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Question: You stated that Jesus Christ rose on Sunday.The reason I ask is, I know that He died the ninth hour (Matthew 27), which is 3PM. So three days and three nights in the grave means Christ died Thursday afternoon? Why does so many say He died on Friday? Others say Jesus died on Wednesday and rose Saturday afternoon and that is why they found the grave empty Sunday morning. Do you observe Sunday Sabbath because that is when they found out the grave was empty? I can't see why the churches are so fragmented.

Answer: One of the major reasons that many claim that Jesus was crucified and buried (placed in the tomb) on Friday is taken from John 19:31, where the Jews "besought Pilate that their legs [that is, of the three crucified 'criminals'] might be broken, and that they might be taken away." Why? Because "it was the preparation, (and so) that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the Sabbath day, [and especially because] that Sabbath day was an high day."

That Jesus rose early Sunday, even before daylight, is taken from the passage that you referenced in your question -- the women who came to anoint His body found the stone rolled away and the tomb empty!

Proving a crucifixion before Friday is difficult in light of the first statement made above. Debating a resurrection later than Sunday is absolutely preposterous in light of the second statement made above.

The theory that Jesus rose on Saturday afternoon is also difficult to believe after reading Matthew 28:1-15. Notice in verse 11 that "some of the watch came into the city" even while these holy women were going to deliver messages (from Christ and from the angel) to the disciples. Surely they did not wait all that time to go into the city after such a harrowing experience as they did experience! This wording in this whole passage of Matthew 28 encourages us to believe that the angel came just as the first day of the week began to dawn (usually about 6 A.M.), the keepers of the tomb were frightened and ran away, and the women arrived very shortly thereafter. Any other reading of this passage is strained.

So... if Jesus was indeed crucified on a Friday, and resurrected on Sunday, how can we explain "three days, and three nights"?

First of all, let me demonstrate the difficulty of taking this phrase to mean "three entire 24-hour days." If this were its meaning, we would naturally expect Jesus to rise at 3 PM since He died at approximately 3 PM (as you indicated), correct? What afternoon was it then? Certainly it wasn't Saturday (last paragraph), and it couldn't have been Sunday afternoon since these women found the tomb empty on that morning! It would have necessarily needed to be on Friday or earlier, any of which are simply not plausible by anyone's account.

Secondly, let me explain what I believe to be the meaning of these words. I believe they simply indicate that His body would be in the tomb during at least part of three separate 24-hour days. Thus, His body lay in the tomb a very small part of Friday (which would have ended at about 6 PM), all of Saturday, and part of Sunday (about 12 hours of it, since Sunday began at 6 PM on what we would call Saturday evening).

Always remember to accept the CLEAR teachings of Scripture without question -- in this case the Friday crucifixion and the Sunday resurrection. Then, seek to reconcile any other (seeming) contradictions to the clear teachings of Scripture. The Holy Ghost will always open your eyes to the Word if you are sincerely seeking the truth. If you are not sincerely seeking truth, then the Lord will perhaps allow you to retain your earthly "wisdom" and skepticism, all of which He says are "foolishness."

You also mentioned "Sunday Sabbath." Sunday worship is absolutely a tremendous evidence of the actual, bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Saturday (seventh-day) worship had been ingrained in the Jews from childhood. The "tradition of the elders" even prescribed in great detail how much work, even how much travel, could be done on the Sabbath without violating God's command to "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy." A miracle would be needed to change their day of worship! And that miracle was found in the resurrection of Christ from the tomb on the first day of the week. So now, every time a Christian goes to church on Sunday, he is testifying to the truth of the Resurrection! Praise the Lord!

To call Sunday "the Sabbath" would be a misnomer. Sabbath keeping was a matter of ceremonial law, which was fulfilled to such a degree in Jesus Christ that to continue to practice is to declare Christ's earthly work inadequate. Jesus Himself said that "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath." Sunday is indeed our accepted day of worship, and should be respected by those who recognize it as such. The rest prescribed by the Lord on the Sabbath (actually Saturday) was given to those who labored for "six days." A man would find wisdom in the practice of resting one day, and working six, even if it is no longer prescribed by God's law! God has reasons for His laws!

Number one, because they fail to recognize the difference between issues that are essential to the Gospel (Christ's incarnation, sinless life, crucifixion, resurrection, ascension, and soon return -- among MANY MANY others) and those that are not (such as the issue that we have attempted to address here -- it really doesn't matter significantly when He was crucified and resurrected, only that He was crucified and that He did rise again)!

If you seek to find someone who is going to agree with you on EVERY issue in Scripture, then you will seek in vain! But you cannot allow the fragmentation of churches to prevent you from building a personal relationship with Jesus Christ yourself. If you have not been born again and living in newness of life when you leave this world and stand before the Lord, you alone will be to blame, and it will cost you an eternity in the Lake of Fire where the worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. Many people have rejected Christ because they didn't want to go to church with hypocrites -- but by their rejection of Christ they are doomed to spend an eternity with those same hypocrites!

I hope I have sufficiently addressed your question, and that you will continue to sincerely seek truth despite the fragmentation of churches, and the issues that none of us can entirely resolve! Lord bless.

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