Christ' Death & Resurrection

Christ's Death and Resurrection

What really happened in Christ's resurrection? Is it true that he died Friday and was resurrected the following Sunday? Is this important for our faith and salvation?

1. What day of the week did Christ die?

2. How many days and nights did Christ spend in the grave being dead?

3. When is the resurrection?

4. What does it mean for us?

Did Christ die on a Friday?

Many people have been taught that our Christ died on a Friday. Is that true? What can we discover if we examine this issue closer? Will this teaching be supported or will this be totally debunked?

Here is what Christ himself said about his death:

For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. - Matthew 12:40

Jesus said, "A day has twelve hours, doesn't it? So those who walk in broad daylight do not stumble, for they see the light of this world. - John 11:9

Declaring that a day have 12 hours and saying He will be dead for 3 days and 3 nights is basically informing us that Christ will be dead in the span of 72 hours. Is this detail important? Yes, this is very important. It is one of the signs that He is the Massiach. If this sign did not come true, Christ would be proven not only to be not the Massiach and most of all - a liar.

And we can read this from the Bible:

38 Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, "Teacher, we want to see a miraculous sign from you." 39 He answered, "A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40 For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.- Matthew 12:38-40

That is why this detail is very important.

But what is the common teaching today about this? Almost all mainstream "Christians" teach that Christ died on a Friday and his resurrection happened on the following Sunday as follows:

As shown in the above graphical representation of days and nights involved in Christ's death and resurrection, Christ died on the afternoon before the Sabbath after 3 O'clock PM. -

"34 At three o'clock Jesus cried out with a loud shout, ["Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?"] which means, "My God, my God, why did you abandon me?" - Mark 15:34

And the following day is Sabbath:

42 It was toward evening when Joseph of Arimathea arrived. He was a respected member of the Council, who was waiting for the coming of the Kingdom of God. It was Preparation day (that is, the day before the Sabbath), so Joseph went boldly into the presence of Pilate and asked him for the body of Jesus. - Mark 15:42

Then some of Christ's women disciples went to the tomb early in Sunday morning while it was still dark. According to John 20:1

So these three descriptions of specific events are real and documented. Taken in face value, they seem to point out that things happened the way the Bible teachers of today commonly teach. Is it correct?

No. The undeniable detail that makes us sure that the teaching of Friday-death-to-Sunday-resurrection is not correct is the word of Christ. He would be dead "three days and three nights", or else He is not the Christ.

If we take that teaching of Friday-Sunday to be true, we will have a maximum period of only 39 hours, covering a maximum of 2 days and 2 nights. And then we have to accept Christ is not really the Massiach and He is a liar. Obviously, this kind of teaching can only come from the inspiration of the fallen angels.

So how can there be 3 days and 3 nights exactly if the Bible describes the events as above?

The biblical accounts are correct, it's the understanding that is flawed. Consider the additional information about this event and everything will become clearer. Provided you are really looking for the truth and that Christ's word being true, have any importance to you.

First, while the Bible does say that the following day is Sabbath, it does not necessarily say that the day of Christ's death is Friday. "Friday" is only an insertion of the newer translations and versions of the Bible that thought they are giving the day the correct name. The day of our Lord's death is actually Nisan 14, yes, this site's name! Does the Bible say that the day following Nisan 14 is a Sabbath? Yes.

6 Then, on the evening of the fourteenth day of the month, the whole community of Israel will kill the animals. - Exodus 12:6

3 You have six days in which to do your work, but remember that the seventh day, the Sabbath, is a day of rest. On that day do not work, but gather for worship. The Sabbath belongs to the Lord, no matter where you live. 4 Proclaim the following festivals at the appointed times 5 The Passover, celebrated to honor the Lord, begins at sunset on the fourteenth day of the first month. 6 On the fifteenth day the Festival of Unleavened Bread begins, and for seven days you must not eat any bread made with yeast. 7 On the first of these days you shall gather for worship and do none of your daily work.- Leviticus 23:3-7

We can understand from the above passages that the first and the seventh day of the feast of unleavened bread are to be treated as Sabbaths and the Jews will have to rest on those days no matter what day of the week those days fall.

With that information we can understand that the "day before the Sabbath" which is Nisan 14 was not necessarily Friday. In fact it can be any day and the following day, Nisan 15 will still be a Sabbath.

What other information can we gather to shed light on this?

Let us read: 1 After the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices to go and anoint the body of Jesus.- Mark 16:1

We must remember this passage, it is saying the women bought spices AFTER the Sabbath. (If Nisan 14 is Friday and Sabbath following is Saturday, what will be the day AFTER the Sabbath? Yes it should be Sunday, let's see)

Now let us read Luke 23:56:

56 Then they went back home and prepared the spices and perfumes for the body. On the Sabbath they rested, as the Law commanded.

Have you noticed that?

Okay, let us see another version so that this will be clearer. NLT

Then they went home and prepared spices and ointments to anoint his body. But by the time they were finished the Sabbath had begun, so they rested as required by the law. - Luke 23:56

Now, in Luke the women bought and prepared the spices BEFORE the Sabbath.

Mark said they bought spices AFTER the Sabbath. How can this seeming contradictory statements be both true? Because there were two Sabbaths that week, the regular Sabbath of seventh day and the special Sabbath of Nisan 15.

Dying in Nisan 14, entombed on the 2 Sabbaths and discovered to have been resurrected early Sunday morning, will all these details fit the exact 3 days and 3 nights Christ have said?

The answer is a resounding, YES! As shown in the image above,(you can download it so you can read it a little better) Christ would have died in Nisan 14, entombed from Nisan 15 to Nisan 17, containing 2 Sabbaths and Friday in between them. All the details of the biblical accounts are correct and Christ's words were fulfilled perfectly.

When Was The Resurrection of Christ?

It appears that Christ's resurrection happened on or after the Sabbath, when His 3 days and 3 nights have been completed. We have to remember that the Jewish days starts and ends on the sundown. Unlike the usual midnight to midnight that is commonly used today. That is the reason why, when the women went very early morning on Sunday, which is actually the first day of the Jewish week, they did not find Christ body because He had risen at least 12 hours earlier.

1 Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. 2 So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, "They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don't know where they have put him!"- John 20:1-2

What does this all mean to us?

The fact that what Christ said was fulfilled, as being dead for 3 days and 3 nights and the resurrection happened as he said when it would happen should liberate us, who have been imprisoned by a faulty teaching that Christ has failed to prove a particular sign of His being the Massiach.

This also means that all the religious groups and teachers that continually teach that Christ died on a friday and was resurrected on the following sunday are not really teaching the truth and cannot be agents of God's word.

Therefore, we can rest assured that Christ is the real Massiach, and His words are true, giving us the assurance that whatever He promised to His disciples will actually happen in the future. Let us be steadfast in our faith in Him, that soon He will act for the welfare of all those that fear His God and obey the commandments.