Respected Bible scholars believe Jesus was crucified on a Thursday. Why?
The calendar for 33 A.D. cited a specific date for the Feast of Unleavened Bread - which meant a special Shabbat. It would have been observed the day before the regular/weekly sabbath. The scriptures tell us Christ was resurrected on the third day after his crucifixion and death. Let's account for the "3 days" mentioned in this perfect 72-hour timeline...
Christians celebrate Easter on Sunday morning. The Biblical and historical records recount Jesus' death at Golgatha three days prior. Still, it amazes me that post-modern seminaries and denominational churches get stuck on the fuzzy math of Holy Week. If the first century observed two consecutive days of holiness and rest, the Jews could not work from sunset on Thursday to dawn on Sunday. Neither could they go to the tomb and prepare the dead body for burial until Sunday morning.
Instead, they found an empty tomb! Christianity is the only world religion whose leader was resurrected in bodily form. Salvation through Jesus the Christ is another word for Easter - an act of continued grace for reconciling our separation from God - who cannot tolerate sin. Thereby, as a righteous judge, He had to do the right thing and so he sacrificed his only Son to pay our debt.
In a culture turned inward on itself, the fact of Easter gives an answer for the meaning of life: there is nothing we can do on our own to be restored to God. Only through the sacrifice of Jesus the Christ was justice enacted. Easter is the way to reconcile spiritually with God's eternal favor. That's resurrection power!
The love of the Father never fails. God still has a plan for us all to be saved.
Hallelujah, Christ has risen, indeed!
All Dressed Up for Easter
c. 1984 on the Ranch in Colorado