IT WASN'T FRIDAY!

I've been thinking about this for a while now and have come to the conclusion that today is exactly the same day on which Jesus Christ celebrated the Last Supper with His disciples. Today, Tuesday, March 31, 2026, at sunset, the 14th of Nisan begins in the Jewish calendar. The 14th of Nisan is the day on which the Passover lamb was slaughtered in Egypt.

For the God of Israel, the new day always begins at sunset.

Thus, God's new year, beginning on the 1st of Nisan, also began on March 18, 2026, at sunset and ended on March 19, 2026, at sunset.

Now back to the 14th of Nisan: Jesus Christ is the Passover Lamb who was sacrificed on the 14th of Nisan. Jesus Christ was crucified on the 14th of Nisan at 9 a.m. (the third hour) and died on the cross at 3 p.m., at the time of the evening sacrifice.

Jesus Christ was the Lamb of God who took away the sin of the world, as the Bible says. Since Jesus Christ Himself was the Passover Lamb, He could not partake of the bread and wine at the time He died. Jesus Christ died in the afternoon or evening of the 14th of Nisan. Thus, Jesus Christ must have taken the Lord's Supper with His disciples beforehand. If one determines the chronology of that day from the Bible, He took it with His followers on the evening before. Although the previous evening was, according to our Western modern calendar, still a different day, a new day of the Lord begins at sunset; thus, Jesus Christ celebrated the Lord's Supper on the previous evening (after sunset), but already at the beginning of the 14th of Nisan. Let us recall that Jesus Christ died on the cross approximately 24 hours later (still on the 14th of Nisan).

The 14th of Nisan in the year 2026 thus begins in the evening, after sunset on March 31, 2026. In 2026, this is a Tuesday. Jesus Christ died on the evening of the following day, before sunset, which was still the 14th of Nisan.

He was then laid in the tomb before sunset. It is important to note that the God of Israel had designated a high holiday, a Sabbath, following the 14th of Nisan. On this day, as on every other Sabbath, it was commanded to observe the Sabbath, to refrain from work, and not to walk more than a Sabbath mile. This high Sabbath, namely the 15th of Nisan, began in turn on the evening of the 14th of Nisan, at sunset. That is why they had hurried to place Jesus Christ in the tomb in time, because after sunset, any activity beyond the permitted work of a Sabbath was not allowed.

Now the body of Jesus Christ lies in the tomb. Jesus Christ Himself declared—and the writings of the Old Testament also state this—that Jesus Christ would have to spend three days and three nights in the bosom of the earth. Three days and three nights. A day has 24 hours. Three days are 72 hours. So let's do the math: Jesus Christ died on the evening of the 14th of Nisan. He then spent three days in the bosom of the earth: By the evening of the 15th of Nisan, a full day had passed. By the evening of the 16th of Nisan, another day had passed. By the evening of the 17th of Nisan, the third day was complete.

Now let's use our calendar to help with the calculation:

On Tuesday (March 31, 2026), at the beginning of the 14th of Nisan, Jesus Christ celebrated the Last Supper with His disciples—that is, one day, 24 hours, before the actual Passover. Then, at the end of the 14th of Nisan, toward evening, Jesus Christ died. That would then be Wednesday, April 1, 2026, in our calendar. Then the body of Jesus lay in the tomb for three days: that is, from sunset on Wednesday, April 1, until sunset on Saturday, April 4. At sunset on Saturday, April 4, Jesus Christ rose from the dead, since the sunset on Saturday—that is, the night leading into Sunday—marks a new day in the Hebrew calendar, thereby fulfilling the 72 hours that comprise the aforementioned three days.

Jesus Christ, then, rose from the dead on Saturday evening at sunset. The Bible describes the following scene: "On the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb" (Gospel of John 20:1).

It was the first day of the week, that is, a Sunday, because Saturday, the usual Sabbath, was the last day of the week, and Sunday consequently marked the first day of the week. But there, while it was still dark, the tomb was already empty. This suggests that Jesus Christ had already risen on Saturday evening, at the end of the 72 hours, at the end of the third day, at sunset. The Bible does not say where Jesus Christ spent that night. But the fact is that on the first day of the week, He was already back to (eternal) life!

Does anything stand out to us? The events that took place about 2,000 years ago correspond exactly to the days of the week this year! Yes!

Let's go over it again:

Tuesday evening: The Last Supper with the disciples, followed by the Garden of Gethsemane, then the arrest of Jesus Christ during the night.

Wednesday morning: Early the next morning, trial before Pilate, flogging, execution.

Wednesday afternoon: The death of Jesus Christ.

Wednesday evening: Burial.

Saturday evening at sunset: Resurrection

Sunday: Jesus Christ first appears to Mary Magdalene.

In the year 2026, we have exactly the same sequence of days as must have been the case during the biblical events surrounding the crucifixion of Jesus Christ!

Isn't that fascinating?

Shalom!

Dietmar Reichenberger, www.IMJC.world