How do we know Jesus died on Friday? This question, often posed by skeptics and scholars alike, is central to understanding the chronology of Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection. The Bible provides several pieces of evidence that support the belief that Jesus died on Friday, and this article will explore these key points.
The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John all record the events surrounding Jesus’ death and resurrection. While there are some discrepancies in the details, the core narrative is consistent across these texts. One of the most compelling pieces of evidence comes from the synoptic Gospels, which are the first three Gospels written by Matthew, Mark, and Luke.
In the synoptic Gospels, Jesus is said to have celebrated the Passover meal with his disciples on the evening of Thursday. This meal is traditionally observed on the 14th day of the Jewish month of Nisan, which corresponds to the first day of the Jewish Passover festival. According to the synoptics, Jesus and his disciples ate the Passover meal, during which Jesus established the Last Supper and foretold his impending death.
The following morning, Jesus is betrayed by Judas Iscariot and arrested by the Roman soldiers. After a series of trials and interrogations, Jesus is condemned to death by Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor. The Gospels describe the events leading up to Jesus’ crucifixion, including his scourging, crowning with thorns, and crucifixion.
According to the synoptic Gospels, Jesus was crucified on the day before the Sabbath, which would have been Friday. This is because the Jewish Sabbath begins at sunset on Friday and lasts until sunset on Saturday. The Gospels indicate that Jesus was crucified at 9:00 a.m. and died at 3:00 p.m., which would have been before the start of the Sabbath.
This timeline is further supported by the Gospel of John, which also places Jesus’ crucifixion on Friday. In John 19:31, it is stated that Jesus was crucified “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.” This passage suggests that the Jewish authorities wanted to ensure that the bodies of the crucifixion victims were removed before the Sabbath began.
Another piece of evidence comes from the Jewish historian Flavius Josephus, who mentions the crucifixion of Jesus in his work “Antiquities of the Jews.” Although Josephus is not a Christian source, his account supports the belief that Jesus died on Friday. He writes, “Now there was about this time Jesus, a wise man, if it be lawful to call him a man; for he was a doer of wonderful works, a teacher of such men as receive the truth with pleasure. He drew over to him both many of the Jews and many of the Gentiles. He was Christ. And when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men among us, had condemned him to the cross, those that loved him at the first did not forsake him; for he appeared to them alive again the third day, as the divine prophets had foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning him; and the tribe of Christians, so named from him, are not extinct at this day.”
In conclusion, the belief that Jesus died on Friday is supported by the synoptic Gospels, the Gospel of John, and the writings of Flavius Josephus. The consistency of the biblical accounts and the historical evidence make it reasonable to conclude that Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection occurred on Friday, as recorded in the New Testament.
