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Timeline of the Crucifixion and Resurrection

The only sign that Jesus gave of Him being the Messiah was that He would be in the grave three days and three nights.

But can this be proven from Scripture and plotted on a timeline?

One of the biggest problems when it comes to proving this one sign is that most of us have difficulty calculating three days and three nights from Friday evening to Sunday morning.

One question is, did He actually mean three full days, or was He referring to parts of days and parts of nights?

The Greek phrase, three days and three nights, in the New Testament, can actually mean parts of three days and three nights, but even if we use this logic, there’s still not a third night period between Friday and Sunday.

And we’re still left with a confusing scenario that can’t be plotted on a timeline.

Sign of Jonah: Jesus Christ Was in the Grave Three Days and Three Nights

But actually, it is possible to prove the chronology of the three days and three nights from Scripture and to plot it on a timeline, proving the one incredible sign of His Messiahship.

When the Jewish leaders asked for a sign of His Messiahship, He told them:

“No sign will be given… 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” (Matthew 12:38-40).

The Old Testament Hebrew phrase He referred to literally means three full days and three full nights, or 72 hours.

He also said in John 2:19 He would be raised from the grave “in three days.”

Mark 8:31 records “after three days.”

And Luke 24:46 says He would “rise from the dead the third day.”

So, assuming it was a full 72 hours, let’s construct a timeline using the eyewitness events recorded in the gospels.

Start With Holy Days in the Bible: Sabbath and High Days

To start, we need to consider the fact that the Jews and the disciples of Jesus did not keep the Christian holidays we think of today. Rather, they celebrated the Passover and a festival called the Days of Unleavened Bread, cited in Luke 22:1 and Luke 22:7.

High Holy Day on the Day After Crucifixion

Leviticus 23:5-7 explains that the day immediately following the Passover was actually a High Day, or annual Sabbath, which was different than the weekly Sabbath they observed on Saturdays.

These observances began at sunset and ended at sunset the next day.

So, when Jesus died in 31ad, the Passover began on a Tuesday evening, while the High Day Sabbath mentioned in John 19:31 started Wednesday evening and ended at sunset Thursday—which means that the Friday that year actually fell between two Sabbaths, an annual Sabbath on Thursday and the weekly Sabbath on Saturday.

Now, let’s look at the details and fill in the timeline.

Evening to Evening: Each Day Begins at Sunset

Jesus celebrated the Passover with His disciples in Luke 22:13-15, which happened right after sunset Tuesday evening.

Then after the Passover meal, they went out to the Mount of Olives where Jesus prayed three times, while His disciples kept falling asleep (Mark 14:26, 39-41).

Then, later that night, Jesus was betrayed, arrested, and taken to the Jewish authorities.

Mark 15:1 then tells us:

In the morning, [(that is, Wednesday morning)] the chief priests [and other Jewish leaders] bound Jesus, led Him away, and delivered Him to Pilate.

Verse 25 says at 9 a.m. that morning, the crucifixion of Jesus Christ began (Mark 15:25).

Then from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. there was darkness over the land (Mark 15:33).

Finally, at the end of the darkness, we’re told in Mark 15:34, 37, that:

Jesus cried out with a loud voice… and breathed His last (Mark 15:34-37).

The Savior of the world died for everyone who ever lived.

Preparation Day Before Each High Day and Sabbath

But at some point between 3 p.m. and sundown, as John 19:31 says:

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.

In other words, they wanted to make sure they were all dead so they could get them in their graves before the sun went down and the annual Sabbath began. But at this point, Jesus was already dead.

Jesus Died the Day Before a High Holy Day

Then in Mark 15:42-47, we see that just before the sunset Wednesday evening, beginning the annual Sabbath:

Joseph of Arimathea asked for the body of Jesus… and laid Him in [His] tomb…

…while Mary and the other women watched.

So, shortly after laying Him in His tomb, the sun set and the Holy Day, or annual Sabbath, began.

Then, Friday morning, as Mark 16:1 points out:

When the Sabbath had passed [or the “High Day Sabbath” as John called it], [the women] bought spices.

So they could embalm Him, as the shops would have been closed for the Holy Day.

After purchasing the supplies, Luke 23:56 says:

They returned and prepared the spices and fragrant oils. And they rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment.

Instead, this time it was the weekly Sabbath, which began at sundown Friday evening and ended at sunset Saturday evening.

So, as the sun was going down Friday evening, to begin the weekly Sabbath, it had already been two full days and two full nights.

However it wasn’t until Sunday morning that they would go back to embalm the body of Jesus, as the Sabbath day had to pass, then they couldn’t make progress on the project at night.

Resurrected at Sunset of the Weekly Sabbath

So, ready to take care of their Savior’s body, Luke 24:1 shows they arrived “on the first day of the week, very early in the morning,” having brought the spices and oils they prepared on Friday before they rested on Sabbath, while John 20:1 says they actually showed up before the sun came up Sunday.

But at this point it had been 1, 2, 3 days and 1, 2, 3, 4 nights since He was laid in the tomb, so as 

Luke 24:2-3 explains, when they showed up “they found the stone rolled away from the tomb,” and when they went in, He was already gone.

Going on, verses 6-7 record the angels saying:

“He is not here; but is risen! Remember how He spoke to you saying… ‘The Son of Man must be… crucified, and the third day rise again.’”

The end of the third full day was Saturday evening, just before sunset.

Full Timeline of Three Days and Three Nights

He was put in the grave as the sun was going down Wednesday evening, before the Holy Day began.

So:

• The first night was Wednesday night
• The first day was Thursday day [a high holy day]
• The second night was Thursday night
• The second day was Friday day [the weekly Preparation Day]
• The third night was Friday night
• And the third day was Saturday day [the weekly Sabbath]

Then just before the sun went down Saturday evening, Jesus Christ was resurrected from the dead, exactly three days and three nights (72 hours) from the time He was put in His tomb, just as He said He would be, fulfilling the one sign of His Messiahship.

Being able to understand and prove the sequence of events from Scripture can strengthen our belief in Jesus Christ as the one true Messiah.

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