The 3rd scientific proof that Jesus rose from the dead on a Sabbath morning: It is clear to all Bible readers and all Christian churches in the world that Jesus was crucified and laid in the tomb on a preparation day (pre-Sabbath, 14th Nisan), that is, the day before a Sabbath (Mt 27:62; Mk 15:42; Lk 23:54; Jn 19:14-31:42). But only those Christians who are familiar with the entire (!) Bible can know that a preparation day does not automatically mean Friday, but that there are three types of preparation days (cf. Pre-Sabbath). On which of these three possible preparation days Jesus was crucified and buried can be answered without doubt from the Bible. Contrary to the tradition and doctrine of most priests and pastors, however, this was NOT a preparation day for a weekly Sabbath, that is, not Friday, but a special preparation day, namely the day before the High Sabbath of the year (Passover-Festival-Sabbath, 15th Nisan), which falls on a different weekday every year. Jesus did not die on the preparation day for a weekly Sabbath (Friday), but on a preparation day for a yearly Sabbath (Wednesday). Although there are years in which the 15th Nisan (annual Sabbath, Passover) falls on a weekly Sabbath (then it is called "double Sabbath", but this cannot possibly have happened in the year in which Jesus died for several reasons, as can be proved beyond doubt in the chapters 4 and chapter 5. The fact is and remains: Jesus could not possibly have fulfilled "the sign of the Messiah" (3 days and 3 nights) if he had been crucified on a Friday. For the apostle John (Jn 18:8; 19:14,31,42) it was very important to make this difference clear several times, so that no differences of opinion among Christians would arise:

1. This preparation day was the 14th Nisan (Aviv). It was not a preparation day for an ordinary Sabbath, but it was the "preparation day for the Passover", that is, for the annual Sabbath (15th Nisan), which in most years falls on any day of the week, but not on a weekly Sabbath. Important: The differentiation and emphasis of this "preparation day for Passover" alone makes it clear that it could not have been a normal weekly Sabbath, because otherwise the general expression "on the preparation day" would have been sufficient. Then it would be clear to everyone anyway that it would have to be a double Sabbath, because the 14th Nisan is always the day before Passover. But just the emphasis by John excludes a double Sabbath. In John 19:14 it says: 

2. The Jews were not allowed to go into the Praetorium that day. On this special preparation day of the 14th of Nisan, the Passover lamb was killed every year, so the Jews were not allowed to go into the Praetorium.

• "Then they led Jesus from the house of Caiaphas to the governor's headquarters.[f] It was early morning. They themselves did not enter the governor's headquarters, so that they would not be defiled, but could eat the Passover [pascha]. 29 So Pilate went outside..." (John 18:28-29).
• "Your lamb shall be without blemish... 6 and you shall keep it until the 14th day of this month, when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill their lambs at twilight [literally: between the two evenings; see definition] (Ex 12:6-6). "On the 14th day of the first month is the Lord's Passover, 17 and on the 15th day of this month is a feast. Seven days shall unleavened bread be eaten" (Num 28:16-17).
• "For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed" (1Cor 5:7)

3. The Romans made a gift to the Jews on this day: The preparation day followed such a high feast Sabbath that even the Romans made a gift to the Israelites every year and released prisoners on that day:

• "Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to release for the crowd any one prisoner whom they wanted. 16 And they had then a notorious prisoner called Barabbas. 17 So when they had gathered, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release for you: Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?” ... 21 The governor again said to them, “Which of the two do you want me to release for you?” And they said, “Barabbas” ... 26 Then he released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, delivered him to be crucified" (Mt 27:15-26).

4. Fast funeral before the High Sabbath (15th Nisan): Jesus had to be laid in the grave in all haste on this special preparation day, since no one was allowed to remain on the cross on the following High feast Sabbath (15th Nisan). It was a "mega-sabbath":

• "Since it was the day of Preparation, and so that the bodies would not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken and that they might be taken away. 32 So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first, and of the other who had been crucified with him. 33 But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs" (John 19:31-33). Literally: "ην γαρ [then was] μεγαλη [megale, high, great] η ημερα [the day] εκεινου [that] του [the] σαββατου [sabbath]".
  Note: Here the basic Greek text has exactly the same word Sabbath (Genitive, Neuter Singular) as in Mk 16:9. However, here we are dealing with the High yearly Sabbath, whereas Mk 16:9 is about the weekly Sabbath. For both Sabbaths was used as the same Greek word, and some theologians want us to believe that this Sabbath supposedly also means "Sunday"? John 19:31:

5. The Jews oriented themselves according to the biblical and not the pagan calendar of the Romans: It was not a "preparation day of the Romans" (the Romans counted the days from midnight to midnight), but clearly a "preparation day of the Jews" [literally: Parasceue ton Judaion], which begins at sunset and ends at sunset, followed by the yearly High Feast Sabbath. John makes clear:

• "So because of the Jewish day of Preparation, since the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there..." (John 19:42).

Jesus died in the middle of the week, on the preparation day, the 14th Nisan. He was condemned exactly in the middle of the week by the high priests and later by the Romans, just as it was getting light in the morning. The same day he was led to the crucifixion place, nailed to the cross at 9 a.m. (3rd hour). He died after 6 hours of great suffering at 3 p.m. (9th hour). This was exactly the time when lambs were slaughtered in Israel:

Jesus died on the 14th Nisan (Wednesday) and was laid in the rock tomb before the 15th Nisan (High Sabbath, Thursday). He then rose from the dead after "3 days and 3 nights" on the 17th Nisan (first Sabbath) and thus fulfilled "the sign of the Messiah" for all the world. He was the first to rise from the dead to eternal life and ascend to the Father in heaven. There He has prepared a home for us and will take us to himself at the Rapture. 

Exactly the same sequence of days in the Passover celebration is very often, about every third year. This was also the case in 2020, when Nisan 14 fell on a Wednesday, Nisan 15 on a Thursday, and Nisan 17 on the "first Sabbath":

The Passover High Sabbath or Feast Sabbath (see definition) is the first major or High Sabbath of the year (Exodus 23). It is in the middle of the first month, on the 15th of Nisan (Aviv). It is the day on which the Israelites came out of slavery in Egypt. For John it was important to point out the spiritual meaning: Jesus died in our place (for us) when the Passover lamb was slaughtered on the 14th of Aviv (Nisan) at exactly the same time as the lambs were slaughtered, around the 9 hour (3 p.m.). His death freed us from the slavery of death and opened the door to eternal life. Therefore, the subsequent High Feast Sabbath on the 15th of Nisan is a day of great joy for all Jews and Christians, a truly "great or High Sabbath".

The biblical calendar calculation is not based on days of the week, but on new moons. Although there are some years in which the High Sabbath can fall on a weekly Sabbath, it is clear from other Bible passages (see Chapter 4 and Chapter 5) that this could not have been the case in the year of Jesus' crucifixion. That is why the double Sabbath (when the yearly Sabbath and the weekly Sabbath coincide on the same day) was not mentioned at all. Biblically there was never any mention of a Friday and the following Saturday. Theologians have made this up. John makes this difference clear several times when he speaks of the "preparation day of Passover" (Jn 19:14), but not only of the "preparation day of the Sabbath", and also mentions a few verses further on the subsequent "High Sabbath" (Jn 19:31) and not the normal small weekly Sabbath. If there had been a double Sabbath, John would have written it. But just the fact that he points out the difference makes it clear that there could not have been a double Sabbath this year. This also fits perfectly with the other biblical passages. A double Sabbath would only produce contradictions. 

On the 14th Nisan, the preparation day before the yearly High Sabbath (15th Nisan), Jesus was buried:

• "When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who also was a disciple of Jesus. 58 He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given to him. 59 And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen shroud 60 and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had cut in the rock. And he rolled a great stone to the entrance of the tomb and went away. 61 Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the tomb" (Mt 27:57-61).
• "And when evening had come, since it was the day of Preparation, that is, the day before the Sabbath [High Sabbath, 15th Nisan], 43 Joseph of Arimathea, a respected member of the council, who was also himself looking for the kingdom of God, took courage and went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. 44 Pilate was surprised to hear that he should have already died. And summoning the centurion, he asked him whether he was already dead. 45 And when he learned from the centurion that he was dead, he granted the corpse to Joseph. 46 And Joseph bought a linen shroud, and taking him down, wrapped him in the linen shroud and laid him in a tomb that had been cut out of the rock. And he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb...." (Mk 15:42-46).
• "Now there was a man named Joseph, from the Jewish town of Arimathea. He was a member of the council, a good and righteous man, 51 who had not consented to their decision and action; and he was looking for the kingdom of God. 52 This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. 53 Then he took it down and wrapped it in a linen shroud and laid him in a tomb cut in stone, where no one had ever yet been laid. 54 It was the day of Preparation, and the Sabbath High Sabbath, 15th Nisan] was beginning. 55 The women who had come with him from Galilee followed and saw the tomb and how his body was laid" (Lk 23:50-55).
• "After these things Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus, and Pilate gave him permission. So he came and took away his body. 39 Nicodemus also, who earlier had come to Jesus by night, came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds in weight. 40 So they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen cloths with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews. 41 Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. 42 So because of the Jewish day of Preparation, since the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there" (John 19:39-42).

It is clearly proven that the preparation day in Jesus' year of crucifixion could not possibly be the Friday before a double Sabbath (Friday evening to Saturday evening):

1. The evangelists underline that this preparation day was the day before the "High Sabbath". If it were a preparation day before a double Sabbath, this particular explanation would be superfluous. A simple remark "on the preparation day" would have been quite sufficient, since the Passover lambs are always slaughtered on the 14th of Nisan. But just this emphasis and differentiation shows that the 15th Nisan cannot have fallen on a double Sabbath.
2. Since Jesus had to be dead and in the tomb no less and no more than "3 days and 3 nights" (Mt 12:38-40), it is clear that the 14th Nisan could not possibly have fallen before a double Sabbath. Otherwise Jesus would only be dead for 1.5 days. Thus he would not have fulfilled the sign of the Messiah at all. Theologians and Pastors have made the terrible claim that Jesus only spoke "symbolically" of 3 days and 3 nights, but in reality meant half of them. No, symbolically it is only for those who do not know the calendar of God and wish for Sunday. So they claim that Jesus supposedly lied to us and did not fulfill "the sign of the Messiah". Jesus knew exactly what he said and "3 days and 3 nights" is understood by every child. Not one day and not one night must be missing, even if it is not 72 hours, because in Israel a day that has begun is considered the "first day" in the census (compare the birth or the funeral of a child).
3. The Bible never speaks of only one Sabbath, but of TWO Sabbaths, namely the High Sabbath (annual Sabbath, 15th Nisan) on which all rested and the "one of the Sabbaths" or the "first Sabbath" (weekly Sabbath; 17th Nisan) on which the women came to the tomb. But if there are TWO Sabbaths, then there cannot possibly be a double Sabbath.  
4. Between the Passover Sabbath (15th Nisan) and the Resurrection Sabbath (17th Nisan) there had to be at least one working day in between, because the women prepared the ointments "after the Sabbath" and then rested on the following Sabbath to come again "on a Sabbath" (see chapter 4, intermediate day). The women could only buy and prepare the ointments they needed after the High Sabbath. This was on the day between the two Sabbaths.
5. Moreover, the Day of Resurrection was clearly named "Sabbath", so that all discussions and doubts would not arise in the first place. So a double Sabbath is completely out of the question this year. Yes, God has named the resurrection Sabbath seven times with his name "Sabbath" in the singular and plural. An alleged resurrection Sunday is a pagan fairy tale to lead the children of God away from the calendar of God. If God had meant Sunday, he would have said it, there are more than 20 possibilities in Greek (see examples). And God spoke of a very specific Sabbath, the "first Sabbath" (Mark 16:9) of a series of seven weekly Sabbaths, counted every year between Passover and Pentecost, for 3,500 years. Therefore, an alleged crucifixion before a double Sabbath (that is, on a Friday) is biblically completely impossible.
6. So far no human being has found the corresponding Greek words for "Friday" and "Sunday" in the NT for 2,000 years. The preparation day of the 14th Nisan was never called "Friday" (or 6th day of the week) in the Bible, and an alleged "double Sabbath" was never mentioned by the evangelists. 
7. There is only one biblical truth, but no one wants to hear it, so the Word of God is reinterpreted and twisted by the pastors in such a way "that the beams bend". But the children of God do not fall for these tricks. A supposed double Sabbath would only produce contradictions that no one can ever explain. In some books which want to destroy the authority of the Bible, exactly these contradictions are pointed out. But the basic Greek text has no contradictions, only the theologians with their Sunday teaching have produced these contradictions, as is easy to prove (see Interlinear text).

The following illustrations show some years from the Jewish calendar in which the 14th Nisan fell on a Wednesday, the 15th Nisan on a Thursday and the 17th Nisan on a weekly Sabbath. There is always a weekday (a Friday) between the two Sabbaths:

There is another unexpected proof that the 14th Nisan must have fallen on a Wednesday in the year Jesus was crucified. The biblical details of the introduction of the manna week make it possible to count back the days exactly to the day of the Exodus from Egypt. 

The exodus from Egypt was in the middle of the week and Jesus died in the middle of the week. The Bible gives an amazing information in connection with the heavenly bread (manna), from which we can see that the day on which the first Passover lamb was slaughtered at the time of Moses also fell on a Wednesday.

Ex 16:1-2: "They set out from Elim, and all the congregation of the people of Israel came to the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had departed from the land of Egypt. 2 And the whole congregation of the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness."

On the 15th of Nisan (PASSOVER) the people of Israel went out of Egypt and exactly one month later, on the 15th of Iyyar, the people began to accuse God and complain. The people had no faith in the loyalty of God and were therefore senselessly afraid of starving. But God gave them the manna, the bread from heaven, from the coming day (16th Iyyar).

Ex 16:3-23: "And the people of Israel said to them, “Would that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.” 4 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I am about to rain bread from heaven for you, and the people shall go out and gather a day's portion every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in my law or not. 5 On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather daily.” 6 So Moses and Aaron said to all the people of Israel, “At evening you shall know that it was the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt, 7 and in the morning you shall see the glory of the Lord, because he has heard your grumbling against the Lord. For what are we, that you grumble against us?” 8 And Moses said, “When the Lord gives you in the evening meat to eat and in the morning bread to the full, because the Lord has heard your grumbling that you grumble against him - what are we? Your grumbling is not against us but against the Lord... 13 In the evening quail came up and covered the camp, and in the morning dew lay around the camp. 14 And when the dew had gone up, there was on the face of the wilderness a fine, flake-like thing, fine as frost on the ground. 15 When the people of Israel saw it, they said to one another, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, “It is the bread that the Lord has given you to eat... 22 On the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers each. And when all the leaders of the congregation came and told Moses, 23 he said to them, “This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Tomorrow is a day of solemn rest, a holy Sabbath to the Lord; bake what you will bake and boil what you will boil, and all that is left over lay aside to be kept till the morning.’"

Only a weekly Sabbath can be meant by this "Sabbath", because the seven yearly Sabbaths were ordered by God only later. So it happened in this manna week. The following day (16th Iyyar, Sunday) was the first of the six days on which the bread (manna) could be collected. But on the 6th day (21st Ijjar, preparation day) God gave twice as much bread, because the Sabbath rest (22nd Iyyar) followed. Since the Nisan has 30 days, we can count back exactly to the 14th Nisan and come to a Wednesday. Many Christians overlook these passages, but God knew exactly why He gave us this information. We can be sure several times that Jesus was not crucified on a Friday. The manna reckoning back is by no means a new insight, for this is described for example in the book of Everett W Purell (True story about the sign of Jonah, 2007) and many others. The first Passover lamb at the time of Moses was slaughtered on a Wednesday at 3 p.m., just as the last Lamb of God (Jesus) was killed on a Wednesday at 3 p.m. Jesus' death fulfilled the Passover lamb sacrifice in a sensational and perfect way, on the exact day and at the exact time. 

So we have a lot of evidence that the 14th Nisan (the day of the crucifixion) was not Friday, but Wednesday. Jesus did not confuse us with meaningless words, but he really meant that his sign of the Messiah would be that he would be "three days and three nights" in the heart of the earth (Hades, Sheol). There is even evidence of this in the Old Testament. But most pastors don't want to hear this news, because otherwise there might be unrest in the church and they might even lose their jobs. Therefore they prefer to twist the words of Jesus, make him a Sunday devotee and they don't think about eternity. 

Under the keyword "Shabbat haGadol" there is a lot of literature on the Internet. Again and again, the Torah and numerous old and new Jewish sources confirm that the very first 10th of Nisan fell on a Sabbath, the 14th of Nisan fell on a Wednesday, and the 15th of Nisan (the day of the Exodus) fell on a Thursday. Thus, the Jews confirm the Palm Sabbath. So the supposed Palm Sunday was in reality a Palm Sabbath. However, the word "Palm Sabbath" comes from Christianity, because the Hebrews always called this Sabbath the Great Sabbath (Shabbat ha-Gadol). It was the day when Israel took the Lamb to Himself and it was the day when the Lord came to the people in Jerusalem. The Lamb (Jesus) was among the people for 4 days before he had to die innocently. 

See the important chapter: Shabbat ha-Gadol on Nisan 10.

Statistically, it often happens that the 14th of Nisan falls on a Wednesday according to the biblical (or Jewish) calendar. This was also the case in the year in which Jesus was crucified, as the context of all the biblical passages of the NT shows. Scientists assume that Jesus died in the years 30 to 34 AD. This coincides exactly with astronomical events, because in the years 30, 31 and 34 A.D. the 14th of Nisan fell on a Wednesday in each case, as it did in the years 2020, 2023, 2026, 2027 and 2030.

Already on the 13th of Nisan (Tuesday) the disciples gathered to prepare the Lord's Supper (the "supper in one evening", hence the name; Mt 26:17-19). After sunset (i.e., as early as 6 p.m.), the preparation day, Nisan 14, began, when the disciples began to eat (Mt 26:20-29; Mk 14:17-25; Lk 22:14-38; Jn 13:21-17,26). But this was still on Tuesday evening, since Wednesday did not begin until midnight (see the illustrations above and below).

Scholars now argue whether a Passover lamb was eaten or whether it was just a normal dinner that took on new meaning and symbolism as a memorial meal. The misunderstandings also result from incorrect translations, because in some Bibles a Passover "lamb" is mentioned (e.g. Mt 26:17,19 in the Luther Bible 1984), but the basic Greek text never speaks of a Passover lamb, but only generally of a "Passover" or "Passover meal" without saying what exactly was eaten. John mentioned this supper with the following words:

"Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world... 2 During supper ... 3 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, 4 rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist 5 Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him" (John 13:1-5).

The feast of Passover was by no means uniformly defined, so some in the colloquial language already called the 13th Nisan also belonging to the Passover, because some splinter groups already began on the 13th Nisan with the slaughter, others counted from the 14th Nisan, because on this day the lamb had to be slaughtered. But the first Passover feast day (High Sabbath) for all was, of course, only the 15th of Nisan, because it was the first day of Unleavened Bread, when no leaven was to be eaten. From the 13th of Nisan to the 14th of Nisan, the Israelites had to remove the leaven, but before sunset, because after sunset the High Sabbath (15th of Nisan) began.

The real Passover lamb was slaughtered on the 14th of Nisan. However, some scholars point out that because of the immense amount of sheep, the slaughtering began on the 13th of Nisan for those living outside Jerusalem and on the 14th of Nisan for most others. This view is also held by PICKL: "Because of the large number of sacrifices and because of the long journeys of the Disaspora Jews and the Galileans, however, the practice had become established of slaughtering Passover lambs in some cases as early as the evening of Nisan 13 and bringing the Passover meal forward a day. The synoptic account reflects such an early meal on the 13th of Nisan" (cf. PICKL, Messiaskönig 1939, pp. 250-251. In: Guido Baltes Hebräisches Evangelium und Synoptische Überlieferung, 2011. Original Text: „Aufgrund der hohen Zahl der Opfer und wegen der langen Anreisezahlen der Disasporajuden und der Galiiäer hatte sich jedoch die Praxis eingebürgert, Passahlämmer teilweise bereits am Abend des 13. Nisan zu schlachten und das Passahmahl einen Tag vorzuziehen. Der synoptische Bericht spiegelt ein solches vorgezogenes Mahl am 13. Nisan wider“). 

But the historian Flavius Josephus does not write that slaughtering already took place on the 13th of Nisan, but he reports that it was on this 14th of Nisan, as it was prescribed in the Torah. He mentions an unimaginable 255,600 sacrificial animals slaughtered on the 14th of Nisan from the 9th hour to the 11th hour (Jewish War 6, chapter 9, 423-425). In terms of the 2 hours of slaughter (9th-11th hour; 3-5 p.m.), it would mean that 2,130 lambs should have been killed per minute. The Bible does not say that the Passover lambs were slaughtered as early as Nisan 13. Neither does it say that Jesus ate a Passover lamb. Therefore, most Christians assume that the Last Supper at the beginning of the 14th Nisan (night phase) must have been a normal meal that became a new memorial meal. The evangelist John describes this last night of Jesus in great detail. It was the last common evening before the execution of Jesus, therefore it became the special memory meal. According to this, Jesus would not have eaten the Passover lamb because He himself was "slaughtered" as the Passover lamb on the 14th of Nisan. This would also coincide with various extra-biblical sources which report that Jesus did NOT eat the Passover lamb (e.g. Chronicon Paschale, Hippolytus, etc.). Since on Tuesday evening from 6 p.m. the Passover preparation day (14th Nisan) began, the designation "Passover meal" is correct, because it was on the same calendar day in which in the evening (more precisely "between the evenings" (see explanation) the Passover lamb was slaughtered.

In other words, a Passover meal is a meal that takes place at the time of Passover, with no specific day or food specified. In common speech, this usually refers to the Passover meal at the end of the 14th and beginning of the 15th of Nisan, at which the Passover lamb was eaten. But on any day (or evening) during the one-week Passover feast, there could be a communal meal at which the family met. If this meal took place on an evening, then for the Israelites it was an evening meal. But we Christians, when we use the word "Last Supper" or "Lord's Supper", mean a very special meal on a very specific evening, namely the LAST gathering of the disciples with their Lord before His execution. Since all biblical days begin after sunset, this was of course after the 13th of Nisan, that is, after sunset (from 6 pm a new calendar day began, see definition day) at the beginning of the 14th of Nisan. On the same calendar day, Jesus was crucified at 3 pm.

A Passover lamb is a lamb eaten at the time of the Passover feast. The Passover began with the separation of the lamb already on the 10th of Nisan, but this very special and unique lamb was not allowed to be slaughtered until the 14th of Nisan (at 3pm). However, the entire Bible does not say that the Israelites had to eat a vegetarian diet until the 14th of Nisan. So they could have eaten a lamb as early as the 7th, 10th, 12th or 13th of Nisan, but then it would have been a normal lamb that was allowed to have defects. However, it would in no way be the pure and young lamb that was already sorted out on the 10th of Nisan and had to be kept for 4 days and was only allowed to be slaughtered for the Passover feast on the 14th of Nisan from 3 pm. Only the blood of this specific lamb brought salvation. All this was done to commemorate the Exodus from Egypt, in which the lamb slaughtered at 3 p.m. on the 14th of Nisan (see "between the evenings") was quickly eaten, the blood of which saved the people of Israel. On the night of the 15th of Nisan, the liberation of the people and the exodus from Egypt took place, so this day is the first High Sabbath of the year and not the day before, which is only a preparation day. 

However, this question of what was eaten at the Lord's Supper is completely irrelevant to our question of the day of the week of Christ's crucifixion and resurrection, especially since this was not mentioned in the Bible and because the other biblical passages on the further chronological sequence are so clear. We accept every opinion here and do not argue about whether Jesus ate a lamb at the Last Supper or not. Either way, it was a goosebump supper because Jesus was pointing to His betrayal and death and He was setting up a new Passover memorial meal that began with the NEW symbolic distribution of bread and wine. Therefore, we no longer need to slaughter a lamb today, but instead are to commemorate the Last Supper on the same day (at night, that is, at the beginning of the 14th of Nisan), that is, the last night before the betrayal. It is the night when Jesus made a NEW covenant with His disciples through bread, wine and foot washing. This ceremony is reminiscent of a betrothal at the Jewish wedding, where bread is also broken together and wine is drunk from a cup. So it is symbolically about a covenant for life.

Moreover, on that evening (at the beginning of the 14th of Nisan) another sensation happened, because Jesus, the Son of God, who had power over the forces of nature, could read other people's minds, heal the sick and raise the dead, made himself very small and became again the servant (slave) of his disciples.

Phil 2:5-8: "Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant [literally: "a slave"], being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross."

Jesus himself said: "... whosoever will be great among you, shall be your minister: 44 And whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all" (Mk 10:43-44).

It was not the disciples who washed their Lord's feet, but their Lord washed their feet with the indication that they should also make themselves small and voluntarily serve one another like "slaves." Thus, this meal had a new meaning, and to this day in Christian churches this night is commemorated at the beginning of Nisan 14 by the practice of taking bread and wine together (Mt 26:20-29; Mk 14:17-25; Lk 22:14-38; Jn 13:21-17,26). Some churches, couples and families practice this memorial meal and also the washing of feet in small circles to indicate that they want to follow Jesus, make themselves small and serve others. This is also an example of how husbands should treat their wives, because if even the Lord makes himself small, then the husband must also follow Jesus and serve his wife gladly, even though he is the head and even though the wife must submit to him, as the church does to the Lord Jesus (Eph 5:22-24, 1Petr 3:1). Love serves the other very gladly and really does everything so that the other person is well, even if sacrifices of time or material things have to be made for this. This is agape love, when the well-being of the other person is put before one's own desires. The following shows what happened after the covenant with bread and wine and after the washing of the feet and thanksgiving (prayer):

The night of Nisan 14 (Wednesday): Jesus' arrest and denial: after the covenant making with bread and wine, the washing of feet and the common thanksgiving, Jesus went with his disciples to the Garden of Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives (Mt 26:36-75; Mk 14:26-72; Lk 22:39-65; Jn 17:1-18,27). There Jesus asked His disciples to watch and pray with Him, but they fell asleep. For Jesus, it was a night without sleep, for He knew what was about to happen. He was "grieved to the point of death" (Mt 26:38) and prayed intensely. That same night Jesus was betrayed by Judas and a large crowd went out with torches and lanterns to arrest him. Jesus was taken away already in the night to the high priest Caiaphas, then interrogated and mocked. At the time of the cockcrow, which usually happened from the 9th hour of the night, that is, from 3 a.m. (see Night Watches), Peter denied Jesus several times and wept bitterly afterwards (Mt 26:69-75).

Before sunrise on the morning of Nisan 14 (Wednesday), the trial continued. Jesus was first questioned before the high council, then taken to Pilate and to Herod (Mt 27:1-32; Mk 15:1-21; Lk 22:66-23:31; Jn 18:28-19:16). The trials of the Romans began shortly after daybreak. But on this particular day everything had to be done earlier and more quickly, because it was a special day, namely, a day of preparation for the great Passover feast day, the first annual High feast Sabbath (always on the 15th of Nisan). On this preparation day special haste was required, because on the one hand thousands of Passover lambs had to be slaughtered and prepared and on the other hand all crucified people had to be buried already one hour before sunset, because on a High Sabbath no corpses were allowed to remain hanging on the cross (John 19:31). Therefore, the legs of those crucified were already broken from about the 9th hour (about 3 p.m.), so as to bring about their death by suffocation. This left about 3 hours for burial and subsequent preparation for the feast, because the High Sabbath (Nisan 15) began at the 12th hour of the day, so about 6 pm. 

The special of this preparation day (Nisan 14) before the High festive Sabbath (Nisan 15) explains why Jesus had to be condemned early in the morning (and not later) and led to Golgotha. If the condemnation did not happen quickly enough, then Jesus could not possibly have been crucified on Nisan 14, otherwise there would have been too little time for condemnation, execution, and burial. The dead were often left hanging on the cross for several days as a deterrent; but since no bodies were allowed to hang on the cross on Nisan 15 (the first High Sabbath of the year), all the dead had to have been buried at least 1 hour before the High Sabbath began at 6 p.m. (John 19:31). Jesus therefore had to be brought before the Israeli and Roman courts very early and in a hurry, since he had to be judged by all three authorities (high priest, Herod and Pilate). This is confirmed by John, who writes that Jesus was led to the Praetorium by Caiaphas "early in the morning" (Jn 18:28), and then he gives a more precise time: "Now it was the day of Preparation of the Passover. It was about the sixth hour" when Jesus stood before Pilate and the people (Jn 19:14). But Mark writes: "And it was the third hour when they crucified him" (Mark 15:25). So there seems to be a contradiction here, which Bible critics like to seize upon to doubt and ridicule the authority of the Bible. But for a Bible expert, there is no contradiction at all, since John speaks of the interrogation at the 6th hour of the Roman calendar day (6 a.m., at sunrise), but Mark speaks of the later crucifixion at Israelite time, namely at the 3rd hour of the light-day (i.e., 9 a.m.). The Roman hours correspond to our present time. This is all very easy to understand (see the illustrations above).

Since Jesus was in the premises of the Roman praetorium and before the Roman Pilate, it is obvious that John also mentions the 6th Roman hour. As we know, the counting of the hours of the Jewish day did not start at midnight (24 o'clock or 0 o'clock), but always from sunrise (i.e. from 6 o'clock), so that consequently John should have said "at the zero hour", since the 12th hour of the Jewish night had already passed (see day). This, of course, is not a common or logical phrase, so these two reasons given above make it plausible why John mentioned the Roman hour here (John 19:14). This, by the way, is the only time John gives. Mark, on the other hand, mentioned the 3rd hour of the Jewish day (i.e., 9 a.m.) as the time of Jesus' crucifixion (Mk 15:25). 

All evangelists agree that Jesus was condemned early in the morning, about 6 o'clock, and crucified at 9 o'clock (3rd hour). From noon (6th hour; 12 o'clock) there was an eerie three-hour darkness that lasted until Jesus' death at 3 o'clock (9th hour). After that, there were only 2 hours for the burial of Jesus, since the last preparations for the High Sabbath (Nisan 15) had to be made already from 5 p.m. (11th hour), since the High Sabbath (15th Nisan) began at 6 p.m. (12th hour of the Jewish day). Consequently, there is no contradiction between the evangelists Mark and John. But there is a great contradiction among the theologians who are not familiar with the biblical word and the biblical calendar and want to bring Good Friday and Easter Sunday into the Bible with all their might. 

It must also never be overlooked that we are always dealing with approximate times, because at the time of Jesus there was only the position of the sun for orientation and there were no wristwatches on which the exact time could have been read off to the minute or even to the second. Therefore, the literal translation of John 19:14 is "the hour was about [approximately] the sixth." A time "about the sixth hour" as the condemnation time could also mean 5:50, 6:15 or even 6:30 in a broader sense. 

Some theologians think that Jesus was already arrested on Tuesday and interrogated during two calendar days and then crucified on Thursday or Friday. But the Bible speaks in its overall context of only one calendar day, namely the night in which Jesus was betrayed and the immediately following light-day on which He was condemned and crucified. All this happened on the same preparation day of the 14th of Nisan. John records that Peter denied his Lord and immediately after that the cock crowed (Jn 18:28). These events clearly occurred on the same night that the Lord's Supper was held. The cock crowed in Israel no earlier than the 9 hour of the night (i.e., 3 a.m. Roman time). After that, John speaks of the other events that still took place on the same night.

It is important to note here once again the Roman night watch divisions (see Night Watches). The second night watch from the 3rd to the 6th hour of the night (9pm-2pm) was called "midnight" by the Romans because it lasted until midnight. The subsequent third night watch from the 6th to the 9th hour (0-3am) was called "cockcrow" because it lasted until the first cry of the cock, which in Israel was about 3am (9th Israeli hour). So we already know that Peter must have denied Jesus about 3 am, when it was still dark. The fourth and last night watch was called "morning" because it lasted until morning, that is, until it was light in the morning. Consequently, with "early in the morning" could be meant, depending on the context, the last period of the night (9th-12th hour, so 3-6 o'clock) or the first period of the light-day from 6 o'clock. By the way, this is quite the same in our way of speaking today. Now the context is as follows: Immediately after Peter's denial at cockcrow in verse 27, the following verse 28 states:

"Then they led Jesus from the house of Caiaphas to the governor's headquarters. It was early morning. They themselves did not enter the governor's headquarters, so that they would not be defiled, but could eat the Passover" (Jn 18:28).

John does not write that it was day or light, but he describes that it was still morning (that is, in the last night watch) when Jesus was led to the praetorium. Now it is not described exactly when Pilate came out, but it must have been very early in the morning, as all the evangelists unanimously report. And when it became light, the trial continued in several phases. It was not just one trial, but there were several, namely before the high council, before Pilate, before Herod, and then again before Pilate and the people. Jn 19:14-16 merely states that Pilate gave the order for crucifixion at about the sixth (Roman) hour (i.e., about after 6 o'clock), which was immediately done. The reference of Jn 18:28 is also significant, for it speaks of the Jews not going into the Praetorium that day "so that they would not be defiled, but could eat the Passover," which was slaughtered from the 9th Israelite hour (15th Roman hour, 3 p.m.) and then eaten the following night. This proves that it is the same one day (14th of Nisan) and not several calendar days that would supposedly intervene between the Last Supper and the crucifixion.

After Herod had Jesus brought back to Pilate, Jesus was immediately condemned and beaten at the great insistence of the priests and the people. Jesus was given a cross (or the crossbeam of the cross), which he had to carry to his place of execution on Golgotha. 

The evangelist Mark describes that Jesus was led out of the city and crucified on the 14th of Nisan and that the soldiers cast lots for his clothes (Mk 15:20-24). And only after that does he give the exact time: "and it was about the third hour when they crucified him" (literally, "but it was the third hour, and they crucified [nailed] him" (Mk 15:25). This would correspond to 9 o'clock in the morning (9th Roman hour) according to the Roman and our modern calendar. Accordingly, Jesus suffered on the cross for a total of six hours until He died at the 9th hour (6 p.m.; Mk 15:33). Crucifixion was probably the cruelest method of torturing people. The point was not to execute the condemned, but to keep them alive in torture for a long time. Some were left hanging alive on the cross for days, while wild animals and birds ate them alive. However, since the High festive Sabbath (Nisan 15) began at 6 p.m., when no prisoners were allowed to remain hanging on the cross, every year on Nisan 14 all those crucified were killed in the early afternoon (about 3 p.m.) in order to bury them all no later than one hour before the High Sabbath began. 

Jesus was already three hours on the cross, but then something strange happened. Matthew, Mark and Luke report that from the 6th to the 9th hour (12th to 15th Roman hours, noon to 3 p.m.) there was an extraordinary and very eerie atmosphere with a completely unexpected darkness in the daytime that lasted a full three hours. When Jesus surrendered His spirit into the hands of the Father and died on the cross (Mt 27:45-50; Mk 15:33-37; Lk 23:44-46), it became light again. Thus, burial and preparation for the High Sabbath (Nisan 15), which began at 6 p.m., could take place. The timing of the events is correctly judged by many Christians. For example, the 2000 Schlachter Bible (MacArthur Study Bible) adds the following commentary on the beginning of the eclipse at Mark 15:33: "sixth hour. Noon according to Jewish time divisions, halfway through the six hours Jesus endured on the cross" (Original: „sechste Stunde. Mittags nach jüdischer Zeiteinteilung, zur Hälfte der sechs Stunden, die Jesus am Kreuz aushalten musste“). This is correct, exactly from the half of Jesus' suffering on the cross this darkening occurred. 

The darkness was a sign from God, pointing to the wickedness of mankind, as they followed the dark forces (Satan and demons), lived in darkness and killed Jesus, "the light of the world":

"Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life" (Jh 8:12).

If people do not want the light, then they must live in darkness, which means death. Jesus was on the cross for 6 hours (the number of man) (3-9 hour; 9-15 o'clock). But after the six-hour agony with the three-hour darkness, the seventh hour, which belongs to God, began at 3pm. For six hours (number of man) Jesus was in the power of men, but from the beginning of the 7th hour Jesus was freed from the power of Satan and men by his death and the spirit of Jesus was taken immediately after his death to Hades or Paradeisos, the abode of the righteous dead (cf. Sign of the Messiah). The coming resurrection of Jesus was thus certain. Therefore, on the preparation day after Jesus' death, God allowed the light to come through again. Through the light, it was also possible for the dead to be buried quickly in preparation for the Sabbath.

Jesus died at the 9th hour (Mk 15:33), that is, at 3:00 p.m. This was the most important and the most significant event in the history of mankind, because now Jesus - the Son of God - paid the death penalty for us humans and thus gave us access to eternal life. This was also the most tragic event in history, because people crucified Jesus, the Word of God, who had created the earth and all life in it (Jn 1:1-3; 1Cor 8:6; Col 1:16-17), that is, their own Creator and Lord. What great drama! Creation kills its Creator! But Jesus had to die to pay the death penalty for us and to free us from the power of death. God himself emphasized this importance by tearing the curtain in the temple. Thus he made it clear to all people in a very impressive way that now, through the blood of Christ, direct access is open to God:

Mt 27:51: "And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split."

Message of the numbers: Jesus hung on the cross for 6 hours until he died at the 9th hour (Mk 15:33) (see the last two figures above). The 9 is the number of Satan and he killed Jesus at his time by the Romans. The 6 is the number of man and Jesus was in the hands of man and was tortured (suffering) by them on the cross for 6 hours until He died. Exactly from the middle of this time of suffering, that is the last three hours, an eerie darkness prevailed until Jesus' death at the end of the 6th hour. But from the beginning of the 7th hour, Jesus was dead, redeemed from His suffering and delivered from the power of Satan and men. Therefore, at the 7th hour, it became light again on that day. 

Already for thousands of years the time was prescribed for the slaughter of the lamb:

Ex 12:5-6: "Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male a year old. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats, 6 and you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month, when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill their lambs at twilight."

Most translations are inaccurate here, for the Hebrew text does not speak of "twilight" nor of "evening," but uses the expression "between the evenings" (see Day). The Bible clearly reports that the slaughter of the Passover lamb was to take place on the 14th of Nisan and not at the beginning of the 14th of Nisan, but in the evening exactly "between the two evenings", as also several Bible translations worldwide describe it (e.g. YLT). At the time of Moses everybody understood this expression without problems, because the 9th hour (3 p.m.) is meant by it (see "between the evenings").

Jesus died at the exact time the Passover lamb was slain, namely at the 9th hour of the 14th of Nisan, i.e. at 3 pm. Jesus' death at this time was already prophesied at the time of the Exodus from Egypt. Jesus' blood was shed at exactly the same time that the blood of the sacrificial animals flowed, the blood of the young intact lamb. Thus, Jesus fulfilled this prophetic sacrifice in a perfect way, for not only did He die as the true flawless lamb (only Jesus was without sin), but also at the exact time that the Passover lamb was slain: The same day in God's calendar and at the same hour. With this fulfillment of the symbolism, Jesus made all subsequent sacrifices superfluous and pointless, as Paul points out:

"For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed" (1Ccor 5:7)

Jesus died on the same day as the first Passover lamb was slaughtered during the Exodus from Egypt, namely on a Wednesday at 3 pm. The exact day and even the exact time was fulfilled in a perfect way (see illustration above).

There are also extra-biblical sources that give the exact time of the slaughter of the lambs and confirm the biblical word. An important clue is given to us by the Greco-Roman historian Flavius Josephus (*37; †100 AD), who reports that the lambs were slaughtered from the 9th to the 11th hour (3 to 5 p.m.). Thus, the slaughter "between the two evenings" began at 3 p.m. (at the 9th hour). Josephus writes:

"So these high priests, upon the coming of that feast which is called the Passover, when they slay their sacrifices, from the ninth hour till the eleventh, but so that a company not less than ten belong to every sacrifice, (for it is not lawful for them to feast singly by themselves,) and many of us are twenty in a company, found the number of sacrifices was two hundred and fifty-six thousand five hundred; which, upon the allowance of no more than ten that feast together, amounts to two millions seven hundred thousand and two hundred persons that were pure and holy; for as to those that have the leprosy, or the gonorrhea, or women that have their monthly courses, or such as are otherwise polluted, it is not lawful for them to be partakers of this sacrifice; nor indeed for any foreigners neither, who come hither to worship" (The War of the Jews, Book 6, chapter 9, Wikisource).

This is further proof that "between the evenings" could never mean the short period after sunset and complete darkness. This would be much too short for slaughtering and preparing the lambs, since all work was forbidden on the high Sabbath (on Nisan 15, beginning as early as 6 p.m.). In the "Jewish Antiquities" Josephus clearly names the 14th Nisan as "the day on which the Passover lamb was slaughtered" and the 15th Nisan as "the Passover day, the first of the seven days of the Passover" (The Antiquities Of The Jews: 3rd book).

After the death of Jesus, there were only three hours until sunset. On the feast Sabbath (15 Nisan, Passover) no dead were to remain hanging on the cross. Therefore, Joseph went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Pilate was surprised that Jesus was already dead and allowed Joseph to bury our Lord Jesus. Joseph then went back to the crucifixion place, took Jesus down from the cross, and wrapped Him in linen cloths with fragrant oils "as is the burial custom of the Jews" (Jn 19:39-40). Thus Jesus was hastily anointed provisionally to hold up the process of putrefaction somewhat until a later anointing was to take place after the High Sabbath. Jesus was placed in the tomb on the same preparation day (Nisan 14), and the tomb was closed with a large stone. Since the women saw where Jesus was laid, they also knew where to go after the "three days and three nights" to thoroughly anoint Jesus (Mt 27:57-61; Mk 15:42-47; Lk 23:50-55; Jn 19:38-42). 

So the burial must have taken place within 3 hours between the 9th and the 12th hour, that is in the afternoon of the 14th of Nisan between 3 pm and sunset at 6 pm. The tomb was already there and was close to the crucifixion place, as John points out (Jn 19:42). The closing stone clearly had to have been pushed in front of the tomb still on the preparation day, thus still before the beginning of the High Sabbath (15th Nisan). All Bible experts agree on this. Most think that this must have taken place at about 5 p.m. (11th Israel hour), so that all involved would still have some time to go home and make the preparations for the High Sabbath celebration. 

On this preparation day Jesus was already dead for three whole hours and on this preparation day Jesus was also already in the grave, although nobody can state the exact period in the grave. The 14th Nisan is thus clearly the first light day on which Jesus was dead and in the grave. It is extremely interesting that this light day (Nisan 14) comes to an end after the three-hour darkness (12-15 p.m.). All pastors and theologians who count "3 nights and 3 days" are twisting the word of Jesus, because Jesus was very well able to express himself clearly at such an important sign of the Messiah and He spoke of "3 days and 3 nights" (see: The Sign of the Messiah). Thus, no one should ignore the approximate 3 hours that Jesus was dead, nor the approximate 1 hour that Jesus was in the burial cave.

The Bible emphasizes that Jesus was in the spiritual grave, the Greek Hades (Hebrew Sheol; Acts 2:22-27, 31; Ps 16:8-10), the abode of the dead. Jesus had already been in the hands of God and in Hades for a full 3 hours on Nisan 14. This was far more important than the time Jesus' body was actually placed in a physical tomb by humans. Either way, this was still on the 14th of Nisan and not the 15th of Nisan. Therefore, the end of the 14th of Nisan must be counted as the first part of the "3 days and 3 nights". It is not correct when some commentators simply erase these 3 hours and start counting only from the 15th Nisan, since Jesus was already in the spiritual and physical grave on the 14th Nisan (see "the Messiah sign").

From the 12th hour (6 p.m.) the High Sabbath (15th of Nisan) began. Jesus was crucified "between the evenings" (see explanation) before a full moon night. Therefore, each Nisan full moon reminds us to this day of Jesus' crucifixion and what He did for us, as the light in the darkness. He saved us from eternal death by his death showed us the way to light and life. On that night of the 15th of Nisan, the Passover lamb was eaten as Moses had already commanded, "They shall eat the flesh that night, roasted on the fire; with unleavened bread and bitter herbs they shall eat it. 9 Do not eat any of it raw or boiled in water, but roasted, its head with its legs and its inner parts." (Ex. 12:8-9). The slaughtering and roasting began in the late afternoon (3 p.m.) of Nisan 14 and the meal extended into Nisan 15. This is confirmed by the historian Josephus Flavius, who writes:

"In the month of Xanthicus, which is by us called Nisan, and is the beginning of our year, on the 14th day of the lunar month, when the sun is in Aries, (for in this month it was that we were delivered from bondage under the Egyptians,) the law ordained that we should every year slay that sacrifice which I before told you we slew when we came out of Egypt, and which was called the Passover; and so we do celebrate this passover in companies, leaving nothing of what we sacrifice till the day following. The feast of unleavened bread succeeds that of the passover, and falls on the 15th day of the month, and continues seven days, wherein they feed on unleavened bread; on every one of which days two bulls are killed, and one ram, and seven lambs. Now these lambs are entirely burnt, besides the kid of the goats which is added to all the rest, for sins; for it is intended as a feast for the priest on every one of those days" (Antiquities of the Jews 3:10:5).

Since all the evangelists describe the events on the Preparation Day in great detail, it is understandable why Matthew paraphrases this High Sabbath as the day after the Preparation Day: "The next day, that is, after the day of Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate" (Mt 27:62). They asked to guard the tomb. But why did they come to Pilate already on a High Sabbath and not later? This question is easy to answer. They absolutely had to ask for the guarding on this High Sabbath, because already from 6 p.m. a new calendar day would begin on which all works are allowed and on which the Jews themselves could have opened the tomb and taken away Jesus' body.

Both Jews (especially the priests) and the Romans, however, wanted to do everything in their power to prevent Jesus' body from being removed, which would start a rumor that Jesus had risen. Pilate therefore readily agreed with the chief priests and Pharisees and sent his soldiers to guard the tomb "until the third day" (Mt 27:62-66) with all the armed force of the Roman Empire. It is important to note that Pilate did not say "until tomorrow," but he clearly spoke of the "third day." It is of great importance to pay attention to this detail, because it is another proof that an alleged Sunday resurrection was totally impossible, because the Pharisees told Pilate that Jesus wanted to rise "after three days" (Mt 27:63) and not "after two days" (preparation day, High Sabbath). So it was always only about the period of "three days and three nights".

This day after the preparation day, that is, the High Sabbath, included the first night and the second light-day when Jesus was dead, or "in the heart of the earth." This is so easy to understand when God's calendar is known:

 "Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. Abstain from all appearance of evil"

(1Thess 5:21-22)

"Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them"

(Epheser 5:11)