Did Messiah Arise on Saturday or Sunday? When posed with the question when did Y’shua (Jesus) arise, most people will instantly say early Sunday morning, thus the reason for the many untold sunrise services on Easter morning. When further questioned they will also state he was crucified on Friday. I was raised with that belief and did not even question it until around 1990, and then it was more of a vague feeling that something about the timing was not quite right. It was not until 2002, while having a conversation with my mother on this very same subject, that I felt the prompting of Yahweh (Yahweh is the personal name of the creator) to finally investigate this for myself. There were a few questions that bothered me, such as, why was Messiah raised on Sunday and not Saturday if he knew his sheep would eventually abandon the Father’s Sabbath in favor of the first day of the week? Could Messiah have been raised on the Sabbath and not violate his Torah? How could he fulfill the "sign of Jonah", being in the grave three days and three nights if he was crucified on Friday and was raised on Sunday? I realized I had more questions than answers but I also knew that I was not looking at the Scriptures in the correct way. I was reading them as though they had been written by a contemporary of mine with the same worldview I had. Y’shua and his disciples were Jewish with a Hebraic mindset, not Americans with a traditional Greek mindset. What would happen if I looked at the Scriptures the way a Jewish person might or more accurately, in the way of the Jewish people who wrote them? What if I stopped reading them to fit what I had been taught and started reading what it actually said? What was more important, the traditions of men or the truth?  If Messiah was crucified on Friday at three o'clock and rose on Sunday morning, about 36 hours later, how could he fulfill the sign of Jonah and be in the grave 3 days and 3 nights? Could three days possibly mean a portion of one day (Friday) all of one night (Friday night) a full day and night (Saturday day and night) and a portion of Sunday day? Could that be classified as three days? Yes. Many times in our own culture we will use the phrase 3 days to mean 1 full day, 2 partial days and 2 nights. If you've ever stayed in a hotel you’re familiar with this particular phrasing. As we read the Scriptures we can clearly see that three days might fit the Friday crucifixion, Sunday resurrection. But is that what Messiah said? Did he say the Son of Man would be three days in the heart of the earth? No! When the Pharisees asked for a miraculous sign (Matthew 12:38) Messiah replied, "A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign! But none will be given it  except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in  the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the  heart of the earth." Y’shua doesn't just say three days but three days and three nights. Let's compare this with Jonah 1:17: "But Yahweh provided a great fish to swallow Jonah and Jonah was inside of the fish three days and three nights." Not just three days but three days and three nights was Jonah in the fish's stomach and Y’shua said the only sign they would receive would be the sign of Jonah. Y’shua said the only sign he would give to prove to these men of disbelief that he was the son of Yahweh would be the sign of Jonah, three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.   Think about the weight of these words. If this were to be their only sign that Y’shua was in fact the long awaited Messiah, then why would he tell them three days and three nights if he meant three days and two nights? Why would he specify three nights if he only meant two? He wouldn't, Messiah always did what he said he would do. If he said he would be in the earth three nights he was in the earth three nights. Y’shua never lied. To rationalize three nights to fit two nights’ means you have no choice but to ignore what he actually said in order to make it fit a preconceived idea. What do the Scriptures say constitutes a day? We think of a twenty-four hour period from midnight to midnight as one day but when we look in Genesis we see that Yahweh views a 24-hour day to be from sundown to sundown. Our Monday begins at midnight and goes to midnight but according to Yahweh's calendar (which the Jewish people still keep) Monday actually begins at sundown on Sunday and goes to sundown on Monday. Y’shua would have viewed a complete day to be from sundown to sundown as well. Do the Scriptures record Y’shua saying anything about the length of a day? We only have to look at John 11:9 to find the answer: "Y’shua answered, ‘Are there not twelve hours of daylight? A man who walks by day  will not stumble, for he sees by this world’s light.’" If there are twelve hours of daylight and we know from Genesis chapter 1 that a day consist of darkness and light we can conclude that a day would have 12 hours of light and 12 hours of darkness, 24 hours. When Messiah said three days (3 x 12) and three nights (3 x 12) he would have to have meant three 24-hour days or 76 hours. Another misconception most believers have is that of the Messiah’s last supper or communion as it has come to be called. Most congregations focus on the bread and the wine and fail to see that Y’shua and his disciples were eating a Passover meal. Y’shua himself called it the Passover meal. "Go and make preparations for us to eat the Passover." Luke22:8                                                      "When the hour came, Y’shua and his apostles reclined at the table. And he said to  them, ‘I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you, I will not eat it again until if finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God.’ " Luke 22:14-16 "On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the disciples came to Y’shua and asked,‘Where do you want us to make preparations for you to eat the Passover? ’He replied, ‘Go into the city to a certain man and tell him, ‘The Teacher says: My appointed time is near. I am going to celebrate the Passover with my disciples at your house.’'’ So the disciples did as Y’shua had directed them and prepared the Passover. Matthew 26:17-19 Scripture clearly indicates that the last supper was indeed a Passover meal.  Passover begins at sundown on the 14th day of Nissan that would fall sometime around March on our calendar. Many families have a small family or private Passover meal that evening with the public Passover being held during the following portion of the day. Remember that a day goes from sundown to sundown, if Passover begins at sundown on a Tuesday the 14th of Nissan then you would eat your private meal that evening, the daylight portion of Wednesday is still the 14th, you would have the public Passover at that time. It is also shown in Scripture that Y’shua ate the private Passover meal on the 14th of Nissan (which began when the sun went down). After the Passover meal he went to the garden to pray, was betrayed by Judas and arrested during the course of the night, brought before the Sanhedrin, before Pilot, sentenced to death, and then placed upon the cross at 12 noon (the 6th hour) and died at 3:00 in the afternoon (9th hour). All of this happened within the same 24-hour day. From the time Y’shua ate the private Passover with his disciples until he became the public Passover sacrifice for us, less then 24 hours had passed. After Y’shua’s body was removed from the cross we see from the Scriptures that there was not enough time to properly prepare his body for burial as the Sabbath was approaching. It was Preparation Day (that is, the day before the Sabbath). "So as evening approached, Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the Council, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of Yahweh went boldly to Pilate and asked for   Y’shua's body." Mark 15:42-44 "Going to Pilate, he asked for Y’shua's body. Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen cloth and placed it in a tomb cut in the rock, one in which no one had yet been laid. It was Preparation day, and the Sabbath was about to begin." Luke 23:52-54 "Now it was the day of Preparation and the next day was to be a Special Sabbath." John 19:31 "Because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Y’shua there." John 19:42 Traditional Christianity has always taught that since they were in a hurry to place Y’shua in the tomb before the Sabbath began at sundown that it he had to be crucified on Friday at 3 o'clock before the weekly Sabbath began. This is where most Christians stumble as they have never studied the Feasts of Yahweh nor do they understand that the weekly Sabbath is not the only Sabbath written about in the Scriptures. If you will look again at John 19:31 you will notice he calls it a Special Sabbath or a High Sabbath, why? High Sabbaths are in addition to weekly Sabbaths. The day after Passover is the beginning of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the first and seventh days of that feast are High or Special Sabbath's. "The Lord's Passover begins at twilight on the fourteenth day of the first month. On the  fifteenth day of that month the Lord's Feast of Unleavened Bread begins; for seven  days you must eat bread made without yeast. On the first day hold a sacred assembly  and do no regular work." Leviticus 23:5-9 "On the fifteenth day of this month there is to be a festival: for seven days eat bread  made without yeast. On the first day hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work."  Numbers 28:17-18 There were two Sabbaths the week Messiah was crucified! Most Christians miss this point because of a lack of knowledge concerning the Feasts of Yahweh, the very same Feasts Y’shua kept. Now it is possible that a High Sabbath could fall on a weekly Sabbath. Nissan 15th, the Sabbath after Passover and also a High Sabbath, could fall on Saturday, just as our March 1st could fall on any given day of the week. Let's see if the Scriptures give us a clue as to whether or not this was the case. We can see there wasn't enough time for the women to go in and prepare Y’shua's body the way they felt was proper. Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus prepared the body of Y’shua for a quick burial. "Nicodemus, the one who earlier had visited Y’shua at night, accompanied him.  Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds. Taking  Y’shua's body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was  in accordance with Jewish burial customs. John 19:39-40 We know from the Scriptures that some women watched the quick entombment of our Savior.                 "Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting there                 opposite the tomb." Matthew 27:61                 "Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where he                 was laid." Mark 15:47 "The women who had come with Y’shua from Galilee followed Joseph and saw the tomb and how his body was laid in it." Luke 23:55 We can see from the above verses that Y’shua's body was wrapped in white linen with spices, as was the custom. The women saw this yet felt the need to do more.  "When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome  bought spices so that they might go to anoint Yeshua's body." Mark 16:1 By comparing the verses we can see that the women saw where Messiah was laid then waited for the Sabbath to come and go. After the Sabbath had passed they went and purchased spices.  "Then they went home and prepared spices and perfume. But they rested on the  Sabbath in obedience to the commandment." (Luke 23:56)  They didn't purchase the spices until after the Sabbath then they prepared the spices and perfumes and rested again for the Sabbath! Ether the Scriptures are wrong or there was a day between the High Sabbath and the weekly Sabbath! The weekly Sabbath was from sundown Friday till sundown Saturday; that means the women had between sundown Thursday until sundown Friday to purchase and prepare the spices and perfume. The High Sabbath would had to have been between sundown Wednesday and sundown Thursday that would place Y’shua's crucifixion at 3:00 pm Wednesday and his Passover meal Tuesday evening after sundown!  The Greek word Sabbaton (Strong’s Concordance # 4521) is translated as singular in Matthew 28:1 and Mark 16:1 but that same Greek word is used for both singular and plural. A more accurate translation would be, "after the Sabbaths." The only way anyone can say Y’shua was crucified on Friday is if they ignore the sign of Jonah and Mark 16:1 and Luke 23:56. If you are reading only the words on the page, as they are written you cannot get a Friday crucifixion from them. You have to throw out parts of the Scriptures to support this popular belief. Now that we have established that Messiah was crucified at three o'clock on Wednesday afternoon, then 72 hours later would be 3:00 Saturday. That would fulfill the sign of Jonah. Now some of you might be saying, "But wait! He was resurrected on Sunday, the first day of the week" Well, let's look and see what the Scriptures really say. 1) After the Sabbaths, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. 2) There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. 3) His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. 4) The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men. 5) The angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Y’shua, who was crucified. 6) He is not here; he has risen, just as he said". Matthew 28:1-6 2) Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb 3) and they asked each other, "Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the  tomb?" 4) But when they looked up. They saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. 5) As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on  the right side, and they were alarmed. 6) "Don’t be alarmed," he said. "You are looking for Y’shua the Nazarene, who was  crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where the laid him. 7) But go, tell his disciples and Peter,’ He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you  will see him, just as he told you.’" Mark 16:2-7  1) On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices  they had prepared and went to the tomb. 2) They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3) but when they entered, they did not find the body of Y’shua." Luke 24:1-3   All four gospels clearly state that he was not in the tomb. We have seen the movie and been told how the stone was rolled away and Y’shua came walking out yet that's not what the Scriptures say. He wasn't there when the women arrived. The angel said he had "risen", past tense.  I'd like to take a brief moment to discuss Mark 16:9-20. Many believers would argue that they cancel out the possibility of a Saturday resurrection because it states, 'When Y’shua rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared." I would first like to point out that the earliest manuscripts and some other ancient witnesses do not have Mark 16:9-20 in them and that it is very possible that they were added later. However, even if that were not a possibility we still have the punctuation debate. There was no punctuation in the early writings. Mark 16:9-20 only disagrees with the other verses if the added punctuation is left in that particular order. If you move the comma you change the emphasis:         "When Y’shua rose, early on the first day of the week he appeared."  An added comma makes a lot of difference. Is it possible that Y’shua could have been crucified on Wednesday and still have been raised on Sunday? If the only sign Messiah was going to give was three days and three nights in the heart of the earth then no, it isn’t possible. If he rose later than Saturday he would have been going into the fourth day. Matthew 17:23 & 20:19 as well as other verses say he will be raised to life on the third day. He had to be in the earth three days and three nights and still rise on the third day.   Would the Father’s resurrection of His son on Sabbath violate the Torah? If Yahweh states in His Torah that we are to do no work on the Sabbath could His raising His son from the dead be considered work? Let’s see what Y’shua said on the subject. "If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out? How much more valuable is a man than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful  to do good on the Sabbath." Matthew 12:11-12 If Y’shua said it was lawful to do good on the Sabbath and considered healing a hand to be a good thing then how much more so the entire man? Yes, Y’shua could have been raised on the Sabbath and not violate his Torah. After all, he proclaimed himself to be Lord of the Sabbath. Matthew 12:8  The day following the weekly Sabbath was Firstfruits. The Jewish people would take an offering from the firstfruits of their barley field into the Temple as an offering to Yahweh. Y’shua, being the "firstfruits of those who had fallen asleep" (1 Corinthians 12:20) would also go into the Temple but not to an earthly one. We know that rising from the dead is not what made him the firstfruits offering. After all Messiah raised others from the dead during his ministry on earth. He was not the first to come back from the dead. We also see in Matthew 27:52 that at the time of his death tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life and they came out of their tombs and walked around. They even went into the holy city after Messiahs resurrection. Coming back to life wasn’t what made him firstfruits just as gathering the first barley did not make it an offering, presenting it to Yahweh is what makes it the firstfruits offering. Presenting himself and his perfection to Yahweh is what made him the firstfruits of those who had fallen asleep. When Y’shua appeared to Mary Magdalene her first reaction was to want to touch him but Messiah stopped her.                 "Y’shua said, ‘Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned                to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am                returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your                 God."’ John 20:17             Now compare this to what he says to the disciples in Luke. "Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your mind? Look at my hands and my  fear it is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have." Luke 24:38-39 What is the difference? In John he could not be touched until he returned to the Father, in Luke he could. What had happened to cause this difference? After he appeared to Mary yet before he appeared to the disciples he appeared before Yahweh as the firstfruits offering. We have no way of knowing the details of this meeting, only that he could not be touched before he returned to the Father. The word for return is anabaino and means to go up, to rise. Y’shua most have gone up to appear before the Father in Heaven’s Temple as the Firstfruits offering. That can be the only explanation. While the people were bringing their offerings into the Temple on earth our Savior was in Heaven’s Temple offering himself as the firstfruits of the resurrected! The very same Temple his blood had just cleansed! Hebrews 9:22-26 Some might argue that if He arose on Saturday then what did He do from the time He arose until his first recorded meeting. I would like to point out that the gospel account does not give us an hour-by-hour nor day by day or even week by week account of what Messiah did while on the earth those 40 days.      Christians have clung to the belief of a Sunday resurrection and have used it as a basis of moving Yahweh’s Sabbath to the first day of the week. They even call it "the Lord’s Day" and state that it is the Christian’s Sabbath. Yahweh said, "I change not." If He changes not then why would He want His Sabbath changed? As believers grabbed hold of the Sunday resurrection theory and proclaimed that day as the new Sabbath they decided Yahweh must have changed his mind! What is more important to you, the traditions of men or the truth? For a time line of these events please click on the link below. Time Line for Crucifixion