I made the statement in my Bible class when we were studying about the Pentecost that it was 50 days after the Passover. I reminded my class that a week has 7 days. Seven weeks = 49 days. Add one day to make Pentecost come on the 50th day (Sunday) after the Passover, which was on a Saturday.
A student came up after class with this question: If Jesus was in the grave three days, how did he eat the Passover on a Saturday and then rise on a Sunday?
Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end. And supper being ended, the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him (John 13:1-2).
Note a few other references that mention the Passover and what the apostles and Jesus were doing to prepare for it. Notice also just how many things were accomplished.
Matthew 26:17-30
17 Now the first day of the feast of unleavened bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying unto him, Where wilt thou that we prepare for thee to eat the passover?
18 And he said, Go into the city to such a man, and say unto him, The Master saith, My time is at hand; I will keep the passover at thy house with my disciples.
19 And the disciples did as Jesus had appointed them; and they made ready the passover.
20 Now when the even was come, he sat down with the twelve.
21 And as they did eat, he said, Verily I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me.
22 And they were exceeding sorrowful, and began every one of them to say unto him, Lord, is it I?
23 And he answered and said, He that dippeth his hand with me in the dish, the same shall betray me.
24 The Son of man goeth as it is written of him: but woe unto that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! it had been good for that man if he had not been born.
25 Then Judas, which betrayed him, answered and said, Master, is it I? He said unto him, Thou hast said.
26 And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body.
27 And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it;
28 For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.
29 But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.
30 And when they had sung an hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives.
John 12:1-8
12 Then Jesus six days before the passover came to Bethany, where Lazarus was which had been dead, whom he raised from the dead.
2 There they made him a supper; and Martha served: but Lazarus was one of them that sat at the table with him.
3 Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odour of the ointment.
4 Then saith one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, which should betray him,
5 Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor?
6 This he said, not that he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put therein.
7 Then said Jesus, Let her alone: against the day of my burying hath she kept this.
8 For the poor always ye have with you; but me ye have not always.
John 13:1-5
1 Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end.
2 And supper being ended, the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him;
3 Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he was come from God, and went to God;
4 He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself.
5 After that he poureth water into a bason, and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded.
John 18:28-29
28 Then led they Jesus from Caiaphas unto the hall of judgment: and it was early; and they themselves went not into the judgment hall, lest they should be defiled; but that they might eat the passover.
29 Pilate then went out unto them, and said, What accusation bring ye against this man?
Note also how that the ones who were taking Jesus to the Judgment Hall were planning to observe the Passover the next day (Saturday). We know who “they” are in verse 35. The chief priests and Jews could not go into the Judgment Hall for fear they would be defiled and thereby disqualified from observing the Passover the next day.
So why did Jesus eat the Passover on a Thursday evening? In the Old Testament, we sometimes read about the Passover ‘other than it is written.’ What does that mean? Was Jesus crucified before the Passover? Did he observe a different Passover?
Luke 22:7-9—Jesus commanded Peter and John to prepare the Passover for him.
7 Then came the day of unleavened bread, when the passover must be killed.
8 And he sent Peter and John, saying, Go and prepare us the passover, that we may eat.
9 And they said unto him, Where wilt thou that we prepare?
Luke 22:13-15—The Passover was prepared before the normal Passover.
13 And they went, and found as he had said unto them: and they made ready the passover.
14 And when the hour was come, he sat down, and the twelve apostles with him.
15 And he said unto them, With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer:
Jesus suffered before the normal Passover. Thus, he ate the Passover before the normal Passover.
There were other times and ways when God commanded men to eat the Passover.
Num. 9:6-8—Certain Israelites wanted to take the Passover but could not.
6 And there were certain men, who were defiled by the dead body of a man, that they could not keep the passover on that day: and they came before Moses and before Aaron on that day:
7 And those men said unto him, We are defiled by the dead body of a man: wherefore are we kept back, that we may not offer an offering of the Lord in his appointed season among the children of Israel?
8 And Moses said unto them, Stand still, and I will hear what the Lord will command concerning you.
Num. 9:10-13—God made a way for them to take the Passover even when it was not the right time.
10 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If any man of you or of your posterity shall be unclean by reason of a dead body, or be in a journey afar off, yet he shall keep the passover unto the Lord.
11 The fourteenth day of the second month at even they shall keep it, and eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.
12 They shall leave none of it unto the morning, nor break any bone of it: according to all the ordinances of the passover they shall keep it.
13 But the man that is clean, and is not in a journey, and forbeareth to keep the passover, even the same soul shall be cut off from among his people: because he brought not the offering of the Lord in his appointed season, that man shall bear his sin.
2 Chr. 30:17-20—There was at least one other case where the Israelites were allowed to eat the Passover when it was not possible for them to be qualified.
17 For there were many in the congregation that were not sanctified: therefore the Levites had the charge of the killing of the passovers for every one that was not clean, to sanctify them unto the Lord.
18 For a multitude of the people, even many of Ephraim, and Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun, had not cleansed themselves, yet did they eat the passover otherwise than it was written. But Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, the good Lord pardon every one
19 That prepareth his heart to seek God, the Lord God of his fathers, though he be not cleansed according to the purification of the sanctuary.
20 And the Lord hearkened to Hezekiah, and healed the people.
What events have been recorded each day of the week before Jesus was crucified?
| Events on Saturday | Jesus anointed at Bethany (Mat. 26:6-13) |
| Events on Sunday | Jesus rode into Jerusalem on the colt of an ass (Mat. 21:1-17) |
| Events on Monday | · cursed the fig tree (Mark 11:12-18)
· cleansed the temple a 2nd time (Mat. 21:12, 13) |
| Events on Tuesday | Condemned the Scribes and Pharisees (Mat. 23:1-39) |
| Events on Wednesday | Unknown |
|
Events on Thursday |
· Last Supper (John 13:1-17)
· Jesus revealed Judas as his betrayer (John 13:21-31). · Jesus prayed in the Garden Of Gethsemane (Mat. 26:36) · Jesus’ farewell speech to the apostles (John chapters 14-17) |
| Events on Friday | · Judas betrayed Jesus (Mat. 26:47-56)
· Jesus falsely accused, tried and convicted (Mat. 27:1-26) · Jesus crucified (Mat. 27:27-57) · Jesus’ burial (Mat. 27:58-61) |
| Events on Saturday | Tomb under guard (Mat. 27:62-66) |
| Jesus arose from the dead on Sunday | First day of the week (Mark 16:1, 2)
also called the Lord’s Day (Rev. 1:10) |
Another aspect of the student’s question had to do with how the Jews counted days. The Jews did not count time like 20th century India, or anywhere in the world today. The Jewish day started at sunrise (6:00 AM) and ended at sunset (6:00 PM). Whatever the counting of ‘three days and three nights’ was, in the disciples’ language, those three days had fully transpired—and the disciples specifically acknowledged that they were expired according to Luke 24:19-21.
And he said unto them, What things? And they said unto him, Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, which was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people: And how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him to be condemned to death, and have crucified him. But we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel: and beside all this, to day is the third day since these things were done (Luke 24:19-21).
If the people that lived during that time included 3 days from when ‘these things were done’ (the crucifixion in context), then we should understand that the Lord spoke their language, and not 21st century English, Tamil, Telugu or any other language.
Another question seems to stem around the Jewish use of the word day. Christ predicted that he would be raised from the dead ‘the third day’ (Matt. 16:21). However, he also declared that he would rise ‘after three days’ (Mark 8:31). Later, Jesus affirmed that he would be in the grave ‘three days and three nights’ (Matt. 12:40). These references have often posed questions for sincere Bible students. Is there really a discrepancy between these terms in the various scriptures?
Once more the solution lies in understanding how the Jews measured time. According to a common Hebrew idiom, any part of a day could be counted as the whole day and night. There are many examples of such usage in the Scriptures.
- The rain of the flood was upon the earth “forty days and forty nights,” or, simply “forty days” (Gen. 7:12, 17).
- In 1 Samuel 30:12-13, the expressions “three days and three nights” and “three days” are equivalent to one another.
- When Israel asked Rehoboam to lighten its burdens, he said: “Depart ye for three days, then come again to me.” The context subsequently says that they returned on “the third day” (1 Kings 12:5, 12).
- When Esther was about to risk entrance into the king’s presence, she requested her fellow Jews to neither “eat nor drink three days, night or day,” but on “the third day,” she went in unto the king (Esth. 4:16; 5:1).
- Finally, note this. The Pharisees said to Pilate, “This deceiver said while he was yet alive, After three days I will rise again. Command therefore, that the sepulcher be made sure until the third day (Matt. 27:63-64).
Clearly there was flexibility in the Hebrew mode of expressing time.
One must understand, therefore, how the Israelite people spoke of time. The New Testament does not contradict itself with reference to how long Jesus was in the grave.
It is extremely significant to observe that though the Jews used every imaginable device by which to ensnare Christ, no enemy is ever recorded charging the Lord with error in reference to the duration of his entombment! They understood the common chronological idiom and had no problem with the Lord’s mode of expression.
Thank you for explaining how the Jews counted days and nights. Many people are troubled by this which is understandable if they look at our current understanding of time. Great explanation.
Thanks for the encouraging words. Often there may be other questions people have that fit into this category. Someone pointed this out to me and I had not considered it before, but I am happy to have studied it.