Christ’s Crucifixion Was Not on Friday

Christ’s crucifixion took place on Passover day, the 14th of Abib (or Nisan), the first month in God’s Sacred Calendar. This occurred in the year A.D. 31, in which Passover fell on a Wednesday. Many fail to consider the prophecy that the Messiah would be “cut off.... in the midst of the week” (Dan. 9:26-27). Wednesday falls in the middle of the week—the very day upon which Passover fell in A.D. 31. According to the Roman calendar, this date was Wednesday, April 25.

By first establishing the day of the week and day of the month of the Passover in 1931, we can arrive at the day of the week and day of the month of the Passover in A.D. 31. Precisely one hundred 19-year time cycles would have elapsed. Following this method helps greatly in computing the difference of elapsed time between the Roman and Sacred calendars during that 1,900-year time span. After this, we can safely calculate the month and week in which Passover fell in A.D. 31.

Various Hebrew calendar software programs calculate when Passover or any other Holy Day fell in almost any year, even before A.D. 31. The following historical accounts further validate the evidence presented here. In the seventh year of Artaxerxes, king of Persia, a decree was made to rebuild Jerusalem (Ezra 7:1-28). It followed the decree of Cyrus, in which he acknowledged that “the LORD God of heaven” had charged him “to build Him an house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah” (Ezra 1:2). Artaxerxes’ decree became significant because of a prophecy revealed to Daniel.

Daniel 9:25 states, “Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.” This shows that there are 62 weeks + 7 weeks—69 prophetic weeks (or 483 days). Applying the day-for-a-year principle (Num. 14:34;Ezek. 4:6), we arrive at 483 years from the decree until the beginning of Christ’s ministry.

The decree was made during the seventh year of Artaxerxes’ reign (457 B.C.). This date is historically well documented. By subtracting 457 from 483, we come to the year A.D. 26. When counting from B.C. to A.D., astronomers correctly add one year since there is no year “zero,” while historians and chronologers generally neglect to do this. Adding one year brings us to A.D. 27—the prophesied year of the beginning of the ministry of the Messiah.

Luke 3:23 tells us, “And Jesus Himself began to be about thirty years of age ...” The context of this verse is after John the Baptist had begun his ministry and just before Jesus began His. Since Jesus was 30 years old in A.D. 27, He would have been born in 4 B.C. Remember, we must add one year to compensate for no year “zero.” Thus, from 4 B.C., advancing 30 years brings us to A.D. 27. This leads us to the next historical proof that further confirms when Christ was born.

Shortly after Christ’s birth, an angel warned Joseph in a dream that he and his wife Mary were to take the child and flee into Egypt. They stayed there until the death of Herod (Matt. 2:15). Christ was an infant less than one year of age when Herod died.

Matthew 2:16 shows that Herod “slew all the children that were in Bethlehem and, all the coast thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men.” Herod knew the child’s approximate age, but went beyond that age to include those up to age two, to make sure that the prophesied Messiah would not escape execution.

To better establish the exact time of Herod’s death, we find in Josephus’ Antiquities of the Jews a reference to a lunar eclipse. A footnote in the Whiston translation of Josephus states, “This eclipse of the moon (which is the only eclipse mentioned by Josephus) is of greatest consequence for the determination of the time for the death of Herod ... and for the birth and entire chronology of Jesus Christ. It happened March 13th, in the year of the Julian period 4710, and the 4th year before the Christian era” (Bk. XVII, ch. vi, sec. 4). According to Josephus, Herod died the following year, 3 B.C.

Soon after Herod’s death, the angel instructed Joseph to return to the land of Israel with Mary and Jesus, who would have been about age one.

As mentioned, Christ was 30 years old (Luke 3:23) when He began His ministry in A.D. 27. Now, we will see how the chronology of the temple harmonizes with the chronology of Christ: “Then answered the Jews and said unto Him, What sign show You unto us, seeing that You do these things? Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and will You rear it up in three days? But He spoke of the temple of His body” (John 2:18-21).

This occurred on the first Passover during Christ’s ministry, in A.D. 28. The Jews said that the temple had been under construction for 46 years. By adding one year to compensate for no year “zero,” this means that the temple’s construction began in 19 B.C., the 18th year of Herod’s reign.

In Antiquities, Josephus wrote, “And now Herod, in the eighteenth year of his reign ... undertook a very great work, that is to build of himself the temple of God ...” (Bk. XV, ch. xi, sec. 1). From 19 B.C., we advance 46 years since the beginning of the reconstruction of the temple, arriving at A.D. 28—the first Passover after the beginning of Christ’s ministry.

Other historical evidence involves the time of the beginning of John the Baptist’s ministry. Luke 3:1 begins, “Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea ...” It then describes the beginning of John’s ministry.

The reign of Roman Emperor Tiberius began about A.D. 11 or 12, since he reigned concurrently with Augustus Caesar for about 2 years. If we add the 15 years of Tiberius’ reign to A.D. 11 or 12, we arrive at A.D. 26 or 27. Here again we see the biblical chronology verified by history. The 15th year of Tiberius brings us precisely to the beginning of John the Baptist’s ministry, which was just before the time of Christ’s ministry.

Historians agree that Pilate ruled for ten years. Luke 3:1 shows that during the 15th year of Tiberius’ reign, Pilate was governor. Some historical accounts, such as the Encyclopedia Britannica, date Pilate’s rule from A.D. 26 to 36. When he was recalled, he immediately sought help from his close political ally, Emperor Tiberius. Yet, while Pilate was en route to confer with him, Tiberius died, in A.D. 37. With Tiberius’ death, Pilate’s rule ended the same year. Therefore, Pilate’s ten-year rule would have had to coincide with the years A.D. 27 to 37. Now let’s recap: Pilate’s governorship over Judea began in early A.D. 27, during the 15th year of Tiberius’ rule. Meanwhile, John the Baptist began his ministry in early A.D. 27, which preceded Christ’s ministry by several months.

Christ’s ministry would not have begun until the autumn of A.D. 27 since (1) He was 30 years old when His ministry began and (2) He was born in the autumn of 4 B.C. Christ’s ministry could not have begun later than A.D. 28 because, at that point, the temple’s 46-year construction would have been finished. Thus, the autumn of A.D. 27 corresponds with numerous secular and historical proofs, as well as Scripture.

The length of Christ’s ministry is important to understand. Remember the prophecy in Daniel 9:1-27, which established 483 years, from 457 B.C. to A.D. 27. Dan 9:27 establishes the length of Christ’s prophesied ministry: “And He shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week He shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations He shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate [margin: desolator].”

Christ was to confirm the covenant for one week. According to the day-for-a-year principle, the seven days of that week equal seven years. Yet, in the midst of the week, the Messiah was to cause the sacrifice and oblations to cease. This was done by offering His own life to cover the sins of all humanity, as part of God’s Plan of salvation. The Messiah was “cut off” (Dan. 9:26) in the “midst of the week”—after 3½ “days,” or prophetic years. His earthly ministry lasted precisely 3½ years. Then He was cut off—crucified—in the middle of the week—Wednesday. In this prophecy, the “midst of the week” had a dual meaning, as does most prophecy.

Since Christ’s ministry began in the autumn of A.D. 27, this means that He was crucified in the spring of A.D. 31, 3½ years later.

John 2:23 records the first Passover of His ministry in A.D. 28: “Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, in the feast day, many believed in His name, when they saw the miracles which He did.” Afterward, Christ began teaching in the area of Judea near Jerusalem.

Luke 6:1 records an event during the Passover season in the second year of His ministry, in A.D. 29: “And it came to pass on the second Sabbath after the first, that He went through the corn fields; and His disciples plucked the ears of corn, and did eat, rubbing them in their hands.”

The term “the second Sabbath after the first” means the second High Day, which was the Last Day of Unleavened Bread. Although this event is covered in Matthew 12:1-8and Mark 2:23-28, only Luke’s account, written in Greek, makes clear which Sabbath this was. The Greek term, deuteroproton sabbaton, literally means “the second Sabbath of the first rank”—or the second High Day of that Passover season.

John 6:4-5 records the following, which preceded the third Passover (A.D. 30) of Christ’s ministry: “And the Passover, a feast of the Jews, was near. When Jesus then lifted up His eyes, and saw a great company come unto Him, He said unto Philip, Where shall we buy bread, that these may eat?” This is also found in Matthew 14:15,Mark 6:35-36, and Luke 9:12.

The fourth and final Passover of Christ’s ministry is the most documented Passover of all. All four of the gospels cover it in detail. Notice Luke 22:1-2: “Now the feast of unleavened bread drew near, which is called the Passover. And the chief priests and scribes sought how they might kill Him; for they feared the people.” John 11:55 records, “And the Jews’ Passover was near at hand: and many went out of the country up to Jerusalem before the Passover, to purify themselves.”

Christ’s final Passover completed His earthly ministry of 3½ years. Again, it began in the autumn of A.D. 27 and ended in the spring of A.D. 31, on a Wednesday—in the “midst of the week.” The world of professing Christianity claims that Christ’s crucifixion occurred on a Friday, in A.D. 33. However, it can easily be documented by God’s Sacred Calendar that none of the four Passovers during Christ’s ministry fell on a Friday. The four Passovers fell on Monday (A.D. 28), Saturday (A.D. 29), Wednesday (A.D. 30), and Wednesday (A.D. 31), respectively.

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