Traditional explanations:
I've heard the explanation that Jesus was actually crucified on
Thursday, double High Sabbaths, it was a unique year for Passover, but
when I studied the events that took place between His being crucified
and rising (what others were doing in the Bible leaves a timeframe) it did not add up
to three days and three nights.
I've heard the explanation that the Jews counted partial days as a
complete day, but why would Jesus twice say "three days and three
nights"? Jesus made a point of saying "and three nights"
twice.
Other objections answered:
Jesus said,
"Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it
up." (John 2:19)
Again, destroy is part of the time frame. And when is
a temple truly destroyed in the eyes of God? When it is taken apart
brick by brick, or when it "becomes sin" first? If even the stones can
break out in praise (Luke 19:40), when is a temple destroyed? Answer:
when it becomes sin. Jesus became sin and was destroyed as a temple.
"I have been cast out of Your sight; Yet I will look again toward Your
holy temple" (Jonah 2)
Someone made the argument that Jesus became sin when He said, "It is finished" (John 19:30). But if you look to just before
"It is finished", the Bible
says,
"After this, Jesus knowing that all things were
now
accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith 'I
thirst.'" (John 19:28)
Even if that meant something else?, the Bible doesn't say at that
point He was made sin. To be honest, I think everyone is having a hard
time accepting Jesus became sin because it hurts to imagine our
blessed Savior suffering any more than we already imagine. I
understand that, it's hard. The whole topic is difficult to think of.
Nights declared and days
Should there be confusion about the assigned days/nights of Jewish
time, know this:
1. "Jesus said to him, "Assuredly, I say to you that this night,
before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times."
(Matt 26:31)
(note: Jesus was delivered into the hands of men before that event,
that night)
2. "In the end of the Sabbath, as it began to dawn..."
(Matt 28:1)
"And when the Sabbath was past...and very early in the morning the
first of the week... (Mark 16:1-2)
"Now upon the first of the week, very early in the morning"
(Luke
24:1) "The first of the week" (John 20:1)
It all adds up to exactly three days and three nights.
Therefore, the nights were Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The days
were Friday, Saturday and Sunday, after the day began, on the third
day, EXACTLY as Jesus prophesied, He rose again.
Pondering thoughts
It's possible the "certain man" was the spiritual being that Daniel
described in Daniel 10:5,
"Then I lifted up mine eyes, and looked and
behold
a certain man clothed in linen…"
compares to a certain young man, having a linen cloth…same
description. This spiritual being was wearing linen.
I still think the linen indicated something to do with
the presenting of the sacrifice… God told Aaron, his sons and all the
priests to wear linen as they presented the sacrifice to God.
"You shall anoint them, consecrate them, and sanctify them, that
they may minister to Me as priests. And you shall make for them
linen trousers to cover their nakedness; they shall reach from the
waist to the thighs. They shall be on Aaron and on his sons when
they come into the tabernacle of meeting, or when they come near the
altar to minister in the holy place, that they do not incur iniquity
and die."
(Exodus 28:41b…)
Maybe this certain young man is Melchizedek, which is also a
mystery to me. Somehow I think this ties in but this is way over my
head.
All the Lord told me was,
"It began before He was
crucified."
The rest seemed to just leap off the
pages.
*****
If you are a scholar, I invite you to rework what
is written here, find for yourselves if the Holy Spirit and Scriptures
back this up. Write your findings, reword it, make this your own and
if you can, publish it as such. I don't care about being credited. I
only care that the message is given and I ask that you emphasize, this was given for the unbelievers. God is
sovereign, and His desire is for the lost. Do not
"copyright" the message itself, as it is freely given to you, so
freely give.
To
those who refuse to believe, there is no sign but the sign of Jonah.
But to the believer... I am in awe of what God has shown us.
Seek Him, and you will find Him, knock and the door will be opened.
Questions?
Contact
us <---click here and I'll try to answer as God leads. Be
sure to put a sincere title in the subject line. May God surround you
and bless you with His peace. ~ Jennifer
ShroderThe 12 verses
1. "From that time forth began Jesus to show unto His
disciples, how that He must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things
of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be
raised again the third day." (Matthew 16:21)
2. "Jesus said unto them, the Son of man shall be
betrayed into the hands of man; and
they shall kill Him, and the third day He shall be raised again."
(Matthew 17:22)
3. "Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man
shall be betrayed unto the chief priests and unto the scribes, and
they shall condemn Him to death, and shall deliver Him to the
Gentiles, to mock and to scourge, and to crucify Him, and the third
day He shall rise again." (Matthew 20:18)
4. "Son of man must suffer many things and be rejected of
the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and
after three days rise again." (Mark 8:31)
5. "For He taught His disciples, and said unto them, The Son
of man is delivered into the hands of men, and they shall kill Him,
and after that He is killed, He shall rise the third day."
(Mark 9:31) (note: the
repetition emphasizes Jesus was definitely dead, in other words, "make no
mistake He IS KILLED" and not isolating the sequence.)
6. "and they shall mock Him, and shall scourge Him, and
shall spit upon Him, and shall kill Him, and the third day He shall
rise again." (Mark 10:34)
7. "Saying, the Son of man must suffer many things, and be
rejected of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be slain,
and be raised the third day." (Luke 9:22)
8. "Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are
written by the prophets concerning the Son of man shall be
accomplished, for He shall be delivered unto the Gentiles and shall be
mocked, and spitefully entreated, and spitted on, and they shall
scourge Him, and put Him to death, and the third day He shall rise
again." (Luke 18:31)
9. "The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of men,
crucified, and the third day rise again." (Luke
24:7)
10. (The disciples were explaining unknowingly to the risen Jesus ) "And how
the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to be condemned to
death, and have crucified Him. But we trusted that it had to be He
which should have redeemed Israel, and besides all this, today is the
third day since these things (plural) were done."
(Luke 24:20) (This verse is
unique in that Jesus then replied, "O fools, and slow of heart to
believe all that the prophets have spoken: Ought not Christ to
have
suffered these things, and to enter into His glory?' " (Luke 24:25)
11. "And said unto them, thus it is written and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day."
(Luke 24:46)
12. "And we are witnesses of all things which He did both
in the land of the Jews, and in Jerusalem; whom they slew and hanged
on a tree: Him God raised up the third day."
(note: I looked up the original Greek word
for "slew" used in the New Testament. It means "Alas! woe" which are clearly suffering and included in
the sequence. By our definition, "slew" means: "To kill by violent means."
~American Heritage ) (Acts 10:39)
Notice how each one gives the necessary sequence. ALL verses follow the pattern and include the
"deliverance," "betrayal," or "suffering" of Jesus (Thursday
night) within the sentence describing the three day timeframe. I
also find it amazing that there are exactly 12.
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*****This is the age of acceptance, but with every passing day, time
is running out.*****
"If you turn your back on Me,
I will turn My back on you."
God will never
forsake His own, but as a nation, if we keep insisting our children
"walk through the fire," if we don't turn around from the
perverse path we are on, then we, as a nation, will be destroyed.
Don't blame the Muslims. We're doing it to ourselves.
Many have asked me, "What is your denomination?" I do not believe it
makes a difference as long as the foundation is Christ. Biblical
Christ. I have been to many different denominations, all sound. Though
I am not a practicing Catholic, I am a confirmed Catholic. I do not
accept all the Catholic doctrines but I believe Catholics to be
just as much Christian as Protestants and Protestants as Catholics.
It's all about Christ. And the fastest way to irk me is to claim a
person isn't saved if they don't speak in tongues, or a person isn't
saved if they haven't been baptized, IT IS ALL ABOUT CHRIST and
what He did and if we receive and are born again.
I
just praise God that He came.
God bless and thanks for
reading.
Alert:
"If
you turn your backs on Me..."
Don't miss
"Corruption in our children's
textbooks."
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Three Days and Three
Nights (conclusion)
