The Crucifixion of Jesus

The Crucifixion of Jesus

In this article on the Crucifixion of Jesus, "A Personal Revelation" author Eric Fugett examines the events surrounding the crucifixion of Jesus. Let’s begin with a little background information.

According to Daniel 9:25-26, some decree will be issued to restore and rebuild Jerusalem. Exactly sixty-nine "sevens" (69x7) or 483 years after this occurs, the Anointed One will come. The decree in question is the one issued by King Artaxerxes in 458 BCE (Ezra 7:11-26).

Ezra left Jerusalem in April and arrived in Jerusalem in August of that same year (Ezra 7:8-9). I believed that Ezra read the decree to the Israelites on the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur), which fell on September 11, in 458 BCE. In Ezra 8:35-36, we are told that several burnt offerings were made and that the king's decree was read thereafter. The Jewish historian Josephus records that these offerings were for the remission of sin (The Antiquities 11.5.2). This also coincides with the number of animal that were to be sacrificed for each tribe on the Day of Atonement (Numbers 29:7-11). Since most scholars agree that Ezra is when we should start counting, then 483 years from 458 BCE brings us to 26 CE.

Now if I am correct, Jesus began his ministry and was baptized on or near His 30th birthday (Luke 3:23) on The Day of Atonement in 26 CE. FYI, the Greek words used in Luke 3:23, which tell us that "Jesus was about 30 years of age when he began his ministry," should be translated, Jesus began (commenced) to be or just turned 30 years of age when he began his ministry. Also, in John 2:13-20, when it was almost time for the Passover, the Jews told Jesus it had taken 46 years to build the temple up to its current state. The work on the Jewish temple began in 20 BCE, so 46 years from that time brings us to 27 CE (year 0 does not exist). Since this is the Passover that occurred just after Jesus’ baptism, we now have further assurance that it was in 26 CE that Jesus was baptized and began his ministry. Three and a half years after beginning His ministry, Jesus offered His life as a sacrifice, for you and me, on the cross. Now let’s take a look at the crucifixion of Jesus.

I began writing this book in May of 2002 and finished it in 2003. These are perfect years to explain what happened the year that Jesus was crucified. The Passover in 30 CE, much like both of these years, began on a Wednesday evening. I believe (as a result of Matthew 27:45-50, Mark 15:33-37, and Luke 23:44-46) Jesus was crucified around 9:00 a.m. on a Wednesday in 30 CE. I first heard Wednesday, as the day for the crucifixion of Jesus, while listening to Chuck Swindoll on the radio one afternoon. Even as a child, I questioned the logic of the numbering used for a Friday crucifixion. I know what you’re thinking. How do you explain the fact that the chief priests wanted him off the cross before the Sabbath began? Chuck Swindoll also mentioned that the Greek word for Sabbath in Matthew 28:1 is plural rather than singular. Scofield’s 1917 Commentary on the Matthew 28:1 confirms this to be true. Therefore, I think we can deduce that, along with the weekly Sabbath, there was another holiday that was considered a Sabbath that occurred between Jesus’ death and resurrection.

According to John 19:14, it was the Day of Preparation of Passover Week that Jesus was sentenced on at noon. In the Aramaic, it says that it was Passover Eve or Tuesday, Nissan 13. In John 19:31, it is Wednesday, Nissan 14 and Jesus has just been slaughtered, like the lambs that were to be eaten at twilight or the close of the day. We are also told that there will be a special Sabbath the next day. As I said, Passover began at twilight on Wednesday evening on Nissan 14 and the special Sabbath was the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread which began after sundown on Nissan 15. It is a day on which no work is to be done and is thus considered a special Sabbath (Leviticus 23:6-7, Numbers 28:17-18, and John 19:31).

Jesus died somewhere around 3:00 p.m. Thus, Jesus was in Paradise from about 3:00 p.m. Wednesday afternoon until about 3:00 a.m. Sunday morning or about three and a half days. This is why we celebrate the Lord’s Day and have church on Sunday. As a matter of fact, if you check all of the passages that talk about him rising on the third day, you will find that the word "on" is either added or is not present. However, there are a couple of scriptures (Matthew 27:63 & Mark 8:31) that said He would rise after three days. Jesus also said that he would be in the earth for three days and three nights (Matthew 12:40). If he had simply said three days then the Jewish reasoning of three days as part of the days would be more viable.

If you go to the website, www.abdicate.net/cal.asp, you will find that in 30 CE, Passover began on the evening of April 5^th (Julian), which was a Wednesday. Daniel was told that the Anointed one would come 483 years after Artaxerxes' decree was issued and afterwards he would be cut off (Daniel 9:26). Jesus came in 26 CE, preached for three and a half years, and then died on the cross. In the prophecy about Jesus in Isaiah 53:8, Jesus is described as being cut off from the land of the living when he died on the cross. Thus, the 1st Coming of Jesus was not in reference to his birth, but to the three and a half years of his ministry.

Passover Meal

What I am also suggesting is that Jesus did not eat a Passover meal with his disciples. I think that they did begin doing what was required in preparing the lamb for the Passover meal (which would occur two days later) but they did not eat the Passover meal that night. The day that Jesus ate the meal with his disciples was actually a Monday.

If you examine all of the events that occurred between the meal and the crucifixion of Jesus, you will see that they were completed over the course of two days. That night, after the meal, Jesus went out and prayed for hours about going to the cross. He was then captured and taken before the Sanhedrin for a trial. The next morning, the Sanhedrin took Him before Pilate for a trial (Matthew 26:17-27:1). John also tells us earlier that the Jews did not want to go into Pilate’s palace because they did not want to be unclean for the Passover (John 18:28-29). Pilate sent Jesus to Herod for a trial, and Herod in turn sent Him back to Pilate for yet another trial (Luke 22:66-23:25). Pilate handed Jesus over to the soldiers, at noon according to John 19:14 (see Matthew 20:5 and John 4:6 for other time frame references on the sixth hour), who made a sport of beating Him (Matthew 27:27-31). After all of this, according to Mark 15:25, Jesus was crucified the next morning at 9:00 a.m. (see Matthew 20:3 for other time frame reference on the third hour). Do you honestly believe that all of this occurred over the course of one night?

Let’s face it, if The Crucifixion is the antitype of The Passover type, then Jesus could not be the Passover Lamb if he died before the Passover had occurred. What I just said is that if The Passover foreshadowed The Crucifixion, then Jesus needed to die on the same day that the lambs were slaughtered for Passover.

We know that the Passover lamb’s bones could not be broken (Exodus 12:46) and Jesus’ bones were not broken in his death either (Psalm 34:20, John 19:31-36). Why not? Because, as I said before, The Crucifixion is the antitype of The Passover type. In Isaiah 53:7, Isaiah describes Jesus as being "led like a lamb to the slaughter" and Jesus is also described as a slain Lamb in Revelation 5:6. Remember that Paul calls Jesus "our Passover lamb" in 1 Corinthians 5:7.

If you think about it, Jesus also broke all of the requirements for Passover in the meal that He ate with his disciples. There was some type of stew for the bread rather than a roasted lamb. The bread that they ate during this meal was leavened (in the Greek) rather than unleavened bread. However, this leavened bread is the same type of bread described in Acts 2:42-47, 20:7-11; 1 Corinthians 10:16-17, 11:23-28. Knowing that his followers would indeed eat, maybe what Jesus wanted them and us to remember is what He said in John 6:53-57 in comparing his flesh and blood to food and drink. Perhaps what Jesus also had in mind is the concept from Deuteronomy 6:4-9, that we should be talking about the cross all the time.

Next, we see that the disciples’ cloaks were not tucked into their belts (Jesus even took his outer garment off in John chapter 13). They were reclining at the table rather than standing. They did not have staffs in their hands, and they were not wearing their sandals. Last, but not least, they did not eat the meal quickly (Exodus 12:1-11, which is a correction from referencing Numbers beforehand in my book, Matthew 26:1-23, Mark 14:1-20, Luke 22:1-7, John 13:1-6).

Each of the four gospels provides a clear and detailed account of the Last Supper. Jesus is definitely making a statement here. That meal was not the Passover meal because He is the Passover Lamb. The only exception, to eating the meal on a day other than Passover, was to eat it a month later on the same day. If you missed Passover for legitimate reasons (Numbers 9:6-12), then you could participate in the Passover celebration on the same day of the next month.

Information about the crucifixion of Jesus is just one of the many topics you can read about when you buy my book, "A Personal Revelation."