Does the sixth day before the Passover in John 12:1 rule out a Friday crucifixion day?

Question

John 12:1-3,

"Jesus, therefore, six days before the passover, came to Bethany, where was Lazarus, who had died, whom he raised out of the dead;

2 they made, therefore, to him a supper there, and Martha was ministering, and Lazarus was one of those reclining together (at meat) with him;

3 Mary, therefore, having taken a pound of ointment of spikenard, of great price, anointed the feet of Jesus and did wipe with her hair his feet, and the house was filled from the fragrance of the ointment." (YLT)

According to the gospel of John, Jesus and the disciples were traveling on the sixth day before the Passover. If the Passover / crucifixion was on a Friday, then the sixth day before the Passover would have been the previous Saturday / Sabbath day. It is very unlikely that Christ would have traveled from Jericho to Bethany on the Sabbath.

But, Mark's account appears to have Jesus still in Bethany two days prior to the Passover.

Mark 14:1-3,

"And the passover and the unleavened food were after two days, and the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how, by guile, having taken hold of him, they might kill him;

2 and they said, `Not in the feast, lest there shall be a tumult of the people.'

3 And he, being in Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper, at his reclining (at meat), there came a woman having an alabaster box of ointment, of spikenard, very precious, and having broken the alabaster box, did pour on his head;" (YLT)

Then, if we reason only from John's account, the latest 6th day that Christ could have traveled before the Passover would have been the previous Friday, and He then would have stayed over in Bethany with Lazarus and Mary during the Sabbath. That would make the Passover/crucifixion fall on a Thursday, not a Friday.

And, we are told in Mark 14:1, that the chief priests and scribes were conspiring against Christ two days before the feast of the Passover.

Is Mark's account in verse 3 a flash back to that weekend Sabbath rest in Bethany? And, is the Thursday the better possibility for the crucifixion day?

Answer 1

There's two issues at John 12:1-3. First is whether Christ would travel so far on the Sabbath, but second is whether His hosts would prepare a meal on the Sabbath. The answer to both is no.

This means Christ arrived on a Friday. They prepared the meal. They ate it after sundown on the Sabbath.

John 12:12 on the next day, the first day (Sunday) is the Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem. This is the presentation selection of the Lamb on the 10th of Nisan. Hosanna to the King. The irony is their failure to recognize the Suffering Servant motif.

Passover begins at sundown on the 14th. 6 days prior is the 8th.

8th-Friday travels to Bethany; meal prepared

9th-Sabbath eats; annointed

10th-Sunday presentatioin

11th

12th

13th

14th Thursday sunset Passover death

15th Friday burial

16th Sabbath sunset resurrection

ALTERNATIVES

For Passover the 14th on Friday, then there's the double problem of Christ traveling on the Sabbath and His hosts preparing a meal on the Sabbath. And you'd have a Monday Triumphal Entry.

For Passover the 14th on Wednesday, among other reasons Wednesday is wrong, you'd have the Triumphal Entry on Sabbath. Can't happen.

Answer 2

One thing that is often missed in the Bible texts is that the day in question is often included in the numbering of days. Passover was on the evening of the 14th, which was a Thursday. The 14th is included in the 6 day numbering, being that the daytime of the 14th is a day. Thursday, 14th-6, Wednesday, 13th-5, Tuesday, 12th-4, Monday, 11th-3, Sunday, 10th-2, Saturday, 9th-1. Jesus arrived on Saturday. The question is at what time. We know that Jesus often did not regard the strict "laws" of the Sabbath, so to say that He wouldn't travel on the Sabbath is not according to His past actions. As for the rest of the people in the household, the Sabbath ends at sundown on Saturday which means by suppertime, they are free to do what ever needs to be done to prepare the supper.

The next day, which was Sunday, is when Jesus went out on the ass and the people put down the palm branches which is how we get Palm Sunday. Passover meal was Thursday. Jesus was tried and crucified on Friday. He arose on the third day which was Sunday, which is how we get Easter Sunday.

Three days again is counted including the day in question. Friday is day one, Saturday is day two, Sunday is day three. It would be similar to us today going on vacation. If you were going on a 3 day, 2 night vacation, if you checked in on Friday night, you would check in on Friday, 1st day; stay all day on Saturday, 2nd day; and check out on Sunday, 3rd day. Jesus had a 3 day, 2 night stay in the grave: Checked in on Friday, Checked out on Sunday. Read Luk 13:32 KJV for reference.

Now there is that whole thing about the Three Days and Three nights. No one really knows what the "heart of the earth" means because it is only mentioned one time in the bible. It does NOT mean the grave. If it means "in persecution," then Jesus's persecution started on Thursday night, So add Thursday night to the above count and you have three days and three nights.

So in conclusion, Jesus arrived on Saturday in Bethany, had dinner on Saturday night, rode the donkey into to Jerusalem on Sunday, had Passover feast on Thursday night, was tried and crucified on Friday morning, put in the grave on Friday afternoon, stayed in the grave all day Saturday, and rose on Sunday morning.

Praise God for victory over death.

Answer 3

I believe Jesus died on a Wednesday. He said:

For just 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 12:40 (ESV)

See if this fits:

• The Last Supper was Tuesday night (making Wednesday Passover day because the Jewish day starts the evening before),

• He was crucified on Passover and laid in the tomb Wednesday just before sundown.

So He was in the tomb Wednesday night, Thursday day, Thursday night, Friday day, Friday night and Saturday day. He would have risen Saturday evening (technically the beginning of the first day of the week), leaving the tomb empty early Sunday morning when the women went to bring spices after the Sabbath.

This would resolve the issue of Jesus traveling six days before the Passover and wouldn't pose a problem for Him being in Bethany or the Jews conspiring against Him two days earlier.

Answer 4

This is traditionally explained in terms of Jesus and the disciples arriving in Bethany six days prior, but John not giving the specific day of the anointing.

I can't do any better here than to simply quote Calvin:

"Having come to Bethany six days before the passover, he remained there four days; which may easily be inferred from Matthew and Mark. On what day the banquet was made for him, at which he was anointed by Mary, John does not state; but it seems probable that it took place not long after he had arrived. There are some who think that the anointing mentioned by Matthew (26:7) and Mark (14:3) is different from what is mentioned here; but they are mistaken. They have been led to adopt this view by a calculation of time, because the two Evangelists, (Matth. 26:2; Mark 14:1,) before relating that Christ was anointed, speak of two days as having elapsed.

"But the solution is easy, and may be given in two ways. For John does not say that Christ was anointed on the first day after his arrival; so that this might happen even when he was preparing to depart. Yet, as I have already said, there is another conjecture which is more probable, that he was anointed one day, at least, or two days, before his departure; for it is certain that Judas had made a bargain with the priests, before Christ sent two of his disciples to make ready the passover.

"Now, at the very least, one day must have intervened. The Evangelists add, that he sought a convenient opportunity for betraying Christ, (Matth. 26:16,) after having received the bribe. When, therefore, after mentioning two days, they add the history of the anointing, they place last in the narrative what happened first. And the reason is, that after having related the words of Christ, You know that after two days the Son of man shall be betrayed, (Matth. 26:2,) they now add—what had been formerly omitted—in what manner and on what occasion he was betrayed by his disciple. There is thus a perfect agreement in the account of his having been anointed at Bethany."

Calvin, J., & Pringle, W. (2010). Commentary on the Gospel according to John.

Answer 5

The answer to the question is "No". The important thing to remember is that what we understand by a day and even what day we consider Passover to be, may not be what a first-century Jew would think - and certain first-century Jews celebrated Passover according to a different calendar to the "official" calendar. John uses the official calendar but the Synoptic Gospels do not. This adds extra confusion for us, but they do signpost their usage but we easily miss it (until it's pointed out) because we're not first-century Jews. The best book to read to understand all this is Colin J. Humphreys' book The Mystery of the Last Supper which shows that the Last Supper was on Wednesday and was a Passover meal according to the pre-exilic Jewish calendar (which the Samaritans and some Essenes also used). But Friday was the day the Passover lambs were killed in the temple by the official calendar, so John is also right that Jesus was crucified as the Passover lambs were being killed.

Answer 6

It is a bit tricky to know exactly how the Greek "before 6 days" is to be understood. There is the general distinction between inclusive and exclusive counting, but there is also the problem of counting backwards and forwards. Because of this uncertainly, it is better to approach the question from different directions. These other directions point to that day being Friday, six days before the following Thursday, which was Passover day. The crucifixion was on Friday. Since a week is seven days, the Thursday, a week before the Passover Thursday, would be 7 days, so one day later, Friday, would presumably be six days before that Passover Thursday.

I would suggest the week's events as the following:

8th-Friday a long day's travel to Bethany; meal prepared, Sabbath meal in evening of Friday after sunset, anointing of Jesus' feet by Mary. (He was also anointed at the head a few days later, probably Wednesday, in a different house by a different and unnamed lady).

9th-Sabbath Rest

10th-Sunday public presentation of the Lamb without blemish for scrutiny during next four days

11th

12th

13th

14th Thursday slaughtering Passover lambs and the Passover meal after sunset

15th Friday death at 3 p.m. and burial before sunset and before Sabbath began

16th Sabbath rest

17th Sunday morning resurrection on the third day counting inclusively from Friday, the day of celebrating the firstfruits

Answer 7

When Jesus said, "In the heart of the earth" He wasn't speaking about being in the grave. He was stating that His heavenly protection would be interrupted. His suffering began the moment He was arrested in the garden on a Thursday night. The 3 days and three nights still works. Remember Jews keep sunset to sunset based on the week of creation and on Exodus 20:8-11 that all Christians should be keeping. The day to rest has been and always will be Saturday! We will be keeping Sabbath in Heaven (Isaiah 66:23)