[Rick Shabi] The Christian world will be pausing on Good Friday to commemorate the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. They claim that Jesus Christ is their Savior. But the fact is they don't even have the day that Christ was crucified correct. Jesus Christ was not crucified on a Friday, and we can prove it from the Bible. Stick with us for a few minutes if you want to know the truth of what happened that week when Christ suffered and died for you and me. You need to know how He wanted this most significant event in human history to be commemorated. It is simple to understand. Let's start with the time of Christ's resurrection to determine His date of death.

Every Christian agrees that Christ was resurrected by dawn on the first day of the week, the day that we call Sunday. Let's look at these intriguing and eye-opening verses right from your Bible that describe this event. They're found in Matthew 28:1-7, "Now, after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn," the Apostle John even says it was still dark, "Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone from the door and sat on it. His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. And the guards shook for fear of him and became like dead men. But the angel answered and said to the woman, 'Don't be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who is crucified. He is not here, for He is risen as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. And go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead, and indeed He is going before you into Galilee. There you will see Him. Behold, I have told you.'" By the time the women got to the tomb, Christ had already risen. It was still dark before the sun rose. The tomb was empty, and the angel said Christ was on His way to Galilee. So before sunrise on that Sunday, Christ had already been resurrected. That's point one. We've established that before Sunday's sunrise, Christ was already risen just as He prophesied.

Point two. Jesus Christ said... And the Pharisees who denied His Messiahship knew that He said that after three days He would be resurrected. Notice the Pharisees' words in Matthew 27:62-66. This is another key piece in understanding the truth. "On the next day, which followed the day of preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees gathered together to Pilate saying, 'Sir, we remember while He was still alive how that deceiver said, 'After three days I will rise.' Therefore, command that the tomb be made secure until the third day, lest His disciples come by night and steal Him away and say to the people, 'He is risen from the dead.' So the last deception will be worse than the first.'" Verse 65, "Pilate said to them, 'You have a guard, go your way, make it as secure as you know how.' And so they went and made the tomb secure, sealing the stone and setting the guard." And so the Pharisees did everything they could to prevent Christ's resurrection as if you can stand against the will of God. But Christ was resurrected despite all their efforts. They just repeated what they heard Christ say to them. He gave one sign that He was the Messiah.

Notice Mark 8:29-32, "He, Christ, said to them, His disciples, 'But who do you say that I am?' Peter answered and said to Him, 'You are the Christ.' Then He strictly warned them that they should tell no one about Him. And He, Christ, began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders, and chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days, rise again. He spoke this word openly." After three days, He will rise. Christ's own words, which are the same as he told the Pharisees, the one sign that He was the Messiah, that He would be three days and three nights in the tomb, just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the heart of the great fish. You can read about that in Matthew 12:38-40. And if you missed our message last week, go back and watch it. It's titled The One and Only Sign Christ Gave That He is the Messiah.

So far we have established that after three days that He was crucified, Christ would be resurrected. We have established that Christ was resurrected before sunrise on that Sunday morning, the first day of the week, and was on His way to Galilee. It is very simple to count back from before Sunday at sunrise three days. Saturday before sunrise would be one day. Friday before sunrise would be two days ago. Thursday before sunrise would be three days ago. And His crucifixion and burial had to take place before Thursday, before sunrise, or the only sign that Christ gave that He is the Messiah wouldn't be fulfilled. We know what time of day Christ was crucified, when He died, and when He was buried in the tomb. Again, the Bible tells us in Matthew 27:45-50, "Now from the sixth hour until the ninth hour, there was darkness over all the land. And about the ninth hour, Jesus cried out with a loud voice saying, 'Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?' That is, 'My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?' Some of those who stood there when they heard that said, 'This man is calling for Elijah.' And immediately one of them ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine, and put it on a reed, and offered it to him to drink. The rest said, 'Let him alone, let us see if Elijah will come to save him.' And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up His spirit."

So every Christian agrees that Christ died around three in the afternoon on that day of His death. And He was laid in the tomb before sunset on that day. Notice again Matthew 27:57-60. "Now when evening had come there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who himself had also become a disciple of Jesus. This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the body to be given to him. When Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and laid it in his new tomb, which he had tuned out of the rock. And he rolled a large stone against the door of the tomb and departed." Christ is in that tomb at sunset three days before His resurrection. We've established that three days before Sunday He died and was laid in the tomb, and he said he would be resurrected after three days and three nights in the tomb. He was not crucified on Friday. Do you see that? We just proved that from the Bible, which is God's very Word. It is the source of truth. He was crucified and buried on Wednesday before sunset. After three days, He was resurrected before sunrise on Sunday. So He was resurrected on Saturday, right around sunset. That's why He was already gone from the tomb when it was examined Sunday morning while it was still dark.

But you say, "The Bible says, it was a preparation day that He was laid in the tomb." You're right, but the preparation day was for a high Sabbath. That's an annual Sabbath, not the weekly Sabbath that occurs on Saturday. That year it occurred on Thursday. It wasn't the weekly Saturday Sabbath. Notice the Apostle John's accounts of the resurrection in John 19:30-31. "So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, "It's finished." And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit. Therefore, because it was the Preparation Day that the body 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." There you have it. The Pharisees knew the signs, and they saw it happen. And yet they closed their hearts and did not believe their Savior or even recognize Him.

Now that you know this, consider whether your church and teachers have been teaching you the truth from the Bible. If they're teaching a Friday crucifixion, they haven't been teaching you truth. And you have the responsibility, if you call yourself a Christian, to ask, "What else don't you know about your Savior?" Do you know that God said to commemorate the death of His Son? Yet He never once said, "Celebrate His resurrection." Easter is a false holiday. If you believe Christ is your Savior, then you must do what He says and turn to Him. There is a lot of misinformation out there about the truth of God. Christ's first words were, "Repent and believe the gospel." Don't harden your heart like the Pharisees did. They denied the Savior. Turn to God. Read the Bible and seek the truth directly, directly from His Word. You can learn more about it at ucg.org. Simply look at our featured content on the home page or search for The Day of Jesus' Crucifixion. Go to ucg.org now.