EVERY DAY BEGINS AS THE CLOCK PASSES MIDNIGHT. At Least This What We Think. We are not Jews, for they hold that a day begins at evening and not at midnight nor in the morning.

Three Days and Three Nights: The Overlooked Truth of the Crucifixion Timeline

Many Christians grow up assuming that Jesus was crucified on a Friday and resurrected on Sunday morning. However, this common belief, while deeply embedded in tradition, does not align with the plain statements of Scripture regarding the time Jesus spent in the grave. A closer examination of the Gospels and the Jewish calendar reveals a far more accurate and compelling timeline that honors Jesus' own prophecy: "For just 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 12:40).

The Apostle Paul declares that Jesus was raised on the third day, not the second day, which undermines the Friday-Saturday argument for the Resurrection.

"For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures" (1 Corinthians 15:3-4).

The Preparation Day: A Misunderstood Reference

John 19:14 tells us that Jesus was crucified at the end of the "Preparation Day of the Passover." This preparation was not for the weekly Sabbath (Saturday), but for Passover—the day before the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which follows it and begins on the next evening. Leviticus 23:5–7 establishes that the 14th day of the first month (Nisan 14)—which begins at the evening (because all Jewish days are evening to evening)—is the Passover, followed immediately by the 15th day, the Feast of Unleavened Bread, a High Sabbath regardless of the day of the week. Referring to the 14th day, which began just after Jesus was crucified Luke states:

"It was the day of Preparation, and the Sabbath was beginning" (Luke 23:54).

That Sabbath was a "high day" (John 19:31), meaning it was the first day of Unleavened Bread, not the weekly Sabbath. Therefore, Jesus was crucified late on Wednesday afternoon, Nisan 13, the very day the Passover lambs were slain and laid to rest at the very time the lambs were being eaten, according to Scripture.

The Burial After Sunset

The Gospels record that Jesus died around the ninth hour—approximately 3 PM, between the two evenings—and had to be buried quickly as the Day of Preparation for Unleavened Bread was beginning at the evening hour and the Passover lamb had to be consumed in the houses that night. 

"And when evening had come, since it was the day of Preparation, that is, the day before the Sabbath, Joseph of Arimathea... asked for the body of Jesus" (Mark 15:42–43).

Jesus' burial just after sunset on Wednesday—"evening had come"—ensured the countdown of the three days and three nights, with his body in a secure place. In Jewish reckoning, a day begins at sunset, not at midnight. So the first night began at sunset Wednesday and continued through Thursday morning, followed by the first day (Thursday daylight hours).

The Three Days and Three Nights

Let us now account for each full day and night:

• Night 1: Wednesday evening to Thursday morning

• Day 1: Thursday morning to Thursday evening

• Night 2: Thursday evening to Friday morning

• Day 2: Friday morning to Friday evening

• Night 3: Friday evening to Saturday morning

• Day 3: Saturday morning to Saturday evening

By this reckoning, Jesus rose at, or just before, sunset on Saturday, at the end of the weekly Sabbath, before the women arrived at the tomb early Sunday morning.

"Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb... But the angel said to the women, 'He is not here, for he has risen, as he said'" (Matthew 28:1, 5–6).

The angel does not say, "He is rising now" or "He will rise soon," but "He is not here." Jesus was already resurrected before sunrise.

The Sequence of Sabbaths

The confusion surrounding a Friday crucifixion comes from failing to distinguish between the annual High Sabbath and the weekly Sabbath. During the crucifixion week, there were two Sabbaths back to back:

1. Thursday evening (Nisan 15) – The High Sabbath (Feast of Unleavened Bread)

2. Friday evening (Nisan 16) – The weekly Sabbath begins

3. Saturday evening (Nisan 17) – The weekly Sabbath ends.

Mark 16:1 and Luke 23:56 state that the women bought spices before and after the Sabbath. Luke 23:56 says that the women followed Joseph of Arimathea to the tomb, which put them now into the day of Preparation for the High Sabbath. They then purchased and prepared spices on the morrow during daylight hours. For the High Sabbath was to begin that evening following the day after the crucifixion.  Luke writes that they prepared the spices before resting on the Sabbath. With the back to back Sabbaths, two more days had passed before they could go to the tomb.

This sequence is easy to understand if there were two Sabbaths:

• Thursday: Women buy and prepare spices during the day.

• Friday: High Sabbath – no buying or selling

• Saturday: Weekly Sabbath – women rest again

Thus, the traditional Good Friday timeline collapses under the weight of biblical and historical evidence.

Prophetic Harmony

This timeline doesn’t merely make chronological sense—it fulfills prophecy. Jesus, the Lamb of God, was slain on Passover (1 Corinthians 5:7). He lay in the tomb three days and three nights, as Jonah was in the great fish (Matthew 12:40). He rose at the end of the extended Sabbath on the third day (1 Corinthians 15:3-4) just as the first day of the Jewish week began.

Moreover, Daniel 9:26 says, "After the sixty-two weeks, an anointed one shall be cut off." Jesus was "cut off" not for Himself, but for others, fulfilling this Messianic prophecy precisely.

What This Means Today

While the traditional calendar of Holy Week remains popular for its symbolism, accuracy matters when understanding the gravity of the crucifixion and resurrection. A Wednesday crucifixion aligns with Scripture, Jewish feast days, and the actual fulfillment of the sign of Jonah. It also strengthens our trust in the reliability of biblical prophecy.

The Lord of Glory was crucified on the day when the Passover lambs were being sacrificed in the Temple from 3pm onwards and, lay in the tomb three days and nights, and rose after the Sabbath had ended—all just as foretold. When understood correctly, the chronology glorifies the wisdom and sovereignty of God in fulfilling every detail of His redemptive plan.

It is not tradition that gives us life, but truth. And in the truth of Scripture, we find the majesty of a Savior who not only died for our sins, but rose precisely as He said He would. Let us therefore worship Him in spirit, in truth, and in alignment with the testimony of His Word.