Was Jesus crucified on "Good Friday?"
 

Just a thought for you scholars out there: With few exceptions, Christendom observes "Good Friday" as the day Jesus Christ was crucified. A few believe that Jesus was crucified on Thursday, and a few more hold to the opnion that He was crucified on Wednesday.

The term itself, "Good Friday," is a mispronunciation of Gott Friday, which is German for "God's Friday."

Jesus said in Matthew 12:40, "For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth." If, as the vast majority of Christendom believes, Jesus was crucified on Friday, then His body would have lain in the tomb only twenty-four to twenty-six hours - one night and one day.

Was Jesus crucified on Good Friday? Does it make any difference?

Re: Was Jesus crucified on "Good Friday?"
 

No, Jesus was not crucified on 'good Friday'. It's not a salvation issue so in that case it makes no difference.

Re: Was Jesus crucified on "Good Friday?"
 

I will ask Him when I see Him. I do not know if the exactitude is necessarily a requirement here. Did not God tell Abraham that his descendants would be slaves for four hundred years? Yet they were slaves for 430 years. Whether or not Jesus was actually in the tomb for a precise 72 hours is beside the point.

Re: Was Jesus crucified on "Good Friday?"
 

Friday, Saturday, Sunday.....three days

Re: Was Jesus crucified on "Good Friday?"
 

Two nights.

Re: Was Jesus crucified on "Good Friday?"
 

3 days, 2 nights. What time did he actually die?

Re: Was Jesus crucified on "Good Friday?"
 

Were days/nights measured then, in the same amount of time that
they are now?

Re: Was Jesus crucified on "Good Friday?"
 

Well in Acts 2 two we read of the third hour of the day. Which some assume to be 9 AM. I think a day was measured by the sun rising and setting, not sure if it is like our 24 hour day. Sure miss Pelathais around here sometimes, he could probably tell us.

Re: Was Jesus crucified on "Good Friday?"
 

"The three days and three nights seems to be a figure of speech. We do know that in Rabinnic thought any part of a day and a night was seen as the whole. They would use the term of a "day and a night" for any part of one. Notice we never hear about 40 days and 39 nights, or 3 days and 4 nights. It would seem quite strange that all the days rounded so nicely. If we do not understand it this way, then there really seems to be no way to reconcile it. Jesus was not burried for 3 24-hour periods. It is true that some put the crucifixion on a Wednesday. This is however a minority position among scholars and it still does not solve the issue. Wednesday plus three days still only brings us to Saturday. It seems best to understand Jesus' statement in light of the Rabinnic thought."
http://www.onenesspentecostal.com/threedays.htm

Re: Was Jesus crucified on "Good Friday?"
 

Re: Was Jesus crucified on "Good Friday?"
 

True.

Re: Was Jesus crucified on "Good Friday?"
 

I don't think it makes any difference. It's the day the crucifixion is observed.

As for the specific number of hours He was in the grave: If He was prophesied to rise again on the third day, that could easily mean anytime that third day. It doesn't have to be exactly 36 hours from the time of death. If He died on a Friday, that's day 1. Saturday is Day 2. Sunday morning is still "the third day."

The idea that He rose on Sunday comes from the verse that says "...upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning...." Also, Luke 23:53-56 discusses how after Jesus was buried, the "sabbath drew on"--that also supports the idea that it was Friday evening--just prior to the sabbath. They were preparing to anoint his body with spices and ointments, but had to stop and rest on the sabbath day and wait till the next day, which would have presumably been Sunday.

Re: Was Jesus crucified on "Good Friday?"
 

It was about 3:00pm. It tells here Matthew 27:45-50; Mark 15:33-37; Luke 23:44-46. The sixth hour would have been noon, the ninth hour would have been 3:00.

In Mark 15:25 it says that Jesus was crucified at the third hour. So He was on the cross for six hours!

Re: Was Jesus crucified on "Good Friday?"
 

Bump

Re: Was Jesus crucified on "Good Friday?"
 

Seems very logical to me. :yourock

Re: Was Jesus crucified on "Good Friday?"
 

Mat 12:40 For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

As the article states, Sunday actually began at 6PM on Saturday which was actually Sunday night, not Sunday morning. Sunday morning did not begin until 6AM and lasted until 6PM which then ended Sunday and Monday night began.

6AM - 6PM Friday (Crucifixion day) = Day 1

6PM Friday - 6AM Saturday = Night 1 (Sabbath begins)

6AM Saturday - 6PM Saturday = Day 2 (Sabbath over)

6PM Saturday - 6AM Sunday (Mary comes to tomb while still dark - John 20:1) = Night 2

That's two days and two nights.

Re: Was Jesus crucified on "Good Friday?"
 

To me, I do not think that Jesus was crucified on Good Friday 33AD. I think He was crucified, died, was buried in a borrowed tomb, and in three days rose victorious with all power and authority. I think that is what is sufficient. We simply choose to celebrate His death on Good Friday and His resurrection on Easter.

Re: Was Jesus crucified on "Good Friday?"
 

Friday 1
Saturday 2
Sunday 3...

As the article states a day was not a literal 24 hour period.

If I said "what are you going to do today" most people don't understand that to mean all day long 24 hours

"days and nights" are an idiom. Read the article

Re: Was Jesus crucified on "Good Friday?"
 

Now this group is way off in alot of things,but I think this article has valid points.
http://www.ucg.org/doctrinal-beliefs...rected-sunday/

Re: Was Jesus crucified on "Good Friday?"
 

More interesting info.
http://www.earlychurchchanges.com/excerpts/thirdday.php

Re: Was Jesus crucified on "Good Friday?"
 

The problem is that scripture doesn't say three days, it says three days and NIGHTS.

Re: Was Jesus crucified on "Good Friday?"
 

All of you have obviously given this question some thought, as reflected in your replies. While this is obviously not a "Heaven or Hell" issue, it does have considerable significance in relation to the veracity of scripture and the importance of prophetic fulfillment.The liberals of the early 1900's tried to undermine the authority of Scripture by calling into question the validity of the Genesis account or the true authorship of Isaiah, etc. The response was a wonderful and masterful defense called "The Fundamentals." When we as believers are careless in our presentations of truth, unbelievers seize upon this in an attempt to discredit our beliefs. My point in asking the question was to cause you to think carefully about our obligation to be faithful to the truth and careful with our handling of Scripture.

Scott's link above is indeed an excellent examination of this topic. I encourage all of you to take the time to peruse it. I also thank you for your thoughtful responses. I so enjoy these types of discussions with other believers. It is stimulating and faith building. I look forward to getting to know all of you and learning more from you.

Re: Was Jesus crucified on "Good Friday?"
 

Sorry but I have to disagree.

They make the same error the others do in not recognizing the idiom days and nights do not refer to three 24 hour periods

Re: Was Jesus crucified on "Good Friday?"
 

Like I said.....

Re: Was Jesus crucified on "Good Friday?"
 

It doesn't work. I understand that one might say three days, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, but that's not addressing the three night portion of the prophecy. When did Friday night occur, for example?

Re: Was Jesus crucified on "Good Friday?"
 

Are you reading what I posted? It's figurative....

Re: Was Jesus crucified on "Good Friday?"
 

Three Days
The most notable interpretation of the three days and three nights spent in the belly of the fish are as a parallel to Jesus’ three days in the tomb (Matt 12:40). Just as modern audiences may not consider Jesus’ time in the tomb to fully be three days and three nights (e.g., 72 hours), there are also suggestions that Jonah only spent part of three days in the fish (Landes, “Three Days,” 446). As the phrase “three days and three nights” is used in 1 Sam 30:12 when a servant had been without sustenance for that time, it is possible that the three days and three nights simply refer to a longer time without food and drink (Landes, “Three Days,” 447). A more likely metaphorical use is that of a journey—in the case of Jonah, a journey from the depths (Sheol). This interpretation is collaborated by the connection of this text to the Sumerian myth of Inanna’s journey to the underworld (Landes, “Three Days,” 449).


Heyink, B. (2012). Jonah, Book of. In J. D. Barry & L. Wentz (Eds.), The Lexham Bible Dictionary (J. D. Barry & L. Wentz, Ed.). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.

Re: Was Jesus crucified on "Good Friday?"
 

Jonah 1:17 (2:1), quoted in Matt. 12:40.
The expression, “three days and three nights,” is an idiom which covers any parts of three days and three nights.
In 1 Sam. 30:11 (12), it is said that a certain Egyptian had not eaten bread and drunk water for “three days and three nights,” and yet it was only three days since he fell sick (ver. 13), not four days.
In Est. 4:16, Esther says she and her maidens will fast “three days and three nights,” and yet it was on “the third day” that Esther p 846 went in to the king; not the fourth day, which it must have been if the expression were literally understood.
It may seem absurd to Gentiles and to Westerns to use words in such a manner, but that does not alter the fact.
Now the New Testament is for the most part Hebrew in idiom, but Greek in language. This is the simple explanation of the difference between it and classical Greek. Moreover, there is reason to believe that the First Gospel, as we have it, is a translation from a Hebrew Original. This is one of the idioms. It is used in Jonah 1:17 (2:1), and by our Lord in Matt. 12:40. And yet many Scriptures say that He should rise, and did actually rise on “the third day.” This could not have been if the expression were used in its literal sense. It must have been the fourth day and not the “third.”
The fact is that the idiom covers any part of “three days and three nights.” This method of Hebrew reckoning is as distinct from Gentile reckoning, as their commencing the day at sunset and our commencing it at midnight. All these different modes of reckoning are peculiar to the respective peoples and languages and must be duly taken into account.
The Lord’s words in Matt. 12:40 do not disagree with the Scripture assertion that He should rise on “the third day.”
We have the expression “after three days” once (Matt. 27:63), and “in three days” once (John 2:19). But the common expression is “on the third day,” and it occurs ten times. But if the expression be literal and not an idiom, all these passages should say the fourth day! Paul preached the resurrection on “the third day” according to the Scriptures (1 Cor. 15:4), and this is the great Scriptural fact which we cannot get away from.
Neither can we alter the fact that He rose on “the first day of the week.”
Neither can we alter the history which records His death and burial as taking place the day before the Sabbath. “The sabbath drew on” (Luke 23:54. Matt. 27:62); “the day before the sabbath” (Mark 15:42); and yet the two disciples going to Emmaus on the first day of the week say, “This is the third day (not the fourth) since these things were done” (Luke 24:21).
From all this it is perfectly clear that nothing is to be gained by forcing the one passage (Matt. 12:40) to have a literal meaning, in the face of all these other passages which distinctly state that the Lord died and was buried the day before the Sabbath and rose the day after it, viz., on the first day of the week. These many statements are p 847 literal and are history: but the one passage is an idiom which means any part of “three days and three nights.” The one complete day and night (24 hours) and the parts of two nights (36 hours in all) fully satisfy both the idiom and the history.
It may be added that we have a similar usage in English. When a person is sentenced to “three days’ imprisonment,” it may be late in the evening of the first day when he arrives at the prison, but when the doors open on the morning of the third day (not the fourth) he walks out a free man. In other words, if a person is commited to prison for three days—and he reaches it on Monday night—he leaves it the first thing on Wednesday morning.


Bullinger, E. W. (1898). Figures of speech used in the Bible (845–847). London; New York: Eyre & Spottiswoode; E. & J. B. Young & Co.

Re: Was Jesus crucified on "Good Friday?"
 

If this is to be a cut and paste discussion, I'm up for that.

Question: "On what day was Jesus crucified?"

Answer: The Bible does not explicitly state on which day of the week Jesus was crucified. The two most widely held views are Friday and Wednesday. Some, however, using a synthesis of both the Friday and Wednesday arguments, argue for Thursday as the day.

Jesus said in Matthew 12:40, “For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” Those who argue for a Friday crucifixion say that there is still a valid way in which He could have been considered in the grave for three days. In the Jewish mind of the first century, a part of day was considered as a full day. Since Jesus was in the grave for part of Friday, all of Saturday, and part of Sunday—He could be considered to have been in the grave for three days. One of the principal arguments for Friday is found in Mark 15:42, which notes that Jesus was crucified “the day before the Sabbath.” If that was the weekly Sabbath, i.e. Saturday, then that fact leads to a Friday crucifixion. Another argument for Friday says that verses such as Matthew 16:21 and Luke 9:22 teach that Jesus would rise on the third day; therefore, He would not need to be in the grave a full three days and nights. But while some translations use “on the third day” for these verses, not all do, and not everyone agrees that “on the third day” is the best way to translate these verses. Furthermore, Mark 8:31 says that Jesus will be raised “after” three days.

The Thursday argument expands on the Friday view and argues mainly that there are too many events (some count as many as twenty) happening between Christ's burial and Sunday morning to occur from Friday evening to Sunday morning. Proponents of the Thursday view point out that this is especially a problem when the only full day between Friday and Sunday was Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath. An extra day or two eliminates that problem. The Thursday advocates could reason thus: suppose you haven't seen a friend since Monday evening. The next time you see him it is Thursday morning and you say, “I haven’t seen you in three days” even though it had technically only been 60 hours (2.5 days). If Jesus was crucified on Thursday, this example shows how it could be considered three days.

The Wednesday opinion states that there were two Sabbaths that week. After the first one (the one that occurred on the evening of the crucifixion [Mark 15:42; Luke 23:52-54]), the women purchased spices—note that they made their purchase after the Sabbath (Mark 16:1). The Wednesday view holds that this “Sabbath” was the Passover (see Leviticus 16:29-31, 23:24-32, 39, where high holy days that are not necessarily the seventh day of the week are referred to as the Sabbath). The second Sabbath that week was the normal weekly Sabbath. Note that in Luke 23:56, the women who had purchased spices after the first Sabbath returned and prepared the spices, then “rested on the Sabbath.” The argument states that they could not purchase the spices after the Sabbath, yet prepare those spices before the Sabbath—unless there were two Sabbaths. With the two-Sabbath view, if Christ was crucified on Thursday, then the high holy Sabbath (the Passover) would have begun Thursday at sundown and ended at Friday sundown—at the beginning of the weekly Sabbath or Saturday. Purchasing the spices after the first Sabbath (Passover) would have meant they purchased them on Saturday and were breaking the Sabbath.

Therefore, according to the Wednesday viewpoint, the only explanation that does not violate the biblical account of the women and the spices and holds to a literal understanding of Matthew 12:40, is that Christ was crucified on Wednesday. The Sabbath that was a high holy day (Passover) occurred on Thursday, the women purchased spices (after that) on Friday and returned and prepared the spices on the same day, they rested on Saturday which was the weekly Sabbath, then brought the spices to the tomb early Sunday. Jesus was buried near sundown on Wednesday, which began Thursday in the Jewish calendar. Using a Jewish calendar, you have Thursday night (night one), Thursday day (day one), Friday night (night two), Friday day (day two), Saturday night (night three), Saturday day (day three). We do not know exactly what time He rose, but we do know that it was before sunrise on Sunday. He could have risen as early as just after sunset Saturday evening, which began the first day of the week to the Jews. The discovery of the empty tomb was made just at sunrise (Mark 16:2), before it was fully light (John 20:1).

A possible problem with the Wednesday view is that the disciples who walked with Jesus on the road to Emmaus did so on “the same day” of His resurrection (Luke 24:13). The disciples, who do not recognize Jesus, tell Him of Jesus' crucifixion (24:21) and say that “today is the third day since these things happened” (24:22). Wednesday to Sunday is four days. A possible explanation is that they may have been counting since Wednesday evening at Christ's burial, which begins the Jewish Thursday, and Thursday to Sunday could be counted as three days.

In the grand scheme of things, it is not all that important to know what day of the week Christ was crucified. If it were very important, then God's Word would have clearly communicated the day and timeframe. What is important is that He did die and that He physically, bodily rose from the dead. What is equally important is the reason He died—to take the punishment that all sinners deserve. John 3:16 and 3:36 both proclaim that putting your trust in Him results in eternal life! This is equally true whether He was crucified on a Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday.

Read more: http://www.gotquestions.org/three-da...#ixzz2OzMsrnBC

Re: Was Jesus crucified on "Good Friday?"
 

He was crucified on Thursday.
The next day was a friday, but it fell on a day that was considered a High Sabbath.
Jesus died on Thursday, right at the begining of the High Sabbath, then it was followed by a regular sabbath.

Of course I could be wrong.

Re: Was Jesus crucified on "Good Friday?"
 

Re: Was Jesus crucified on "Good Friday?"
 

We "modern audiences" are so dumb. :lol

Re: Was Jesus crucified on "Good Friday?"
 

The better question is "Why is Larry Yates proud of a PhD from an unaccredited correspondence school with standards lower than Southern Eastern University?"

Re: Was Jesus crucified on "Good Friday?"
 

:thumbsup

Re: Was Jesus crucified on "Good Friday?"
 

http://www.linkedin.com/pub/larry-ya...phd/27/581/527

http://www.cypressbiblecollege.org/

Re: Was Jesus crucified on "Good Friday?"
 

Donald Vestal?

Re: Was Jesus crucified on "Good Friday?"
 

Yep, who I thought it was. Over in Van, Texas. My, my, my.

Re: Was Jesus crucified on "Good Friday?"
 

And there seems to be more to the story. :)

Re: Was Jesus crucified on "Good Friday?"
 

Will not go into that at all.

Re: Was Jesus crucified on "Good Friday?"
 

Please don't. :)