Three Days and Three Nights

Three Days and Three Nights

In Matthew 12:40, we read, “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.”    There is some confusion within the brotherhood on what day of the week Jesus died on the cross.  We all know that Saturday was the Jewish 7th day of the week and Jesus rose on the first day of the week.  Jesus died before the Roman soldiers could break His legs on the evening before the Sabbath day.  So how do we get three days and three nights between the day Jesus died and the first day of the week?  The Purpose of this study is to examine the history of the Passover and the associated feast and use that help establish the precise day that our Savior died on the cross.

Perhaps one of the most key verses of scripture to help pinpoint this day is found in Mathew 27:62 which reads, “The next day, that is, after the day of Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate”  This was the day after Jesus died and the text clearly says it was “after the day of preparation.”  This would mean that Jesus died on the day of preparation.  See also Mark 15:42, Luke 23:54, and John 19:31.  The day of preparation was the day the Jews prepared the Passover lamb followed by the eating of the Passover lamb that same evening.

The Relevant scriptures on the Passover in the Old Testament are found in Exodus 12:1-28; 43-51, Leviticus 23:4-8, Numbers 9:1-14, and Deuteronomy 16:1-8.

The time of the Passover lamb sacrifice was twilight on the 14th day of the first month which was Nisan, Leviticus 23:5,  “In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at twilight, is the LORD’s Passover.”  The first day of Nisan coincides roughly with the first of April.  This is the day of preparation where the Passover lamb is killed, prepared and eaten.   Exodus 12:6  “and you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month, when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill their lambs at twilight.”  Then the blood was put on the doorposts and lintel of the houses, Exodus 12:7  “Then they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it.”  They then prepared and ate the Passover lamb that night, Exodus 12:8,  “They shall eat the flesh that night, roasted on the fire; with unleavened bread and bitter herbs they shall eat it.”  They were to break no bones during the preparation, (Exodus 12:46), which is a foreshadowing of Jesus who also had no bones broken.

Jesus is our Passover today, 1Corinthians 5:7, “…For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.”  Of significance is the fact that as our Passover today, Jesus’ death coincided with the sacrifice of the Passover lamb.  Jesus died on the same day the Passover lamb was killed, (Mark 15:42, Luke 23:54, and John 19:31 & 42).

The day following the sacrifice and eating of the Passover lamb, the Jews then observed the feast of unleavened bread which lasted for 7 days.  The first and seventh days of the feast of unleavened bread were Sabbath days where no ordinary work was to be performed.  In Num 28:16-18 we read  “On the fourteenth day of the first month is the LORD’s Passover, and on the fifteenth day of this month is a feast. Seven days shall unleavened bread be eaten. On the first day there shall be a holy convocation. You shall not do any ordinary work.”  And in Leviticus 23:5-8, “In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at twilight, is the LORD’s Passover.  And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the LORD; for seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall have a holy convocation; you shall not do any ordinary work. But you shall present a food offering to the LORD for seven days. On the seventh day is a holy convocation; you shall not do any ordinary work.”

The day immediately following the day of preparation was called a sabbath day, even though it did not fall on the 7th day of the week.  Mark 15:42-43  “And when evening had come, since it was the day of Preparation, that is, the day before the Sabbath, Joseph of Arimathea, a respected member of the council, who was also himself looking for the kingdom of God, took courage and went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.”

Then in John 19:31 we read, “Since it was the day of Preparation, and so that the bodies would not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken and that they might be taken away.”   This was no ordinary Sabbath day.  “That Sabbath” was the first day of the feast of unleavened bread.

Jesus Christ was crucified the day before the sabbath (Mark 15:42). The Jews always honored the first day of the feast of unleavened bread as a special “high” sabbath, no matter what day of the week it fell upon (Exodus 12:6; Leviticus 23:7; Numbers 28:16-18). John’s gospel says Jesus was crucified on the “the preparation of the Passover” (John 19:14), and that the following Sabbath day was “an high day” (John 19:31). These Scriptures plainly show that the ordinary sabbath was not meant. Christ was crucified on the day before the “high day,” or first day of the feast of unleavened bread.

Scripture is clear that Jesus rose from the dead on the first day of the week, (Matthew 28:1, Mark 16:9, Luke 24:1-6)  Scripture is also clear that Jesus spent 3 days and 3 nights in the tomb.  Matthew 12:40, “For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.”

Most scholars believe Jesus was crucified and buried on Friday and spent Saturday in the tomb and rose on Sunday.  That is not three days and three nights.  Since the Sabbath following the day of preparation was different than an ordinary Saturday, we can count backwards from Sunday morning.  If Jesus had been crucified on Thursday, He would have spent Thursday night, Friday night and Saturday night in the tomb, which is three nights.

Scripture places Jesus’ death at the ninth hour of the day in Matthew 27:46-50, Mark 15:34-37, Luke 23:44-46.  The Jewish ninth hour is about 3:00 PM on our clocks.   If Jesus died at 3:00 PM-ish on Thursday, he would have been “in the heart of the earth”  The rest of the day on Thursday, all day Friday and Saturday.  A Thursday crucifixion works out to three days and three nights and does not contradict scripture.  Moreover, it works out perfectly with the day of Preparation for the Passover lamb and the first day of the feast of unleavened bread which is a sabbath day.

It is this Bible Student’s conviction that Jesus Christ was crucified and died on Thursday, which would be the 4th day of the Jewish week, spent 3 days and 3 nights in the tomb and was resurrected on the first day of the week.

I would like to thank James Burton Coffman for His scholarship and brother Seth Turbeyfill for his research notes, assistance and his insatiable hunger for the truth on this subject which inspired me to study it in depth.

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God’s Community of Love

God’s Community of Love

I love the Church because It is God’s community of love. God created people to live in love and fellowship with one another. This was His original plan in the garden of Eden. He said about Adam, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him” (Genesis 2:18). Marriage was the immediate application of this pronouncement, but the church was the ultimate goal and purpose that God had in mind (Ephesians 3:11, 5:32). God wanted a community of love to exist in which He Himself would participate. He created that initially, but Satan spoiled it when man sinned. The story of the Bible is God’s work in rebuilding that community through His sacrifice of His Son Jesus Christ. In Christ, God has finished the work that He began and created the new Eden. The church is the fellowship of humanity and God in one body, Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:16-22).

The community of love is exclusive. God does not extend fellowship beyond His body, the church. This is where He dwells with His people today. That is the point of Ephesians 2:21-22. “In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.” God lives in and with His people, the church, the body for which Christ died and shed His blood, and He will not dwell in any other. Jesus Christ is His habitation (John 1:14) and His bride is the body of Christ (Ephesians 5:23). This makes the church God’s unique and only dwelling place. It is God’s community of love.

As a human, I have a need to love and be loved. My need extends to God and other people. Given that the church is the unique community of love in which God dwells, I need to love and participate in the church. Moreover, I need to love God and have a relationship with Him by Jesus Christ. The church is where God fulfills these needs that He created. When I choose to love God and His people, my need to love and be loved is satisfied and God’s purposes are fulfilled in me, and God achieves atonement. There is no other place where this unique mix of love, community, fellowship, and unity with God and His people exist.

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Madonna, Taylor Swift, and Hitler

Madonna, Taylor Swift, and Hitler

I sometimes wonder if people truly listen to what individuals are actually saying, or is the person more important than the actual words. For instance, Madonna recently told a crowd in Los Angeles that she remembers talking with God. This alleged conversation occurred this past summer while she was in the intensive care unit from a serious bacterial infection. Madonna “told fans that her first word coming out of an induced coma after four days was ‘no.’” Allegedly that “no” was in response to God.

Madonna said, “I’m pretty sure that was God saying to me, ‘Do you want to come? Want to come up with me?’” Madonna’s response: “No.” Wright’s account of Madonna’s experience then goes on to quote her going on a profanity-laced tirade of when she would get out of the hospital and be back on tour.

This is the same Madonna who back in the 80s had parents trying to ban her music because of her raunchy songs (i.e., “Like a Virgin”). And for those who stopped listening to her music years ago, let me assure you Madonna hasn’t experienced a recent conversion to Christianity and begun singing wholesome songs. No, in fact, some of her more recent titles are so explicit (or profane) I won’t even mention them here.

So, let’s review—we have a popular pop singer who dresses exceptionally immodest, sings vulgar lyrics, had a coffee table book titled Sex, enjoys being lewd and raunchy on stage, but supposedly was asked by God if she wanted to come up with Him to heaven?

And no one is raising an eyebrow or asking what makes her think God is going to save her given her tight embrace on immorality? No one is asking how this religious experience is going to change her life or the songs she sings? God is holy—pure. Why would a holy God seek to bring a sin-stained pop singer to heaven if she still hasn’t put on the new man and been cleansed by the blood of Christ? But she is Madonna, and the people listen to her, as seen by the sellout crowds.

Or what about Taylor Swift? (And yes, I recognize I might feel the wrath of the Swifties after posting this—but they are actually part of the point.) Promo shots from her recent Eras tour reveal a 34-year-old woman who is not concerned about covering up. Several of the outfits she wears on stage are incredibly immodest. Or how about the profanity in many of her songs? Or the fornication she sings about? Or the alcohol chugging she proudly displayed from an NFL suite while her boyfriend was playing football? This is the same Swift who is very pro-choice and a strong advocate for gender equality and LGBTQ rights. But she is Taylor, and people listen to her, as seen by the sellout crowds.

At this point you might be saying, “Yes, and you should just shut up and leave these popular singers alone. They aren’t hurting anyone!” But there is another person in history who was also charismatic, the people listened to, and he spoke before sellout crowds.

His name was Adolf Hitler. And according to many historians, he was a great orator. He could hold crowds captivated and move them to emotion and action. He had massive crowds chanting his name and agreeing with every word he spoke. The problem was these crowds weren’t scratching below the surface and asking real questions about what he said.

For instance, he proudly declared he would help cleanse Germany, help build them up again, and help develop a great Aryan race. These people who were starved for leadership and hanging under the cloud of the Treaty of Versailles flocked to his confident voice without asking: Exactly how is this going to be accomplished? What will he actually do to those Jews? What will he do to people who disagree with him?

Madonna and Swift, just like Hitler, have the ability to emit emotion and action from thousands of followers. They have a huge following that will defend their every word or action—often without really thinking through what the person said or stands for. Just like in Hitler’s day they have become sheep.

But the question remains: Have they really scratched below the surface to ask the tough questions?

Like for instance, Madonna why in the world would you give up heaven for this fallen world if God was willing to take you? Isn’t God more important than your music career? Oh, and by the way Madonna, how much damage has your immorality and debauchery done to our culture?

And Taylor, you sing about love but you live a life that does not demonstrate love as it is defined in the Bible (see 1 Corinthians 13). The Bible says God is love (1 John)—so how does your “love story” of supporting same-sex marriage fit into God’s Word? And you sing so effortlessly about love, but what about your love for the unborn? Where is that? In a couple of your song’s, you sing about heaven. Do you really think heaven will be filled with profanity, immodest dress, and fornication? And when you encourage your Swifties to live, dress, or vote in a way that is not in accordance with God’s will, are you really helping them?

Friends, it is easy to get swept up in rhetoric. It’s easy to follow the crowd. It’s easy to just go along. And sadly, many of our own children are doing just that.

What takes courage is listening to the rhetoric and then asking hard questions.

Line up what the person says and the life they live in accordance with Scripture. Parents we must do a better job of training up our children to follow Christ instead of some cultural icon.

Do I believe God offered to take Madonna up to heaven and she turned Him down? At the end of the day my feelings don’t matter. What matters is God and my desire to spend eternity with Him. What matters is the promise Jesus gave us about heaven in John 14. What matters is Paul’s words that “to live is Christ and to die is gain.” What matters is hearing those words, “Well done thou good and faithful servant.”

It is time we teach the next generation what really matters.

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Tell the Truth

Tell the Truth

It is important that we tell the truth regardless of how uncomfortable that may be. That does not mean that we must be mean spirited or belligerent to do it. We must speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15). Lies, however, are so appealing to many today. This is because people generally want to justify how they act without worrying about whether what they are saying and doing is right or wrong. A lie is an easy way to justify oneself. The Bible tells us where this deceptiveness originates—in our own hearts! “The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9). Fortunately, God has given us the truth so that we can expose the lies. “Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You” (Psalm 119:11).

What is more difficult than telling the truth to another person who does not want to hear it is telling the truth to yourself. My heart has already persuaded me to believe some false justification and in order for me to change, I must tell myself that I am wrong! That is not easy to do, but that is what repentance is all about, acknowledging the falsehoods in our lives, rejecting them, and moving in the other direction away from them. This takes time. God waited nine months to send Nathan to David regarding his sin with Bathsheba. Why did God not send Nathan immediately? The only reason I can think of is that David’s heart was not ready to change, but God knew that David would once he got over himself. We all need to get over ourselves and let God’s powerful word transform our lives. To do that, we must keep telling the truth to others and ourselves, no matter how uncomfortable that might be.

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2024 is Coming to an End

2024 is Coming to an End

Another year that the Lord has given us, is soon coming to an end.  This last year has been crazy if for no other reason than it was an election year.  However, I have hope in my heart that America is making some good changes toward the glorification of God.2024 is coming to an end

As the coming year unfolds, let us, as the faithful of the Lord, exercise self control.  May this be in our personal and business relationships, our community example, and our individual life choices.  Let us put aside quick and foolish responses to stimuli beyond our control.  Let us reign in our desires as to worldly influence.  May we by 2205 have demonstrated ourselves as a sober minded rational people.

Let us set our minds on being strong in our stance against evil in the coming year.  It is easy to succumb to fear and timidity.  Individuals, groups, and the government itself can terrorize our hearts such that we freeze or draw back from what should be said or done.  Do not falter in the remembrance that God is on the side of the faithful.  Oppression will come.  Persecution will come.  However, a righteous people boldly proclaiming the Word of Christ, teaching society the proper way to walk in the light of God, can save a nation.  In your homes, in your work, in your public conversations, in public meetings, in your school systems, in your church, stand strong and share the truth that can deliver and set others right in the sight of God.

For 2025, be kind.  Be gracious.  Be loving.  It does not take much to reach out to others with a good word or a kind action.  Don’t film it.  Don’t record it.  Don’t seek out some artificial 15 minutes of fame for what should always be done. Good does not have to be capitalized on by making certain you have branded it with your name or your church’s name. Do good because it needs to be done.  Help your fellow neighbors and citizens.  Put aside laziness and self interest and demonstrate true caring.  There are thousands of options for doing something for others.  Simplicity can rule the day.  Lend a hand to someone’s work.  Take the time to have a conversation.  PUT YOUR PHONE DOWN AND WALK AWAY FROM IT so you can put joy into another person’s life.  Share that joy with the people around you every day.

Friends, as we end a year and start another, may God bless you.  May you endure all the trials and troubles and come out lifting not only yourself but others toward our Lord and Savior.

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