Thank you Lester and Glenn Sheffield,  for the explanation re: Wednesday crucifixion. You have taken gone to a lot of trouble to bring out the points.  Thanks once again.  But somehow the Friday crucifixion has a fixation in my mind J.  In fact Dr. John MacArthur brings out some of the points well in his book The Murder of Jesus and the rest in his discussions.  Thought I would share with you all.

 

MacArthur written in his book ‘The Murder of Jesus’,

Quote “The Jews of Jesus’ day had two different methods of reckoning the calendar, however, and this helped alleviate the problem.  The Pharisees, as well, as the Jews from Galilee and the northern districts of Israel, counted their days from sunrise to sunrise.  But the Sadducees, and the people from Jerusalem and the surroundings districts, calculated days from sundown to sundown. That meant 14 Nissan for a Galilean fell on Thursday, while 14 Nissan for the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell on Friday.  And thus the slaughter of the lambs could take place in two-hour time periods on successive days, thereby easing the work of the priests somewhat.  About half the lambs could be killed on Thursday, and the other half were killed on Friday.

(That twist in the chronology explains why Jesus and His disciples- all Galileans, except for Judas- ate the Passover meal on Thursday evening in the Upper Room, yet John 18:28 records that the Jewish leaders- all residents of Jerusalem- had not yet celebrated Passover on the following day when Jesus was taken to His trial in the Praetorian.  It also explains why John 19:14 indicates that Jesus’ trial and crucifixion took place on the day of the Preparation for the Passover) from page 26-27. End quote

 

That means according to the Judean custom Christ died at 3pm the time the Passover lambs are slaughtered in the temple for the Passover meal to be eaten.  Hence He really fulfilled both obligations, in that He desired to have the Passover meal with His disciples and at the same time He died as the Lamb of God for our sins.

Well, I guess when you come to think of it, it is really a trivial thing we are contending about, the gist of the matter is that the Lord of the Sabbath, hung on the Cross and made way for us to come into His Kingdom.  I am sure we would not be arguing about it when we are raptured, and at that time we can have a clear-cut answer from the lips of our Saviour.  Anyway I posted this discussion backing up the Friday crucifixion, and I know I will not convince those of you, who are out there, who believe in the Wednesday crucifixion, that it was truly on Friday; and I guess I have to be honest, in the same way, I will not be persuaded that it was on a Wednesday and give up my idea of a “Good Friday”. J

Coming from a Hindu background the day Friday had a special significance for us in the past.  We are allowed to meat, fish, eggs on any day except Friday and of course any holy festival days, which there were dime a dozen! When I was a small child,  I hated Fridays, for it was always vegetarian and the meals were boring J.  It was so liberating when I became a Christian "Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: which are a shadow of things to come ..." (Colossians 2:16-17, King James Version).

Not only Hinduism demanded the Friday to be holy, as far as I know, even the Moslems are very careful about Friday, and even the Buddhist , though I come from a predominantly Buddhist country, I am not too sure, but I believe that they too observe the Friday.  There must be a reason for this Friday being a special day.  Satan normally  mimics what has been achieved by the Lord- that is my thoughts on this Friday being a holy day for so many cults.

Excerpts from the The Amazing Burial of Jesus Christ, Part 1 by Dr. John MacArthur....

Actually when you read the whole discussion it really makes the matter very clear....I have only taken the one that directly deals with this issue, but Dr. John MacArthur is also addressing the issue re: the next day being the Sabbath.

  http://www.gty.org/Resources/StudyGuides/9710

 

How Many Days Was Christ Dead?

Some people have difficulty reconciling what Jesus said in Matthew 12:40 about the length of His stay in the grave: "As Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth." Does that mean Jesus had to be in the earth three full days and nights? No. Many commentators take that view and back the crucifixion to Thursday, so the three days and nights are Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, with His rising on Sunday. The obvious problem with that view is that we are left with a fourth- day resurrection. Yet all the passages in Scripture dealing with this issue indicate He was to rise on the third day. That eliminates the need for interpreting Matthew 12:40 as referring to three 24-hour periods. The phrase "three days and three nights" was simply an idiom of the Jewish people referring to a three-day period.

For example, if you were to say, "I'm going to San Diego for three days," does that mean you'll be there for three 24-hour periods? Not necessarily. It could mean you'll be there for a few hours one day, all day the next day, and a few hours the third day. That is how Scripture refers to Christ's burial.

In Luke 24:21 the disciples travelling the road to Emmaus were bemoaning the death of Christ, saying, "We hoped that it had been he who should have redeemed Israel; and, besides all this, today [Sunday] is the third day since these things were done." They understood that the Lord's prophecy of His resurrection wasn't going to take place after three 24-hour periods, but on the third day, which from Friday would be Sunday. After all, Jesus said He would "be killed, and be raised again the third day" (Matt. 16:21). Matthew 17:23 repeats, "They shall kill him, and the third day he shall be raised again." The chronological, historical references to the death of Christ indicate a third-day resurrection, not one following three 24-hour periods. When Jesus referred to three days and three nights, we can conclude He was referring to a part of three 24-hour periods. Rabbi Eleazar ben Azariah (who lived around A.D. 100) said, "A day and night are an Onah [a portion of time] and the portion of an Onah is as the whole of it" (Jerusalem Talmud, Shabbath ix.3; cf. Babylonian Talmud Pesahim 4a).

 

The following is also an excerpt from Dr.John MacArthur’s

God’s Preparation for Christ’s Cross 

http://www.gty.org/Resources/Transcripts/42-266

 

I guess this is a difficult topic to convince someone, for the Bible does state the next day was the

 

Divine purpose...clear.  On Thursday night, Jesus is going to eat the Passover meal with His disciples and it’s going to be transformed into the Lord’s Table.  And it’s going to become a new feast and a new commemoration of a new and infinitely greater deliverance at the cross.  Bread and wine once remembering a deliverance from Egypt will now remember a deliverance at the cross.  On Thursday night, He will eat the Passover with His disciples and transform it. 

He will be arrested early on Friday.  He will be sentenced by a series of illegitimate courts.  He will be scourged, treated mercilessly, crucified and buried before Friday ends. 

He will be in the grave on Friday through Saturday, part of Sunday and rise the third day.  That’s the divine plan.  Jesus said it was so.  He said He would be arrested.  He said He would be killed.  He said he would rise the third day.  He said it several times, recorded.  And perhaps many more times.  Jesus knew the timing.  He knew it was time for Him to die.  This is the plan of God.