When Did Jesus Actually Die and Resurrect?
Introduction
The gospel that saves concerns what Jesus' death and resurrection accomplished, and because of the tradition around it, there is a lot of debate on which days of the week historically his death and resurrection happened.
"For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures." - 1 Corinthians 15:3-4
Every year, churches around the world teach that Jesus was crucified on a Friday, “Good Friday,” and rose on a Sunday morning, “Easter Sunday”. These are treated as a settled fact. But is that what the Bible actually says?
Under grace today, there are no prescribed holidays/holy days: you are delivered from their bondage! Every day is an opportunity to remember and glorify the work of the cross of Christ.
"But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage? Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years. I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain." - Galatians 4:9-11
"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; but the body is of Christ." - Colossians 2:16-17
Why, then, should we investigate the exact timing of Christ's death and resurrection? If we are free from observing days, does it matter when Jesus actually died? The answer is that truth always matters. When church tradition teaches a Friday crucifixion, it creates irreconcilable contradictions with the biblical text. Allowing tradition to override the Bible weakens our confidence in the absolute authority and perfection of God's word.
Truth matters, especially when something is so prominently and wrongly propagated by churches every year. Unknowingly believing a lie leads you astray. Willingly following a lie sears your conscience.
However, we don't learn the truth of God to puff ourselves up, gather little facts that most people don't know, and boast in our understanding. Learning what the Bible says is not to tell people "I know more than you!" or think "I can't believe they do that!" Rather, it is to conform our minds to Christ and to help people walk in the liberty of God's love and grace properly as approved workmen (2Ti 2:15).
When we poke holes in religious tradition and start to see how vain and contrary to the Scriptures it truly is, the tradition loses its hold on us. It allows us to use our minds, not our emotions, to make choices that glorify the Lord Jesus Christ and not follow the course of the world (Jer 10:2-5, Eph 2:1-3).
This study is not meant to be contentious or provocative, but to cause us to ask: Why am I doing what I’m doing? Is what I’m doing actually glorifying and pleasing the Lord?
When we compare what we do to the testimony of God, and change our minds accordingly, it increases our faith in the Scriptures and puts our glory in the right place when we conform our minds to the truth.
With that foundation, let's search the Scriptures. Much of the confusion around this topic comes down to how things are defined, so we must use the Bible to define itself.
What Is a "Day"?
A biblical day begins at sundown, not at midnight.
"And the evening and the morning were the first day." - Genesis 1:5
A biblical day runs from evening to evening, approximately 6:00 PM to 6:00 PM. This pattern is confirmed throughout the feast day calendar.
"It shall be unto you a sabbath of rest, and ye shall afflict your souls: in the ninth day of the month at even, from even unto even, shall ye celebrate your sabbath." - Leviticus 23:32
Understanding the Jewish Feast Days
Understanding the Jewish feast days is the key to understanding the timing of Christ's death and resurrection. The feasts described in the Old Testament provide the framework within which these events occurred.
The Passover (14th of Nisan)
On the 10th day of the first month (Abib/Nisan) of the Jewish calendar, a lamb without blemish was taken to be inspected. This inspection lasted until the beginning of the 14th day, at evening (approximately 6:00 PM), when the lamb was sacrificed. All of it was to be eaten before morning (6:00 AM). The 14th day was Passover.
" 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….Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats: 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." - Exodus 12:3, 5-6
"In the fourteenth day of the first month at even is the LORD's passover." - Leviticus 23:5
The Feast of Unleavened Bread (15th-21st of Nisan)
The Feast of Unleavened Bread began the day after Passover, on the 15th day of the month (at 6:00 PM). They ate unleavened bread for seven days. The first day and the seventh day were days of no servile work, these were called "high sabbath" days, distinct from the regular weekly Saturday sabbath.
"And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of unleavened bread unto the LORD: seven days ye must eat unleavened bread. In the first day ye shall have an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein... in the seventh day is an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein." - Leviticus 23:6-8
The Feast of Firstfruits
The Feast of Firstfruits is the day after the sabbath, where the priest waved a sheaf of the firstfruits of the harvest, and another unblemished lamb was sacrificed. There is debate over whether this refers to the day after the regular weekly sabbath (which would place it on a Sunday each year) or the day after the high sabbath (the first day of Unleavened Bread). Fifty days from the Feast of Firstfruits brings us to the Feast of Weeks, which also falls the day after a sabbath, lending support to the view that Firstfruits falls on a Sunday.
"Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye be come into the land which I give unto you, and shall reap the harvest thereof, then ye shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest unto the priest: And he shall wave the sheaf before the LORD, to be accepted for you: on the morrow after the sabbath the priest shall wave it…. And ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the sabbath, from the day that ye brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven sabbaths shall be complete: Even unto the morrow after the seventh sabbath shall ye number fifty days; and ye shall offer a new meat offering unto the LORD… And the priest shall wave them with the bread of the firstfruits for a wave offering before the LORD, with the two lambs: they shall be holy to the LORD for the priest. And ye shall proclaim on the selfsame day, that it may be an holy convocation unto you: ye shall do no servile work therein: it shall be a statute for ever in all your dwellings throughout your generations." - Leviticus 23:10-11, 15-16, 20-21
This feast day is significant to the timing of Christ's resurrection. As we will see, Jesus rising from the dead on Sunday, the day after the weekly sabbath during the feast of unleavened bread, would place His resurrection on the Feast of Firstfruits according to the Levitical calendar. I don’t believe this is a coincidence. Paul tells us plainly that Christ is the firstfruits:
"But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming." - 1 Corinthians 15:20-23
Christ's resurrection on the Feast of Firstfruits perfectly fulfills the shadow of this feast, He is the firstfruits of them that die and rise again, the first sheaf waved before the Lord, signifying the full harvest to come for the rest of us who will rise together in Him.
When Did Jesus Rise Again?
Identifying the day of the week that Jesus rose from the dead is easy to show definitively from Scripture, so we will address it first.
Jesus rose again on a Sunday, after the Saturday sabbath had passed, sometime between sunset (approximately 6:00 PM Saturday) and before sunrise (approximately 6:00 AM Sunday). When the women arrived at the tomb before sunrise, it was already empty.
"And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him. And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun." - Mark 16:1-2
"Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils." - Mark 16:9
"The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre." - John 20:1
"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... And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay." - Matthew 28:1, 5-6
As noted above, specifically in Mark 16:9, Jesus rose on the first day of the week, before it was sunrise, putting the timeline between 6pm – 6am of Sunday.
When Did Jesus Die?
The Scriptures give us a clear timeline for the day of Christ's death:
"And it was the third hour, and they crucified him." - Mark 15:25
The third hour of the Jewish day = 6:00 AM + 3 hours = 9:00 AM.
"And when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour." - Mark 15:33
Darkness covered the land from noon until 3:00 PM.
"And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? ...And Jesus cried with a loud voice, and gave up the ghost." - Mark 15:34, 37
Jesus died at the ninth hour at 3:00 PM. But what day of the week was this?
Religious tradition says Christ died on a Friday. But "Good Friday" is a church tradition, not a scriptural designation. Let's search the Scriptures.
The "Preparation Day" and the Sabbath
It can get tricky in the New Testament portion of the Bible, because some terms were used interchangeably based on what was colloquially relevant at the time. The "Feast of Unleavened Bread" (which actually began on the 15th, a high sabbath) was lumped in with the Passover on the 14th (not a high sabbath) and was sometimes simply called "the Passover." The entire 8-day observance of both feasts, since both included eating unleavened bread, could be referred to interchangeably depending on the context.
"Now the feast of unleavened bread drew nigh, which is called the Passover." - Luke 22:1
There is considerable debate around this, but some perspectives hold that Jesus ate the Passover properly according to Exodus and Leviticus at the beginning of the 14th, while the Jews of that day killed the Passover lamb on the afternoon of the 14th and ate the meal technically on the 15th, in the evening. This, and the fact that unleavened bread was eaten during both observances, may be why they lumped the feasts together.
“And now when the even was come, because it was the preparation, that is, the day before the sabbath…” – Mark 15:42
Mark 15:42 is often used to argue that the "day of preparation" was before the weekly sabbath, and therefore Jesus died on a Friday, and that the day of preparation was always a Friday. This is partially true, because most of the time, the preparation day was indeed Friday, since most sabbaths were on a Saturday. However, the sabbath that immediately followed Christ's death was a high sabbath, the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, a day of holy convocation with no servile work. It was not the regular weekly Saturday sabbath. Jesus died on the day of preparation, before this high sabbath, which they called “the passover” because the people ate it on the wrong evening, and the two feasts were lumped together and used interchangeably.
"And it was the preparation of the passover, and about the sixth hour: and he saith unto the Jews, Behold your King!" - John 19:14
"The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation, that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the sabbath day, (for that sabbath day was an high day,) besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away." - John 19:31
Notice another revealing detail: on the morning Jesus was brought before Pilate, the Jewish leaders would not enter the judgment hall because they did not want to be defiled, for they still wanted to eat the passover.
"Then led they Jesus from Caiaphas unto the hall of judgment: and it was early; and they themselves went not into the judgement hall, lest they should be defiled; but that they might eat the passover." - John 18:28
This is extremely telling. The scribes, Pharisees, and chief priests had not yet eaten the passover. They were planning to eat it the following evening, at the start of the 15th, the high sabbath, the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. They also did not want to kill Jesus on that sabbath day (feast day) because it would upset the people.
"But they said, Not on the feast day, lest there be an uproar among the people." - Matthew 26:5
But according to the Levitical instructions, the Passover meal was to be held on the 14th, at the start of the day (at evening), and the 14th was not a sabbath. If the priests and Pharisees hadn't eaten the passover at the start of the 14th at even, the same time Jesus and His disciples did, then this shows you that they incorrectly followed the Law. This shouldn't be a shock to most Bible readers. These were the same religious leaders Jesus repeatedly rebuked for their traditions and hypocrisy.
In their incorrect lumping together of both feasts, eating the passover at the end of the 14th going into the 15th, rather than at the proper time, they actually perfectly fulfilled the feast day shadow. They killed Jesus on the 14th, the actual day of Passover. The Lamb of God was slain on the very day the passover lamb was to be killed, just as God had ordained.
The Sign of Jonah
One of the most important details in this topic is Matthew 12:39-40:
"But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: 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."
Jesus himself gave us the sign of Jonah: three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. This immediately excludes a Friday crucifixion. A Friday death with a Sunday morning resurrection would give only parts of two days and parts of two nights, nowhere close to "three days and three nights."
Wednesday or Thursday?
If Friday is eliminated, the two remaining options are Wednesday and Thursday. Both positions have compelling scriptural arguments, and sincere Bible believers hold to each.
Wednesday proponents argue for a full 72-hour period: three complete nights and three complete days. With a Sunday resurrection, this would place roughly 75-84 hours between death and resurrection, spanning four distinct days and three to four distinct nights. This interpretation takes the sign of Jonah as requiring three full days and three full nights.
Thursday proponents argue for two full nights, potentially nearly three full nights, and two full days with three hours of a third day, but three distinct days and three distinct nights. With a Sunday resurrection, this yields roughly 51-63 hours between death and resurrection. This interpretation understands the sign of Jonah as parts of three days and parts of three nights.
Several verses make it challenging to discern whether Jesus rose during the third day or soon after the third day:
"Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up... But he spake of the temple of his body." - John 2:19, 21
"And he began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again." - Mark 8:31
"Saying, Sir, we remember that that deceiver said, while he was yet alive, After three days I will rise again. Command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure until the third day, lest his disciples come by night, and steal him away, and say unto the people, He is risen from the dead: so the last error shall be worse than the first." - Matthew 27:63-64
"...after that he is killed, he shall rise the third day." - Mark 9:31
"...he rose again the third day according to the scriptures." - 1 Corinthians 15:4
The language of "the third day" throughout these verses seems to me to point more naturally to a Thursday crucifixion, though the Wednesday position has its own merits in accounting for the sign of Jonah as a full 72-hour period. The “after three days rise again” verbiage, I think, can be understood by Matthew 27:63-64, where they use the same verbiage, but only instruct the tomb to be guarded until the third day, not the fourth day, showing what is meant by “after three days.”
Why I Lean Toward a Thursday Crucifixion
There are compelling cases to be made for a Wednesday crucifixion, and I want to be clear that this is an area where faithful Bible students can disagree in good conscience. However, due to the following three lines of evidence, I tend to lean toward Thursday.
1. Cleopas on the Road to Emmaus: "The Third Day Since"
On Sunday, Cleopas was walking with another disciple on the road to Emmaus and speaking with the risen Jesus (whom they didn't yet recognize).
"And the one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answering said unto him, Art thou only a stranger in Jerusalem, and hast not known the things which are come to pass there in these days? And he said unto them, What things? And they said unto him, Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, which was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people: And how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him to be condemned to death, and have crucified him. But we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel: and beside all this, to day is the third day since all these things were done." - Luke 24:18-21
Cleopas says Sunday is "the third day since" these things happened, and the last event he references is the crucifixion itself. This obviously does not work for a Friday crucifixion mathematically. Counting backward from Sunday: one day since = Saturday; two days since = Friday; three days since = Thursday.
Wednesday crucifixion proponents attempt to make "these things" include when the guards were posted at the tomb the next day (Matthew 27:62), which would make the "third day since" calculation work. But a careful reading of the text shows that the last event Cleopas mentions is the crucifixion, not the burial or the guarding of the tomb. This verse is one of the strongest arguments for Thursday, along with the other evidence.
2. The Women and the Spices
Mary, Mary Magdalene, and Salome prepared spices and ointments to anoint Jesus' body.
"And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him." - Mark 16:1
The same women (Matthew 27:55-57) also prepared spices and rested on the sabbath:
"And the women also, which came with him from Galilee, followed after, and beheld the sepulchre, and how his body was laid. And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the sabbath day according to the commandment." - Luke 23:55-56
Wednesday proponents argue there had to be a day between the high sabbath and the Saturday sabbath for the women to buy and prepare the spices, which is one interpretation that works. However, a careful reading of the context does not require this and allows the Thursday position to work quite well.
Look closely: in Luke 23:50-56, the women followed Joseph of Arimathea to the tomb on the day Jesus died, returned, and prepared spices before the sabbath began. This means they prepared spices on the Passover (14th), they already had some, and rested on the 15th (the high sabbath). This also explains how the women were able to find the tomb in the dark on Sunday morning; they had already been there.
What about Mark 16:1? This would mean the women either bought additional sweet spices at the beginning of Sunday (after approximately 6:00 PM, when the weekly sabbath was completed), or the “had bought sweet spices” could refer to some they bought prior (I think this second option is a strain of the text personally). Then, they went to the tomb early Sunday morning.
3. The Passover Lamb Timeline
The Passover lamb was to be inspected beginning on the 10th day of the month and killed on the evening of Passover, near the beginning of the 14th. Jesus died on the actual Passover (the 14th) before the high sabbath (the 15th). By tracing the events of Jesus' final week day by day through the Gospels, we can reconstruct a timeline that aligns with a Thursday crucifixion and a Sunday (10th of Nisan) entry into Jerusalem.
Before walking through this timeline, an important caveat is in order: one of the hardest things to reconcile when counting back through Jesus' final week in Jerusalem is the interchangeable use of the terms "passover,” "feast of unleavened bread,” and “days of unleavened bread.” Whether a given passage is referring to the proper Levitical timeline (Passover on the 14th, Unleavened Bread beginning the 15th) or to what the people commonly practiced at the time, on the authority of Luke 22:1 which tells us the feast of unleavened bread "is called the Passover," can make it very confusing and is at the center of much of the debate. This is why trying to back-calculate using the "holy week" days can be challenging and is less of a strong argument than the sign of Jonah, the Cleopas testimony, and the "third day" arguments presented above. Nevertheless, the day-by-day evidence is worth examining.
Day-by-Day Evidence for a Sunday Entry
Day 1 - Sunday, 10th of Nisan: The Triumphant Entry
John's Gospel provides the key to establishing this date. Six days before the "passover" (remembering that the people's "passover" referred to the feast of unleavened bread on the 15th), Jesus came to Bethany.
"Then Jesus six days before the passover came to Bethany, where Lazarus was which had been dead, whom he raised from the dead." - John 12:1
Then, the next day, five days before the people's "passover" on the 15th, Jesus entered Jerusalem.
"On the next day much people that were come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, Took branches of palm trees, and went forth to meet him, and cried, Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord." - John 12:12-13
Five days before the 15th places this entry on the 10th day of Nisan, the very day the Passover lamb was supposed to be selected and taken in for inspection. On this day, Jesus entered Jerusalem, went to the temple, and looked around.
"And Jesus entered into Jerusalem, and into the temple: and when he had looked round about upon all things, and now the eventide was come, he went out unto Bethany with the twelve." - Mark 11:11
Day 2 - Monday, 11th of Nisan: Cleansing the Temple
The next morning, Jesus returned to Jerusalem and cursed the fig tree on the way. He then entered the temple and cast out the money changers. While Matthew 21:12 can appear to place this on the day of His entry, the cross-reference to Mark's more detailed account shows it occurred the following day.
"And on the morrow, when they were come from Bethany, he was hungry: And seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came, if haply he might find any thing thereon: and when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves; for the time of figs was not yet." - Mark 11:12-13
"And they come to Jerusalem: and Jesus went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves." - Mark 11:15
Day 3 - Tuesday, 12th of Nisan: Teaching and the Plot to Kill Jesus
The next morning, the fig tree was found withered. Jesus taught in the temple and was questioned by the chief priests, scribes, and Pharisees (Matthew 21-25). Mark notes that it was "after two days" until the passover and the feast of unleavened bread, and the chief priests and scribes were scheming how to take Jesus and kill Him, but not on the feast day, lest there be an uproar.
"And in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots." - Mark 11:20
"After two days was the feast of the passover, and of unleavened bread: and the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might take him by craft, and put him to death. But they said, Not on the feast day, lest there be an uproar of the people." - Mark 14:1-2
Day 4 - Wednesday, 13th of Nisan: Preparation for the Passover Meal
Mark records that on what was called the first day of unleavened bread, "when they killed the passover," the disciples asked Jesus where to prepare the meal. Again, the terminology here reflects the common practice of the day, where the terms were used loosely.
"And the first day of unleavened bread, when they killed the passover, his disciples said unto him, Where wilt thou that we go and prepare that thou mayest eat the passover?" - Mark 14:12
Day 5 - Wednesday evening into Thursday, 14th of Nisan (Passover): The Last Supper, Arrest, and Crucifixion
At evening, the beginning of the 14th on the biblical calendar, Jesus ate the Passover meal with His disciples, properly according to the Levitical instructions.
"And in the evening he cometh with the twelve. And as they sat and did eat, Jesus said, Verily I say unto you, One of you which eateth with me shall betray me." - Mark 14:17-18
He was betrayed, arrested, and tried through the night. The next morning (still the 14th), He was crucified at 9:00 AM and died at 3:00 PM. He was buried before evening (~6:00 PM), when the high sabbath (the 15th) would begin.
Day 6 - Friday, 15th of Nisan: High Sabbath (First Day of Unleavened Bread)
The high sabbath. No servile work. The Jewish leaders ate their passover meal at the start of this day, having incorrectly followed the Levitical calendar. The women rested on the sabbath.
Why This Matters for Wednesday vs. Thursday
If Christ's death was indeed on Passover (the 14th), a Wednesday crucifixion would place His entry into Jerusalem, the beginning of His "inspection" on the 10th, on a Saturday, the weekly sabbath. This may be problematic: while Jesus as Lord of the Sabbath could lawfully act on that day and do well (Matthew 12:8-13), His triumphant entry involved travel from Bethany and riding a colt (John 12:14), and the people cut down branches (Matthew 21:8), which would have potentially been considered work and unusual/unlawful on a sabbath. While this isn’t a bulletproof case, it is another piece of evidence
If His death was on a Thursday, it places His triumphant entry on a Sunday (the 10th), which alleviates the sabbath issue entirely.
Again, while the day-by-day back-calculation is worth examining, the interchangeable use of "passover" and "feast of unleavened bread" throughout the Gospel accounts makes this a less definitive argument than the sign of Jonah, the Cleopas testimony, and the "third day" evidence. It is, however, in my own personal study, supportive of the Thursday position.
The Thursday Timeline
Under the Thursday view, the sign of Jonah is understood as parts of three days and parts of three nights, three distinct days and three distinct nights, though not three full 24-hour periods. This timeline aligns with the Passover lamb typology, with Cleopas' "third day since" statement on the road to Emmaus, and with the women's preparation of spices. Regardless of Wednesday or Thursday, it also places Christ's resurrection beautifully on the Feast of Firstfruits.
The Spiritual Significance for the Body of Christ
The Apostle Paul, in the dispensation of grace, places no emphasis on calendar days or any days of the year.
"Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years. I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain." - Galatians 4:10-11
We are not commanded to keep the Passover, nor are we commanded to memorialize the day of the week the Lord died or rose again through religious observances. Our focus is and should be solely on the spiritual accomplishment of the cross. We rest entirely in His finished work, not in the tracking of the calendar.
Christ's death and resurrection are foreshadowed in the Jewish feast days, but they are also typified in a spiritual sense for the Body of Christ, who have no feast days:
Passover: Christ is our Passover, sacrificed for us!
"Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us." - 1 Corinthians 5:7
Unleavened Bread: The Body of Christ is one bread, and we partake of that one bread, which is Christ's body. His broken body is symbolized by unleavened bread at the last supper.
"For we being many are one bread, and one body: for we are all partakers of that one bread." - 1 Corinthians 10:17
"And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me." - 1 Corinthians 11:24
Firstfruits: Christ is the firstfruits of them that die and rise again.
"But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept." - 1 Corinthians 15:20
Conclusion
What is clear from a careful study of the Scriptures is that Christ's death was not on "Good Friday." Both Wednesday and Thursday have compelling cases from the text, but considering the testimony of Cleopas on the road to Emmaus, the explanation of the women and the spices, and the alignment of the Passover lamb timeline, I lean toward a Thursday crucifixion with a Sunday resurrection on the Feast of Firstfruits, understanding the sign of Jonah as parts of three days and parts of three nights.
But here is something worth considering: if the exact day were easy to identify, God would have made it unmistakably plain. I believe that ambiguity is intentional. God is not drawing our attention to a calendar day. He is drawing our attention to what happened and what it accomplished.
The point is not when Jesus died and rose again on the calendar. The point is what His death, burial, and resurrection accomplished: a perfect blood sacrifice to save people by His grace through faith alone and offer salvation freely to a world full of sinners who don't deserve it. That is the gospel. That is what we glory in, not a day on a calendar, but the finished work of the cross.
Don't trust religious tradition. Trust in your Bible. Glory in the cross.
"For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures." - 1 Corinthians 15:3-4
"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast." - Ephesians 2:8-9
“But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.” – Romans 5:8-11
“But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.” - Galatians 6:14
