Dr. Barclay with Something to Think About - THREE DAYS

 THREE DAYS

We are, once again, approaching the time of year when we commemorate the death and resurrection of Christ. And once again we will do this at Easter; a time which really has nothing to do with the event we are recognizing. The death and resurrection of Jesus was involved with the Jewish Passover and Sabbath not with the time of Easter.

The Bible states that Jesus was “three days and three nights in the heart of the earth” (Matthew 12:40). This is important because, according to Jewish law, it was only after three full days that a person could be declared legally dead. This seemingly is due to the difficulty in actually determining true death at that time. If a person were just near death or comatose there would still be some recognition of bodily function within 72 hours and so only with this period of time could true death be assured.

Is this why Jesus made it so definite in this statement?

For 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 

(Matthew 12:40)

If Jesus had been crucified on Friday and resurrected before daybreak on Sunday, there would have been only about 40 hours between the two events. Perhaps this is why some religions and persons deny that Jesus actually died on the cross but merely became unconscious. And this is also why many now believe that the crucifixion actually took place on Wednesday with a High Sabbath on Thursday “for that Sabbath was a high day” (John 19:31), a day of preparation following which the women bought spices.

Now when the Sabbath was passed, 

Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, 

and Salome bought spices, 

that they might come and anoint Him. 

Mark 16:1

This was then followed by the Saturday Sabbath on which Christ arose just prior to Sunday.

Now on the first day of the week 

Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early, 

while it was still dark, 

and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb.

John 20:1

So we don’t know for sure when Christ left the tomb. Was it very early Sunday morning long before light or was it late Saturday just before nightfall?  In any case, the scenario put forward of Him being crucified on Wednesday and leaving the tomb on late Saturday or early Sunday would satisfy the Jewish requirement for the confirmation of death.

This would also go along with the actions of Jesus in the case of Lazarus when He delayed going to Bethany for two days so that Lazarus would be in the ground four days. Although Jesus initially said: “Lazarus sleeps” (John 11:11). He later said it more plainly “Lazarus is dead” (John 11:14). And Martha would in turn say: “Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days” (John 11:39).

But Lazarus did come forth after being dead as did Jesus, with no real doubt that both He and Lazarus had been dead according to history and the Jewish requirement. But it is important to understand that three full days and nights were needed to do this.

The most important fact, however, is that Jesus really did die and was raised again on the third day and that is the event of which we should always be aware and continue to think about.