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Perhaps the best way to clear up the controversy is to better understand the Sabbaths in Jewish culture.

The Jewish calendar was composed of seven days based on the revolution of the moon around the
earth, not as the solar calendar. The Jewish calendar consisted of 360 days in a year. The Jewish day
(yom) begins at sundown, when three stars become visible in the sky. Evening is sometimes defined as
late afternoon, that is, between 3:00 PM to sundown. But the actual day begins at sundown.

A Jewish holiday normally spans two days on our Gregorian calendar. For example, if Yom HaShoah is to
be observed on Friday, the holiday begins on our calendar on the evening of Thursday through Friday
until sundown.

Sabbath was observed from Friday afternoon at sundown to Saturday afternoon at sundown of every
week. However, the high feasts such as Passover or Feast of Unleavened Bread, Pentecost, Trumpets,
Day of Atonement, and Feast of Tabernacles all had a special Sabbath attached to them called the High
Sabbath or High Holy Day. This Sabbath was separate from the weekly Sabbath beginning on Friday at
sundown. This separate and special Sabbath was recognized along with the weekly Sabbath and
depending on when the feast began, could be a different day. In addition to not necessarily falling on
the same day as the weekly Jewish Sabbath, these high Sabbaths (although they fall on the same date of
the Jewish lunar calendar every year) fall on varying dates of the Gregorian solar calendar from one year
to the next, just as the Christian observance of days such as Palm Sunday, Good Friday, and Easter does.
John informs us that in John 19:31 that Jesus’ body had to be taken down from the cross because it was
a high day Sabbath, not a normal Saturday Sabbath. That information is significant.

We note in the Gospels that the women purchased spices AFTER the Sabbath but before Sunday, as they
took them with them to anoint Jesus’ body (Mark 16:1). If Jesus died on Friday, then they could not
have purchased the spices on Saturday because the Law forbade them to purchase such items on the
Sabbath. There had to be a day between Christ’s death and resurrection allowing them to purchase
these spices lawfully.

It is likely that Passover fell on Wednesday evening to Thursday evening the year Jesus was crucified.
Then the weekly Sabbath started at dusk on Friday. That would give the women Friday morning until
dusk to purchase spices lawfully.

In all four Gospels in the passages that describe the women coming to the Tomb on the “first day of the
week” the actual language in Greek says the came on the day after the “Sabbaths” (plural), indicating
that there were two Sabbaths that week: the Sabbath of Unleavened Bread (Passover) and the regular
weekly Sabbath.

The only explanation that does not violate the biblical account of the women and the spices and holds to
a literal understanding of Matthew 12:40, is that Christ was crucified on Wednesday. The Sabbath that
was a high holy day (Passover) occurred on Thursday, the women purchased spices (after that) on Friday
and returned and prepared the spices on the same day; they rested on Saturday which was the weekly
Sabbath, then brought the spices to the tomb early Sunday. Jesus was buried near sundown on
Wednesday, which began Thursday in the Jewish calendar. Using a Jewish calendar, you have Thursday
night (night one), Thursday day (day one), Friday night (night two), Friday day (day two), Saturday night
(night three), Saturday day (day three). We do not know exactly what time He rose, but we do know that
it was before sunrise on Sunday. The discovery of the empty tomb was made just at sunrise (Mark 16:2),

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