WAS JESUS CRUCIFIED ON A WEDNESDAY?

ARISTEO CANLAS FERNANDO Peace Crusader and Echo of the Holy Spirit

Some people claim that Jesus was crucified on Wednesday. Let us anaylze if this is true. Let us list down the criteria we will use based on the Holy Bible (1-4) and on tradition which are logical (5-7): 1. Day after crucifixion was a high day and a Sabbath (John 19:31). 2. Jesus was in the tomb for three days and three nights (Matthew 12:39-41). 3. The tomb was discovered empty on the first day of the week (Matthew 28:1; Mark 16:2; Luke 24:1; John 20:1). 4. Mary Magdalene et al. bought sweet spices for the anointing of Jesus after a Sabbath (Mark 16:1). 5. Shops were closed on a Sabbath day. 6. On the day before a Sabbath called Preparation Day, shops were open only in the morning. In the afternoon, the Jews prepare for the Sabbath that would start when the sun has set. 7. In winter, shops were open from sunrise to sunset. However, in summer when it is hot in the afternoon, shops were open from sunrise to noon, and from about 3 to 4pm until about 30 minutes to one hour after the sun has set. Presently, the crucifixion of Jesus Christ is observed on a Friday, called Good Friday, and His tomb was found empty on Sunday morning, called Easter. This is not correct based on an analysis at http://aristean.org/wp091.htm titled Was Jesus crucified on a Friday? A Jewish day starts at sunset and ends at sunset the next day. If Jesus was crucified on a Wednesday, the first night and first day that Jesus was in the tomb would be Thursday; second night and second day would be Friday, and third night and third day would be Saturday. The fourth day when the tomb was discovered empty would be Sunday. When Jesus was crucified, it was Preparation Day for next days high Sabbath Day (criterion 1). The next day was a Sabbath Day, a high day, and the shops were closed. If Jesus was crucified on Nisan 14, was Nisan 15 a Thursday? Nisan 15 was supposed to be the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread which is a high day. In what years was Nisan 15 a Thursday? Let us see what Nisan 15 was from AD 30 to AD 36 using the calendar converter at http://www.hebrewcalendar.net/htdocs/main.en.html . Nisan 15, 3790 AM is equal to April 3, 30 AD which was a Thursday; Nisan 15, 3791 AM, March 24, 31 AD, Tuesday; Nisan 15, 3792 AM, April 12, 32 AD, Tuesday; Nisan 15, 3793 AM, April 1, 33 AD, Saturday; Nisan 15, 3795 AM, March 20, 34 AD, Tuesday; Nisan 15, 3795 AM, April 9, 35 AD, Tuesday; Nisan 15, 3796 AM, March 28, 36 AD, Saturday. The year when Nisan 15 was Thursday was on 30 AD. So was Jesus crucified on Nisan 14, 3790 AM orApril 3, 30 AD? So far, so good. We will see if other criteria are met.

BTW, AM is the Latin abbreviation for anno mundi or in the year of the world, in the Jewish calendar. AD is the Latin abbreviation for anno Domini or in the year of our Lord, in the proleptic Gregorian calendar. If Jesus was crucified on a Wednesday, the shops were open in the morning only of the second day (Friday) in preparation for next days regular weekly Saturday Sabbath. Mary Magdalene et al. could have bought the sweet spices on Friday morning when the shops had opened. After buying the sweet spices, they could have proceeded to the tomb to anoint Jesus. Why then did the disciples of Jesus had to wait until Sunday, the fourth day, to go very early to the tomb? As Martha, the sister of Lazarus, told Jesus when He asked to take away the stone covering the grave of his brother in John 11:39, Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days. But this going to the tomb is only the second day. Criterion 2 says that Jesus was in the tomb for three days and three nights. Could they have discovered that Jesus was still there? Is Friday the first day of the week? Based on these, Jesus could not had been crucified on a Wednesday.