[Darris McNeely] Alright, Steve, so if we're looking at this and we're trying to get the three days and three nights from Good Friday to Easter Sunday, which this top three boxes represent a Good Friday, Saturday, Easter Sunday morning—it just doesn't work. Three days, three nights doesn't work. You've got at best one day and part of another night into the morning. But what the scripture says is…

[Steve Myers] Friday doesn't fit with what Christ said. They were seeking a sign from Him. In Matthew 12:39 He said, "An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign. No sign will be given except the sign of the Prophet Jonah." And He doesn't leave anything in doubt. He describes what that is. Verse 40, "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). So it should be as easy as 1-2-3, right?

[Darris McNeely] It should be, but if you look at the traditional Good Friday to Easter Sunday tradition, which is the heart and basis of the Christian world's celebration of this time of year, you have Christ going into the grave toward the evening, towards sundown, on Friday. You have one day to the next night, which is Saturday night. Easter Sunday has Him already resurrected, or being resurrected, on Easter Sunday. Three days and three nights doesn't work out.

[Steve Myers] So if you put, okay, one night.

[Darris McNeely] One night.

[Steve Myers] This would be one day. This would be sort of two nights. And then resurrected…

[Darris McNeely] Somewhere…

[Steve Myers] Somewhere early. Mark says while it's still dark the ladies went to the tomb and He was already gone. So, even before sunrise. So, how does that add up to three days and three nights? Really just one day and parts of two nights?

[Darris McNeely] It doesn't add up. And it should add up because what Jesus said was the one sign of His Messiahship would be, as we read in Matthew chapter 12:39-40 was that He would be in the grave three days and three nights. And it gave the same sign as that of Jonah. And that was the sign that He was the Messiah. There is, however, a more—a better and accurate New Testament chronology that has Christ being killed on Wednesday, being put into the grave just before sundown, which the scripture shows was a Sabbath. He's in the grave overnight into what would be a Thursday. And a full night there, so you have at that point. Go ahead, Steve.

[Steve Myers] You've got one night.

[Darris McNeely] And then you have…

[Steve Myers] The one day on Thursday, day.

[Darris McNeely] And then another night.

[Steve Myers] Then another night on Thursday night.

[Darris McNeely] And then on Friday would be another day.

[Steve Myers] So that would be a two, the second day.

[Darris McNeely] And then another night.

[Steve Myers] And that would be another night—the third night. Now what about the third day?

[Darris McNeely] Now we come into Saturday, which is the third day. And at that particular point in time you have three days and three nights with Christ being resurrected just as it was moving into this first day of the week—or as we know it as Sunday—so that when the disciples came to the grave early on the next morning while it was still dark, they found an empty tomb. He had been resurrected just at the beginning of that day.

[Steve Myers] Right, so in John 20 it makes it really clear. "When Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early, it was still dark, they saw the stone had been taken away from the tomb" (John 20:1). Christ was already gone by the time they went there while it was still dark early on that first day. So Christ was gone—proof that He was Messiah, that He was resurrected. And when you add it up, it is as easy as 1-2-3.

[Darris McNeely] This particular tradition here of the Good Friday, Easter Sunday doesn't work. The only New Testament chronology that you can find to match up to the words of Jesus Christ is having Him in the grave by Wednesday at sundown, and then being resurrected at the end of the third day and the third night by Saturday evening. And that works. And that is the proof that you have a Messiah.

[Steve Myers] And there's a lot to this. You can check this out, add it up yourself. Look at the details. Look at all the different references and you can't come to really any other conclusion if you're really honest with yourself on adding it up, 1-2-3, does make sense.

[Darris McNeely] That's BT Daily. Join us next time.