Jesus died on Wednesday not Friday
A Sabbath is the weekly seventh-day rest (Friday-Saturday sundown), while a "High Sabbath" is an annual holy day (from
Leviticus 23) associated with festivals like Passover. A High Sabbath can fall on any day of the week, but if it falls on a weekly Sabbath, it is considered a "double" or high-day Sabbath.
Key Gospel Verse (John 19:31):
"Therefore, because it was the Preparation Day, that the bodies should not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that sabbath day was an high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away."
Key Differences:
- Sabbath (Weekly): Observed every seventh day (Saturday), established in Genesis/Exodus.
- High Sabbath (Annual): Specific holy days or "feast days" (e.g., first/last days of Unleavened Bread, Pentecost, Tabernacles).
- Context: John 19:31 refers to the day after Jesus's crucifixion as a "high day" (Nisan 15), meaning the annual Passover Sabbath coincided with the weekly Sabbath.
Other Related Verses:
- John 7:37: Mentions "the last and greatest day of the festival" (Feast of Tabernacles), which is a High Sabbath.
- Mark 2:27-28: Jesus declares He is Lord of the Sabbath.
- Leviticus 23: Outlines the seven annual High Sabbath convocations.