3 Days and Nights

[Craig]

Ray,
Really enjoy your site.  Just became a newbie in your forum.  I was going through your e-mails on your site when I came across 3 DAYS AND 3 NIGHTS.  I understand that from your replies in some of your e-mails that you were having difficulty distinguishing this timeline.  Maybe I can help with this subject.
The Bible has witnesses for this account and so with witnesses you need a jury, that's where we come in to decide what we believe to be the truth and what is not.  Now, with that said, it is hard to get the picture of the whole story when everyone's testimony is slightly different.  You hear a little from this person and a little from that person and the whole picture seems to come together.  Now, this is what we have here, several accounts of the resurrection.  How do you get 3 days and 3 nights between Friday night and Sunday morning?  Friday is 1 night, Saturday is 1 day and Saturday is 2 nights.  Here yo u would only have 1 day and 2 nights, not 3 days and 3 nights.  Christian theology has Jesus crucified on Good Friday and resurrected on Sunday morning.  Just as Jonah was in the belly of the whale for 3 days and 3 nights (Jonah 1:17), Jesus would be in the heart of the earth 3 days and 3 nights (Matt. 12:40).  That's what the scriptures say, not 1 day and 2 nights, so there has to be a correct timeline here!  Everyone knows that the day following Jesus' crucifixion was a Sabbath day (Mark 15:42 ; Luke 23:54 ; John 19:14).  What everyone doesn't understand is that the Jewish Holy Days, except for 1, were all Sabbath days.  Note:  I didn't say they fell on a Sabbath but they are Sabbath days.  That is so, even if the calendar date falls on a Thursday.   In that case, Thursday is a Sabbath and the day before is a preparation day. Let me advance a theory, suppose Jesus was not crucified on a Friday but on a Wednesday,&a mp;nb sp;he was then put in the tomb in haste just as the sun was going down, Jewish days begin and end at sunset.  Let's count out 3 days and 3 nights.  Wednesday night, Thursday, Thursday night, Friday, Friday night, Saturday--3 days and 3 nights. It works!!!  Is that what happened?  Let's put some witnesses on the stand and see what 1 might know that the other does not.  Behold, there was a man named Joseph, who was a good and righteous man and a member of the Jewish council, who had not considered to their plan and action.  He was a man from Arimathaea, a city of the Jews (Mark 15:43).  He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus, Pilate gave the body to Joseph, he took the body down, wrapped it in linen cloth and laid in the tomb where no one had laid before (Mark 15:46).  This was the preparation day and the Sabbath was about to begin (Luke 23:50).  Not much of the day was left when Jesus was laid into the tomb and we al ready know that the day following the crucifixion was a Sabbath, but was this the weekly Sabbath or one of the annual Sabbath that fell on a calendar date (a holiday).  Back up and consider the testimony of John.  This is what John said, "After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scriptures might be fullfilled, saith 'I thirst'" (John 19:28) Jesus is still on the cross.  There was a jar of sour wine (vinegar), which they took and raised up with a branch, when he received the wine he said "It is finished" (John 19:30).  He bowed his head and gave up the spirit.  Verse 31  " The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation, that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the Sabbath day, (for that day was an high day), asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away."  So the Sabbath of the next day was a high day, it was the first day of the Feast of Passover, and it di dn't h ave to be on a Saturday, it could have been a Thursday or any other day of the week.  How can we tell if it was a weekly Sabbath or not?  Continuing in John, verse 38, and after this, Joseph of Arimathaea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, besought Pilate, and took away the body of Jesus with Nicodemus to the tomb.  Because the Jews believed that the body should be put in the ground the same day, there was no other day because sundown was the beginning of the Sabbath (high Sabbath), this had to be done hastily before sundown.  Luke's account that the women came with him from Galilee to the tomb and saw how his body was laid, then they returned and prepared spices and ointments and rested on the Sabbath day(weekly Sabbath) according to the commandment (Luke 23:55-56).  So here we can see that Fri. was the only day that the women, according to the law, could buy and prepare the spices.  They rested o n the w eekly Sabbath and came to the tomb early the first day of the week (Mark 16:1-2).

  Maybe this can help some Ray, Great thing your doing, really enjoy your WEB SITE!!!

God Bless,
Eric


    Dear Eric: No, I am not "having difficulty distinguishing this time-line." I know from the Scriptures when Jesus was buried and when He was resurrected. Your theory is, however, not Scripturally correct. I do not have time to write a paper on this subject now, although I have received possibly one hundred emails such as yours trying to "straighten me out." Most of them have used your Wednesday evening crucifixion/Thursday was a Holy Day theory. I will just give you a couple of problems with this theory:                                                              ;                 

    [1]  Jesus never said He would be "DEAD for three days and three nights." Most everyone who tries to solve this problem make that unscriptural assumption. Jesus said He would be "three days and three night IN THE HEART OF THE EARTH."  Remember this is the "sign of Jonah," and Jonah was NOT DEAD AT ALL, not even for one day.

    [2]  You state: "that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the Sabbath day, (for that day was an high day)...."  Meaning to you that that day "Thursday" was an high day."  Not so. Let's read  Joh 19:31 "The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation, that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the sabbath day, (for that sabbath day was an high day,)...."  Ah, did you catch that?  It doesn't say that "that day was an high day," does it?  No, it says "for THAT SABBATH DAY was an high day."  Big difference. There is your Scriptural answers. THAT SABBATH DAY [Saturday] was ALSO (in addition to being the weekly Sabbath day), was ALSO an high day. It is redundant and meaningless to suggest that "that Sabbath day was a Sabbath day" or "that high day was an high day). No, it was that SATURDAY, 7TH DAY, SABBATH DAY was ALSO an high day.  Your Thursday high day theor y falls flat.

    [3]  After the resurrection early Sunday morning, word went out the Jesus was taken from the tomb. Two of Jesus' disciples felt that they had been let down. They headed for Emmaus. On the road Jesus met up with them (this was LATE Sunday afternoon), but He didn't makes His identity known. He asked the two men why they were so unhappy.  They informed Jesus that the One they though was the Messiah was gone. They explained to Jesus..."how  the chief priests and our ruler DELIVERED HIM TO BE CONDEMNED TO DEATH AND HAVE CRUCIFIED HIM. But we trusted that it had been He which should have redeemed Israel: and beside all this TODAY IS THE  T-H-I-R-D  DAY since these things [condemned to death and crucified] were done."

    Oops!  What have we here? From the day that Jesus was condemned and crucified until SUNDAY late afternoon was "THE third day." According to your theory, Wednesday was the day Jesus was "condemned to death and crucified." Now let's count: day one Wednesday; day two Thursday; day three Friday; day four Saturday; and day five Sunday.  Sunday afternoon would have had to be the FIFTH day according to you theory.

    Etc., etc.

    I will write a paper on this subject explaining it fully when I get a chance, and my explanation will not contradict ANY Scriptures.

    God be with you,

    Ray