Was Jesus Christ Crucified on a Friday?

Good Friday, the Friday before Easter Sunday, is celebrated worldwide among Christians as the anniversary of Christ’s death on the cross. This day was set apart as a holy day as long ago as the 300’s, in the time of Constantine. But the big question is: Was Christ truly crucified on a Friday?

This should not be taken lightly, because if we desire to worship and serve the Lord, we are to do it in truth, for the time has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks to worship Him.

Jesus Christ in predicting His death said to His disciples “We are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled. He will be turned over to the Gentiles. They will mock Him, insult Him, spit on Him, flog Him and kill Him, and on the third day He will rise again” (Luke 18:31-34).  

So the question is, on what day was Jesus Christ Resurrected?

In the event that one does not know the day on which Christ was crucified, I believe that by knowing the day of His resurrection will help determine the day of His crucifixion, if we believe in the scriptures which state as follows; “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, they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus, and while they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightening stood beside them” (Luke 24: 1-3).

“In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them; “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; He has risen! Remember how He told you, while He was still with you in Galilee: ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’ Then they remembered His words.”

The apostle John wrote his account of the resurrection stating; “Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance.” From all indications Jesus Christ had already risen by the time the women went to the tomb, very early while it was sill dark as it began to dawn towards the first day of the week, thus indicating that, it was not yet the first day of the week ((John 20: 1; Matthew 28:1).

And so, the logical question is, at what time was Jesus Christ resurrected?

If we believe the scriptures there will be no ambiguity as to when Jesus Christ was resurrected from the dead, for the scripture confirms that, “After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it, his appearance was like lightening, and his clothes was white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men. Then the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here: He has risen, just as He said. Come and see the place where He lay.”

Mark’s account states it this way; “Now when He rose early on the first day of the week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom He had cast seven demons” (Mark 16: 9).

Another question is how long Jesus Christ predicted He would stay in the grave?

The angel told Mary Magdalene and the other Mary “He has risen just as He said.” What did Jesus say before He was crucified? He said; ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’ Again He said. ‘Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” “Go tell that fox, ‘Behold I will drive out demons and heal people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will be perfected.”

And to the scribes and Pharisees who wanted a sign from Jesus Christ to prove that He was indeed the true Messiah He said; “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth” (Matthew 12:39-40).

There is absolutely no ambiguity as to whether a part of a day constitutes a day, it is three full days, and three full nights, each constituting 12 hours, making it a total of seventy two (72) hours. There is no shadow of a doubt that, a day consists of twenty four (24) hours. For we have all learned that, there are twenty four (24) hours in a day. Jesus Christ Himself said, “Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of the world. But if one walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him” (John 11:9-10).

So I beg to ask the question again, was Jesus Christ crucified on a Friday and resurrected on Sunday? 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00LAB7T0W

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B077M5T68T

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01FV4WTWQ

To be continued, stay tuned

With brotherly love

Lucius Joseph