After Three Days, Before Corruption: Reclaiming the Biblical Resurrection Timeline

Michelle Hayman
Sep 3
13 min read

Updated: Sep 5

In my previous study, I walked through the evidence for a Wednesday crucifixion and a Saturday-before-sunset resurrection; a timeline that perfectly fits the words of our Lord, who is Himself “Lord of the Sabbath.” By this reckoning, Jesus fulfilled the sign of Jonah with three days and three nights in the tomb and rose again before day four began, just as the Scriptures and the prophets foretold.

A key part of understanding this timeline is remembering that in Jewish timekeeping, days do not begin at midnight as in modern practice, but at sunset: “and the evening and the morning were the first day” (Gen. 1). Once the sun sets, the new day has already begun. This is vital to see why the Gospels speak the way they do, and why the resurrection had to happen before the Sabbath ended.

Today, I want to build further on that foundation. We’ll return to the same timeline, but this time bring in additional passages; from the Gospels, Acts, and the prophets; that strengthen and confirm it. Each of these texts adds weight to the pattern already established and shows how every detail of Messiah’s death and resurrection was precisely aligned with the Word of God.

When we turn to the words of Jesus and His opponents, we find two different expressions used to describe the timing of His resurrection: “after three days” and “on the third day.” At first glance, some readers see these as contradictory, but when we remember that Jewish days begin at sunset, the phrases meet perfectly at the same boundary.

In Matthew 27:63–64, the chief priests recall what Jesus had said: μετὰ τρεῖς ἡμέρας ἐγείρομαι; “after three days I rise again.” Out of fear that His disciples would spread word of a resurrection, they ask Pilate to secure the tomb ἕως τῆς τρίτης ἡμέρας; “until the third day.” Their request shows that they understood “after three days” to mean through the full completion of the third day. If He remained in the tomb beyond that point, their concern was over.

In Mark 8:31, and again in 9:31 and 10:34, Jesus Himself uses the same phrase: μετὰ τρεῖς ἡμέρας; “after three days.” Elsewhere in the Gospels, however, the wording shifts to τῇ τρίτῃ ἡμέρᾳ; “on the third day.” Which was it; after three days, or on the third day?

When we align this with sunset-to-sunset reckoning, the answer emerges clearly. Jesus was buried before sunset on Wednesday, which means Wednesday evening to Thursday evening was Day One, Thursday evening to Friday evening was Day Two, and Friday evening to Saturday evening was Day Three. By the time the Sabbath day was drawing to its close, three full days and three full nights had been completed. The very moment the third day reached its end; late on the Sabbath, just before the new day (Sunday) began; was the boundary point. At that junction, both expressions are true: He rose after three days, for the three days had fully run their course, and He rose on the third day, for it was still the Sabbath, not yet Day Four.

In this way the Gospel language harmonizes without contradiction. The resurrection took place at the close of the Sabbath, exactly when the “three days and three nights” were complete, satisfying every word spoken both by Christ and about Him.

Jesus Himself confirmed what counted as a day when He said in John 11:9, “Are there not twelve hours in the day?” In His reckoning, which reflects Jewish understanding, a complete day is made up of twelve hours of light paired with twelve hours of night. With that in mind, His own prophecy in Matthew 12:40 takes on sharper precision: “three days and three nights” (τρεῖς ἡμέρας καὶ τρεῖς νύκτας) cannot be stretched into an idiom or vague expression. By His definition, it means three full cycles of light and darkness; about seventy-two hours.

When we count from His burial just before sunset on Wednesday, the timeline unfolds with perfect clarity. From Wednesday sunset to Thursday sunset is the first full cycle: the first night and the first day. From Thursday sunset to Friday sunset is the second full cycle: the second night and the second day. From Friday sunset to Saturday sunset is the third full cycle: the third night and the third day. By the time the Sabbath afternoon was drawing to a close and sunset approached, three days and three nights had run their full course. It is at that moment; before the fourth day could begin at Saturday sunset; that the sign of Jonah was fulfilled in its entirety.

This means that the Lord rose not halfway through a period, nor in a compressed thirty-six hours, but in exact alignment with His own words. He remained in the tomb through three complete day-night spans and rose again just as the third day reached its end. In doing so, He confirmed His promise and upheld His Father’s Word down to the very hour.

This stands in sharp contrast to the traditional Friday crucifixion model. From Friday afternoon to Sunday dawn is only about thirty-six hours in total, amounting to one full day and two nights. That is neither “after three days” nor “three days and three nights” as Jesus declared.

The Gospel accounts of the women and their spices only make sense if we recognize that the week of the crucifixion contained not one Sabbath but two. Luke 23:56 tells us that after Jesus was buried, the women prepared their spices and then rested on the Sabbath according to the command. Yet Mark 16:1 records that when the Sabbath was past, they bought spices in order to anoint Him. At first sight these seem contradictory, but the puzzle disappears when we realize there were two Sabbaths that week: the High Sabbath of the Feast of Unleavened Bread on Thursday, and the regular weekly Sabbath on Saturday. Matthew 28:1 strengthens this point by saying ὀψὲ δὲ σαββάτων—literally, “after the Sabbaths” in the plural; showing that more than one Sabbath had just passed.

This context also explains the resurrection window. John 20:1 says that on the first day of the week (Sunday), while it was still dark, the stone had already been rolled away. Matthew 28:1 likewise says that after the Sabbaths, as it began to dawn, the women came and found the tomb empty. If the tomb was already empty before the sun rose on Sunday, then the resurrection itself must have taken place earlier. The only point at which all the requirements are satisfied—three days and three nights in the grave, yet rising before the fourth day began; is late on the Sabbath, just before sunset. In this way, Christ rose at the completion of the third day, fulfilling His words exactly and leaving no room for contradiction.

Luke 24:21 adds one more confirming detail. As the disciples on the road to Emmaus spoke with the risen Lord, though they did not yet recognize Him, they said: “Today is the third day since these things were done.” The key is that Jewish days begin at sunset. Jesus was buried just before Wednesday came to its end, so when the sun set that evening and Thursday began, it marked the first day since. Friday at sunset marked the second day since, and Saturday at sunset—the beginning of Sunday by Jewish reckoning—marked the third day since. Thus when the disciples spoke on Sunday, they were standing right at the completion of the third day since the crucifixion, with news of the empty tomb already spreading. Their words are perfectly in step with the timeline: the Lord rose as the third day was fulfilled, not beyond it.

The Scriptures also place a very clear boundary on how long the Messiah could remain in the grave. John 11 records the raising of Lazarus as the crucial calibration point. When Jesus arrived at Bethany, Lazarus had already been in the tomb for τεσσάρων ἡμερῶν; “four days” (John 11:17). Martha’s blunt words drive the point home: ἤδη ὄζει; “by now he stinks” (John 11:39). John does not add these details casually. He is showing that by the fourth day, corruption; διαφθορά; had already begun to set in. This was not only physical reality but also the cultural expectation in Jewish thought: by day four, the hope of preservation was past, and decay was unavoidable.

It is this very line that Peter draws upon when he preaches on the day of Pentecost. Quoting Psalm 15(16):10 from the Septuagint, he proclaims, οὐκ ἐγκαταλείψεις τὴν ψυχήν μου εἰς ᾅδην, οὐδὲ δώσεις τὸν ὅσιόν σου ἰδεῖν διαφθοράν; “You will not abandon my soul to Hades, nor allow your Holy One to see corruption” (Acts 2:27, 31). Peter’s argument hinges on this very point: the Messiah truly died, but unlike Lazarus, His body was never allowed to cross the threshold into corruption.

When, then, does “day four” begin? Jesus was buried late on Wednesday, before sunset. That night (Wednesday evening into Thursday) marked Night One, and Thursday itself was Day One. From Thursday sunset to Friday sunset was the second cycle, and from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset the third. By the time the Sabbath was drawing to a close, three days and three nights had been completed in full. But the very moment the sun set on Saturday evening, the calendar moved into the first day of the week—Sunday—and by Jewish reckoning that was now the fourth day since burial.

This means that to fulfill both the prophecy of “three days and three nights” and Peter’s declaration that the Holy One would not see corruption, the resurrection had to take place before Saturday’s sunset, at the close of the third day. If He had remained in the tomb into Sunday proper, it would have been the beginning of day four, the very point at which corruption was expected. That was the line He could not cross, for unlike Lazarus, His flesh was never allowed to decay.

This third-day boundary is reinforced not only by the Gospels and Acts but also by the prophets themselves. Hosea 6:2 declares, “After two days He will revive us; on the third day He will raise us up, and we shall live in His sight.” The rhythm is unmistakable: two full days pass, and then the rising takes place on the third day. It is not partial days squeezed into an idiom, but a pattern of time that assumes wholeness. The prophets expected resurrection not halfway through a count but at the completion of the third day.

Peter echoes this very cadence when he proclaims in Acts 10:40, “Him God raised the third day, and showed Him openly.” The apostolic preaching is thus in step with Hosea: a full two days completed, and the rising as the third day reaches its fulfillment. This prophetic-apostolic agreement fortifies the timeline we have already traced. It allows no room for the compressed Friday-to-Sunday scheme, which offers barely a day and a half. Only the Wednesday burial with the Sabbath-afternoon resurrection meets Hosea’s expectation and the apostolic witness together.

So to recap

When the days are counted sunset to sunset, the whole pattern comes together seamlessly. Jesus was crucified on Wednesday (Nisan 14) and buried before the sun went down. Thursday (Nisan 15), the High Sabbath of Unleavened Bread, was the first day, and Friday (Nisan 16) the second, when the women bought and prepared spices once the feast was past. Saturday (Nisan 17), the weekly Sabbath, was the third day. By late Sabbath afternoon, three days and three nights had run their course, and the resurrection took place before the fourth day began. Thus by the time Sunday dawned and the women came to the tomb, it was already empty.

But lets dig deeper

John tells us that Jesus came to Bethany ἓξ ἡμέραι πρὸ τοῦ πάσχα; “six days before the Passover” (John 12:1). This verse is a time-stamp, and when read carefully it rules out the traditional Friday crucifixion model.

If Passover, the 14th of Nisan (day of crucifixion) fell on a Friday, then six days earlier would be the 8th of Nisan, which would have been the weekly Sabbath. That would place Jesus arriving at Bethany by journey on the Sabbath A scenario which clashes with the Torah. The Jews understood from Exodus 16:29 and Numbers 35:5 that on the Sabbath a person must remain in their place, which extended only two thousand cubits (about three-quarters of a mile); hence Acts 1:12 confirms that travel beyond a mile was not permitted on the Sabbath. One argument suggests that Christ arrived late on Saturday evening, which would invalidate the Saturday Sabbath. But if that were true, His arrival would have been after sunset, meaning there were only five days until Passover instead of six.

Matthew 5:17–18

“Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.”

By contrast, if Passover fell on a Wednesday the 14th of Nisan, then six days earlier is Thursday, the 8th of Nisan. This resolves all the problems. Jesus travels to Bethany on a normal day (John 12:1), without violating Sabbath restrictions. He is at supper in Bethany where Mary anoints Him for burial (John 12:2–3). John records that Bethany was near Jerusalem, about "fifteen furlongs off” (John 11:18), showing that Christ was positioned at the very threshold of the holy city. On the 9th of Nisan, a Friday as the Sabbath was drawing on at sunset, He made the short journey into Jerusalem in the Triumphal Entry. Thus, on Nisan 10 (at sunset), Christ presented Himself in the temple as the true Passover Lamb, chosen for sacrifice, while also standing as the Messianic King in His Father’s house. From Nisan 11 to 13, He remained in the temple, teaching and being examined, just as the lambs were kept under watch until the day of their slaughter.. On Nisan 14, Wednesday, the lambs were slain “between the evenings” (Exodus 12:6), and so the Messiah, the Lamb of God, was crucified and buried before sunset, in perfect harmony with the Torah’s Passover ordinances.

So.....

When the days are counted sunset to sunset, the Passion timeline aligns with every detail of Scripture. Jesus was crucified on Wednesday, Nisan 14, the very day the Passover lambs were slain “between the evenings” (Exodus 12:6). He was buried before sunset, so that His body would not remain exposed as the High Sabbath of Unleavened Bread began. That night and the following day, Thursday, formed the first full cycle; Night One and Day One; when the people rested as the Torah commanded.

From Thursday evening to Friday evening came the second full cycle; Night Two and Day Two; at which point, after the High Sabbath was past, the women could purchase and prepare their spices, exactly as Mark 16:1 and Luke 23:56 describe. From Friday evening to Saturday evening came the third cycle; Night Three and Day Three; when the weekly Sabbath fell. By late Sabbath afternoon, three days and three nights had been fully completed. At that moment, before the sun set and the fourth day began, the resurrection occurred, fulfilling both the sign of Jonah and Peter’s declaration in Acts 2 that the Holy One would not see corruption.

By the time Saturday gave way to Sunday at sunset, Day Three was already complete and the Lord had risen. Thus when the women came while it was still dark before dawn on Sunday morning, the tomb was already empty (John 20:1; Matthew 28:1). This harmonizes every Gospel account with the prophetic clock.

Even John’s earlier time-stamp fits perfectly. John 12:1 says Jesus came to Bethany six days before Passover. If Passover fell on Wednesday, the 14th, then six days earlier was Thursday, the 8th; a normal day for travel. His Triumphal Entry took place on a Friday rather than a Sunday, and at sunset, the 10th of Nisan, Christ presented Himself in the temple; the very day the lambs were to be selected, in fulfillment of Exodus 12:3.The pattern flows seamlessly: chosen on the tenth, inspected for four days, slain on the fourteenth. The Friday model, by contrast, forces Sabbath travel.

Every piece; the duration of “three days and three nights,” the two Sabbaths in that week, the “third day since” of Luke 24:21, the Lazarus/Acts “no corruption” line, and John’s “six days before Passover”; locks perfectly into place on the Wednesday-to-Sabbath timeline. Far from being a forced reconstruction, this is the only model that satisfies the words of Jesus, the testimony of the apostles, and the Torah itself.

The traditional Friday-to-Sunday scheme collapses under the weight of Scripture. It yields barely thirty-six hours in the tomb, far short of the “three days and three nights” Jesus Himself declared. It cannot satisfy the plain Greek of μετὰ τρεῖς ἡμέρας; “after three days”; nor does it respect the Lazarus/Acts testimony that the Holy One would not see corruption, which required resurrection before the fourth day began. It also flattens the unique two-Sabbath week of the Passion, making it impossible to reconcile Luke’s account of the women preparing spices with Mark’s account of them buying spices, and it ignores Matthew’s plural “after the Sabbaths.” Finally, John’s note that Jesus came to Bethany six days before Passover exposes the Friday model: it forces Sabbath travel and banqueting in violation of Torah and severs the Passion from the Exodus 12 pattern of the Passover lamb. Taken together, the evidence shows that the Friday model is not merely weak; it is impossible. Only the Wednesday-to-Sabbath timeline fulfills the words of Christ, the witness of the apostles, and the Torah’s appointed times in perfect harmony..

“Christ is the Lord of the Sabbath; the seventh day, Saturday; not of Sunday.”

This echoes His own words in Matthew 12:8: “For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day.”

The Gospels are explicit about what was found in the tomb after the resurrection. John 20:6–7 says: “Then cometh Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulchre, and seeth the linen clothes lie, And the napkin, that was about his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself.”

This testimony makes clear there were two distinct cloths: the linen wrappings for His body and a separate head covering (soudarion in Greek) folded apart from them. Such a description directly contradicts the idea of a single sheet covering both body and head, as the so-called “Shroud of Turin” proposes.

The Shroud of Turin has long been less about holiness than about utility. From its earliest display in Lirey, France, around 1356, it drew pilgrims and revenue. Bishop Pierre d’Arcis complained in a 1389 letter to Pope Clement VII that “many persons flocked to the spot… money was collected at the exhibition,” even while he denounced the Shroud as a forgery. When the cloth passed into the possession of the House of Savoy in 1453, it became not just a relic but a political tool. Historian Andrea Nicolotti observes that “the Savoy promoted the Shroud as a sacred relic to bolster both their political power and their ties with the papacy” (From the Mandylion of Edessa to the Shroud of Turin, 2014). By the 16th and 17th centuries, public ostensions in Turin drew massive crowds; Ian Wilson recounts how the 1578 display triggered “a flood of offerings and a surge of prestige for the city and cathedral” (The Shroud of Turin, 2010). Even today, the pattern continues: the 2000 Jubilee exhibition drew over 3 million visitors, with donations and tourism pouring into Church coffers (BBC, 2000). Whether authentic or not, the Shroud has consistently functioned as a devotional magnet that translated mystery into money, loyalty, and influence. The Roman Catholic Church did not need to prove the relic’s truth—only to cultivate belief, which has proven far more profitable.