Bob Thiel, leader of the improperly named "Continuing" Church of God, a self appointed/non-ordained upstart loves to mock the traditional observance by calling the Friday-to-Sunday timeline unbiblical “twisted mathematics” that fails to deliver a literal “three days and three nights” in the tomb (Matthew 12:40). He argues Jesus was crucified on a Wednesday (the Preparation Day before an annual “high day” Sabbath), buried before sunset Wednesday, and resurrected late Saturday afternoon—exactly 72 hours later—to fulfill the “sign of Jonah.” He dismisses Good Friday as a man-made tradition influenced by Roman compromise and pagan elements, claiming it makes “the word of God of none effect” (Mark 7:13) and denies the only public proof of Jesus’ messiahship.
Why Bob Thiel Is Wrong
Thiel’s position, while sincere and shared by some in certain Church of God groups, rests on a rigid, overly literal reading of “three days and three nights” that ignores ancient Jewish idiomatic usage of time. In biblical and Jewish culture, any part of a day was frequently counted as a full “day and night.” Examples abound:
- Esther 4:16 and 5:1 — Esther fasts “three days, night or day,” yet appears on the third day.
- Genesis 42:17-18 — Joseph imprisons his brothers for “three days,” then speaks to them “on the third day.”
- 1 Samuel 30:12-13 — An Egyptian servant is described as having gone “three days and three nights” without food or water, yet the timeline fits partial days.
Jesus Himself used inclusive reckoning when speaking of rising “on the third day” (Matthew 16:21; 17:23; 20:19; Luke 9:22; 24:7, 46), a phrase repeated throughout the Gospels and fulfilled in the traditional timeline. From late Friday afternoon burial to early Sunday morning resurrection spans parts of three days (Friday, Saturday, Sunday) and aligns with “the third day” language used by the angels, Jesus, and the disciples (Luke 24:21, 46).
The Gospels explicitly place the crucifixion on the “day of Preparation” before the weekly Sabbath (Mark 15:42; Luke 23:54; John 19:31, 42). John 19:31 notes it was also before a “high day” (the first day of Unleavened Bread), but this does not require two separate Sabbaths forcing a Wednesday death; the weekly Sabbath itself could be called “high” in context, and the women prepared spices after the crucifixion day but rested on the weekly Sabbath (Luke 23:56). Early Christian writers (e.g., Justin Martyr, Tertullian) and the consistent witness of the Church from the second century onward affirm a Friday crucifixion and Sunday resurrection. Claims of a Wednesday death rely on selective later sources (like the Didascalia Apostolorum) and calendar reconstructions that are debated even among scholars.
Moreover, Thiel’s broader critique—that Good Friday/Easter is pagan-tainted and that true Christians should keep only the biblical Passover/Holy Days—overlooks how the early Church, guided by the apostles and the Holy Spirit, developed its liturgical calendar to proclaim the fulfillment of those shadows in Christ (Colossians 2:16-17). The profound events of the Passion transcend a single calendar debate. Insisting on a Wednesday crucifixion risks missing the forest for the trees: the cross is not primarily about chronological precision but about God’s redemptive love.
The name “Good Friday” endures not because of perfect 72-hour math, but because of the goodness accomplished there.
The Deep and Profound Significance of Good Friday
Today, April 3, 2026, Christians around the world observe Good Friday—the solemn heart of Holy Week and the day that commemorates the crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ. At first glance, it seems an odd name for the darkest moment in the Christian story: a day of betrayal, torture, public execution, and apparent defeat. Yet the name “Good Friday” carries layers of meaning that reveal the event’s extraordinary depth. Far from a simple anniversary of suffering, Good Friday stands as one of the most profound turning points in human history according to Christian belief—a day when divine love confronted human brokenness and, through sacrifice, opened the door to redemption.
Why “Good” Friday?
The word “good” here does not mean pleasant or happy in the modern sense. Linguists trace it to an older English usage where “good” meant “holy” or “pious,” much like “the Good Book” for the Bible. Some traditions once called it “God’s Friday.” In German it is Karfreitag (“Sorrowful Friday”), and in many languages it is simply “Holy Friday.” The English name endures because Christians see profound goodness in what happened: the ultimate act of self-giving love that accomplished something eternally beneficial for humanity. As one theologian has noted, it was “good” precisely because Jesus’s death was not a tragic accident but the deliberate fulfillment of God’s plan to rescue people from sin and death—even if the exact hours spark honest chronological debate among believers.
The Events That Changed Everything
According to the New Testament Gospels, Jesus was arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane, tried before religious and Roman authorities, scourged, mocked, and nailed to a cross outside Jerusalem around the year 30 or 33 AD. He died around 3 p.m. on the Preparation Day before the Sabbath, uttering words of forgiveness, abandonment, and completion: “Father, forgive them,” “My God, why have you forsaken me?” and “It is finished.” His body was taken down before sunset and laid in a borrowed tomb.
To outsiders, this looked like the end of a failed messianic movement. To believers across centuries, it was the moment heaven and earth intersected in the most intimate way possible. God entered the full reality of human pain—not as a distant observer, but as one who bled, thirsted, and died. In that act, Christians see the ultimate expression of solidarity with every person who has ever suffered injustice, loneliness, or despair. Whether the precise day was what we now call Friday or another weekday in ancient reckoning does not diminish this reality.
The Theological Heart: Atonement, Love, and Redemption
The deepest significance of Good Friday lies in the Christian doctrine of atonement—the reconciliation of humanity with God. Christianity teaches that sin (humanity’s collective and individual turning away from God’s goodness) created a gulf no human effort could bridge. Jesus, understood as both fully God and fully human, stepped into that gulf. His death is seen as a substitutionary sacrifice: he took upon himself the consequences of sin so that forgiveness could be freely offered.
This is not abstract theology; it is profoundly personal. The cross reveals a God who loves not because we are lovable, but while we are still broken. As the apostle Paul wrote, “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). It is love that refuses to be defeated by evil, refusing retaliation and instead absorbing violence in order to overcome it. In the words of countless Christian writers, the cross is where justice and mercy kiss—God’s holiness is satisfied not through our punishment, but through his own self-offering.
Good Friday also confronts the paradox of suffering. In a world still filled with injustice, war, illness, and grief, the cross insists that suffering is never the final word. Jesus’s cry of forsakenness assures believers that God understands abandonment. His resurrection (celebrated two days later on Easter) promises that death itself has been defeated. Thus, Good Friday is not merely mournful; it is hopeful. It declares that the worst day in history became the doorway to the best news humanity has ever received: you are loved beyond measure, forgiven beyond deserving, and invited into a restored relationship with your Creator.
A Day of Reflection and Response
Throughout history, Christians have marked Good Friday with fasting, silence, and solemn services. Many attend the “Three Hours’ Agony” (noon to 3 p.m.), pray the Stations of the Cross, venerate a cross, or simply sit in quiet contemplation. No Eucharist is celebrated in many traditions, underscoring the emptiness before Easter. The day invites everyone—believer or seeker—to pause amid the rush of life and ask: What does sacrificial love look like in my own story?
In an age of instant gratification and self-promotion, Good Friday offers a counter-cultural wisdom: true greatness is found in self-emptying service, forgiveness of enemies, and trust that God can bring life out of what looks like total loss. It challenges us to confront our own capacity for betrayal (like Judas), denial (like Peter), or indifference (like the crowd), while extending the same mercy we have received.
The End Is Not the End
Good Friday does not stand alone. It is inseparably linked to Easter Sunday. The profound significance of the day is that darkness was real, the cross was cruel, and death was certain—yet none of it had the last word. The tomb would be empty. Hope would rise.
On this Good Friday, whether you approach it as a lifelong believer, a curious observer, or someone simply seeking meaning in suffering—or even if you question the exact weekday like Bob Thiel—the invitation remains the same: look at the cross. See there the length to which love will go. And dare to believe that the same power that turned the worst day into the greatest victory can still transform lives, relationships, and even the world’s broken places.
In the end, Good Friday is “good” because it reveals the deepest truth about reality: love is stronger than death, mercy triumphs over judgment, and God is for us, not against us. That is a significance worth pondering—today and every day—beyond calendar disputes.
Thank you for this. I think you nailed it. It’s a home run. When we try to apply an exacting chronological approach to the Passion we fail to see the forest because of the trees. And if we use that approach as a validation of our doctrine and theological wisdom and understanding we miss the mark. Our own blindness and arrogance can blind us to the profound significance of what Jesus did as our Passover lamb. He came to serve. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am humble and lowly……..As Jesus also said; he who desires to be great among you, let him be your servant. And he who desires to be first among you, let him be your slave. The words of Jesus and His Passion have been misunderstood by many down through time, and the Armstrong movement is most certainly not immune from this. He did what we could never do, ever, save us. No works on our part will change that. Happy Pesach to you all.
ReplyDeleteMercy does not triumph over judgment. That is wishful thinking. Most people have terrible judgment. In the real world, hate triumphs over truth.
ReplyDelete"Looks" like the crucifixion was Friday, April 3, 33 AD by the Julian Calendar. The 3 "days" - Nisan 14,15,16. The 3 "nights" - a few minutes of darkness Friday afternoon after Jesus was put in the tomb, Friday night, Saturday night.
ReplyDeleteP.S. Where did the Friday tradition come from? ...... Friday!!!!!
ReplyDeleteIt was stated in the post that:
ReplyDelete“John 19:31 notes it was also before a “high day” (the first day of Unleavened Bread), but this does not require two separate Sabbaths forcing a Wednesday death; the weekly Sabbath itself could be called “high” in context...”
The context is that according to John’s calendar the first day of unleavened bread fell on a Sabbath [the seventh day of the week] so John was saying that that Sabbath was also a holy day - the two coinciding.
Non-atonement holy days are not shabbaths but shabbatons; in this instance the “on” suffix is a diminutive such as “let” in booklet.
As a shabbaton is not as holy as a Sabbath food may be prepared on these days.
While Christ died on a Friday the fourteenth, according to John’s calendar, the fourteenth according to the calendar, should still be observed on which day of the week it occurs; not a yearly Friday commemoration.
Mt 28:1 And after the SABBATHS, in the shining forth to ONE OF THE SABBATHS, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to behold the tomb. (SLT).
Mt 12:1 In that time Jesus went in the SABBATHS through the standing corn and his disciples were hungry, and began to pluck the ears, end eat. (SLT).
And the Pharisees, seeing, said to him, Behold, thy disciples do what is not lawful to do in the SABBATH.
Lk 18:12 I fast twice of the SABBATH; I pay tithes of all I possess.
The singular “sabbath and plural “sabbaths” can be used interchangeably for the seventh day of the week and for the seven day week.
“ONE OF THE SABBATHS” means Sunday the first day of the week or one of the sabbath(s) as the Jews would say.
No where is “sabbaths” used for a sabbat and a sabbaton occurring together.
Mk 6:21 And when a convenient DAY was come, that Herod on his BIRTHDAYS made a supper to his lords, high captains, and chief estates of Galilee;
Mt 22:2 'The reign of the heavens was likened to a man, a king, who made MARRIAGE-FEASTS for his son, (YLT).
Mt 22:8 then saith he to his servants, The MARRIAGE-FEAST indeed is ready, and those called were not worthy, (YLT).
Ex 20:8 Remember the day of the SABBATHS [Gk: sabbaton plural] to sanctity it (singular) (ABP).
Mt 28:1 And after the SABBATHS [Gk sabbaton, plural] (SLT).
“... in the Septuagint the plural is sometimes used where the original Hebrew has the singular, and where it is obvious that the reference is to a single day [Ex 16:25, 26; 20:8, 10; 35:3; Num 15:32, Deut 5:12]. There may be a parallel here to the custom of using the Greek plural for festivals such as the Feast of Dedication (John 10:22), the feast of Unleavened Bread (Mark 14:1), a marriage feast (Matt. 22:2) or a birthday celebration (Mark 6:21)" (Walter F. Specht, "The Sabbath in the New Testament," in The Sabbath in Scripture and History, ed. Kenneth A. Strand, 1982, pp.92-93).
Matt. 20:1-16 is also mildly tangential. The parable of the workers, in which God counts a partial day of labor as a full day for the purpose of giving recompense. Tangential because it further illustrates the nuance we are presently discussing.
ReplyDeleteIt's also important to realize that the Jews interpreted the superlatives contained in their scrolls in a similar manner. "All" as in utterly slay all of the Amalekites, meant "for the most part". Same with things which were to be done or kept for "all times". It was understood as meaning for as long as certain specific conditions continued to exist.
This is yet another reason why we believe the Old Covenant was specifically with and for the Hebrew tribes in the promised land. Time and date stamped, if you will, and It was best understood within the context of their language and their culture. The very act of translating from one language to another is in reality paraphrasing, no matter how careful one might be. Devout ones from earlier eras felt so strongly about this that they actually killed people who translated it, one of whom was William Tyndale. They thought his work not to be of benefit to humanity, but blasphemous. There is a whole bloody history associated with translators of the Bible.
We have thousands of years of relatively uniform history and tradition surrounding Holy Week, and then suddenly Herbert W.Armstrong, or the people whom he plagiarized, swoop down, question it, and attempt to change it all and refer to Christians as "Christians falsely so called" Not been taught in nearly 2,000 years indeed! It's like an old Saturday Night Live skit such as "What if Hitler had won World War II", or "What if the South Had Won the Civil War?"
I tend to think that if Bob Thiel had never heard of Herbert W. Armstrong, his basic personality would have lead him to another contrarian guru. That is just the way some people are wired!
Good work Bob. You are a clown, but you do get some things right.
ReplyDelete