Good Wednesday

Three Days and Three Nights[i]

The greatest fact of the Bible is that Jesus of Nazareth is the Son of God.[ii]  The gospel is the good news that Jesus died, was buried, and rose again, according to the Scriptures. [iii] Scripture states that Jesus rose the third day, in three days, and after three days.[iv]  Only three full days – seventy-two full hours – will satisfy all the numerous statements of the New Testament.  If we believe 6 literal days of creation in Genesis, we must also believe in 3 literal days for Jesus to be in the tomb. 

Satan is at war against Jesus Christ and wants to deny His gospel by any lies that He can.[v]  Easter tradition has Jesus dying on Good Friday afternoon and rising Sunday morning – one day and two nights.  Easter tradition denies the gospel and the very sign that Jesus Christ gave of His identity as the Son of God.

A timeline as presented in scripture

Jesus ate the Passover with His disciples on the evening of the fourteenth by Moses’ law.[vi]  After Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper, Jesus and the disciples went to the garden to pray.  Judas met them there and betrayed Jesus.[vii]  The crucifixion began at 9:00 AM, and Jesus died after the darkness ended at 3:00 PM.[viii]  Jesus was buried hurriedly as the preparation day ended and the high Sabbath day was about to begin at sunset.[ix]  The women who followed Jesus rested the high Sabbath day of the Passover before buying and preparing their spices.[x]  The women bought their spices and prepared them on the regular workday between the two Sabbaths days this week.[xi]  The women rested during the weekly Sabbath day after buying and preparing their spices the previous workday.[xii]  Jesus rose from the dead as the weekly Sabbath ended – three days and three nights after burial – as prophesied.[xiii]  While it was still dark, “toward the dawn of the first day” the morning of the first day of the week, the women found the tomb already empty.[xiv]

The pivotal point to understand the timeline is that Passover is a High Sabbath day and Saturday is the weekly Sabbath day.  During the celebration of Passover, there were two Sabbath days; one High Sabbath (on Thursday) and the weekly Sabbath (on Saturday).  Friday was the only work day available to the women to buy the spices and prepare them.  They were forbidden to work on Thursday or Saturday.[xv]  They also could not have purchased the spices, prepared the ointments, and made it to the tomb “very early” on Sunday morning.[xvi]  Plus in Luke’s account the women went and saw the tomb (vs.55), then purchased spices (vs. 55) and then rested for the Sabbath (vs. 56).[xvii]  In Mark’s account the women bought spices “When the Sabbath was past.”  “And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb.”[xviii]

When considering the women’s preparation of the spices and ointment and when they could purchase these and work on preparing the ointment; it is impossible to reconcile Mark 16:1 and Luke 23:55-56 with a Friday crucifixion and only one Sabbath day.  The proper timeline has the Lord’s Supper Tuesday evening, the arrest, trial, and crucifixion on Wednesday, the High Sabbath on Thursday, a regular work day on Friday, the weekly Sabbath on Saturday, and the resurrection before the women arrived at the tomb Sunday morning.

Therefore, I reject the tradition of a two night one day time in the tomb and teach a 3 day time in the tomb.  All of this only matters though if you repent of your sins and believe on the Lord Jesus.  The cross was God’s desire to punish Jesus for our sins and impute Jesus’ righteousness on us while placing our sins on Jesus.  This grand substitution is the doctrine of imputation, and was God’s gift to me, a sinful man.

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[i] This study is adapted from the same study at www.LetGodbetrue.com

[ii] John 20:30-31; Acts 8:36-37; I John 5:4-5

[iii] I Cor 15:1-4

[iv] Matthew 16:21; 26:61; 27:63

[v] II Cor 11:3-4; Gal 1:6-8

[vi] Exodus 12:6-8; Matt 26:17-20; Mark 14:12-17; Luke 22:7-15

[vii] Luke 22:14-20, 39-46

[viii] Matthew 27:45-50; Mark 15:25,33-37; Luke 23:44-49

[ix] Mark 15:42; Luke 23:54; John 19:14,31,42

[x] Mark 16:1 Exodus 12:16

[xi] Mark 16:1 cp Luke 23:55-56

[xii] Luke 23:55-56 cp Exodus 20:10

[xiii] Matthew 12:39-40; Mark 8:31

[xiv] Matt 28:1-6; Luke 24:1-3; John 20:1

[xv] Exodus 12:16, 20:10

[xvi] Mark 16:2

[xvii] Luke 23:55-56

[xviii] Mark 16:1

A Gospel Primer lesson on the Glory of God

This lesson is taken from Milton Vincent’s book A Gospel Primer for Christians Learning to See the Glories of God’s Love.  If you don’t have a copy of this book, we strongly urge you to get one.  Make it a daily part of your quiet time with God, preaching the gospel to yourself daily.  In part two of the book, the gospel is presented in narrative form.  We would like to share this with you.

The Glory of God

1.                  My God is immense beyond imagination.  He measured the entire universe with merely the span of His hand.[i]

2.                  He is unimaginably awesome in all of His perfections, absolutely righteous, holy, and just in all of His ways. [ii]

3.                  He has also been unbelievably good and merciful to me as the creator and sustainer of my life.

4.                  Every breath, every heartbeat, every function of every organ in my body is a gift from Him.

5.                  Every legitimate pleasure I experience is a gift from His loving hand to me.[iii]

6.                  All that I am and all that I have I owe to Him and to His goodness.[iv]

7.                  My life in every way is, and will continue to be, utterly dependent upon Him in whom I live and move and have my being.[v]

8.                  This wonderful God is the most supremely worthy Object of admiration,[vi] honor,[vii] and delight[viii] in all of the universe;

9.                  And He has created me with the intention that I might glorify Him[ix] by finding my soul’s delight in Him and by living in joyful obedience to Him in all of my ways.[x]

Thank you Lord Jesus for our health, our wealth, our family, your protection, guidance, and love.

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[i] Isaiah 40:12. “Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, and marked off the heavens by the span . . . ?”

[ii] Deuteronomy 32.

[iii] 1 Timothy 6:17. “ . . . God . . . richly supplies us with all things to enjoy.” 

Acts 14:17. “and yet He did not leave Himself without witness, in that He did good and gave you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness.”

[iv] James 1:17. “Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.”

[v] Acts 17:28. “for in Him we live and move and exist . . .”

[vi] Psalm 96.

[vii] Revelation 4:11. “Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created.”

[viii] Psalm 16:11. “. . . in Your presence is fullness of joy: In Your right hand there are pleasures forever.”

Psalm 37:4. “Delight yourself in the Lord . . .”

[ix] Romans 11:36. “For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things [including me].  To Him be the glory forever. Amen.”

1 Corinthians 10:31. “Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”

[x] Psalm 37:4

Deuteronomy 5.

Graces of the Heirs of Grace

Graces of the Heirs of Grace

3 Remind them to be subject to rulers and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every good work, 2 to speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing all humility to all men. 3 For we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another. 4 But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, 5 not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
8 This is a faithful saying, and these things I want you to affirm constantly, that those who have believed in God should be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable to men.

The New King James Version. Nashville : Thomas Nelson, 1982, S. Tit 3:1-8

Good News!  He saved us.  Donna and I heard Dr. Steve Lawson say, "Jesus stands at the door and knocks, then He comes around the back, and opens the door Himself."  We do not accept Jesus, He saves us.  Read 1 John and work out your own salvation