Matthew 27:63-64 “Sir, we remember, while He was still alive, how that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise.’ Therefore command that the tomb be made secure until the third day, lest His disciples come by night and steal Him away, and say to the people, ‘He has risen from the dead.’ So the last deception will be worse than the first.”

The Pharisees and Sadducees were very aware of what Yeshua prophesied, and we have it twice in Matthew, chapter 12:39-41 and 16:1-4, “But He answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.“, and “Then the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and testing Him asked that He would show them a sign from heaven.. A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.”

So how is it, that we are taught that Yeshua died on a Friday evening and rose on a Sunday morning, which is 2 days and 1 night??? Perhaps the problem is not thinking about it, and counting Fri + Sat + Sun as 3 days and 3 night – that is definetly not right. The first problem we have, again, is translation issues in the Bible. The second is when we don’t read the Torah and old testament, to understand how the Sabbaths and Feast days work. An even better way to understand it, is to practice those feast days every year, and with time it will become very clear what was happening with the 3 days and 3 nights.

We have made several posts on the Yearly Festivals of YHWH, and the best place in Scripture to get an overview of all the festivals is in Leviticus 23 (click here to learn more). From this post, and many others, we learn that YHWH have instituted 7 Appointed Times that must be kept every year. Within these times/festivals, there are 7 extra Sabbath days given in a year, set apart from the normal weekly Sabbaths. These are called HIGH SABBATHS. Passover is the first Appointed Time, and with Passover also starts the second appointed time called Feast of Unleavened Bread, which is to be kept for 7 days. The fist day (Passover + Day 1 of Unleavened bread) is the first HIGH SABBATH, and starts in the evening of Passover. So this day can be anytime of the week, depending on when the Hebrew Year and Month started, as Passover is the evening of the 14th day of the 1st month.

To summarize : There are two types of Sabbaths – a Weekly Sabbath, and there is a High Sabbath (held on the 1st evening of Passover + Unleavened Bread).

Next, from Scripture we also learned that YHWH told the Israelites to always prepare for the Sabbaths beforehand, so that they do not work on a Sabbath. This day is known as the “Preparation Day“.

To summarize : There are two Preparations Days – the one before the Weekly Sabbath, and another before the High Sabbath (festival day).

Here is the summary of the timeline of what happened since Yeshua died and rose again, with a summary of the Scriptures from all the Gospels below and their translation issues:

• (Tuesday) Last Supper, Yeshua arrested late at night.
• (Wednesday) Pharisees accuse Yeshua and demand He must be crucified. At noon the sun goes dark for 3 hours, and at 3pm Yeshua dies. It is Preparation day (for High Sabbath), so the Jews need to bury the dead before sunset. Passover begins at sunset, where all the lambs have to be finished sacrificed, ready for the Passover meals that evening.
• (Thursday) The Pharisees and Chief Priests urgently request that the tomb be sealed for the next 3 days (“until the 3rd day”). It would not make sense if this day was Saturday and they knew Yeshua said 3 days, therefor it has to be Thursday.
• (Friday) another Preparation Day for the weekly Sabbath to come, however the women couldn’t annoint Yeshua’s body as the tomb was officially sealed till Sunday morning.
• (Saturday) Weekly Sabbath, no work allowed.
• (Sunday) Before the Day, while it was still dark, the women arrive at the tomb ready to be able to annoint Yeshua’s body. An earthquake occurs and the tomb is moved away. The soldiers and guards get such a fright, they probably fainted (“like dead bodies”). The women find Yeshua’s body is not there. The guards report to the Chief Priests, and they are bribed to tell everyone Yeshua’s body was stolen. Many other people are resurrected this same day, and appear to many as witnesses about the Resurrection.

Here are a collection of the Gospels’ version of events. When you read your bible, you might find that the actual word “Sabbath” might be translated to “day of worship”, and the actual word “Preparation Day” replaced or translated as “Friday” (which cannot always be a friday, depending on which Preparation Day is meant!). In the original manuscripts, the words that will appear is Sabbaton G4521 – sabbaton and Preparation day is Paraskeu G3904 – paraskeuē. Also the word “High” Sabbath, meaning another Sabbath apart from the weekly one, is Mega/Great/High G3173 – megas, Megas Sabbaton / High Sabbath.

• (Tue) Last Supper -> Matthew 26:26-58, Mark 14:22-66, Luke 22:19-62, John 13 & 18.  Yeshua Arrested.
  • And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. ..Then they came to a place which was named Gethsemane; and He said to His disciples, “Sit here while I pray.”..He came to His disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners…Now His betrayer had given them a sign, saying, “Whomever I kiss, He is the One; seize Him.”
• (Wed) Crucifixion (Matt 27 / Mark 15 / Luke 23 / John 19). Passover Meals at Evening with slaughtered lambs.
  • John 18:28 “Then they led Yeshua from Caiaphas to the Praetorium, and it was early morning. But they themselves did not go into the Praetorium, lest they should be defiled, but that they might eat the Passover.”
  • Matt 27:45 “Now from the sixth hour until the ninth hour there was darkness over all the land.”
  • Matt 27:50 “And Yeshua cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit.”
  • Mark 15:42-43 “Now when evening had come, because it was the Preparation Day, that is, the day before the Sabbath, Joseph of Arimathea.. went in to Pilate and asked for the body of Yeshua.”
  • Jhn 19:31 Therefore, because it was the Preparation Day, that the bodies should not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away.
  • Mark 15:47 “And Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses observed where He was laid.”
  • Luke 23:53-54 “Joseph.. Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a tomb that was hewn out of the rock, where no one had ever lain before. That day was the Preparation, and the Sabbath drew near.” (HIGH SABBATH – Day 1 Unleavened Bread and Passover Meal that evening)
  • Luk 23:56 “Then they returned and prepared spices and fragrant oils. “
  • John 19:39 “And Nicodemus, who at first came to Yeshua by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds. Then they took the body of Yeshua, and bound it in strips of linen with the spices, as the custom of the Jews is to bury.”
  • John 19:42 “So there they laid Yeshua, because of the Jews’ Preparation Day, for the tomb was nearby.”
• (Thu) This is the HIGH SABBATH for the 1st day of Unleavened Bread. Wednesday evening would have been the Passover Meal with the sacrificed lambs, and on this High Sabbath they are not allowed to work. Tomb sealed day 1.
  • Mat 27:62 On the next day, which followed the Day of Preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees gathered together to Pilate
  • Luke 23:56 “the women.. And they rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment.”
• (Fri) This is the normal weekly Preparation Day, where they would prepare for the Weekly Sabbath. Since the tomb is sealed for day 2, the women couldn’t embalm and clean Yeshua’s body any further.
• (Sat) This is the normal weekly Sabbath, where no work is allowed. This would be day 3 for the tomb to be sealed. The women would be ready early the next morning to attend to Yeshua’s body, as they know the tomb is then allowed to be opened.
• (Sun) Resurrection Day
  • Mat 27:52-53 “and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many.”
  • Matt 28:1 “Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb.”
  • Matt 28:2 “And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it.”
  • Matt 28:4 “And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men.”
  • Mark 16:1-6 “Now when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, that they might come and anoint Him. Very early in the morning, on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen. And they said among themselves, “Who will roll away the stone from the door of the tomb for us?” But when they looked up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away—for it was very large… You seek Yeshua of Nazareth, who was crucified. He is risen! He is not here…”
  • Luke 24:6-7 ““He is not here, but is risen! Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, “saying, ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.’ ””
  • John 20:1 “Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb.”
  • John 20:2 “Then she ran and came to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple” to tell them Yeshua was missing. They went back to the tomb and saw no one there. Verse 10, and they went back home. Verse 11, but Mary stayed there weeping, and when she looked into the tomb saw the angels asking her why is she weeping.. and then Yeshua appeared to her.