Important Dates in the Lives of Jesus and Mary 

high day  (Jn 19:31). Every Sabbath is a holy day, but Sacred Scripture distinguishes this Sabbath from other 

Sabbaths as a special day because it was also the beginning of the Jewish Passover. The year that Jesus died, 

Passover began on the Sabbath (Saturday), so that the day of Preparation for the Sabbath (Friday) was also the 

day of Preparation for the Passover. 

    The year that Jesus died, Passover began on a Saturday (that is, on Friday at sunset). Passover began at 

sunset, a few hours after Jesus' death on the Cross. Jesus died on the day of Preparation of the Passover 

because that is the day on which the Passover lamb is sacrificed and Jesus is the Passover Lamb. The 

sacrificing of the Passover Lambs began at the ninth hour. Jesus died on the day, and at the time of day (Mk 

15:33 34), when the Passover lambs were being sacrificed.

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 Saint John the Baptist was referring to Jesus' 

sacrificial death when he said,   `Behold the Lamb of God!'   (Jn 1:36; cf. 1 Cor 5:7). 

The Fourteenth Day of Nisan 

    In the early Church, there was a controversy as to which day should be celebrated as the day of the 

Crucifixion of Christ. Most Christians kept the observance of the day Christ died for us on a Friday, no matter 

which day of the month it was. But many Christians in Asia Minor kept the observance of the Crucifixion on 

the 14th day of the lunar month, i.e. the Jewish month of Nisan.

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 This group of Christians were called 

 quartodecimans,  a name which means  the fourteeners.  Eventually, the Church decided to keep the 

observance of this day always on a Friday, hence the name Good Friday. This controversy tells us something 

about the day of the Crucifixion. 

    This decision, whether to keep the observance always on a Friday or always on the 14th day of Nisan, had 

to be made by the Church because Jesus was crucified on Friday, Nisan 14, but Nisan 14 does not always fall 

on a Friday. So, in subsequent years when Nisan 14 and Friday did not coincide, Christians had to decide on 

which  day to observe the Crucifixion. Notice that there was no one arguing to observe the day of Christ's 

Crucifixion on the 15th day of Nisan, nor did any one argue in favor of observing the Crucifixion always on 

some other particular day of the week. Early Christians understood that Christ died on a Friday and on Nisan 

14, that is why there was no dispute about whether Christ died on Nisan 14 or 15, nor any dispute about on 

which day of the week Christ died. Modern day theories which claim that Christ died on Nisan 15 or on some 

day of the week other than Friday were absent then (and should be absent still). 

The Solution to the Synoptic Problem 

     Then came the day of Unleavened Bread, on which the passover lamb had to be sacrificed. So Jesus sent 

Peter and John, saying, `Go and prepare the passover for us, that we may eat it.'   (Lk 22:7 8). 

     Then they led Jesus from the house of Caiaphas to the praetorium. It was early. They themselves did not 

enter the praetorium, so that they might not be defiled, but might eat the passover.  (Jn 18:28). 

    The Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke clearly tell us that Jesus celebrated the Passover supper with his 

disciples (cf. Mt 26:17 19; Mk 14:12 16). And the Gospel of John tells us that the Jewish leaders who delivered 

Jesus to Pilate, early on Friday morning, had not yet eaten the Passover supper. How can these two teachings 

of God's Holy Infallible Scripture be reconciled? 

    The solution to this problem is to believe that all of these teachings of Sacred Scripture are true. Those who 

have faith in Jesus Christ also have faith that the Bible is without error. Sacred Scripture teaches us that Jesus 

died on a Friday before sunset. The Gospel of John indicates that Passover began the day Jesus died at sunset. 

The synoptic Gospels clearly describe Jesus celebrating the Passover supper with His disciples the night before 

He died. All of these things are true. 

    Since the first day of Passover, Nisan 15, began that year on Friday at sunset (which is the beginning of 

Saturday in the Jewish calendar), most Jews ate the Passover supper on Friday evening. So then, why did 

Jesus and His disciples celebrate the Passover a day early on Thursday evening? The answer is found in the 

writings of Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich. She describes how Jesus was brought before the Jewish leaders 

and accused of various offenses. 

     Some said that he had eaten the Pascal lamb on the previous day, which was contrary to the 

law . Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea were called up, and being commanded to say how it happened 

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