Resurrection
Did Jesus Lie??This is another confusing manmade doctrine. The confusion comes from Bible scholars trying to compare Hebrew customs of 2000 years ago. The custom seems to have been that any part of a day was considered a whole day. That is well and good for a custom of that day. BUT the Bible clearly reads that Jesus specifically stated that He would be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights. He even referred to Jonah being in the belly of the whale for a similar period of time. Also, the Bible "day" is "even to even" or more precise, sundown to sundown.
There is NO CONFUSION in these scriptures. Three days and three nights means three days and three nights. John 19:31 (KJV) corresponds exactly with the time frame stated by Jesus and his subsequent resurrection on Sunday. According to John 19:31(KJV), there were two Sabbaths that week. The first was a "high day" on Thursday and the second obviously was the weekly Saturday Sabbath. So Jesus was placed in the tomb at sundown on the preparation day, Wednesday, for the "high day" which was Thursday.
Day 1 (24 Hours) = Sundown Wednesday to sundown Thursday
This means that Jesus could have risen anytime after sundown Saturday and prior to dawn Sunday morning and His prophecy would be fulfilled. We don't really know the exact time Jesus rose from the tomb. The Bible reads in
- Matthew 28:1 (KJV) 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.
Furthermore, the entire Bible lists the phrase "three days and three nights" only on 3 separate occassions. Strong's uses the same meaning for each incident in the Old Testament:.
- 1 Samuel 30:12 (KJV) And they gave him a piece of a cake of figs, and two clusters of raisins: and when he had eaten, his spirit came again to him: for he had eaten no bread, nor drunk any water, three days and three nights.
- Jonah 1:17 (KJV) Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
These two verses say nothing about a tradition of counting part of a day as a whole day. They clearly mean- "three days and three nights" -72 hours! So when Jesus states that he will be in the heart of the earth "three days and three nights" and He refers to Jonah being in the belly of the whale for the same period, there is no room for NOT believing Him.
- Matthew 12:40 (KJV) For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
- John 19:31 (KJV) "The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation, that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the sabbath day, (for that sabbath day was an high day) besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. "
And don't forget the prophecy of Daniel 9:26-27 that says that Messiah would be "cut off" in the midst of the week (ie; Wednesday).
Jesus either told the truth about the resurrection, OR HE LIED.
According to Biblical scholars, manmade doctrine and the Good Friday theory, HE lied. If the excuse is that "highly figurative language" must be used to interpret these scriptures, then how are we to know the truth? How are we to determine which scriptures are "highly figurative" and which are to be taken as literal truth?? It is true that there are some scriptures that are hard to understand, but these scriptures are VERY clear.
Scripture doesn't lie and Jesus didn't lie! Jesus died on Wednesday afternoon and rose sometime after sundown on Saturday. You can believe it because it is straight from the Word of God without manmade doctrine or sources that conflict with the validity of the Word.
PLEASE-don't try to refute this with 2000 year old manmade calendars or other "historical" documents that was made decades after the fact. SCRIPTURE PREVAILS ALWAYS!