It is commonly supposed that Jesus was crucified on Friday and resurrected at sunrise on Easter Sunday morning. However, the biblical record challenges this tradition. Jesus Himself declared that the only sign proving His Messiahship would be His time in the tomb, stating that as Jonah was three days and three nights in the whale's belly, so He would be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. This duration, defined biblically as 72 hours, encompasses three twelve-hour days and three twelve-hour nights. Jesus staked His claim as the Savior on remaining exactly 72 hours in the grave. Scriptural witnesses in Matthew, Mark, and Jonah affirm this period, indicating that if Jesus was crucified on Wednesday, as evidence suggests, and buried late that afternoon before sunset, His resurrection must have occurred at the same time of day three days later, which would be late Saturday afternoon, near sunset. This timing contradicts the notion of a Sunday morning resurrection, as it would not fulfill the 72-hour sign. Further examination of the crucifixion day, identified as the preparation day before a Sabbath, reveals it was the preparation for the Passover, a high day or annual Sabbath, which fell on Thursday in the year of the crucifixion. Jesus was crucified on Wednesday, the 14th of Abib, and buried before sunset that day. His body remained in the grave through Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday nights, and the daylight hours of Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, totaling three days and three nights. He rose late Saturday afternoon, before sunset, aligning with the exact time of His burial three days prior. The first investigators, including Mary Magdalene, arrived at the tomb early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, and found it already open, with Jesus not there. The angel declared He had risen, confirming that the resurrection occurred prior to their arrival, specifically late on the Sabbath day, Saturday afternoon. This establishes that the resurrection was not on Sunday morning but on Saturday, fulfilling the sign of three days and three nights in the grave as Jesus had foretold.

Professing Christians celebrate Easter on Sunday, believing Jesus rose from the grave on the first Easter Sunday morning. However, Scripture indicates that Jesus was in the grave for three days and three nights, totaling 72 hours, as He stated in Matthew 12:40, comparing His time in the earth to Jonah's time in the fish's belly. Jesus also affirmed in John 11:9 that a day consists of twelve hours, and night likewise, making a full day and night 24 hours. Therefore, three days and three nights must be 72 hours. Further, Jesus was crucified on Wednesday, the fourteenth of Abib/Nisan, and buried close to sunset as the Preparation Day ended and the Sabbath drew near, according to Luke 23:54 and John 19:42. Counting 72 hours from this burial brings His resurrection to the end of the Sabbath, not Sunday. Mary Magdalene arrived at the tomb early on the first day of the week while it was still dark, as noted in John 20:1, and found Jesus already resurrected. Thus, Jesus rose at the close of the seventh-day Sabbath, the day He declared Himself Lord of in Mark 2:28, fulfilling the sign of His Messiahship by being in the tomb for exactly three days and three nights.

The timing of Christ's resurrection has nothing to do with establishing which day is holy, and everything to do with proving that He was the Messiah. There is no scriptural intimation that the day of Christ's death, resurrection, ascension, or any other activity would modify the blessedness, sanctification, and holiness that He had already given to the seventh day.