The Third Day
The churches of Christ Greet You (Romans 16:16)
Jesus’ statement in
Matthew
12:39-41 positively affirms that the Old Testament story of Jonah did
actually
take place as the Scriptures record it. But more than that, the event
constituted a sign of Christ's own death, and burial, and resurrection.
As a
matter of fact, this was the only sign given to that generation
(verse
39).
Today, there is a
vocal minority
of Christians who have made a tremendous issue out of the phrase "three
days and three nights." They insist that Jesus used the expression
because
He was to be in the grave exactly seventy-two hours, not a
second more
or second less. This conviction has led them to conclude that Christ
was
crucified on Wednesday afternoon and was resurrected at the same hour
late
Sabbath afternoon. In this way they account for the full seventy-two
hours
which they believe Christ spent in the tomb.
On seventeen
separate
occasions, Jesus or His friends spoke of the timetable involving His
death and
resurrection.
Ten times it was specified that
the resurrection would take place on
the "third day" (Matt.16:21; 17:23; 20:19; Mark 9:31; 10:34, Luke
9:22; 13:32; 18:33; 24:7, 46).
On five
occasions they
said, "In three days" (Matthew 26:61; 27:40, Mark
15:29, John 2:19-20).
Twice they used the phrase, "after
three
days" (Matthew 27:63, Mark 8:31).
And one time
only
Jesus spoke of His death as "three days and
three nights" (Matthew 12:40).
Without question, all
of
these various expressions are used to describe the very same event.
There seems to be no controversy regarding this point. "The third
day," "in three days," "after three days," and
"three days and three nights" are equivalent terms used in the
scripture in reference to the resurrection of Jesus.
Expressions Cannot Be Literal
Now we ask the
question: Can all
of these expressions be taken in a strictly literal sense and still
harmonize
with each other? Absolutely not! For example, "after
three
days" would certainly have to be interpreted as longer than
seventy-two hours. "In three days" could mean anytime less
than seventy-two hours, and "three days and three
nights" could only mean exactly seventy-two hours to the
second.
And "the third day" presents even greater problems as we shall notice
in a moment.
Does this sound
terribly
confusing? If so, it is only because men have placed their own
interpretation upon the meaning of God's Word. We must let
the
scripture explain itself and especially, we must let Christ
provide
definitions for the words which He spoke. It would be a mammoth
mistake to
seize upon any one of the expressions used and force its strict
compliance with
our interpretation without reference to the other sixteen texts on the
subject.
Inclusive Reckoning
The only way we can
harmonize all
of these apparently contradictory statements of Jesus is to understand
them in
the light of inclusive reckoning of time. This was the method used
throughout
the scripture in computing time, and we must apply the same method now,
unless
we want mass confusion. The unreasonable insistence upon the use of
twentieth
century English idioms of speech to interpret first century Greek or
Hebrew has
led to some extreme views indeed. Jesus and His friends spoke and wrote
in
harmony with the common literacy usage of the day, and that usage
recognized
inclusive reckoning of time. In simple language, this means that any
part
of a day was counted as a whole day.
Before we turn to the
scripture
for confirmation of this principle, let us read the authoritative
statement of
the Jewish Encyclopedia on the matter.
"A short time in the
morning
of the seventh day is counted as the seventh day; circumcision takes
place on
the eighth day, even though, of the first day only a few minutes after
the
birth of the child, these being counted as one day." Jewish
Encyclopedia, Volume 4, page 475.
How clearly this
defines the
Hebrew method of computing time. Any small part of a day was
reckoned as the
entire twenty-four hour period. It is the Hebrew form of speech
and
language. Scores of contradictions would appear in both Old and New
Testament
if this principle were ignored. We must compare Scripture with
Scripture
and use the idiom of the language in which the scripture was written.
Inclusive
reckoning was taken for granted by all writers of the Scripture.
Examples from Scripture
Let us now notice a
few examples
of this usage in the scripture that will clarify the problem before us.
Noah: In Genesis 7:4, God
said to Noah, "For yet seven days, and I will cause it
to
rain upon the earth." But in verse 10 we read, "And it came to pass after
seven days, that the waters of the flood were upon the earth." The
marginal reading expresses it as "on the seventh day."
Pity the poor chronologer who tries to figure that one out! When did
the flood
come? In seven days? On the seventh day? Or after
seven
days? The answer is simple when inclusive reckoning is applied. The day
on
which God spoke to Noah counted as the first day, and the day on which
it
started raining was the seventh day. Even if God spoke just ten minutes
before
the end of that first day, it was still counted as one of the seven.
And if it
started raining at noon on the last day, it was also counted one of the
seven.
Circumcision: The same principle
is revealed in the circumcision of babies. Genesis 17:12 specifies "he
that is eight days old." But Luke 1:59 reads "on
the eighth day." Luke 2:21 uses still another expression: "When eight
days were accomplished."
Joseph: Further proof for
inclusive reckoning is seen in Joseph's dealing with his brethren.
Genesis
42:17-19 says "He put them all together into ward three days.
And Joseph said unto them the third day, this do, and
live; ...
go ye. ..."
Taxes: Consider also the
tax issue between King Rehoboam and the people. 2 Chronicles 10:5, 12
says
"Come again unto me after three days. ... So ... all the
people came to Rehoboam on the third day."
Christ's definition of Time
Now we are ready to
apply this
clearly established rule to the time Jesus was in the tomb. At least a
part of
three days had to be included in the period He was actually dead. The
most
frequent expression Jesus used in describing the resurrection was the
"third day." He defended His repetition of the term on the basis of
the Scriptures. "And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus is
behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the
third day"
(Luke 24:46).
The two disciples on
the road to
Emmaus employed the same expression when they spoke of the terrible
events
surrounding the crucifixion. Unconscious of the fact that they were
talking to
Jesus, who had been resurrected earlier that same day, one of them
said, "To
day is the third day since these things were done" (Luke 24:21).
Clearly, those people
understood
how to count the days and to determine which the third one was. They
knew
because it was a common idiom of their language. But Jesus did not
leave any
question in the matter. It almost seems that He anticipated the
perplexity of
later Christians who might not know about inclusive reckoning.
Therefore, He
gave such a plain, conclusive explanation of how to locate the third
day that
no one would ever need to doubt again. "Behold, I cast out devils, and
I
do cures to day and to morrow, and the third day I shall be
perfected.
Nevertheless I must walk to day, and to morrow, and the day
following"
(Luke 13:32-33).
How simple Jesus made
it! Even a
child can figure when the third day comes. The third day will always be
the day
after "to morrow" from any certain event. The first day is counted in
its entirety (no matter when it begins during that day), the whole of
the
second day, and the third day in its entirety (no matter when it ends
during
that day).
Now we can understand
the
conversation Jesus had with the Jewish leaders and why they interpreted
it as
they did. He said, "Destroy this temple, and in three days
I
will raise it up" (John 2:19-21). Later, after the crucifixion, the
chief
priest said to Pilate, "Sir, we remember that that deceiver said, while
he
was yet alive, after three days I will rise again.
Command therefore
that the sepulchre be made sure until the third day,
lest his
disciples come by night and steal him away" (Matthew 27:63, 64).
With Christ's
definition of
time before us, the picture snaps into clear focus. Speaking
prophetically of
His own death and resurrection, He said, "To day (crucifixion)
and to
morrow (in tomb), and the third day (resurrection) I shall
be
perfected" (Luke 13:32). There are all three days in their sequence.
Even
though He died in the late afternoon, the entire day would be
counted as the
first day. The second day would span the Sabbath when He
slept in
the tomb. Even though He was resurrected in the early hours on the
third day,
inclusive reckoning would make it one of the three days. Thus, Friday,
Saturday
and Sunday = Three Days!
The Resurrection on Sunday
Now the time has come
to pinpoint
the actual days of the week when these events took place. Again, we are
amazed
at the perfect harmony of the Scriptures on the subject. There can be
no
question but that He arose on Sunday, the first day of the week. Mark
emphatically states, "Now when Jesus was risen early the first day
of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene" (Mark 16:9). Sunday
is
the first day of the week, and that is when He was resurrected. Words
could be
no plainer. Even the original Greek construction of the text will allow
no
other meaning. He did not rise from the grave on Saturday, as some
contend.
Neither was He crucified on Wednesday. There is not a scintilla of
scripture
evidence that He died on the fourth day of the week.
According to the
inspired record,
Christ was put to death on the "preparation day," and the preparation
day was not Wednesday. In all the pages of biblical history, the
preparation
day has been Friday. Please read Mark 15:42, 43, "And now when the
even was come, because it was the preparation, that is, the
day
before the Sabbath, Joseph of Arimathea ... went in boldly unto
Pilate, and
craved the body of Jesus."
The day following the
crucifixion
was not only the weekly seventh-day Sabbath, "that Sabbath day was an high
day" (John 19:31). This means that a yearly Sabbath in that
particular year happened to fall on the weekly Sabbath. In this case it
was the
Feast of Unleavened Bread (Matthew 26:17, Mark 14:1), which was called
the
Passover (Luke 22:1). Luke clearly identified that preparation day as
the one
immediately preceding the weekly Sabbath (Luke 23:54 - 24:1).
Surely there can be no
question as
to the time elements involved. He died on the preparation day, or the
day
before the weekly Sabbath. The next day is designated as "the Sabbath
day
according to the commandment" (Luke 23:56). Since the commandment says,
"The seventh day is the Sabbath" (Exodus 20:10), we know that this
had to be the day we call Saturday.
Jesus was raised from
the tomb
anywhere between sunset on the Sabbath day (roughly 6PM Saturday) to
sunrise
the first day of the week (6AM Sunday), which encompassed the first 12
hour
period of the third day.
Spices and Ointments
Furthermore, after
describing the
events of the preparation day in Luke 23:54-55, the next verse says:
Luke 23:56, "And they
returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and rested
the Sabbath
day according to the commandment."
They prepared spices
on the
preparation day, and then rested on the Sabbath day. Now notice what
the very
next verse says:
Luke 24:1, "Now upon
the
first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto
the
sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared"
Please take note that
after
preparing the spices on the afternoon of the crucifixion (Friday), and
resting
over the Sabbath (Saturday), they came to the tomb with the spices on
the first
day of the week (Sunday) to do the work of anointing. This was
their first
opportunity after the Sabbath to carry out the preparations made on
Friday
afternoon. This is when they discovered that Christ was risen.
If the crucifixion
took place on
Wednesday, how can we explain why the women waited until Sunday to come
to the
sepulchre? Why didn't they come Thursday or Friday to anoint His body?
Did they
not understand that after four days His body would be decomposing and
their
work of love would be in vain? The answers to these questions
constitute the
strongest case against a Wednesday crucifixion.
In view of the amazing
weight of
biblical evidence to the contrary, how can some still cling to the
Wednesday
crucifixion idea? The entire scheme is based upon the twisted
interpretation
of a single scripture text. The "three days and three
nights" phrase is forced into artificial conformity with current
English forms of speech, instead of the common usage of the
people
living at that time.
Matthew 28:1
Those who believe that
Jesus died
on Wednesday and rose on Saturday base much of their evidence on
Matthew 28:1,
"In the end of the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward
the
first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see
the
sepulchre." Figuring that the first day of the week "dawns" at
sundown Saturday night as the Sabbath ends, these people assume that
the women
discovered the empty tomb in the twilight moments of the Sabbath, just
before
sundown. They count backwards exactly seventy-two hours and arrive at
Wednesday
evening just before sundown for the crucifixion.
Is this a valid
conclusion? Or is
there evidence that the women could not have visited the empty tomb on
Saturday
evening? There is indeed positive biblical proof that they did not. We
find
that evidence in Mark's account of the visit to the sepulchre in Mark
16:1-3.
Mark 16:1-3, "And when
the
Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and
Salome,
had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him.
And very early
in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the
sepulchre at
the rising of the sun. And they said among themselves, who
shall roll us
away the stone from the door of the sepulchre?"
There is no question
about this
being an early Sunday morning visit. It is at sunrise. The very
same
women are named as in Matthew's account. Can we correctly assume that
these
same women had been to the tomb the night before and found Jesus risen?
Impossible. Why? Because of the question they asked as they approached
the
garden on Sunday morning, "Who shall roll us away the stone from the
door
of the sepulchre?" (Mark 16:3). If they had been there Saturday just
before sundown and found the tomb empty, they would have known that the
stone
was already rolled away from the door. This is absolute proof
that they had not been to an empty tomb the day before. It also proves
that
Matthew's "dawn" refers to the dawning represented by the sunrise and
not sunset. There is no contradiction between the two accounts.
Now, some may ask "Why
does
Matthew 28:1 say the women came to the tomb at the end of the
Sabbath?"
This is a legitimate question. Well, the answer is because the Greek
word for
"Sabbath" can also mean "week." This Greek word, sabbaton
is word #4521, and means "the Sabbath" as well as "a week."
As a matter of fact, this same Greek word is translated as both
"Sabbath"
and "week" in Matthew 28:1!
Matthew 28:1, "In the
end of
the Sabbath, (Greek word #4521) as it began to dawn toward the
first day
of the week, (Greek word #4521) came Mary Magdalene and the
other Mary
to see the sepulchre."
In other words, the
correct
translation should be, "In the end of the week, as it began to
dawn
toward the first day of the week." This same Greek word that's
translated as "Sabbath" is also translated as "week" in
these passages; Mark 16:2, 9; Luke 18:2; 24:1, John 20:1, 19; Acts
20:7, 1
Corinthians 16:2, so it is not hard to see that the correct translation
in
Matthew 28:1 is "week" and not "Sabbath."
This makes sense
because, as was
shown above, these women could not possibly have gone to the tomb on
both the
Sabbath and Sunday, because they would have known that the
stone was
already rolled away from the door. Besides, if they did go to the tomb
on the
Sabbath, this would directly contradict this passage in scripture,
which says
the women rested on the Sabbath:
Luke 23:56, "And they
returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the
Sabbath
day according to the commandment."
Seventy-Two Hours Not Biblical
Those who insist that
Christ was
in the grave a full seventy-two hours contend that the three days and
three
nights must be taken in the fullest literal sense. But such a
contention is
absolutely contrary to the testimony of the Scriptures. An example of
the way
the scripture uses the term is found in Esther 4:16. Do not overlook
the fact
that they were to fast "three days and three nights." Yet
Esther 5:1 tells us, "It came to pass on the third day" that
they ended their fast. Here is a perfect example of how three days and
three
nights terminate on the third day!
We have already
learned how Jesus
explained the third day. He said "to day, and to morrow, and the third
day" (Luke 13:32). Please think for a moment! When Jesus walked with
the
two disciples on the road to Emmaus on Sunday afternoon, after the
resurrection, Cleopas said, "To day is the third day since these
things were done" (Luke 24:21).
Later the same day -
the first day
of the week - Jesus made this statement: "Thus it is written, and thus
it
behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day."
Luke 24:46. Who was right? Jesus was right and Cleopas was right! But
those who
claim the Wednesday crucifixion are wrong. Christ died on Friday, the
preparation for the Sabbath - that was the first day. He rested in the
tomb on
the Sabbath according to the commandment - that was the second day. He
arose on
the first day of the week which was Sunday - that was the third day!
How
simple!
The proponents of a
Wednesday
crucifixion use a devious argument to explain away the words of Cleopas
on the
road to Emmaus. They contend that he was not counting the three days
from the
time of Christ's death, but rather from the sealing of the tomb by the
Roman
authorities the day after he was crucified. For this theoretical
conjecture
there is not a fragment of evidence in the scripture. Cleopas did speak
about
the trial of Jesus and certain events leading up to His crucifixion. By
taking
a bit of exegetical license one could possibly reach back to those
events from
which to reckon the third day. But by no stretch of the imagination
could any
point beyond the death of Christ be used in computing the three days.
In every related text,
the third
day is counted from the time of His death on the cross.
Repeatedly, the
Scriptures
emphasize the death of Jesus as the starting point of the three
days. To
begin counting a full day after the crucifixion is not only unbiblical
but
grossly imaginary. The sealing of the tomb is never once referred to in
connection with the period of time He was dead.
The expression "three
days and
three nights" does not indicate a precise computation of hours,
minutes,
seconds. We read that "forty days and forty nights" were spent by
Christ in the wilderness of temptation. However, the writers of two of
the
gospels state it simply as a period of "forty days," showing that
inspiration was not pinpointing the hours or minutes.
The Four Days of Cornelius
Now let us consider a
final
clear-cut example of inclusive reckoning that should lay this point to
rest
with every open-minded reader. It is taken from the New Testament and
reveals
graphically how days were numbered in the days of Jesus. The following
is an
account of a 72 hour period, and it calls 72 exact hours "four days,"
not three days!
Start at Ninth Hour: In Acts
10:3, Cornelius "saw in a vision evidently
about the ninth hour of the day an angel of God coming in to
him."
Follow the story carefully now. He was instructed in the vision to send
men to
Joppa and call for Peter. "And when the angel which spake unto
Cornelius
was departed, he called two of his household servants, and ... he sent
them to
Joppa" (verses 7-8).
One Day: "On the morrow,
as they went on their journey,
and drew night unto the city, Peter went up on the housetop to pray"
(verse 9). While praying he had a vision, and the men knocked at his
door when
his vision ended (verse 17). Please notice that this is one day
after
Cornelius received his angel visitor. Peter invited the men to come in
and
lodged them (verse 23).
Two Days: "... And on
the morrow Peter went away with them,
and certain brethren from Joppa accompanied him" (verse 23). Take note
that this is now the second day since the men were dispatched
by
Cornelius.
Three Days: "And the
morrow after they entered into
Caesarea. And Cornelius waited for them" (verse 24). This is the
third
day since Cornelius had his angelic vision. But don't miss this
point - a few
minutes later, in talking to Peter, Cornelius said, "Four
days
ago I was fasting until this hour; and at the ninth
hour
I prayed in my house, and, behold, a man stood before me in bright
clothing" (verse 30).
Three Days = Four days???
Now we get the picture in mind. It had been exactly
three days, to the very hour (the ninth hour). Yet
Cornelius said,
"Four days ago." How could he say it was four days
when it was only three days? Because he used inclusive
reckoning, which
meant that parts of four days were involved.
For example, in Jewish
time, the
ninth hour is 3PM. Now, scripture does not say which day Cornelius saw
his
vision, but it does not matter. Let us hypothetically start on
Wednesday.
Cornelius saw his vision at 3PM Wednesday (Acts 10:3). Thursday, the
men
knocked on Peter's door (verse 17). Friday, Peter went with the men
(verse 24).
And Saturday at 3 PM, Cornelius said he received his vision "four days
ago." Even though it was 72 hours ago (three days ago), Cornelius said
it
was four days ago. Count in for your self! Wednesday (1),
Thursday (2),
Friday (3) and Saturday (4) = Four Days! This is the scriptural way of
keeping
track of days, which goes contrary to the modern way of keeping track
of time.
Now, if Jesus was put
in the tomb
on Wednesday, and resurrected on Saturday, scripture would have said it
was
four days. But it describes Jesus' resurrection as only three days.
This is the
way scripture describes the length of time Jesus was in the tomb. Even
though
it was only a part of those three days (part of the 6th day, the entire
7th
day, part of the 1st day), it is counted as three full days! Friday
(1),
Sabbath (2), and Sunday (3) = Three Days!