Subject: Re: Three Days and Three Nights! 
Date:    Thu, 23 Apr 1998 00:50:24 +0000 
To:      "Hebraic Heritage Newsgroup"<heb_roots_chr@geocities.com>

 

From:          Stefan Blad 
To:            heb_roots_chr@geocities.com 
Subject:       Re: Three Days and Three Nights! 
Shalom to all! 
If the 14th of Nissan would have been a Wendsday Yeshua would have 
entered the city of Jerusalem on the Sabbath the 10th of Nissan. How 
could he ride on a donkey during Sabbath when the animals have to 
rest? And how could the people cut branches from the trees during 
Sabbath? 
If Yeshua died on a Wendsday why didn't the women buy spices and 
anoint his body during the Friday? 
If Yeshua would have been crucified on a Friday then he and all his 
disciples would have broken the Sabbath by traveling to Lazarus' house 
on the Sabbath--see John 12:1. 
But  if he died on a Thursday then the day after Yeshua arrived at 
Lazarus' house would have been a Shabbath and this would account for 
his stay there an extra day. 
I recomend you to read the article on the website: 
http://www.yfiles.com/crucified.html 
The information at the Website is given below for your convenience. 
  
                                 ++++++++++++++++++++++++ 
  
WHAT DAY OF THE WEEK WAS CHRIST CRUCIFIED? 
by Lori Eldridge 
(all scriptures NIV unless otherwise noted) 
                                      (Part 1 of 2) 
Ever since I found out that Christ couldn't have been born on the 
traditional Christmas holiday, because it would have been too cold for 
the shepherds to be out in the fields at that time of year, I lost 
interest in celebrating his birth that late in the year. I did some 
more research and found out that both Christmas and Easter were 
originally pagan holidays incorporated into the church by the Roman 
Emperor Constantine around the 4th century C.E. merely to draw the 
populace into the church. Also, the secular over-emphasis of both 
Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny has been a real turn-off for 
participation in either holiday other than on a spiritual level. 
About six months ago I became involved in a mailing list on the 
internet that was peopled by both Christians and Jewish members and 
have since started learning Hebrew to facilitate my Bible studies. I 
recently became aware of the Feast of Passover and how it coincided 
with the time of Christ's crucifixion and started researching that 
festival with the intention of celebrating the resurrection at that 
time. This peaked my curiosity enough to spur me on to researching the 
day of the week that Christ was actually crucified. Although I am a 
Christian I don't have a personal preference for one day over the 
other--I just want to make sure I'm observing the right day. 
Most of the reports I've seen concerning the crucifixion date believe 
Wednesday is the day Christ was crucified, a few believe it was 
Thursday, and some on Friday. I could see flaws in the reasoning of 
almost every document I read which I believe was due to a basic 
problem related to the Jewish terminology where it concerns the time 
of day compared to how the western world determines time. I don't 
claim to have all the answers but I believe I've figured out the only 
day that could work for the crucifixion and I would like to submit my 
ideas for consideration. First I'll start with what we know for sure: 
JEWISH vs ROMAN RECKONING OF TIME 
Most of the confusion relating to the crucifixion can be traced to the 
way a Jewish person interprets time as compared to someone from the 
west. The Jewish "day" starts at Sunset (which changes slightly 
depending on the season). Therefore, their day is getting dark when it 
begins. During the time of Christ they adopted the Roman practice of 
counting 4 "watches" during the night. Each watch started 
approximately 9:30, 12:00 midnight, 2:30 (called the cockcrow watch), 
and 5 am. From sunrise they divided the day in sections into what they 
termed "hours". Thus when they said that something happened at the 6th 
hour it was about noon or 6 hours after sunrise, not 6 A.M like we 
would reckon time. 
A Roman "day", however, started at midnight (as does most of the 
western world) so when their day began it would be dark and would soon 
be getting light--just the opposite of the Jewish day. Most scholars 
agree that John wrote the Gospel of John late in the first century. He 
often used Greek terms in his writing which indicates he was heavily 
influenced by Greek culture. Further evidence is seen in that he would 
often interpret the meaning of Hebrew words which would have been 
unnecessary if he had been writing for a Jewish audience. Also, 
Irenaeus stated that John published his Gospel during his residence at 
Ephesus--the capital of the Roman province of Asia. Therefore he was 
obviously writing to the Gentiles and would have used terminology 
related to the time of day that Gentiles would have understood. 
An example of this confusion of different terminology's involves when 
Christ was nailed to the cross. According to Mark it was the third 
hour (third hour since sunrise or 9 am) (Mark 15:25). However John 
says it was "about the sixth hour" when he was still being sentenced 
by Pilate and before he was led to the cross (John 19:14). The 
difference lies in the fact that John is thinking Roman time which 
starts at midnight and thus it was about 6 am. It probably took a few 
more hours for Christ to make his way to the cross and not hard to 
imagine that it was accomplished by 9 AM. 
Some of the confusion relates to terms used to describe the Passover 
Feast itself: 
RULES FOR SELECTION OF PASSOVER LAMB 
"The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in Egypt, 'This month is to be for 
you the first month [Nisan], the first month of your year. Tell the 
whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month [Nisan 
10] each man is to take a lamb for his family, one for each household. 
. . .The animals you choose must be year-old males without defect, and 
you may take them from the sheep or the goats. Take care of them until 
the fourteenth day of the month, when all the people of the community 
of Israel must slaughter them at Twilight" (Exodus 12:1-6). 
Notice that this was the 10th day of Nisan--4 days before Preparation 
day of Passover which occurs just before the Feast of Passover. 
Actually the Feast occurs that evening, but according to Jewish time 
it is actually the next "day". 
JESUS is OUR PASSOVER LAMB 
The day after being questioned about whether he was the Christ, John 
the Baptist said when he saw Jesus approaching: "look, the Lamb of 
God, who takes away the sin of the world!" John later said that the 
Holy Spirit told him who Christ was and that he is "the Son of God". 
(John 1:29-34). 
WHEN DID JESUS ARRIVE in BETHANY? 
John's gospel says that Jesus arrived in Bethany 6 days before the 
Passover where he stayed at Lazarus' house and had dinner and it's 
logical to think that he would have spent the night and from there we 
know he arranged the triumphal entry which occurred on Nisan 10 which 
was 4 days before the day of Preparation. (I'll explain the missing 
day later.) The other Gospels didn't state when they arrived at 
Lazarus' house, only that they were approaching Bethany and Bethphage 
on the day of Triumphal Entry. It's also possible that Lazarus lived 
on the other side of Bethany and therefore Jesus had to pass through 
it to get to Jerusalem and it also seems logical that Jesus would have 
sent his disciples to Bethany for the colt being as it was up "ahead" 
instead of all the way to Jerusalem. 
Bethany was 2 miles from Jerusalem (1), however, the Mt. of Olives was 
only a Sabbath day's walk from Jerusalem (see below) that means the 
Mt. of Olives, where Jesus retired the night he was arrested, was 
closer to Jerusalem than Bethany and Bethany would not have been 
within the distance of a Sabbath days walk from Jerusalem. Therefore 
when we hear that Jesus retired to Bethany for the night we know it 
was not on a Sabbath. If you will read Mark's account of the few days 
before the crucifixion you will see that Jesus traveled to Bethany 
sometime before the 10th, went to Jerusalem on the 10th, and returned 
to Bethany the next two nights and then back to Jerusalem at least as 
late as the 12th. Luke tells us, on what must have been the 13th, that 
Jesus taught in the temple each day and returned to Bethany each 
night. (luke 21:37) Therefore, being as we know the day of preparation 
couldn't have been a weekly Sabbath (because of the work involved) and 
Passover did not occur on a Sabbath either (see below) it was 
impossible for a Sabbath to occur from Nisan 10 through Nisan 16. 
TIME of EVENING SACRIFICE 
" . . . on the 10th day of this month [Nisan/March or April] each man 
is to take a lamb for his family, one for each household. . . . The 
animals you choose must be year-old males without defect, and you may 
take them from the sheep or the goats. Take care of them until the 
fourteenth day of the month, when all the people of the community of 
Israel must slaughter them at twilight" (Exodus 12:3-6). Other 
versions say "between the evenings." 
The daylight part of the Jewish day was divided into two parts: from 
sunrise to noon and was considered "the morning" part of the day. From 
noon to sunset was the "evening" part of the day and therefore when 
scripture indicates the lamb was to be crucified "between the 
evenings" it meant half-way between noon and sunset, i.e., about 3 PM. 
  
According to Gesenius' Hebrew Lexicon of O.T. the word used in Ex. 
12:6, # 6153 called 'ereb means: 
"evening . . . in the phrase "between the two evenings" Ex 16:12; 
30:8; used as marking the space of time during which the Paschal lamb 
was slain, Ex 12:6; Lev 23:5; Num 9:3; and the evening sacrifice was 
offered, Ex 29:39, 41; Num 28:4; i.e., according to the opinion of the 
Karaites and Samaritans (which is favoured by the words of Deut. 
16:6), the time between sunset and deep twilight. The Pharisees, 
however, and the Rabbinists considered the time when the sun began to 
descend [similar to an Arabian word which means 'little evening' for 
when it begins to draw towards evening] to be called the first evening 
and the second evening to be the real sunset." Therefore the time 
between when the sun began to descend [early afternoon] and sunset, 
i.e., the 9th hour according to Jewish time or 3 PM Roman time. 
This is corroborated by the Mishnah in Tractate Pesahim by Danby, p. 
144, where it says the Passover lamb was to be killed "Bain ehrev" . . 
. between the evening in its appointed time." And The Chumash by 
ArtScroll, p 351, Exodus 12:6 says, "the entire congregation of the 
assembly of Israel shall slaughter it in the afternoon". Josephus 
further corroborates the time of day of the sacrifices during a 
Passover feast in his "Wars of the Jews", Ch. IX: "So these high 
priests, upon the coming of their feast which is called the Passover, 
when they slay their sacrifices, from the ninth hour to the eleventh 
[3-5 PM],. . ." 
This is the same time of day that Yeshua died on the cross according 
to Matt. 27:45-50, on the 9th hour, or about 3 PM. 
PRESENTATION OF PASSOVER LAMB 
According to Jewish tradition the lambs were to be presented for 
inspection to the priests in preparation of Passover. After the Lamb 
was selected they were to take it into their home for those 4 days and 
keep an eye on it and examine it for flaws. Being as Jesus is our 
Passover Lamb it seems logical that he would comply with this detail 
also. 
As Jesus and his disciples approached Jerusalem, Jesus sent two of the 
disciples ahead to get a donkey: 
"The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. They brought 
the donkey and the colt, placed their cloaks on them, and Jesus sat on 
them. A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while other 
cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. [Crowd 
shouted Hosanna to the Son of David!] . . . Jesus entered the temple 
area . . .And he left them and went out of the city to Bethany, where 
he spent the night" (Matt 21:1-11 with a quote from Zech. 9:9) 
The same day that the Jews were presenting their lambs to be inspected 
for the Passover we see our own Passover lamb presenting himself to 
the people of Jerusalem for inspection as their long awaited King. The 
people accepted him but their leaders did not. He himself was then 
examined for 4 days by the chief priests, teachers of the law, elders, 
Pharisees, Sadducees, and even Herodians, but they could not find 
fault with him and had to rely on false witnesses in order to get him 
convicted. 
This event is one of the keys to figuring out the day of the week for 
the crucifixion. Notice all the work that is going on. If this would 
have been a Saturday they would have broken just about every rule 
regarding the Sabbath rest (see below). 
WHEN WAS PASSOVER? 
"The Lord's Passover begins at twilight on the fourteenth day of the 
first month. On the fifteenth day of that month the Lord's Feast of 
Unleavened Bread begins; for seven days you must eat bread made 
without yeast. On the first day hold a sacred assembly and do no 
regular work." (Lev. 23:5-7) 
All three Gospels state that "while they were eating" Jesus gave them 
instructions about the Lords Supper or communion. Therefore they were 
already eating their Passover meal when he performed the famous Last 
Supper rites and they are not one and the same as so many have 
supposed. Scripture doesn't say this but apparently Christ arranged 
for them to eat his last Passover meal 24 hours earlier than everyone 
else so he could spend the last day with them in a special ceremony 
where they would learn to commemorate that day in his memory. 
Although I haven't been able to verify this it is claimed that there 
was a law in effect in the days of the crucifixion that allowed people 
to eat the Passover lamb early because of the enormous crowds of 
people that came to Jerusalem for the feast. This would also have 
allowed Rabbi's to arrange a meal for the purpose of rehearsing the 
details of the festival with one's closest disciples the evening 
before a major festival such as the Passover Feast. This would explain 
why there "appeared" to be two separate Passover meals being eaten. 
I heard another explanation saying that they all had to be with their 
own families for the Passover Feast as the actual Passover meal was a 
family affair and not to be celebrated individually. However, I 
believe that it is closer to the truth that when they decided to 
follow Christ they gave up such family obligations which enabled them 
to fulfill the OT scriptures that speak about the Shepherd being 
struck and the sheep being scattered (Zech 13:7). If they had merely 
gone to eat dinner with their families they wouldn't have been 
considered "scattered". 
Therefore, Christ must have celebrated the Passover with his disciples 
on the eve of Preparation Day--the evening before the day on which he 
was crucified. Keep in mind that sunset is the start of a new day 
therefore this would have taken place after sunset shortly after Nisan 
13 changed over to Nisan 14. 
PREPARATION DAY vs. PASSOVER DAY 
"On the fourteenth day of the first month [Nisan] the Lord's Passover 
is to be held. On the fifteenth day of this month there is to be a 
festival; for seven days eat bread made without yeast (Festival of 
Unleavened Bread). On the first day hold a sacred assembly and do no 
regular work" (Num 28:16-18). 
"The Lord's Passover begins at twilight on the fourteenth day of the 
first month. On the fifteenth day of that month the Lord's Feast of 
Unleavened Bread begins; for seven days you must eat bread made 
without yeast. On the first day hold a sacred assembly and do not 
regular work. For seven days present an offering made to the Lord by 
fire. And on the seventh day hold a sacred assembly and do no regular 
work" (Lev 23:5-8). 
Apparently the word "Passover" can mean anything from Nisan 10 through 
the week following the first day of Unleavened Bread up to Nisan 
21--much like our word for Christmas can mean the whole two weeks from 
Christmas Eve to the New Years holiday. This is one reason there are 
so many differences of opinion regarding the timing of the 
crucifixion. The best way to differentiate between the two days is 
what is occurring, i.e., are they preparing "for" the Passover or 
participating "in" the Feast of the Passover. 
TWO DAYS BEFORE PASSOVER 
"Now the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread were only two days 
away, and the chief priests and the teachers of the law were looking 
for some sly way to arrest Jesus and kill him. 'But not during the 
Feast,' they said, 'or the people may riot'" (Mark 14:1-2). 
The Passover (Feast) and the Feast of Unleavened Bread are two 
holidays that start on the same day, the 15th of Nisan, which was a 
High Holy day --a Holy Sabbath day of rest. There were only two days 
left by this time so they had to accomplish their plan quickly. (Keep 
in mind that the Feast of Passover and Unleavened Bread were eaten 
right after sundown on the 14th which would actually be the 15th 
according to Jewish time but actually the same day according to Roman 
time.) 
RULES FOR SABBATH REST 
"Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the Lord your God has 
commanded you. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the 
seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your god. On it you shall not do 
any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant 
or maidservant, nor your ox, your donkey or any of your animals, nor 
the alien within your gates, so that your man- servant and maidservant 
may rest, as you do." (Deut 5:12-14). 
Please notice that not even donkeys were supposed to work on the 
Sabbath. 
"Everyone is to stay where he is on the seventh day; no one is to go 
out" (Ex 16:29). 
The distance between Jerusalem and the Mt. of Olives was considered a 
Sabbath days walk therefore this distance was about 1,200 yards. (Acts 
1:12) (2) 
TWO SABBATHS DURING CRUCIFIXION WEEK 
A lot of the confusion concerning the date of crucifixion arises from 
the fact that many don't understand that there were two Sabbath's 
during crucifixion week--one of them being a Passover which is also 
called a High Holy Sabbath. Both Sabbaths coincided near the time of 
Christ's death. 
Matt. 28:1 says "After the Sabbath at dawn on the first day of the 
week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb." 
However, J.P. Green's Interlinear New Testament indicates the word for 
Sabbath in this instance, #4521, is in the plural form, i.e., there 
were two Sabbath's that week. This phrase is translated as "after the 
Sabbath's" in some versions (4). 
Luke's account of the burial (Luke 23:44-56) gives us a progression of 
events that indicate there had to be two Sabbath's involved: 
1. Jesus died at 3 PM. 
2. Joseph of Arimathea went to Pilate and got permission to bury 
Jesus. 3. Nicodemus helped out by purchasing 75 pounds of spices and 
they both prepared the body for burial before the Passover Sabbath 
began at sunset (John 19:38-42). 4. The women followed Joseph of 
Arimathea to the tomb and watched the proceedings of the burial then 
they went home and prepared spices and perfumes but rested on the 
Sabbath. 5. The women "bought" the spices after the Sabbath according 
to Mark 16:1). Being as the next day after the crucifixion (starting 
on that same evening) was the Passover Sabbath they would have had to 
wait 24 hours to purchase them unless the next day was also a Sabbath 
and then they would have had to wait 2 days. 
If Jesus had been crucified on Friday there would only have been one 
day in-between when Christ died and the first day of the week and it 
would have been a Sabbath. So where and when did they buy the spices? 
If Thursday is Crucifixion day the next day is the High Passover 
Sabbath and the next day is the weekly Sabbath. Because of the 
back-to-back Sabbath's the women would not have had a chance to buy 
the spices until right after the weekly Sabbath in the evening (the 
beginning of Sunday at sundown). They would have had time to prepare 
them that night and took them to the grave the next morning (Sunday 
morning). 
If Christ was crucified on a Wednesday then there is an intervening 
weekday between the two Sabbath's but then Christ wouldn't have risen 
until "after" the 3 day period because He had to rise on Sunday to 
fulfill the First Fruits and Wave Sheaf offering after the Sabbaths 
(see below) and the women wouldn't have gone to the grave to anoint 
his body if he arose on Saturday anyway because it was a Sabbath. 
3 DAYS and 3 NIGHTS 
"Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, 
'Teacher, we want to see a miraculous sign from you.' He answered, 'A 
wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign! But none 
will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 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" (Matt. 12:38-40). 
Mark 16:1 says the women arrived at the tomb just after sunrise which 
indicates that Christ arose from the dead either shortly before they 
arrived or sometime during the night after sundown the previous 
evening. Matthew 28:2 states that there was a violent earthquake when 
an angel rolled the stone away from the tomb. I believe the earthquake 
could be a possible indicator of when Christ arose from the 
grave--i.e., just before sunrise because there will be another great 
earthquake when he returns the 2nd time (Zech 14:4). 
If Jesus was crucified and buried late on a Thursday (Jewish time) and 
rose again on Sunday sometime between Saturday sundown and sunrise 
early Sunday morning (Jewish time) that gives us two whole days and 
parts of 2 other days. Being as Jews consider part of a day a whole 
day it is very reasonable to assume that the 3 days and 3 nights in a 
tomb were fulfilled. 
However, this isn't necessarily as precise a statement as we've been 
led to believe. 
The expression "three days and three nights" is a figure of speech 
that was used during the biblical period and does not necessarily mean 
the same thing that it would mean to us today. When the disciples 
boldly claimed that Jesus had risen from the dead on the third day 
(Acts 10.40), no one disputed it. Therefore the phrase "three days and 
three nights" was obviously a colloquialism of that time and not to be 
taken literally. 
RESURRECTION DATE 
"When the Sabbath was over . . . Very early on the first day of the 
week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb . . . But 
when they looked up they saw that the stone, which was very large, had 
been rolled away." And they were told, "He has risen" (Mark 16:1-6). 
Matthew 38:1 says "After the Sabbaths" as I pointed out before, and 
also mentions a violent earthquake. 
Therefore, Christ rose after both Sabbaths on the first day of the 
week Sunday. This occurred 3 days after Nisan 14 on Preparation day so 
it was Nisan 17. 
This is the same day the Israelites were delivered from the Egyptians. 
God instructed them to anoint their doorposts with the blood of the 
lamb on the twilight of Nisan 14 and he would Passover them on the 
15th (after sundown on the 14th) when he would strike down all the 
firstborn of Egypt. They were instructed to be ready to leave at 
daybreak on the 15th (morning of the 15th). (Ex 12:1-13) They then 
traveled day and night for the next few days first to Etham and then 
to Pi Hahiroth where they encamped by the sea. (Ex 13:20-14:2) After 
the Egyptians appeared the Lord parted the Red Sea all that night (Ex 
14:21) from which the Israelites emerged on the other side as the day 
was dawning and at which time the sea covered the Egyptians. (Ex 
14:27) This event is a shadow of the fulfillment of the day of First 
Fruits. (see below) 
Therefore the people of Israel were "saved" by coming through the Red 
Sea on the same day of the year and same time of day that Jesus rose 
from the dead as the "savior" of all who will turn to him--Nisan 17, 
before dawn. 
If you want to do some research on this I believe you will also find 
that the day the Ark rested on the mountians of Ararat also falls on 
Nisan 17. 
FIRST FRUITS / WAVE SHEAF OFFERING 
Right after God gave Moses the instructions for Passover he told them 
about the First fruits/Wave Sheaf offering: 
"When you enter the land I am going to give you and you reap its 
harvest, bring to the priest a sheaf of the first grain you harvest. 
He is to wave the sheaf before the Lord so it will be accepted on your 
behalf; the priest is to wave it on the day after the Sabbath." (Lev 
23:10-11). 
This day is very important because the Israelites were to start 
counting on this day: 
"for 7 full weeks. Count off fifty days up to the day after the 
seventh Sabbath and then present an offering of new grain to the Lord. 
. . . The priest is to wave the two lambs before the Lord as a wave 
offering, together with the bread of the firstfruits. They are a 
sacred offering to the Lord for the priest. On that same day you are 
to proclaim a sacred assembly and do no regular work. This is to be a 
lasting ordinance for all generations to come, wherever you live." 
This day is called Pentecost which means fifty days. (Lev. 23:15-21) 
Compare what happened to the Israelites 50 days after they were 
"saved" from the Egyptians in Ex. 19:16-19 with Acts 2:1-8 50 days 
after Christ had risen. 
"But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the first fruits 
from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For 
since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes 
also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be 
made alive. But each in his own turn: Christ, the first fruits; then 
when he comes, those who belong to him. Then the end will come . . . " 
(1 Cor 15:20-24). 
Therefore, Jesus fulfilled the offering of the first of the harvest as 
he was the "First Fruits" and he also fulfilled the day of Pentecost 
by giving the Holy Spirit to all believers. Jesus' fulfillment of this 
day proves that this holiday was not to be celebrated the day after 
the Passover Sabbath but on the weekly Sabbath following Passover, 
i.e., after both Sabbaths. 
SUMMARY: WEDNESDAY, THURSDAY or FRIDAY? 
Wednesday: 
If Preparation Day occurred on a Wednesday then we have a whole day on 
Friday when they did not anoint the body which seems very strange 
because the next day would have been the regular Sabbath when they 
would have had to rest again. It was impossible for Christ to have 
risen on Saturday because that would mean that the women broke the 
Sabbath by going to anoint his body that morning and Nisan 10 would 
also have been a Sabbath and hundreds or thousands of people would 
have broken the Sabbath on that day by cutting palm branches. Christ 
also would have broken the Sabbath by making the donkey carry a 
burden. Therefore Christ couldn't have risen until the next day which 
would have been Sunday which would have entailed 4 days that Christ's 
body had lain in the tomb instead of 3. What Martha said to Jesus when 
he was about to raise Lazarus from the dead comes to mind: "But, Lord, 
by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days" 
(John 11:38). Therefore the day of Preparation for Passover/Christ's 
crucifixion could not have occurred on a Wednesday. 
Another reason this date is not acceptable is because it would have 
eliminated Christ rising on the day of First Fruits/Wave Sheaf which 
was the first day after the two Sabbath's, (see First Fruits above) 
i.e., this day obviously has to occur on a Sunday. 
Friday: 
If Christ had been crucified on a Friday then he and all his disciples 
would have broken the Sabbath by traveling to Lazarus' house on the 
Sabbath--see John 12:1. However if he died on a Thursday then the day 
after Christ arrived at Lazarus'' house would have been a Saturday and 
this would account for his stay there an extra day. 
Thursday: 
Therefore, the only scenario that I can reconcile is that Preparation 
day was on Thursday because that makes both Nisan 10 (triumphal entry) 
and Nisan 17 (first fruits/Wave sheaf/resurrection day) and they both 
land on a day which was not a day of rest according to all the work 
that was involved on both those days and this also accounts for the 
two Sabbath's in between the time Christ was crucified and his 
resurrection. 
Exodus 12:14 and Leviticus 23:21 tells us that these feast days are 
festivals that God's people are to commemorate "for all generations" 
wherever they live. I therefore would ask any Christians reading this 
to prayerfully consider whether they should do so. 
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