Keeping Time
In 24 Hours That Changed the World , Adam Hamilton points out that we believe Jesus died at the age of 33 after a life of approximately 12,000 days. The Gospel writers devoted most of their work to just 1,100 or so of those days, the last three years of his life. Their primary interest, however, was one particular day—the day Jesus was crucified. The gospel writers believed this 24-hour period changed the world. It may be helpful to explain how time was counted in Jesus’ story. It’s a little different than how we keep time. For most of us, a day begins and ends at midnight. This doesn’t hold true on a Jewish calendar, not in the time of Jesus and not today either. In the beginning, when God created time, the night was created first and then the day. “God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, a first day” Genesis 1:5 . Therefore, a Jewish day begins at nightfall and ends the following nightfall. Of course, exac...