I wonder if you could clarify some points that may not be clear to many readers.
First, Passover as the fifteenth day of Nisan would automatically fall on the day after the full moon as determined by the religious scholars. Presumably these calendars were issued months or years in advance even in Biblical times, such was the predictability of the lunar orbit even to sages of that era.
So, would the calendar year being used by the Jews at that time have a regular flow of weeks with seven days of which every seventh day was a sabbath? I think I understand that Passover would be “a sabbath” in addition to these regular sabbaths. But was the calendar somehow regulated from a starting point that would make Passover an automatic regular sabbath, if you follow my drift?
And if not, why (if for any reason) does the Christian church remember the Passover of the crucifixion as a Friday? If Passover was not automatically a Friday with a sabbath to follow, then how do we know what day of the week it fell in the year in question, because as I understand it, we don’t know the year in question with precision. I have read that it was probably 33 AD and possibly 30 AD. This would help to identify what day of the week Jesus was crucified. Then if we knew that, and we assumed that the Resurrection was on a Sunday (the day after the Jewish sabbath) then we would have some basis for assessing how long it was from death to resurrection. Otherwise, we are basing all this speculation on the unknown reason for locating the date of the crucifixion on a Friday. Is it not possible that in the year in question, it was on a Wednesday or Thursday, making this whole discussion unnecessary?
I'm certain the year was 30 A.D. Please see post # 446 & 448. Here is a calendar of 30 A.D.
As you can see, Passover [Leviticus 23:5] fell on a Wednesday (the 14th) and The First Sabbath of Unleavened [Leviticus 23:6] fell on Thursday (the 15th). The 16th was the non Sabbath day the women [Mark 16:1] purchased the spices on....and then after preparing [Luke 23:56] rested the Sabbath (another one) day (the 17th). This was also the day of resurrection [Matthew 12:40] being the third day from the sundown entombment on Wednesday [Matthew 27:57-60][Mark 15:42-46][Luke 23:50-55][John 19:31-42].
Passover [Leviticus 23:5], itself....is the day of preparation [John 19:31] and the full moon occurs at sunset of the 14th (Passover). The Feast of Unleavened Bread (the 15th) begins at this sunset of the 14th and continues until the second Sabbath on the 21st [Leviticus 23:8].
Over time....and in particular, since the Babylonian captivity, the Jews have referred to the entire eight day observance as Passover and this is where some of the confusion lies.
Our Lord was crucified on the 14th, Passover.... as the lambs were being slaughtered in the temple between the evenings (Beyn ha Arbayim). [Exodus 12:6] And it hath become a charge to you, until the fourteenth day of this month, and the whole assembly of the company of Israel have slaughtered it between the evenings.
If the crucifixion/resurrection was in 33 A.D. then the women of [Mark 16:1] could not have purchased the spices after the Sabbath.....and then rested on another Sabbath after preparing them [Luke 23:56]. There had to be a day in between the First Sabbath of Unleavened [Leviticus 23:6] and the weekly Sabbath, the day of resurrection. Here is the calendar for 33 A.D.
As you can see the Passover (the 14th) was on a Friday that year and the weekly Sabbath (resurrection day) followed next. The women could not purchase the spices on the preparation because they went to the tomb with Joseph [Matthew 27:61][Mark 15:47][Luke 23:55]. They could not purchase the spices [Mark 16:1] after sundown when the body was interred.....because the Passover Sabbath had begun and all the shops in Jerusalem would have been closed. If the crucifixion occurred in 33 A.D. as some erroneously believe the women would have then had to purchase the spices [Mark 16:1], return home and prepare them [Luke 23:56] doing all of this prior to sunrise on Sunday morning because that's the time they appeared at the tomb......with the spices! This means that after the weekly Sabbath ended (sundown Saturday) they would have to do all of this on Saturday night. This is inconceivable because all the shops in Jerusalem would again be closed at night......and it still leaves the question about resting the Sabbath according to the commandment......after they prepared them [Luke 23:56]!
Here is a much more sensible (and scriptural) time line. Calendar for 30 A.D..
As you can see Passover Preparation and the day of crucifixion occurred on Wednesday. The body was entombed shortly before sunset [Luke 23:54] which constituted the first day. The Sabbath of Unleavened Bread began at sundown [John 19:31] and was the first night. The following day (Thursday) continued the Sabbath of Unleavened and was the second day in the tomb. At nightfall (Thursday evening) the Sabbath was past and this time was reckoned as the second night. Friday daylight was the first time the women [Mark 16:1] would have been able to purchase the spices and then they returned home and prepared them [Luke 23:56]. This would have been the third day in the tomb and their task probably took all day as scripture indicates they did not go to the tomb then....but rested the Sabbath according to the commandment. The Sabbath (weekly) began at sundown and during this period of darkness, it would have been the third night in the tomb [Matthew 12:39-40] and Our Lord resurrected Himself sometime before sunset because scripture ........all four Gospels say the tomb was empty when the women got there and were told, "HE IS RISEN"!
[Matthew 28:1] And on the eve of the sabbaths, at the dawn, toward the first of the sabbaths, came Mary the Magdalene, and the other Mary, to see the sepulchre.
[Luke 16:2] and early in the morning of the first of the sabbaths, they come unto the sepulchre, at the rising of the sun.
[Luke 24:1] And on the first of the sabbaths, at early dawn, they came to the tomb, bearing the spices they made ready, and certain others with them.
[John 20:1] And on the first of the sabbaths, Mary the Magdalene doth come early (there being yet darkness) to the tomb, and she seeth the stone having been taken away out of the tomb.
Now....I have not even addressed the impossibility of a Friday afternoon/Sunday morning affair and the fact that the only sign Our Lord would give us was.....He would be in the tomb three days.....and three nights. The main stream church has kept Christians in the dark (they know the truth) over this question for 1700 years. They have done this in the zeal to perpetuate the fantasy and myths which keep their Day of the Sun in the forefront. They are the ones who changed the day of worship from God's Holy Sabbath to Sunday....they admit it.....and they laugh about it.
Here is an interesting comment from Cardinal Gibbon's book, "Faith of Our Fathers," 110th ed., p. 89: "You may read the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, and YOU WILL NOT FIND A SINGLE LINE AUTHORIZING THE SANCTIFICATION OF SUNDAY. THE SCRIPTURES ENFORCE THE RELIGIOUS OBSERVANCE OF SATURDAY, a day which we never sanctify."
On September 23, 1893, Cardinal Gibbons also made this statement in the "Catholic Mirror:" "The CATHOLIC CHURCH for over one thousand years before the existence of a Protestant, by virtue of her divine mission, CHANGED THE DAY FROM SATURDAY TO SUNDAY ... THE CHRISTIAN Sabbath (Sunday) IS, therefore, to this day, THE ACKNOWLEDGED OFFSPRING OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH as the spouse of the Holy Ghost, without a word of remonstrance from the Protestant world.
Maybe if Protestants read my post they will understand how foolish they appear.