurrected after that weekly Sabbath which is the day of rest.
• This gives us 72+ hours in the grave. It is a better fit for Matt. 12:40 .
• So three days and three nights before Resurrection Sunday … gives us dead at 3 p.m. on Good Wednesday. (Ta-da!)

[SNIP]
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In this optional exercise, research whether Jesus might have died on Good Wednesday. Explore whether it makes a difference to the Left Behind scenario and teachings. (Tsion is called a rabbi; he really should have caught this one.) Also, explore whether it makes a difference to you. Sooner or later your church may be asked by a nonbeliever—or by a small child—how or why we equate 72 hours with 39 hours. Compose an answer in the spirit of 1 Peter 3:15, Col 4:6 of what you believe.
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Basically, that’s the short math. If you want longer, the Internet offers a-plenty … keeping in mind it is the Internet. 🙂
 
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Thursday at sunset to Friday at sunset was the first day. Shabbos begins Friday at sunset
until Saturday at sunset. That is the second day. Saturday at sunset to Sunday at sunset was the third day. Jesus rose on Sunday the third day and died on Friday the first day.
 
No. Jesus did not die on Wednesday. He did not die on Thursday. He died on Friday and was resurrected on Sunday.
 
Short answer – “three days and three nights” is Hebrew idiom, it does not necessarily mean literally 72 hours. There are many other scripture references which state Jesus rose from the dead ON the third day. (See, for example, 1 Corinthians 15:4.)
 
Jesus did not die on Wednesday. He died on a Friday and had nothing to do with the high day sabbath.
 
Hello Roro

I think the Bible and Tradition line up clearly on this; Jesus died on Friday.

It’s well explained in this article.
 
Does it matter? Regardless of which day of the week you believe Jesus died, if you were to learn definitively that He died on some other day, would that challenge your faith? Seems like a purely academic exercise and not worth arguing over.
 
TMC said:
Does it matter? Regardless of which day of the week you believe Jesus died, if you were to learn definitively that He died on some other day, would that challenge your faith? Seems like a purely academic exercise and not worth arguing over.
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For certain types of Protestants, it’s another thing to add to their arsenal of things they think the Catholic Church got wrong …
 
The three days and three nights Jesus spent in the heart of the earth include His time in the High priest’s cistern and Pilates dungeon. Just as Jonah’s time include him being asleep in the hold of the ship before swallowed by the fish.
 
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