Topic: When was Jesus crucified?

Date originally posted: March 26, 2002

Source of this posting: Moderator response to emailed question

Moderator who originally posted this source: B. Egan

Question: Can you please explain how I can explain to a Non-Catholic friend how we understand Good Friday?  My friend says....that Jesus was to be entombed for 3 days and 3 nights ( as Jonah was in the belly of the whale) a full 72 hour period. If Jesus was crucified on Friday, and rose on Sunday.....how do we get 3 days out of that?  I understand that the Jews believed the day started in the evening. So if we celebrate Holy Thursday in the evening (Mass of the Lords' supper) isn't it REALLY already Friday? And if we celebrate Good Friday mass in the evening, isn't it REALLY already Saturday???? I am confused :(

Answer: 

I never realized how hot of a topic this was until I searched the web!  The Bible, having been written by humans (yet inspired by God), has many inconsistencies.  Not everything we read is factual, but it all has some truth to teach us.  When I run across issues that seem illogical - like trying to defend how 72 hours can fit into what seems more like 48 - I turn to my faith rather than reason.  I believe, as the Church teaches, that Jesus died on Good Friday and rose on Easter Sunday – three complete days or not!  BUT, that argument probably won’t get you too far when trying to justify why the Catholic Church celebrates Good Friday (as opposed to “Good Wednesday” or “Good Thursday”).  So here are some things to consider: 

The Bible tells us that Jesus was crucified on the “Day of Preparation” (Jn 19:14, 31, 42; Mt 27:62), that is, the day before the Sabbath (Lk 23:54; Mk 15:42-43).  Thus he died on a Friday. 

We are also told that Jesus rose “on the first day of the week” (Mk 16:9)  - that is, Sunday.  As you stated, days began at sundown for the ancient Jewish world.  Therefore, Jesus could have risen anytime between sundown on Saturday and sundown on Sunday.  But the gospel writers tell us that the women found the tomb empty “toward the dawn of the first day of the week” (Mt 28:1; Mk 16:2; Lk 24:1; Jn 20:1).  So, Jesus must have risen between sundown on Saturday and dawn on Sunday. 

Now to the tricky part: Jesus rose “on the third day” (Mt 16:21, 17:23, 20:19; Lk 9:22, 18:33, 24:7, 24:46; Acts 10:40; 1 Cor 15:4).  That would appear to be a full 72 hours, except for the fact that he rose ON the third day, not AFTER the third day.  So, Friday is day one, Saturday is day two, and Sunday is day three.  This all would be well and good if it were not for “for three days and three nights the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth” (Mt 12:40)…and obviously there are only two nights between Friday and the dawn of Sunday.  I found one possible solution, though.  If we think of night as darkness (rather than hours on a clock), some believe that the darkness that fell over the land after the crucifixion counts as one of the nights.  So then the first night would be around 3 p.m. on Friday, the second night would be after sundown on Friday, and the third night would be after sundown on Saturday. 

All of this being said, it is possible for Jesus to have died on the Day of Preparation (Friday) and to have risen on the first day of the week (Sunday)…and for the scriptural reference to three days (and nights) in the tomb to be explained.