How could Jesus have been crucified on any day but Wednesday when the women prepared their spices on Friday, and Jesus rose from the dead at sunset following Saturday?


Email Received:

I have read some of your articles and find them very well written. In fact, you are one of the few on the internet who understand the Scriptures and the fact that Yahshua stated in His very first sermon that He did not come to abolish the Torah but rather to fulfill and teach it properly.

I did read your Good Thursday commentary and also your response to someone about there not being a Wednesday crucifixion, although I think there was. I'd like to make some points for you to at least consider.

1) The women did not know that Nicodemus came later and anointed the body of Yahshua (completely). They only saw what Joseph did and they knew it was not a proper burial according to Jewish customs. Nicodemus knew early in the morning that Yahshua was condemned to death and had time to purchase the spices and ointments and have them prepared for him, as he was quite wealthy and would have had servants. The women stayed with Yahshua at the cross all day and then followed Him to the tomb where they watched Joseph lay His body just prior to sunset which left no time for them to go buy the spices and get them prepared.

2) It is common knowledge all over the middle east of the amount of spices and the amount of time it would take to prepare them in order to do a proper burial. The bible may not record it but that does not make it untrue. If they would have seen Nicodemus they would not have brought anything as it records he brought a 100 pound weight of myrrhs and aloes, the proper burial.

3) Early the first day of the week was right after sunset Saturday night in Jerusalem. Yahshua had not yet ascended to the Father and would not let the women touch Him. WHY? He was waiting till the exact time that the High Priest would be offering the first fruits at Yom Ha Bikkurim, which would have been 40-50 minutes after sunset after walking across the Kidron Valley and returning with the sheaves of the Barley Harvest.

So there is really no possible explanation for three days and three nights unless Yahshua died Wednesday afternoon after the 9th hour (3 pm) and they rested on Thursday the High Sabbath, bought spices and spent the day preparing on Friday the preparation for the weekly Sabbath, rested Saturday on the weekly Sabbath, and came to the grave the second the sun was set.


Ted’s Response:

Thanks. You have a great website (House of Scripture) as well, and we are in agreement about the Hebraic emphasis on the scriptures of the B'rit Chadashah (New Covenant or New Testament). Certainly, Yeshua/Yahshua came to be the living, walking depiction of the Torah as an example to others, including ourselves.

Below, I will comment on some of your points. Anything that is extra-biblical is speculation and conjecture, and I have no opinions about things that fall into that category. My only interest is in piecing together what Scripture says.


<< The women did not know that Nicodemus came later and anointed the body of Yahshua (completely). They only saw what Joseph did and they knew it was not a proper burial according to Jewish customs. >>

John 19:38-40 indicates that Joseph, accompanied by Nicodemus with the spices, wrapped the body of Yeshua (Yahshua or Jesus) and the spices in strips of linen. It also states that this was done in accordance with Jewish burial customs. Matthew 27:59-61, Mark 15:46,47, and Luke 23:55 indicate that the women were sitting near the tomb and watching how Yeshua's body was laid in it. They must have been paying close attention to everything that was done to Yeshua's body.

Both Joseph and Nicodemus wrapped Yeshua's body with the spices (John 19:40a). The women who had been following Joseph had to have been aware of this (whether they observed the anointing of Yeshua's body outside the tomb or saw Joseph and Nicodemus taking the copious amount of spices into the tomb), so they knew that Yeshua's body was entombed according to Jewish burial customs (19:40b).


<< Nicodemus knew early in the morning that Yahshua was condemned to death and had time to purchase the spices and ointments and have it prepared for him as he was quite wealthy and would have had servants. The women stayed with Yeshua at the cross all day and then followed Him to the tomb where they watched Joseph lay His body just prior to sunset which left no time for them to go buy the spices and get them prepared. >>

Luke 23:56 says that after Yeshua's body was laid in the tomb (23:55), the women went home and prepared some spices and perfumes before resting on the (high) Sabbath (Friday). Evidently, they already had a few of these items on hand in their homes and were able to do a small amount of preparation in a short time. Plus, having seen the abundant amount of spices in which Joseph and Nicodemus had wrapped Yeshua, they would not have needed to do very much preparation themselves.

As such, if Thursday had been a high Sabbath and Saturday the regular Sabbath, they would have bought spices on Friday and done a small amount of spice preparation, which would not have taken very long. Then they would have headed straight to the tomb, on Friday, to add their spices to Yeshua's body. They did not do this, however, because Friday was the high Sabbath.

Now, in the time of Nehemiah, he saw that people were bringing items into Jerusalem and selling them on the Sabbath, and he scolded them for desecrating the Sabbath by doing this (Nehemiah 13:15-18). So he ordered that the gates of the city be shut as darkness began to fall just before the Sabbath and then reopened when the Sabbath had ended (13:19), which would have been after sunset the next evening. Presumably, as soon as the Sabbath ended, buying and selling would have begun immediately.

Most likely, then, the hours after sunset following the Sabbath was a busy time of buying and selling during the week. So after the weekly Sabbath was over (soon after sunset following Saturday, as soon as it was permissible to buy and sell again), the women would have gone out and to buy a few more spices (Mark 16:1) and then spent a little time preparing them. They probably slept for a few hours, and the next thing we see is the women on their way to the tomb (16:2).

There would not have been much spice preparation to do that evening, prior to their walk to the tomb before dawn. They already had done some preparation prior to sunset on Thursday (Luke 23:56), and they knew that Joseph and Nicodemus had used an abundant amount of spices before placing Yeshua in the tomb.


<< If they would have seen Nicodemus they would not have brought anything as it records he brought a 100 pound weight of myrrhs and aloes, the proper burial. >>

The women most certainly would have witnessed the abundant amount of spices taken into the tomb by Joseph and Nicodemus and known that they had wrapped Yeshua's body, with the spices, in strips of linen (John 19:40). These women had been following Yeshua and caring for His needs since He was in Galilee. It would have been understandable, if only for an additional demonstration of honor and respect, that the women would have wanted to care for Yeshua's needs after death.

So even though they would have known that His body had been wrapped in a plentiful amount of spices, it was reasonable for them to want to add their own spices, if only so they could know that they had done everything they could for Him until the very end. Perhaps they also needed some "closure" after this tragic event. Also, any further anointing of the body would have been minimal, knowing the amount of spices used by Joseph and Nicodemus when wrapping Jesus' body.


<< Early the first day of the week was right after sunset Saturday night in Jerusalem. >>

John 20:1 indicates that Mary Magdalene began her trek to the tomb while it still was dark. Mark 16:2 indicates that the women arrived at the tomb very early in the morning, when the sun had risen. Certainly, their journey to the tomb did not take all night long (from sunset to sunrise).

Every Hebraic calendar day begins at sunset, when it is evening. Morning, which begins at sunrise, indicates that daylight had begun when the women arrived at the tomb.


<< There is really no possible explanation for three days and three nights unless he died Wednesday afternoon after the 9th hour (3 pm) and they rested on Thursday the High Sabbath, bought spices and spent the day preparing on Friday the preparation for the weekly Sabbath, rested Saturday on the weekly Sabbath and came to the grave the second the sun was set. >>

We know that the 10th of Aviv was when the Passover lambs were selected by the Israelites (Exodus 12:3). It was the date when Yeshua, the ultimate Passover Lamb (1 Corinthians 5:7), made His triumphal entry into Jerusalem on a donkey (Zechariah 9:9; Matthew 21:1-11) on Palm Sunday.

We also know that the 14th of Aviv was when the Passover lambs were slaughtered (Exodus 12:6). This was the date on which Yeshua was slain. So with Palm Sunday being the 10th day of Aviv, we can count the days as follows:

The only way that the 14th of Aviv could have fallen on a Wednesday was if Yeshua had ridden into Jerusalem (Matthew 21:1-11) on a Saturday, the weekly Sabbath. However, Exodus 23:12 and Deuteronomy 5:14 forbade work to be done by donkeys, among other animals, on the Sabbath.

Thus, Yeshua would not have been able to ride a donkey on the Sabbath. Had He done so, He would have broken the Torah/Law, which He never did, even once, as He was the living, breathing Torah.

So Yeshua was crucified and died on Passover, Thursday Aviv 14. He was anointed properly with spices by Joseph and Nicodemus and placed in the tomb before sunset. Then the women who observed this prepared a few spices, probably arising from a sense of deep veneration and adoration of Yeshua. They rested at sunset in reverence for the high Sabbath, the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, Friday Aviv 15 (Leviticus 23:6,7). They also rested on the weekly Sabbath, Saturday Aviv 16.

After sunset on that Sabbath, when Sunday Aviv 17 began, they bought a few more spices and finished their preparations that evening, before bedtime. Several hours later, while still dark (John 20:1), they began their trek to Yeshua's tomb, arriving at dawn (Luke 16:2) and finding an empty tomb, because Yeshua had risen from the dead sometime prior to daybreak.

In any event, I think it is great that you believe in a Wednesday crucifixion. I simply disagree, for numerous reasons. My responses above were not to convince you of a Thursday crucifixion; they merely were to show you that it is a futile effort to attempt to convince me of a Wednesday crucifixion.

Eventually, when Yeshua returns, He will explain everything to us, including all of the exact events and their chronological timing during Holy Week. I look forward, with great anticipation and expectation, to that day, and I know that you do as well.


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