Supper to Burial in less than 24 hours

In our modern way of reconing the days we go from morning to morning. This makes sense to us since it is convenient to sleep during the night hours and be awake during the daylight.

In the Jewish way of reconing the days, evening comes before morning, as patterned from the creation account in Genesis, with the day going from sunset to sunset. The day was divided into eight equal parts:

First Watch: Sunset to 9 PM
Second Watch: 9 PM to Midnight
Third Watch: Midnight to 3AM
Fourth Watch: 3 AM to 6AM
First Hour: 6 AM to 9 AM
Second Hour: 9 AM to Noon
Third Hour: Noon to 3 PM
Fourth Hour: 3 PM to Sunset

Back in the first century AD, if you lived in Palestine, in Israel, this system of evening and morning marking your day was nothing unusual.

The year is 30 AD, and it is early on Wednesday, Nisan 13 (meaning after sunset). Jesus and His disciples are in the upper room reclining at the table, eating their Passover meal. After supper, Jesus washes the feet of His disciples, which was a servant's task. Once Jesus is back at the table he announces that he will be betrayed by Judas Iscariot, who dipped his bread in the oil at the same time as Jesus.

Judas then leaves the room as Jesus begins to speak and to teach His disciples for the final time (or so it would seem, for the disciples still had no clue what was to happen later this day). When Jesus finishes, they all get up from the table to begin the pleasant walk up to the Garden of Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives.

Once in the garden, Jesus takes aside Peter, James and John and tells them to watch while He prays. They soon fall asleep. Jesus wakes them up then goes off again to pray. They fall asleep a second time when Jesus comes over to wake them up again. Then He goes off to pray a third time by Himself.

Judas Iscariot, Chief Priests and Elders come into the garden with a detachment of soldiers to arrest Jesus, who goes quietly with the mob. The disciples all leave quickly, though Peter and John stay close enough to follow. Jesus is taken before Annas and then Caiaphas the High Priest where a mock trial takes place. Here the religious leaders attempt to trump up some false charges against Jesus but cannot agree on what the charges are. Finally they decide on blasphemy, for during this charade Jesus has claimed to be the Son of God. During this time, Jesus prediction of Peter's three time denial of knowing Jesus has been fulfilled as the rooster crows.

Early in the morning, after a long night of arrest and false trials, Jesus is brought before the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate. Pilate is portrayed in the gospels as a weak man but I think he was anything but. Pilate sees in Jesus an innocent man by Roman standards but one that needs to be put down to appease the Jewish leaders.

Jesus is flogged for the benefit of the Jewish leaders, Pilate hoping this will appease them so he can let Jesus go. The crowd that welcomed Jesus a few days ago now calls (after prompting I'm sure) for Jesus to be crucified. Barrabbas, a notoruis insurrectionist and murderer is set free by Pilate and Jesus is taken out to be scourged, beaten and finally led out to be "numbered amongst the transgressors."

Golgotha, or place of the skull, is remarkably similar now to how it looked then, There is a grassy area now on top of the hill where the three crosses would have been hung, in plain sight of everyone for miles around. Jesus was in the middle of the two thieves and had a sign written in Latin, Greek and Hebrew "KING OF THE JEWS" and fastened above His head.

Mark 15:25 says it was the third hour (approximately 9 AM) when the crucifixion took place. For the first three hours Jesus hung on the cross there was regular daylight. Scripture tells us that for the next three hours (noon-3pm) darkness overtook the land. At the ninth hour (3PM) Jesus gave up His spirit and the veil in the Temple was torn in half.

The Jewish religious leaders asaked that the bodies be taken down before sunset, when Passover would begin. So to hasten death they broke the legs of the two thieves on either side of Jesus. Seeing that He was already dead, the soldiers did not break any of Jesus bones but instead stuck a spear into His side, and blood and water came out.

Joseph of Arimathea went to Pilate and asked for Jesus body. Once the soldiers verified to Pilate that Jesus was dead, he let Jesus be taken down from the cross. Joseph was a rich man and had a new tomb cut into a cave nearby where there was (and still is) a garden. He and Nicodemus wrapped Jesus body in linen and oils per the burial customs of the day and laid the body on a stone slab inside the tomb. Then a large stone was rolled in front of the entranceway to the tomb.

The Jewish leaders asaked Pilate to have a guard posted there and the tomb was sealed with a signet, probably the official seal of Rome, so that opening the tomb would be a crime.

As Jesus crucifixion was a public event, I'm sure the tomb which held His body was equally public. How many tombs were as heavily guarded as this one? Probably none. Certainly all of official Rome in Jerusalem knew where it was and the Jewsish leaders did too.

I was going to include relevant scripture throughout the post but that would have made the post way, way too long. I invite you to read the four accounts of these events in Matthew 26-27, Mark 14-15, Luke 22-23 and John 13-19.