Mark 15:25 And it was the third hour, and they crucified him.
Mark 15:34 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?
Mark 15:37 And Jesus cried with a loud voice, and gave up the ghost.
Mark 15:42 And now when the even was come, because it was the
preparation, that is, the day before the Sabbath,
Mark 15:43 Joseph of Arimathaea, an honourable counsellor, which
also waited for the kingdom of God, came, and went in boldly unto Pilate,
and craved the body of Jesus.
Mark 15:44 And Pilate marvelled if he were already dead: and
calling unto him the centurion, he asked him whether he had been any while
dead.
Mark 15:45 And when he knew it of the centurion, he gave the body to
Joseph.
Mark 15:46 And he bought fine linen, and took him down,
and wrapped him in the linen, and laid him in a sepulchre which
was hewn out of a rock, and rolled a stone unto the door of the sepulchre.
The Crucifixion of Jesus actually took place on Thursday! Hebrew days
begin at sunset, and Sabbath Laws were strictly followed, and these facts have
a significant effect on any discussion regarding the Crucifixion of Jesus. If
Jesus had been crucified on Hebrew Friday, there would have been too many time
consuming things for Joseph to do before sunset when the Sabbath would begin.
Jewish law was that it was a mortal sin to do ANY work on the Sabbath. Jesus
was almost certainly actually Crucified on Hebrew Thursday, and then placed in
the tomb after sunset, in other words, on Hebrew Friday.
This
circumstance does NOT bring into doubt ANY of the Christian beliefs about Our
Savior. It does not suggest that we should stop celebrating Good Friday. [Why
should we in any case?] This discussion is presented here as merely an effort
at establishing accurate and factual information about His Life and Death and
Resurrection. [So are my comments.] It is CERTAINLY not meant to shake the
Faith of any Christian. In contrast, we have long believed that accurate
information about Our Lord can be of great value in STRENGTHENING or Faith!
Jesus died late in the afternoon (3 pm). After this occurred, there was
necessarily some delay before anyone knew. Then, once Joseph of Arimathaea
realized this fact, he had to get official permission to remove the Body from
the Cross. After this, he had to buy or otherwise obtain the linens and oils
necessary for proper burial. Then, he had to get the Body down and transport it
a substantial distance to the Sepulchre. Once there, the Body had to be
prepared, wrapped, and placed in the tomb, all with respectful methods. This
means definitely not rushing all of these things. This sequence of events
certainly took more than the three hours that were available before sunset (6
pm).
That
means that the procedures would have to have continued until after sunset.
Actually, John 19:39 tells us that Nicodemus came to Jesus by night, bringing
the spices for the burial preparation. That means that the following day would
have officially begun. That confirms that all the burial activity was not completed
by sunset. If He actually died on Friday afternoon, these procedures would
necessarily have continued on to the following day, the evening of the
(beginning) Sabbath. The Sabbath Laws were extremely rigidly adhered to, since
even the slightest failure regarding the extremely strict Sabbath Laws was
considered a mortal sin (one of the Ten Commandments). That being the case,
Joseph would certainly NOT chance defying the Sabbath Laws.
This
means that it is an almost certainty that He was Crucified and Died on Hebrew
Thursday afternoon, and that He was then placed in the Sepulchre on the evening
of Hebrew Friday, shortly after it became Hebrew Friday. He arose on Sunday, the
Third Day, after nearly all of Friday, all of Saturday, and about half of
Sunday.
Since
He was actually interred at the beginning of Hebrew Friday, it is
understandable that Friday became associated with the Crucifixion. Since the development of modern clocks a few
hundred years ago, society came to have an accurate way of identifying the
moment of Midnight. Most societies chose to change to using Midnight as the
moment of the change from one day to the next, mostly out of convenience,
because most people were sleeping then and each wakeful period then represented
one day for the majority of people.
This
alteration on the understanding of when each day begins simplified daily life,
but it had a consequence. This means that the evening hours (from sunset to
midnight) are now considered to be part of a different day than in ancient
times. This has caused an element of confusion that affected our understanding
of that very important day in history.
For
the fifteen hundred years prior to that change, it was correct and proper to
honor Good Friday since He was interred at the beginning of Hebrew Friday, and
the rest of the civilized world understood the same day structure (beginning at
sunset), so Good Friday became a firmly established tradition. When this
alteration of the clock and calendar was instituted a few hundred years ago,
those six hours (from sunset to midnight on the beginning of Hebrew Friday)
became the LAST six hours of what we now call Thursday! However, the tradition
of Good Friday already had around 1500 years of recognition behind it, and the
recognition of it has remained on Friday.
There
is really no reason to alter our present celebration of Good Friday, because it
is as accurate a description as Thursday would have been. This discussion is
not meant to be disruptive of our honoring His Gift to us, but rather a
technical correction of precise facts.
Jesus was crucified at the third hour (mid morning) Mark 15:25
(The twelve ancient Hebrew hours of the day were counted to be equally divided
time periods from sunrise to sunset.) (In March, there are actually about 12
modern hours of daylight because it is near the Equinox.)
Therefore
hours accurately meant hours counted from 6 a.m. Jesus died at or after the
ninth hour (mid afternoon-after 3 p.m.) Mark 15:34-37
Evening
came (at twelfth hour, about 6 p.m.) Mark 15:42.
Hebrew days began at sunset, which is about 6 p.m. at this particular time or
year. In other words, the next day began.
At
that time, the days of the week did not yet have individual names. They were
referred to by their day number in the week, beginning with 1
representing what we now call Sunday.
If
the crucifixion had been on 6-(Friday) (what we would now call Friday,
then 7-(Sabbath) would be beginning right at Mark 15:42. No
"work" would have been legally (or morally) done and no more than a
half-mile of walking (a Sabbath day's Journey) would have even been allowed.
Pilate would never have authorized all the activity Joseph was about to
accomplish, on the Sabbath. And Joseph would never have dared do any of it on
the Sabbath.
Joseph
went to Pilate and asked for the body. Mark 15:43-45
This is likely to be near or AFTER sunset had come.
Pilate
was somewhat surprised at how quickly Jesus had died. Mark 15:44 It was
common for crucified individuals to hang for several days on the cross.
Joseph
bought the linen; took Him down; and placed Him in the sepulchre. Mark 15:46
The
time sequence, including the activities of Joseph, as related by Mark, almost
certainly would have had to take parts of TWO Hebrew days to actually complete.
This strongly suggests that Jesus was actually crucified on Day 5 (Thursday)
or what we now call THURSDAY. The Sabbath day was Day 7. There was also
occasional use of the Roman weekday names, which will be included here in
parenthesis for reference.
The conventional Friday date for the crucifixion is impossible. Sunset occurred shortly
after Jesus died (Mk 15:42). This would mean that the Sabbath had begun and no
work was allowed. Even if we would try to interpret all of Joseph's activities
(Mk 15:43-46) to be before sunset (Mk 15:42), there just isn't enough time.
Since Jesus died after 3 p.m., less than 3 hours existed before the end of the
day before the Sabbath. This would leave an impossibly short time sequence for
Joseph to find Pilate; make his plea for Jesus' body; for Pilate to send a
messenger for the centurion witness to confirm such; for Pilate to authorize
Joseph to take the body; for Joseph to buy the linen; then get His body down;
carry Him to the sepulchre; clean His wounds; wrap Him in the linen; place Him
in the sepulchre; and arrange to roll the huge stone in front of the door; all
before sunset! Keep in mind that the place of crucifixion and the location of
Pilate (in the city) were NOT very near each other - - walking time must be
included in the schedule. In the case of Joseph, this involves quite a few
trips and many miles.
Sabbath
laws forbid carrying ANYTHING heavier than a dried fig during the Sabbath.
Every possible contingency was and is covered by the Sabbath laws. One was
not even allowed to unintentionally cause someone ELSE to violate the laws.
Most people would not mail a letter on Friday, since it might not be delivered
until after the Sabbath began. That would mean the possibility of causing
someone else to be doing work, carrying the letter, on the Sabbath. Most people
wouldn't even mail a letter on Wednesday or Thursday on the outside chance that
the letter was not delivered before the Sabbath began. Nothing was ever
begun or even authorized to begin on a Friday afternoon. There is no
possibility that Pilate would have encouraged or even allowed Joseph to try to
beat the sunset in a rush to get so many activities accomplished in preparing
and burying Jesus. No one would have sold the linen to Joseph late on a Friday
afternoon, and he wouldn't have been allowed to carry the linen or the cleaning
supplies or His body. Nicodemus would never have carried the spices 'by night'
during the Sabbath. No one else could have legally (or morally) helped him,
either.
Some
people suggest that there was a rush to get Him down so He wasn't on the cross
during the Sabbath. This does not agree with known procedures. Crucifixions
were rather common (there are reports of 800 in one day!). The very thorough
system of Jewish Law covered every detail of everything that could possibly
happen. This included crucifixions. The crucified bodies were nearly always
left on the cross (for days) until birds and roving animals took the remains.
Dozens of detailed of Talmudic crucifixion laws existed which covered every
conceivable possible occurrence, particularly regarding this decay and
disassociation process. (There was even a provision where a matron could browse
around during the days that criminals were on crosses and claim someone on a
cross as a husband! Yev 16:3,15c) Very specific rules existed to ascertain the
moment of death in a crucifixion. (Yev 16:3, et al) Rules existed regarding
roving animals feeding from the body hanging on the cross (Yev 120b, et al),
which was considered an indication that the crucifixion was completed.
Extensive laws related to the procedure of divorcing someone on a cross, which
necessarily considered the soundness of mind of the one being crucified (Tosef,
Git 7:1, Git 70b). More legislation covered the subject of just when the blood
became "impure." (Ohr 3:5, et al).
The
laws covering just what is allowed to be done on the Sabbath are even (far)
more comprehensive. Many hundreds of pages of intricate laws methodically cover
every possible contingency. The automatic scale of the punishments for each
were defined, and were generally very severe. No one of the day would have
dared break any of those laws. Even if Joseph would have dared challenge the
laws, the variety of others he would have needed help from (to sell, to carry,
to move, etc.) would NEVER have helped him.
The conventional Friday date for the crucifixion is impossible. This would either make
Joseph do (and Pilate authorize) unlawful activity on the Sabbath (as in the
sequence actually described by Mark), or (if the timeline is artificially
modified) rush around in a frenzy, which would be extremely sacrilegious and
downright blasphemous. Neither of these are even remotely possible under the circumstances.
Even
if one somehow justifies interment activities on what we now call Friday night
(trying to say Pilate felt bad and authorized the illegal work, for example),
the 6-Friday crucifixion date then causes Him to be buried on 7-Sabbath and
rise on the second day (1-Sunday), not the third.
A Thursday date for the crucifixion is the only logical date which actually allows the third
day ascension that we all accept. Jesus was crucified on 5-(Thursday)
and respectfully put in the sepulchre on 6-(Friday). This entombment may
have occurred on what we now call Thursday evening or during the day on Friday.
Since His entombment was on Preparation day (6-(Friday)), when the Marys
found Him arisen at dawn on 1-(Sunday), that was the third day while He
was in the sepulchre.
There
is further biblical support for this view. The original Greek for Mark 15:42 is
usually interpreted:
And now when the even was come, because it was the Preparation, that is, the
day before the Sabbath, but the word epei (Strong's # 1893)
actually has a better interpretation than "because", that of
"for then" or "thereupon", pointing out that the change of
days had occurred. Using this meaning, Mark 15:42 is:
And now when the even was come, for then it was the Preparation, that is, the
day before the Sabbath,
or, in modern terms:
And now that the sun sets, Preparation Day begins, that is, the day before
the Sabbath.
This
is fully consistent with Mark (and the rest of the Bible).
Jesus’
body was definitely placed in the sepulchre on 6-(Friday.) It would seem
that Hebrew 6-(Friday) (which started at sunset Thursday and ended at
sunset Friday, and the day before 7-(Sabbath)) had established so much
tradition (in the Middle Ages) that it was maintained as Friday when the clock
technology came into existence. This change caused a slightly different
translation of that Scripture which neglected the proper understanding of Mk
15:42 (that of the moment of the change of day) and the potentially confusing
fact that the actual crucifixion had occurred on 5 (Thursday). There is
nothing wrong in celebrating Good Friday, but Good Thursday could be equally
celebratable in our modern calendar.
Respectfully
submitted,
Carl
Johnson
Pastor, A
BA Physics,
Link to the Index of
these Public Service Pages
(
http://mb-soft.com/public/otherrel.html )
E-mail to: Public@mb-soft.com
on
“At that time, the days of
the week did not yet have individual names. They were referred to by their day
number in the week, beginning with 1 representing what we now call
Sunday.”
In
New Testament times, as in Old Testament times the days of the week were named
by their individual number in the week beginning with “the First Day”,
representing what we now call Sunday.
“Evening came (at twelfth
hour, about 6 p.m.) Mark 15:42. Hebrew
days began at sunset, which is about 6 p.m. at this particular time or year. In
other words, the next day began.”
Hebrew
days began at sunset, which is about 6 p.m. at this particular time or year.
.... Evening came at the twelfth hour, about 6 p.m. In other words, in Mark 15:42, the next day had begun.
If Jesus had been crucified on Hebrew Friday, there would have been too
many time consuming things for Joseph to do before sunset when the Sabbath
would begin. [See 1 / 2, Par.
5.2.2.1, p. 111f] Jewish law was that it was a mortal sin to do
ANY work on the Sabbath. Jesus was almost certainly actually Crucified on
Hebrew Thursday, and then placed in the tomb after sunset, in other words, on
Hebrew Friday.”
Considering:
“Pilate would never have
authorized all the activity Joseph was about to accomplish, on the Sabbath. And
Joseph would never have dared do any of it on the Sabbath.”
Concerning
“Pilate would
never have authorized all the activity Joseph was about to accomplish”, it is needless to say, Pilate
would not care less; that is why he allowed Joseph to have the body in order to
bury it.
It
is true “Joseph
would never have dared do any of (the activity for the burial) on the Sabbath”; but he would not have hesitated,
and did not waver from doing his Lawful duty concerning the interment of the
Lord Jesus on the proper day determined for its doing, namely Abib 15, “great
day sabbath” of the Passover.
Considering:
“Joseph went to Pilate and
asked for the body. Mark 15:43-45
This is likely to be near or AFTER sunset had come.”
It
definitely was AFTER sunset and deep into night after sunset, for more than one
reason:
1) Joseph had first eaten his Passover meal, cf.
Jn18:28 and 19:31;
2) Before Joseph, the Jews after sunset, had had
their interview with Pilate first – Jn.19:31 and 38.
3) Joseph not at all acted before “It had had
become the evening since being the Preparation that is the Foresabbath”— the
Fifth Day (Friday, Thursday evening after sunset).
Considering:
“The time sequence, including
the activities of Joseph, as related by Mark, almost certainly would have had
to take parts of TWO Hebrew days to actually complete. This strongly
suggests that Jesus was actually crucified on Day 5 (Thursday) or what we now
call THURSDAY. The Sabbath day was Day 7.”
The
Sixth Day (Friday) was the Passover Sabbath, Nisan 15, the first day on which
unleavened bread – together with the Passover lamb – was EATEN somewhere before
midnight. It was the “great-day-sabbath” of passover distinctly NOT, “the first
day” as such of passover, namely, “the first day .... they had to slaughter
/ always slaughtered the passover sacrifice” — Mk14:12/17; Mt26:17/20,
Lk22:7/14; Jn13:1/19:14 — “the
first day .... the day
of leaven’s removal”.
Therefore please count like any child
would:
“.... Jesus was actually crucified
on Day 5 (Thursday) or what we now call THURSDAY. The
Sabbath day was Day 7 ....”
a) “Day 5 (Thursday)”
= “the first day”;
b) “Hebrew 6-(Friday)”
= the second day;
c) “The Sabbath day was Day 7”
= “the third day according to the Scriptures” and day upon which Christ
“according to the Scriptures”, “rose again”, “from the dead”!
Considering: “Jesus died late in the
afternoon (3 pm). After this occurred, there was necessarily some delay before
anyone knew.”
Why
would everybody after ‘some
delay’ only, come to
realise that Jesus had died? Everybody
present “at that scene”, ‘knew’—
“having SEEN”, “what happened”, and having HEARD, Him say “Finished!”, Jn19:30
and how “He cried with a loud voice, saying, Father into Thy hands I commend my
spirit; and having said thus, He gave up the ghost”, Lk23:46.
“The
centurion saw what was done .... and all the people that came to that sight
beholding these things that were done”, namely Jesus’ dying and death! They
“all”, afterwards, “returned (home)”. Lk23:28c. In fact, Mark, in 15:34 and 37,
noted that the exact hour of Jesus’ death was noticed “it was the ninth hour” 3
p.m.. How could ‘anybody’, not, have ‘known’? Yours, Carl Johnson, has been ‘inaccurate establishing’ of “factual information about His Death”
[See 5.2.1.2.2.1.] Quote, “Jesus was crucified at the third hour (mid morning)
Mark 15:25 (The twelve ancient Hebrew
hours of the day were counted to be equally divided time periods from sunrise
to sunset.) (In March, there are actually about 12 modern hours of daylight
because it is near the Equinox.) Therefore
hours accurately meant hours counted from 6 a.m. Jesus died at or after the
ninth hour (mid afternoon-after 3 p.m.) Mark
15:34-37” ----
‘actually’, Jesus died in the full ninth hour— ‘3 p.m.’, Mark 15:34-37!
Consider:
“... then placed in the tomb after sunset, in
other words, on Hebrew Friday.”
[See 5.2.2.1.6.3, 5.2.2.2 and 5.2.2.4.]
What time?
“... on Hebrew Friday” is correct.
But
that would mean, not, “placed
in the tomb after sunset”,
because that would have been on the Sabbath. Quote: “If the crucifixion had been
on 6-(Friday) (what we would now call Friday, then 7-(Sabbath)
would be beginning right at Mark 15:42.” Quote: “No "work" would have been legally (or
morally) done and no more than a half-mile of walking (a Sabbath day's Journey)
would have even been allowed. Pilate would never have authorized all the
activity Joseph was about to accomplish, on the Sabbath. [Pilate wouldn’t care
less; Joseph is the one who would not.] And Joseph would never have dared do
any of it on the Sabbath.”
Nevertheless,
the laws that applied for the Seventh Day Sabbath, did not apply to
‘ceremonial’, ‘sabbaths’, like ‘that great day of that sabbath’ of the passover
that according to Jn19:31 and Mk15:42, had started, Abib 15.
Considering:
“Joseph of Arimathaea realized ..... that it was a mortal sin to do ANY
work on the Sabbath”—
It is nothing but surmising. The actual implication and the actually
mentioned factors according to the four Gospels why Joseph came to the fore to
bury Jesus, are, that
1) “then, once”, “after sunset”,
and when he “realized ... there
would have been too many time consuming things to do” before he would
have had his task finished; and, that
2) just like all the other Jews, he
realised, “It therefore having become / since having become the Preparation and
that the bodies might not remain on the crosses ....”
So therefore Joseph undertook “to get official permission to remove the Body
from the Cross.”
However, neither could have been Joseph’s main reason why he had undertaken to
bury the Lord’s body. It was the devout believer’s conscience—
3) the
conscience of one “who also himself waited for the
the conscience of one “being a disciple of
Jesus” (Jn19:38b),
that prompted Joseph to do what he did do.
“This means definitely not rushing all of these things. This sequence of
events certainly took more than the three hours”, and could not have been done
between 3 p.m. and sunset at 6.p.m..
So, “... After this....”
Instead of, “he had to buy or otherwise obtain the linens and oils necessary for
proper burial. Then, he had to get the Body down and transport it a substantial
distance....”,
read,
“Then, he had to get the Body down and transport it a substantial
distance....”
to another locality [See 5.2.2.1.5.3.], and “... After this he had to buy or otherwise obtain the linens and oils
necessary for proper burial.”
So then, Joseph “had to get the Body down and transport it a
substantial distance”—
but not “to the Sepulchre”, but to another place
– presumably to where he stayed – and “Once there, the Body had to be prepared, wrapped....”.
“Once there, the Body had to be prepared, wrapped ... all with
respectful methods”
and means that “were available”— not only “before sunset (6 pm)”, but, after “sunset (6 pm)”— which necessities Joseph in that
night, in fact “purchased” (Mk15:46. Cf. i.a. Jn13:29) before he
could do anything but have cleaned the body.
“Joseph bought the linen”. He did not first buy linen and then, “took Him down”. It is logical Joseph first removed
the body from the cross, took it away to some safe place, and then went to buy
the linen (in the night). He would have bought linen only after he had brought
the body to safety. Joseph would not have left the body disrespectfully at the
cross or the sepulchre nearby, because the guards would have thrown it into
Gehenna.
Only much later the following daylight
Joseph would have “placed Him in
the sepulchre. Mark 15:46”
And that again would still not mean the body
was “placed in the tomb” there and then,
but, it would mean that before the body was “placed in the tomb”, Joseph “had
... to transport”
it back “to the Sepulchre”, because “the women (now) also
followed after”
(Lk23:55b) in the procession “to
the Sepulchre”,
whereafter “they
sitting over against the sepulchre” (Mt27:61b), and “looking on”, saw (Mk15:47b,
Lk23:55b) as the two men Joseph and Nicodemus “laid the
body there”
(Jn19:42a), and Joseph afterwards “rolled the stone before the tomb door and
departed” (Mt27:60b); and the women also “returned home and prepared spices and
ointments.”
Lk23:56a.
Thus, was “(Jesus) placed in the tomb .... on Hebrew Friday”, and eventually
closed within the tomb, three whole hours before sunset, “mid-afternoon”.
“That means that the procedures would have” proceeded since “after sunset” Thursday night and would have “continued” all through that night and “until” “that same day” (Dt21:22-23) when finally
He was closed in the tomb three hours before sunset, Lk23:54-56. Burial had
taken all day Friday and Thursday night. Jesus was ‘actually’,
interred before the weekly Sabbath on the “Preparation that is the
Fore-Sabbath’ Mk15:42, “mid-afternoon” Lk23:54 .
Considering: “Actually, John 19:39 tells us that Nicodemus came to Jesus by night,
bringing the spices for the burial preparation. That means that the following
day would have officially begun.”
Actually, John 19:39 tells us that Nicodemus
who the first time went to Jesus by night, came to Joseph this time (also ‘by
night’) where he was preparing the body for burial, and that he brought spices
for the burial preparation, with. That means that the day following the day of
Jesus’ crucifixion and death, already, “officially”,
had had begun when “evening had come” Mk15:42/Mt27:57— ‘evening’ of the day
they were yet to bury Jesus on.
Considering: “That confirms that all the burial activity was not completed by sunset.”
That confirms that all the burial activity
that had been begun after sunset in the evening of the Sixth Day (Thursday
night), at last had been completed “mid-afternoon”, Lk23:54b, three hours
before sunset “that same day” of the Sixth Day, Friday.
It is never hinted at, that Burial was
finished ‘just’ before sunset. That, is a complete fallacy.
Considering: “If He actually died on Friday afternoon, these procedures would
necessarily have continued on to the following day, the evening of the
(beginning) Sabbath. The Sabbath Laws were extremely rigidly adhered to, since
even the slightest failure regarding the extremely strict Sabbath Laws was
considered a mortal sin (one of the Ten Commandments). That being the case,
Joseph would certainly NOT chance defying the Sabbath Laws.”
If He actually died on Friday afternoon,
these procedures would necessarily have had to begin on the following day, in the
evening and the beginning of the Sabbath. That NOT being the case, Joseph “went
in boldly unto Pilate, and asked the body of Jesus”, Mk15:43b, “that he might
take away the body of Jesus”, Jn19:35b, for to that night, prepare it, with the
view of course the next and same day, to inter it. Certainly NO chance defying
the Sabbath Laws!
Considering: “This means that it is an almost
certainty that He was Crucified and Died on Hebrew Thursday afternoon, and that
He was then placed in the Sepulchre on the evening of Hebrew Friday, shortly
after it became Hebrew Friday.”
This means that it is an absolute certainty
that He was Crucified and Died on Hebrew Thursday afternoon, and that shortly
after it had become Hebrew Friday— cf. Jn19:31 with, “after these things” of
verse 38— Joseph began to undertake to obtain the body in order to bury Jesus
“as the custom (and Law, the Scriptures) of the Jews demanded”, Jn19:40c, Ex12:10b.
He was then placed in the Sepulchre on the “following same day”, Dt21:22-23 et
al, of Hebrew Friday, “mid afternoon”, Lk23:54b, according to these very laws
of passover Scriptures.
Considering: “He arose on Sunday, the
Third Day, after nearly all of Friday, all of Saturday, and about half of
Sunday.”
“He arose on Sunday, the Third Day”?!
“on Sunday” --- day three....?
“all of Saturday” --- day two....?
“all of Friday” --- day one....?
.... but “He was Crucified and Died on Hebrew Thursday”
--- day four.... which is absolutely certainly, a fake calculation; especially
since the author of it is a “nuclear physicist”.
What
would have happened to Thursday’s hours while Jesus had been dead, and to all of
Thursday’s hours while Jesus had been suffering dying and death? If one count
Thursday Dying and Death, to Sunday Death and Resurrection, then Sunday must
end up a fourth day. [1/1, p. 128, Par.5.1.1.6.2.4.6.2.]
Considering: “This circumstance does NOT
bring into doubt ANY of the Christian beliefs about Our Savior. It does not
suggest that we should stop celebrating Good Friday. This discussion is
presented here as merely an effort at establishing accurate and factual
information about His Life and Death and Resurrection. It is CERTAINLY not
meant to shake the Faith of any Christian. ....
.... This discussion is not meant to be disruptive of our honoring His
Gift to us, but rather a technical correction of precise facts.”
This sounds sweetly innocent; but it was a
“circumstance”
deliberately created by Carl Johnson, to establish certain Christian beliefs
about Our Saviour that DO bring serious doubts to mind. It does not suggest
that we should stop celebrating Good Friday; nor, that we should stop celebrating
Good Friday because it is groundless commandments of men, contrary the real and
true reason for celebrating Sabbaths’ Feast of Christian Faith (Col2:12-19,
Hb4:4-5, 8-10). This discussion is
presented here by Carl Johnson as explicitly an effort at establishing inaccurate,
false and fatal information about the Lord’s Life and Death and Resurrection,
CERTAINLY MEANT to demolish the Only Foundation of Faith and Christian Belief about
Our Saviour concerning the Holy Sabbath Day He, is, Lord, of— in that HE ROSE
FROM THE DEAD “In the fullness of the Sabbath Day, in the
very mid-afternoon of Sabbath’s daylight anticipating the First Day of the
week.” Mt28:1.
“In contrast, we have long believed that accurate
information about Our Lord can be of great value in STRENGTHENING our Faith”,
that “ye may know what is the exceeding greatness of (God’s) Power to us-ward
who believe according to the working of His mighty Power which He wrought in
Christ HAVING RAISED Him”, “by the Glory of the Father”, Eph1:19-20, Ro6:4), and
“God from ALL His works the Seventh Day rested”. Hb4:4-5.
Considering:
“The conventional Friday date for the crucifixion is
impossible.
Sunset occurred shortly after Jesus died (Mk 15:42). This would mean that the
Sabbath had begun and no work was allowed. Even if we would try to interpret
all of Joseph's activities (Mk 15:43-46) to be before sunset (Mk 15:42), there
just isn't enough time. Since Jesus died after 3 p.m., less than 3 hours
existed before the end of the day before the Sabbath. This would leave an
impossibly short time sequence for Joseph to find Pilate; make his plea for
Jesus' body; for Pilate to send a messenger for the centurion witness to
confirm such; for Pilate to authorize Joseph to take the body; for Joseph to buy
the linen; then get His body down; carry Him to the sepulchre; clean His
wounds; wrap Him in the linen; place Him in the sepulchre; and arrange to roll
the huge stone in front of the door; all before sunset! Keep in mind that the
place of crucifixion and the location of Pilate (in the city) were NOT very
near each other - - walking time must be included in the schedule. In the case
of Joseph, this involves quite a few trips and many miles.
Sabbath
laws forbid carrying ANYTHING heavier than a dried fig during the Sabbath.
Every possible contingency was and is covered by the Sabbath laws. One was
not even allowed to unintentionally cause someone ELSE to violate the laws.
Most people would not mail a letter on Friday, since it might not be delivered
until after the Sabbath began. That would mean the possibility of causing
someone else to be doing work, carrying the letter, on the Sabbath. Most people
wouldn't even mail a letter on Wednesday or Thursday on the outside chance that
the letter was not delivered before the Sabbath began. Nothing was ever
begun or even authorized to begin on a Friday afternoon.”
How
right you are! Therefore Joseph had to have started with his plans at the start
of Friday – not at any day’s end!
Considering:
“There is no possibility that
Pilate would have encouraged or even allowed Joseph to try to beat the sunset
in a rush to get so many activities accomplished in preparing and burying
Jesus. No one would have sold the linen to Joseph late on a Friday afternoon,
and he wouldn't have been allowed to carry the linen or the cleaning supplies
or His body. Nicodemus would never have carried the spices 'by night' during
the Sabbath. No one else could have legally (or morally) helped him, either.”
....
which all may be well and true, but which is rather unnecessary and irrelevant information. John Carlson’s is
an overkill of the issue of work permitted or prohibited on the Sabbath
ignoring work allowed on and prescribed for ‘lesser’ sabbaths like “that
great-dag-sabbath” of the passover Jesus was buried on and historically and
“according to the Scriptures”, had to be buried on.
But
his observation has been keen, that had the Crucifixion been on the Sixth Day
of the week, Friday, Joseph would have had to do all his business on the
Sabbath Day. More importantly though, is what Carl Johnson misses, that the
First Day of the week would never possibly have been the day of Jesus’
resurrection.
Carl
Johnson:
“Some people suggest that
there was a rush to get Him down so He wasn't on the cross during the Sabbath.
This does not agree with known procedures. [Keen observation!] Crucifixions were rather common (there are reports
of 800 in one day!). The very thorough system of Jewish Law covered every
detail of everything that could possibly happen. This included crucifixions. [Jewish law did not apply in case of
crucifixions – it was the Roman authority’s modus operandi.] The crucified bodies were
nearly always left on the cross (for days) until birds and roving animals took
the remains. Dozens of detailed of Talmudic crucifixion laws [Talmudic laws are after Christ and
of no significance in so far as our knowledge of Jesus’ times is concerned.] existed which covered every
conceivable possible occurrence, particularly regarding this decay and
disassociation process. (There was even a provision where a matron could browse
around during the days that criminals were on crosses and claim someone on a
cross as a husband! Yev 16:3,15c) Very specific rules existed to ascertain the
moment of death in a crucifixion. (Yev 16:3, et al) Rules existed regarding
roving animals feeding from the body hanging on the cross (Yev 120b, et al),
which was considered an indication that the crucifixion was completed.
Extensive laws related to the procedure of divorcing someone on a cross, which
necessarily considered the soundness of mind of the one being crucified (Tosef,
Git 7:1, Git 70b). More legislation covered the subject of just when the blood
became "impure." (Ohr 3:5, et al).
The
laws covering just what is allowed to be done on the Sabbath are even (far)
more comprehensive. Many hundreds of pages of intricate laws methodically cover
every possible contingency. The automatic scale of the punishments for each
were defined, and were generally very severe. No one of the day would have
dared break any of those laws. Even if Joseph would have dared challenge the
laws, the variety of others he would have needed help from (to sell, to carry,
to move, etc.) would NEVER have helped him.”
GE:
“Pilate
gave Joseph leave”, “gave the body to Joseph, and “commanded that the body be
delivered”— which implies the guards had to remove the body and deliver it to
Joseph’s instructions. Only afterwards, did ‘Jewish’ law begin to apply. And
Joseph acted accordingly as the Gospels well enough explain for the believer to
accept and believe without a doubt, that
1) the crucifixion occurred and Jesus died, and
2) the Sixth Day “after it had become evening” had
had begun before
3) the Jews, went in to negotiate with Pilate;
and after them only,
4) Joseph, went in to ask Pilate Jesus’ body
with the view to bury Him during and upon that already current yet still
prospective day that with the evening had had started already and that would begin
to decline when daylight “mid afternoon”, Joseph would have had closed the
grave.
Carl
Johnson constantly is contradicting himself, and never really gets to grips
with the real issue, that Jesus did not on the First Day of the week, rise from
the dead; but on the Sabbath as all the Old Testament testified, and all the
New Testament, confirmed. He accordingly has made effort in vain, even while
and where the matter of fact of the case, drives home in his own mind where he
states,
“The conventional Friday date
for the crucifixion is impossible.”
This is but the first step in realising the
bigger fraud of the Sunday resurrection tradition.
“The conventional Friday date for the crucifixion is
impossible
would either make Joseph do (and Pilate authorize) unlawful activity on the
Sabbath (as in the sequence actually described by Mark), or (if the timeline is
artificially modified) rush around in a frenzy, which would be extremely
sacrilegious and downright blasphemous. Neither of these are even remotely
possible under the circumstances.
Even
if one somehow justifies interment activities on what we now call Friday night
(trying to say Pilate felt bad and authorized the illegal work, for example),
the 6-Friday crucifixion date then causes Him to be buried on 7-Sabbath and
rise on the second day (1-Sunday), not the third.”
Carl
Johnson before suggested – as he is doing here again – that he considers the “three
days and three nights” as the time the body lay in the grave – and not as the
time of Jesus’ having suffered death and in dying death, died, and in this
whole manner of experience, SUFFERED DEATH as being “in the heart of the
earth, three days and three nights”. [Refer, e.g., 1 / 1, Par. 5.1.1.6.2.7,
p. 140f.] Which illusion Carl Johnson
suffers because he does not understand or believe that The Suffering Christ is
God giving His Life for the sins of many.
Carl
Johnson concludes better than when he started his remonstrance:
“A Thursday date for the
crucifixion is the only logical date which actually allows the third day ascension
that we all accept. Jesus was crucified on 5-(Thursday) and respectfully
put in the sepulchre on 6-(Friday). This entombment may have occurred on
what we now call Thursday evening or during the day on Friday.”
Unfortunately
Carl Johnson still is unable to take a final stand, seeing it is no matter of “or”
or “may have”.
Jesus’ body during the night of Thursday was prepared for interment; and
during the day’s daylight, on Friday “mid-afternoon”, was closed in the grave
behind the stone-door until He “Sabbath’s daytime”, rose again from the dead
“according to the Scriptures the third day” of having SUFFERED DEATH.
Carl
Johnson:
“Since His entombment was on
Preparation day (6-(Friday)), when the Marys found Him arisen at dawn on
1-(Sunday), that was the third day while He was in the sepulchre.”
Here’s
that “while He
was in the sepulchre”
again. – Sunday would have been the fourth day Jesus was dead, and it therefore
could not have been the day of His resurrection! If “while He was in the
sepulchre” must be
counted “three days and three nights”, Jesus must have suffered death dying
death, and remained in death until He was resurrected from the dead, the fourth
day— which is false.
Carl
Johnson:
“There is further biblical
support for this view. The original Greek for Mark 15:42 is usually
interpreted:
And now when the even was come, because it was the Preparation, that is, the
day before the Sabbath, but the word epei (Strong's # 1893)
actually has a better interpretation than "because", that of
"for then" or "thereupon", pointing out that the change of
days had occurred. Using this meaning, Mark 15:42 is:
And now when the even was come, for then it was the Preparation, that is, the
day before the Sabbath,
or, in modern terms:
And now that the sun sets, Preparation Day begins, that is, the day before
the Sabbath.”
One
only should have said this in Past (Perfect) tense. The Aorist is Ingressive:
And now that the sun had set, for then it was the Preparation Day. Carl Johnson
remarks, “This
is fully consistent with Mark (and the rest of the Bible).”
Yes,
Carl Johnson’s interpretation of
Point) the FIRST day of the passover period, Abib
14, in fact is fully consistent with the historic first passover itself as day
of SUFFERING DEATH, Crucifixion, Dying, and Death, of Jesus, Passover Lamb of
God!
But
what is fully inconsistent with the historic first passover in Carl Johnson’s
reasoning and scheming, is
Point) that the original passover incidence
including all subsequent passover instructions, treated and named the very next
and SECOND day of passover season and day of the removal and interment of the
remains of the passover sacrifice, Abib 15, as the passover’s, ‘sabbath’; and
further,
Point)
that the original passover incidence
including all subsequent passover instructions, treated, indicated and
determined the immediately thereupon following and THIRD day of the passover
“according to the Scriptures”, Abib 16, as being Day of First Sheaf Wave
Offering Before the LORD.
Then
finally, what is fully inconsistent with the historic first passover in Carl
Johnson’s reasoning and scheming, is
Point) that the Antitypical Passover of the LORD
incidence that includes all passover instructions before or since it, treats,
indicates and determines this (Friday) Sixth Day and “great-day-sabbath being
the Preparation” of it, as having been followed without interruption by the
antitypical THIRD day of it, and that this Antitypical Passover of the LORD
incidence that includes all passover instructions before and since it, exactly
identifies THIS “THIRD DAY”, Abib 16, of First Sheaf Wave Offering Before the
LORD” and “Seventh Day Sabbath of the LORD your God”, as the day upon which our
Lord Jesus Christ should have risen and indeed did rise from the dead.
Point) What is fully inconsistent in Carl Johnson’s
reasoning and scheming with the historic and typical first passover as well as
the Final and Antitypical Passover of our Lord Jesus Christ, is that even This
Truth, Carl Johnson beforehand is unwilling to admit— to the veneration and
glory of the First Day perverted and dishonoured to Day of the Lord Sun! Therefore, certainly yes,
“Jesus’ body was definitely
placed in the sepulchre on 6-(Friday.) It would seem that Hebrew 6-(Friday)
(which started at sunset Thursday and ended at sunset Friday, and the day
before 7-(Sabbath)) had established so much tradition (in the Middle
Ages) that it was maintained as Friday when the clock technology came into
existence.”
‘The
clock’ should not be blamed, but Roman Catholic idolatry like of Astartes –
Easter, and of the “veneration / worship of days, months, seasons and years”
(Gl4:10) like principally that of The Day of the Lord Sun. Yes, the very Roman
Catholic Church buries its wafer of transubstantiation on Thursday 3 pm, and raises
it again on Saturday 3 pm— which time they to save face, in the nineteenth
century changed to 9 pm Saturday nights.
Observed
Carl Johnson, keenly and perceptively, though euphemistically,
“This change caused a
slightly different translation of that Scripture which neglected the proper
understanding of Mk 15:42 (that of the moment of the change of day) and the
potentially confusing fact that the actual crucifixion had occurred on 5 (Thursday). There is nothing wrong in celebrating Good Friday,
but Good Thursday could be equally celebratable in our modern calendar.”
There’s
nothing ‘right’ though, in Good Friday. Its ultimate aim is to undo the Seventh
Day Sabbath as the day of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead in order to have
Sunday endowed with that honour.
Gerhard Ebersöhn
Pvt Bag X43
Sunninghill 2157