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THETIMEOFTHECRUCIFIXIONAND
RESURRECTION
Chapter3

THEDAYOFTHECRUCIFIXION

SamueleBacchiocchi,Ph.D.,AndrewsUniversity

IstheWednesdayCrucifixionafactorafable?
WednesdayCrucifixionistsfirmlybelievethatitisa
Biblicalfact.Tosupportit,theyappealnotonlytothe
signofJonahexaminedinthepreviouschapter,butalso
toasecondkeytext,namely,John19:14,wheretheday
Clicktoreturntooverview
ofChristsCrucifixionisdesignatedas"thedayof
PreparationofthePassover."
Fiveoftheninechapterscan
beaccessedbyclickingtheir TheconclusiondrawnfromJohn19:14isthatChristwas
titlesbelow: crucified,notonaFridaythePreparationdayforthe
SabbathbutonaWednesdaythePreparationdayfor
TheSignofJonah theannualceremonialPassoverSabbath,whichthat
yearsupposedlyfellonaThursday.Thus,allthe
TheDayofthe referencestothe"Preparationday"ofChristsCrucifixion
Crucifixion (Matt27:62Mark15:42Luke23:54John19:31,42)
TheDayofthe areinterpretedinthelightofJohn19:14asmeaning
Resurrection WednesdaythedayprecedingthePassoverSabbath
(Thursday)ratherthanFridaythedayprecedingthe
TheReckoningofthe regularseventhdaySabbath.
DayinBibleTimes
Thethreemajorreasonsgenerallygiveninsupportof
TheReckoningofthe thisconclusionaresuccinctlystatedinthebookletThe
SabbathToday TimeElementintheCrucifixionandResurrectionof
Christ,publishedbytheChurchofGod(SeventhDay):
"Firstly,thedaybeforetheweeklySabbathwasnever
calledapreparationintheBiblesecondly,theweekly
Sabbath(asdesignatedintheTenCommandments)
wasnevercalledorreferredtoasahighdayand
thirdly,thesamewriter(John)tellsus...exactlywhich
occasionthispreparationdaypreceded.Hesaid:Andit
wasthepreparationofthePassover(John19:14)...
Thus,afterJohnstatesthiswasthepreparationofthe
passover(inverse14),wemustunderstand...thatthe
sabbathdayinverse31correspondstothepassoverin
verse14."1

Abriefanalysiswillnowbemadeofthethreegiven
reasonsinanattempttodeterminewhatismeantbythe
"Preparation"daymentionedinallthefourGospelsasa
timereferenceofthedayofChristsCrucifixion.

I.PREPARATIONDAY

Thefirstreasongivenforinterpreting"thedayof
Preparation"asmeaningWednesdayratherthanFriday
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isthat"thedaybeforetheweeklySabbathwasnever
calledapreparationintheBible."Thisreasonis
puzzling,tosaytheleast,becauseitfliesinthefaceof
theirrefutableBiblicalandhistoricalusageoftheterm
"Preparationparaskeue"asatechnicaldesignationfor
"Friday."InadditiontoitsoccurrenceinJohn19:14,the
term"Preparationparaskeue"isusedfivetimesinthe
Gospelsasatechnicaldesignationfor"Friday"(Matt
27:62Mark15:42Luke23:54John19:31,42).

MarksDefinition.Mark15:42provideswhatisperhaps
theclearestdefinitionoftheexpression"dayof
Preparation"bythestatement:"Itwasthedayof
Preparation,thatis,thedaybeforetheSabbath."Note
thatinGreekthetwophrases"thedayofPreparation"
and"thedaybeforetheSabbath"areeachgivenwitha
singletechnicalterm:"paraskeuePreparation,"and"pro
sabbatonSabbatheve."Translatedliterallythetext
reads:"ItwasPreparation,thatis,Sabbatheve."Forthe
sakeofclarity,Markusestwotechnicaltermshere,both
ofwhichunmistakablydesignatewhatwecall"Friday."

Theterm"prosabbatonSabbatheve"wasusedby
HellenisticJewstodesignateexplicitlyandexclusively
"thedaybeforetheSabbath,i.e.Friday"(Judith8:62
Macc.8:26).2ThusMark,bydefining"paraskeue
Preparation"asbeingthe"prosabbatonSabbatheve,"
givestheclearestpossibledefinitiontohisGentile
readersofwhathemeantby"paraskeue,"namely,the
daybeforetheweeklySabbath.Clarificationsoftime
referencesbyaqualifyingclausearecommoninMark,
evidentlybecausetheauthorknewthathisGentile
readersweregenerallyunfamiliarwithJewishtermsand
customs.3

ATechnicalDesignationfor"Friday."AnEnglish
readercouldfailtoseethetechnicalusageoftheterm
"Preparation,"becauseintheEnglishlanguagesucha
termisagenericnounwhichdoesnotmean"Friday."
ThesituationwasmuchdifferentintheSemiticGreekof
ourPalestiniandocument,however,wheretheterm
"paraskeue"wastheGreekequivalentoftheAramaic
word"arubtaeve,"bothofwhichwerecommonlyusedto
designate"Friday."

InAramaic,asCharlesC.Torreyexplains,"themiddle
daysoftheweekweredesignatedbynumbers,third,
fourth,fifth,butFridaywasalwaysarubtatherewasno
sixthdayoftheweek...ItsGreekequivalent,
paraskeueFriday,waslikewiseadopted,fromthefirst,
bytheGreekChurch."4

TheearlyChristianusageoftheterm"paraskeue,"asa
technicaldesignationforFridayiswellattestedoutside
theNewTestament.TheDidache(orTheTeachingof
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theTwelveApostles),datedbetweenA.D.70to120,
enjoinsChristianstofaston"thefourthdayand
Preparation"(8:1),thatis,WednesdayandFriday.Itis
noteworthythatFridayisdesignatedsimplyas
"Preparationparaskeuen,"withoutthearticleorthenoun
"day,"thusindicatingthetechnicalusageoftheterm.

BythetimeofTertullian(c.A.D.160225)paraskeue
hadalreadybecomesuchafixednameforFridaythat
heevenarguesthatthishadbeenthenameforFriday
sincecreation.5These,andsimilarexamples,6clearly
indicatethatChristiansadoptedtheJewishpracticeof
numberingthefirstfivedaysoftheweekandofnaming
thesixthandtheseventhasparaskeueandsabbaton
PreparationandSabbath.

TheNeedforaClarification.Christianscomingfroma
GentilebackgroundhadtolearnthisJudeoChristian
nomenclatureoftheweekdays,becauseinthepagan
worldtheweekdayswerenotnumberedbutnamed
afterthesevenplanetarydeities(diessolis,dieslunae,.
..).ThismayexplainwhyMark,inwritingtoaGentile
Christianreadershipwhohadonlyrecentlylearnedthe
JudeoChristiannomenclatureoftheweekdays,
deemeditnecessarytoclarifywhathemeantby
"paraskeuepreparation,"byaddingthequalifying
phrase,"thatis,thedaybeforethesabbath"(Mark
15:42).Thisclarificationmayalsohavebeen
necessitatedbythefactthatthesevendayplanetary
weekitselfhadbeenrecentlyintroducedintheRoman
worldwheretheeightdayweek(nundinum)wasstill
usedsidebysidewiththeplanetaryweek.7

Additionalandconclusiveevidencethat"paraskeue
Preparation"isusedintheGospelstodesignate"Friday"
andnot"Wednesday"isprovidedbythesequencein
whichthedaysofthePassionweekendaregiven:
"Preparation,Sabbath,firstday"(Matt27:6228:1Mark
15:4216:1Luke24:545524:1).BothMarkand
Matthewexplicitlyplacethebeginningofthefirstdayat
theendoftheSabbath(Mark16:1Matt28:1).Thelatter
couldhardlyhavebeenaThursdayPassoverSabbath,
becauseThursdayisnotfollowedbythefirstdayofthe
week.

AReasonfortheMisunderstanding.Thefailureto
recognizethetechnicalusageoftheterm"Preparation"
asthenamefor"Friday,"hascausedsometo
misinterpretJohnsphrase"itwasthedayofPreparation
ofthePassover"(John19:14)asmeaning"thedayof
PreparationforthePassover."Thelatterisinfactthe
translationoftheAmericanRevisedStandardVersion.
Onthebasisofthismisunderstanding,Wednesday
CrucifixionistsarguethatinJohn"thedayof

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Preparation"meansnotFridaybuttheWednesday
precedingthePassoverday,whichsupposedlyfellona
Thursday.

Thisconclusionignoresthefact,cogentlystatedby
NorvalGeldenhuys,"thatatthetimewhenJohnwrote,
theGreektermparaskeue(preparation)wasalreadyfor
alongtimethetechnicaltermusedtoindicateFriday,
theequivalentoftheHebrewerebhshabbath."8The
recognitionofthisfactisevidentintherighttranslation
whichisfoundintheA.V.,R.S.V.,andN.I.V.,namely
"thedayofPreparationofthePassover."

Thismeans,asGeldenhuysexplains,"thatthedayof
theLordscrucifixionwastheFridayofthePassover,the
FridaythatfallsduringPassoverweek,i.e.,Passover
Friday(GoodFriday).Itisagrammaticallycorrect
renderingandalltheevidenceisinfavorofit."9

Theforegoingconsiderationsmakeitabundantlyclear
thatintheGospels,asstatedbyMoultonandMilligan,
notedauthoritiesontheGreeklanguage:"paraskeueis
atechnicaldesignationforFriday."10Thus,thefirst
reason,whichclaimsthat"thedaybeforetheweekly
SabbathwasnevercalledapreparationintheBible"
mustberegardedasfalse,because,aswehaveshown,
theveryoppositeistrue.

II.AHIGHDAY

Thesecondreasongivenforinterpreting"thedayof
Preparation"asreferringtoWednesdayratherthan
FridayisbasedonJohnsdefinitionoftheSabbathday
whichfollowedthePreparationdayofChrists
Crucifixion.Johnexplains:"thatsabbathwasahighday"
(John19:31).Itisarguedthatsince"theweeklySabbath
(asdesignatedintheTenCommandments)wasnever
calledorreferredtoasahighday,"11thenthelatter
musthavebeennottheregularweeklySabbathbutthe
annualceremonialPassoverSabbath(Lev23:57).

Insupportofthisconclusion,athirdreasonisgiven,
namely,thatJohn19:14"tellsusexactlywhichoccasion
thispreparationdaypreceded.Hesays:Anditwasthe
preparationofthepassover."12Thusthe"highday"
SabbathofJohn19:31isinterpretedasbeingthe
"Passover"dayofJohn19:14,andbythesametoken
"thedayofPreparation"ofverse31isinterpretedas
beingthePassoverdayofverse14.Sinceintheyearof
ChristsCrucifixion,Passoverdaysupposedlyfellona
Thursday,thedayofpreparationforthelatterwould
obviouslybeaWednesday.

ACeremonialSabbath.Thereasonsgiveninsupportof
thisconclusionrestonthreemajormistaken
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assumptions.First,itisassumedthatsincecertain
annualfeastssuchastheDayofAtonementare
designatedas"sabbath"(Lev23:24,32,39),thenallthe
referencestotheSabbathfoundinthePassion
narrativesmustrefernottotheweeklySabbathbutto
theannualceremonialPassoverSabbath.

Thisassumptionisdiscreditedbythefactthatthedayof
atonementisdesignatedbythecompoundexpression
shabbathshabbathon,meaning"asabbathofsolemn
rest"(Lev23:3216:31).Butthisphraseisrenderedin
theSeptuagintbythecompoundGreekexpression
"sabbatasabbaton,"whichisdifferentfromthesimple
"sabbaton"usedinthePassionnarratives.Itistherefore
linguisticallyimpossibletointerpretthelatterasa
referencetothedayofthePassoverortoanyother
annualfeastday,sincetheseareneverdesignated
simplyas"sabbaton."

HighDay:PassoverorSabbath?Thesecondmistaken
assumptionisthattheterm"highdaymegalehemera,"
usedinJohn19:31,isemployedintheScriptureto
designatetheannualPassoverfeast(aceremonial
Sabbath),ratherthanaspecialweeklySabbath.
Unfortunately,noBiblicalorextraBiblicalexamplesare
citedtosupportthisassumptionthereasonbeing
simplythatnosuchexamplesexist.

IsraelAbrahams,anotedJewishscholar,findsno
instancebeforeJohn19:31oftheuseoftheterm"high
day"or"GreatSabbath"inRabbinicalliterature.His
opinionisthatthelaterRabbinicuseoftheterm"Great
Sabbath"todesignatetheSabbathofthePassover
seasonwasborrowedfromthechurch.13Whilethe
latterisdifficulttoprove,itisawellknownfactthatthe
churchcoinedtheterms"GoodFriday"and"Holy
Saturday"asdesignationsforthespecialdaysofChrists
Crucifixionandburial.ItisnoteworthythatGeorgius
Codinus(15thcentury)givestheofficialtermfor"Good
Friday"as"hemegaleparaskeuethegreat
Preparation."14Thissuggeststhepossibilitythateven
theSabbathofthePassionweekcameearlytobe
knownbyChristiansasa"highday"ora"Great
Sabbath."

Noteshouldbetakenalsoofthefactthat,accordingto
examplesgivenbyStrackandBillerbeck,inlater
RabbinicliteraturetheseventhdaySabbathisregarded
asa"highday"ifitfellonNisan15,sincethatwasthe
firstdayofthePassoverfestival,orifitfellonNisan16,
becauseonthatdaytheomerorfirstsheafofbarleywas
offeredaccordingtoPharisaictradition.15

Thisinformationisimportantbecauseitdisprovesthe
claimthat"theweeklySabbathwasnevercalledor
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referredtoasa"highday."Rabbinicalsourcesseemto
indicatethattheweeklySabbathwascalleda"highday"
whenitcoincidedwithPassover,because,aswellstated
byCharlesC.Torrey,"itsinherentsolemnitywasgreatly
heightenedbythecelebrationoftheforemostfeastof
theyear."16

III.PREPARATIONOFTHEPASSOVER

Thethirdmistakenassumptionisthattheterm
"Preparation"foundinJohn19:14,"Itwasthedayof
PreparationofthePassover"isusedasatechnical
designationforthedaybeforethePassover.Itisalso
assumedthatthis"Preparation"dayfellonaWednesday
becausePassoverdayallegedlyfellonaThursday.On
thebasisoftheseassumptions,itisfurtherassumedthat
alltheotherfivereferencestothe"Preparation"day
(Matt27:62Mark15:42Luke23:54John19:31,42)
mustbeinterpretedinthelightofJohn19:14asmeaning
Wednesday.

FridayofthePassoverWeek.Theseassumptionsare
falseonseveralcounts.Firstofall,because,asCharles
C.Torreyexplains,"Thereisnoevidencetoshowthat
thatword[Preparation]wasusedinthetimeofthe
Gospelwritersfortheeveofotherfestaldaysthanthe
Sabbath."17MilliganandMoultonemphasizethesame
point,saying:"Ithasneverbeenshownthattheday
beforethePassoverwascalledThepreparationofthe
Passover."18LeonMorrisexpressesthesameview,
saying:"Thefactmustbefacedthatnoexampleofthe
useofparaskeueiscitedforanydayotherthan
Friday."19Moreover,asJ.H.Bernardpointsout,if
"Preparation"meant"thePreparationdayofthe
Passover"wewouldexpectadefinitearticleinGreek,
which,however,isabsent.20

AnadditionalindicationthatJohnmeant"Friday"bythe
phrase"PreparationofthePassover"(v.14)isprovided
bytheusageofthesameterm"paraskeue"twiceagain
inthesamechapter.Inverse31Johnexplainsthatthe
JewsdidnotwishthebodiestoremainontheCross"on
theSabbath,becauseitwasPreparation"(literal
translation).HereJohnnotonlymentionstheSabbath
explicitly,butalsoreferstotheprecedingdaybythe
technicalterm"paraskeuePreparation"withoutthe
article,thusmeaning:"becauseitwasFriday."

Similarly,inverse42,JohnreportsthatJesuswas
placedinagardentombneartheplaceofHisCrucifixion
"becauseofthePreparationoftheJews."Inthiscontext
theterm"Preparation"isusedagainbyitself,notina
genericsense,butinatemporalsenseasatechnical
designationforFriday.WhatJohnissayingisthatJesus
wasburiedinthegardentombbecauseitwasnearand
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becauseitwaslateFriday(Preparation)whenthe
Sabbathwasabouttostart.Inthelightoftheabove
considerations,theexpression"thedayofPreparationof
thePassover"(John19:14),simplymeans,asmost
scholarsacknowledge,"theFridayofthePassover
week."

TheTestimonyoftheSynoptics.Furthersupportfor
thisconclusionisprovidedbytheSynopticswherethe
same"Preparation"daymentionedbyJohnis
unmistakablyidentifiedwithFriday,thedaybeforethe
weeklySabbath(Mark15:42Matt27:62Luke23:54).

AnyattempttointerprettheSynopticreferencestothe
dayof"Preparation"inthelightofJohn19:14as
meaning"Wednesday,"isunwarrantedforatleasttwo
reasons.First,because,asshownearlier,theterm
"Preparation"wasneverusedasatechnicaldesignation
forthedayprecedingthePassover.Second,because,
evengrantingthatJohnusedtheterm"Preparation"to
mean"WednesdayPassovereve,"suchameaning
cannotbeautomaticallyreadbackintheparallel
referencesfoundintheSynoptics,becausethe
Matthean,Marcan,andLucancommunitiesunderstood
thisterm,notinthelightofwhatJohnwrotelater,butin
thelightofitscontextintheirrespectiveGospelsandin
thelightofitsprevailingusage.

UndisputedTradition.Afinalandequallyimportant
considerationisthefactthatChristiantraditionhas
unanimouslyheldtotheFridayCrucifixion/Sunday
Resurrectionchronology.Thisisallthemoresurprising
inviewofthefactthatsomeearlyChristianwritersdid
placetheLastSupperonTuesdayeveningratherthan
Thursdayevening.WithregardtotheCrucifixion,
however,noearlyChristianwritereverdisputedor
doubteditsoccurrenceonFriday.

TheabsenceofanyearlyChristianpolemicregarding
thedayofChristsCrucifixionandResurrection,offers,in
ourview,overwhelmingproofofthetrustworthinessof
thetraditionalchronologyoftheCrucifixionand
Resurrection.IfindeedChristhadrisenonaSaturday
afternoon,seventhdaySabbathkeeperswouldhave
capitalizedonthisfacttodiscredittheResurrection
argumentfrequentlyusedinearlyChristianitytodefend
Sundaykeeping.Suchanargument,however,never
appearsinthepolemicoverthetheologicalsuperiorityof
thetwodays.

Conclusion.TheforegoinganalysisofJohn19:14,the
secondkeytextoftheWednesdayCrucifixiontheory,
hasshownthatsuchatheoryisbasedonhumanfantasy
andnotonaBiblicalfact.Wehavesubmittedabundant
evidenceindicatingthatJohnsexpression"thedayof
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PreparationofthePassover"(John19:14),simply
means,asmostscholarsacknowledge,"theFridayof
thePassoverweek."ThustheCrucifixiontookplaceon
FridayandnotonWednesday.

NOTESONCHAPTERIII

1.TheTimeElementintheCrucifixionandResurrection
ofChrist,publishedbytheBibleAdvocatePressofthe
ChurchofGod(SeventhDay),p.20.

2.SeeWilliamF.ArndtandF.WilburGingrich,AGreek
EnglishLexiconoftheNewTestament(Chicago,1979),
s.v."prosabbaton."

3.See,forexample,Mark1:32,354:3513:2414:30
15:4216:2.

4.CharlesC.Torrey,"TheDateoftheCrucifixion
accordingtotheFourthGospel,"JournalofBiblical
Literature50(1931):234235.

5.TheWritingsofTertullian,AnteNiceneChristian
Library,vol.III,p.309.

6.See,forexample,TheMartyrdomofPolycarp,7,1.

7.OntheoriginandadoptionofthePlanetaryweekin
theRomanworld,seeSamueleBacchiocchi,From
SabbathtoSunday(Rome,1977),pp.241251.

8.NorvalGeldenhuys,CommentaryontheGospelof
Luke,TheNewInternationalCommentaryontheNew
Testament(GrandRapids,1983),p.664.

9.Loc.cit.

10.W.MoultonandW.F.Milligan,Vocabularyofthe
GreekNewTestament(NewYork,1928),p.545.

11.TheTimeElement(n.1),p.20.

12.Loc.cit.

13.IsraelAbrahams,StudiesinPharisaismandthe
Gospels(Cambridge,1924),vol.II,p.68.

14.DeOfficiis13,1.

15.H.L.StrackandP.Billerbec,Kommentarzum
NeuenTestamentausTalmudundMidrash(Munich,
19221928),vol.2,pp.581f.and847.

16.CharlesC.Torrey(n.4),p.235.

17.CharlesC.Torrey,"IntheFourthGospeltheLast
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SupperwasthePaschalMeal,"TheJewishQuarterly
Review,42(January1952):241.

18.W.MilliganandW.F.Moulton,Commentaryonthe
GospelofSt.John(Edinburgh,1898),onJohn19:14.

19.LeonMorris,TheGospelAccordingtoJohn,The
NewInternationalCommentaryontheNewTestament,
(GrandRapids,1971),p.777.

20.J.H.Bernard,ACriticalandExegeticalCommentary
ontheGospelAccordingtoSt.John(Edinburgh,1928),
onJohn19:14.

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