I'm 'someone new' here...
I'll jump in with this:
Matthew 12:40
For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
So, unless Jesus was lying, it is physically impossible for him to be 3 days AND 3 nights from FriDAY to SunDAY!
We all know that Jesus didn't lie. Neither does the Word of God lie. Period. Take it or leave it. If Jesus or God lied, then throw away your Bible because it must be FULL of lies!
Disclaimer: I am NOT a theologian by any measure. I take what I read and hear and see how it does or does not line up with scripture then decide from there. Nor am I familiar in the least with more than a teeny bit of the 'way of life' in biblical times, both OT and NT. But I do know some of the customs and methods of the days.
In the 23 years I've been saved, I've read, seen, and heard various accounts of why Jesus was NOT crucified on a Friday.
We gentiles all 'know' that morning is the start of the day (midnight) but biblically, the 'day' starts at dusk the evening before. Look at how each day of creation was defined in Genesis:
Genesis 1:5
And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.
(The following days of creation were similarly described)
The Jews still follow the beginning of each day at dusk.
Here's the law given to Moses regarding the passover:
Exodus 12:1-7
1
And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying,
2
This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you.
3
Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house:
4
And if the household be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbour next unto his house take it according to the number of the souls; every man according to his eating shall make your count for the lamb.
5
Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats:
6
And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening.
7
And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it.
(underlining mine)
As I understand it, the Jewish calendar year starts with the month of Nissan and each month is 29 days corresponding to the new moon. Every couple of years they 'throw in' an extra month to accommodate the difference between the Jewish calendar and the annual calendar based on position of the sun.
So I just now Googled: "when is nissan 1 in 28 ad" and came up with the chart below:
Year | Vernal Equinox | Astronomical New Moon
Conjunction | First evening of visible crescent | Date of the first of Nisan | 14th day of Nisan (Passover) |
| | (On date, or first after vernal Equinox) | (Julian calendar. Midnight to midnight) | (Beginning at sundown the evening before...) | (Beginning at sundown the evening before...) |
26 A.D. | Fri. Mar. 22, 0* | Sat. Apr. 6, 7 a.m. | Sun. Apr. 7 | Mon. Apr. 8 | Sun. Apr. 21 |
27 A.D. | Sun. Mar. 23, 6 a.m. | Wed. Mar. 26, 7 p.m.** | Fri. Mar. 28 | Sat. Mar. 29 | Fri. Apr. 11 |
28 A.D. | Mon. Mar. 22, noon | Tues. Apr. 13, 2 p.m. | Wed. Apr. 14 | Thurs. Apr.15 | Wed. Apr. 28 |
29 A.D. | Tues. Mar. 22, 6 p.m. | Sat. Apr. 2, 7 p.m.** | Mon. Apr. 4 | Tues. Apr. 5 | Mon. Apr. 18 |
30 A.D. | Wed. Mar. 22, 0* | Wed. Mar. 22, 8 p.m.*** | Fri. Mar. 24 | Sat. Mar. 25 | Fri. Apr. 7 |
31 A.D. | Fri. Mar. 23, 5 a.m. | Tues. Apr. 10, 2 p.m. | Wed. Apr. 11 | Thurs. Apr.12 | Wed. Apr. 25 |
32 A.D. | Sat. Mar. 22, 11 a.m. | Sat. Mar. 29, 10 p.m.** | Mon. Mar. 31 | Tues. Apr. 1 | Mon. Apr. 14 |
33 A.D. | Sun. Mar. 22, 5 p.m. | Fri. Apr. 17, 9 p.m.** | Sun. Apr. 19 | Mon. Apr. 20 | Sun. May 3 |
34 A.D. | Mon. Mar. 22,11 p.m. | Wed. Apr. 7, 2 p.m. | Thurs. Apr. 8 | Fri. Apr. 9 | Thurs. Apr. 22 |
Most theologians I've read state that Jesus was born about 4-2 BC (by the Gregorian calendar) and died between 28-32 AD. 30 AD was commonly thought to be the date of His crucifixion, but lately, I've read more about 28 AD. So, that would make Him 30 years old if He was born in 2 BC.
Per verse 6 above, the 14th of Nissan in 28 AD was a Wednesday, as is 31 AD. Either one seems reasonable. As I understand it, burial must be done during daylight hours, even in those days. So, he was crucified on Wednesday and buried BEFORE dusk on Wednesday.
Night 1: Wednesday night
Day 1: Thursday day
Night 2: Thursday night
Day 2: Friday day
Night 3: Friday night
Day 3: Saturday day.
-----------------------------
3 nights + 3 days in the heart of the earth, exactly as Jesus declared in Matthew 12:40.
Saturday???? The Jewish Sabbath???? I'm as stumped as you are.
That clearly disagrees with Matthew's account of His resurrection:
Matthew 28:1
In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre.
So obviously, He was crucified on a Thursday, not Wednesday or Friday! How can THAT be??? One of my well read and very biblically knowlegable friends of mine says she's read there were actually
TWO passovers that year! That would explain the 2nd sacrifice happening on a Thursday. I've also read/heard that due to calendar errors and screwups through the years, the regular (and only) passover sacrifice actually happened on Thursday that year. Which one is right? Maybe there's another reason for the difference of days? I don't know. Regardless...we DO KNOW that the Bible is Gods' inspired, inerrant Word! I figure we'll find out when Jesus died for our sin when we see Him face to face!
So how did 'Good Friday' become the figure of speech as the day of Jesus' death? I've read and/or heard (don't ask me where or when, at age 74, my memory gets worse by the day!) that the Roman Catholic Church invented 'Good Friday' to 'fit' the timing of some pagan god or godess. And similarly, Resurrection Sunday was changed to Easter, again to fit some pagan god or godess worship. Bunnies and Easter eggs are also some of the pagan worship garbage thrown in during the past 2000 years.
Regardless of what day of the week that Jesus died for us, it makes no difference whatsoever to our faith nor our salvation. So this discussion is only an exercise in Bible study and hopefully, increasing our knowledge of Him!