Three Days and Three Nights

Recently, in one of our Bible studies, we discussed the divinity of Christ, and we've been going through the fundamental doctrines of the Church. That was a major controversy as we found out that arose in the Church back in the early days of its formation, and the apostate Church. Well, there was another controversy that arose that I'd like to address today. It's called the quarto decimae controversy, or the controversy surrounding the 14th, what we would know as the Passover Day. I copied a couple of articles out on this, and I find, especially the one in Wikipedia, that they really don't know what they're talking about. Somebody needs to go in and edit their article for them. I thought about doing it, but I thought I'd wait. Let me read, first of all, from this first article. It says, Early Church history contains records of an obscure but once quite heated controversy, the quarto decimae controversy. Quarto decimae refers to the 14th day of the month. It is sometimes called the Passover Easter controversy. Others have called it an Easter controversy, or the Passover controversy. That some scholars refer to it as an Easter controversy is unfortunate, since Easter is an English word. And today, the word implies for most English speaker a host of cultural assumptions, alien to the original controversy. And of course, today, you say, Easter, what do you automatically think of? Easter eggs, Easter bunnies, chocolate, baskets, go out and buy a new outfit, Sunday morning, your early services, sunrise services, you know, this type of thing. Since the disputants in the quarto decimae controversy did not use Easter to describe what they were arguing over, they were arguing over the date for the Passover, what it should be observed. Controversy involved three events. The controversy between Polycarp, the Bishop of Smyrna and Anacletus, the Bishop of Rome. That occurred around A.D. 155. The more heated controversy was between Polycrates and the Bishop of Ephesus and Victor, the Bishop of Rome. That broke out around 195. And the decree of Constantine following the Nicene Council in 325. Then the quarto decimae from Wikipedia.

Since very early in the life of the Church, disputes arose as to which date Easter, called Pash in Greek and Latin, should be celebrated. Well, that's where I have a controversy with Wikipedia. It wasn't controversy about the date for Easter, but about the Passover. So, I will take the license of substituting words as I go through here, because it was not dealing with Easter at that time, it was dealing with the Passover. In the early period, the Passover was always held a day near the middle of the Jewish month of Nisan. Well, to be precise, it's always held on the 14th day of Nisan, isn't it? As the Bible says, or abib. And in the second century AD, the practice of the Roman province of Asia was for the pre-Easter fast to end on the 14th day of Nisan, the day on which the Passover sacrifice had been made. And then they go on to talk about this. According to the writings of Irenius, the Roman Church had celebrated the resurrection on a Sunday, at least since the time of Bishop Sistus, or Sixtus I in 115 to 125 AD. Now, the reason why I read this, I want you to notice how quickly the Church became apostate and accepted false teachings. We were talking about this in the car, and you go back and you read through Paul's epistles, the book of Acts, and John, Peter, James, some of the general epistles, you will see immediately that there were a lot of false teachers that had risen. Christ predicted there'd be false teachers who would come, teaching damnable type of heresies. There were all kinds of wrong ideas being taught. Some thought the resurrection had already passed. Some said there was no resurrection. Others thought that Jesus Christ never came in the flesh. Others thought he only appeared in the flesh. There were all kinds of ideas being circulated. Sunday was being substituted for the Sabbath, and that's what you find here. So by the end of the first century, you find that Sunday was being observed, especially in the Western Roman Empire. In the East and Asia Minor, they still held to the traditions of the Sabbath, the Passover, and the Holy Days. Irenaeus, who followed the Sunday custom, also stated, however, that Bishop Polycarp, a Smyrna and Asia Minor disciple of John the Apostle, observed the Passover on Nisan the 14th. Shortly after Anacletus, the bishop of Rome, about 155 AD, became the bishop, Polycarp had visited Rome and discussed the topic with him. Anacletus could not persuade Polycarp to forgo the observance of Nisan the 14th. Practice inasmuch as these things had always been observed by John the disciple of the Lord. Now, I want you to notice the argument, as recorded in history, that Polycarp used to try to convince Anacletus that he should keep the Passover on the 14th. That he observed what John, the disciple of Jesus Christ, had observed. In other words, John kept the Passover. We know all of the apostles kept the Passover. He also goes on to say that he was doing this because other apostles with whom he had been conversant. Not only was Polycarp a disciple of John, but he also knew some of the other apostles. As a result of that, he observed what they kept. He was taught by them, and so he was continuing to teach what they taught.

Now, it says, Polycarp did not persuade Anacletus to keep it. Anacletus said that he must hold to the way of the elders before him. So what elders was he following? He wasn't following John. He wasn't following Peter. He wasn't following the other apostles. He was following those who had gone off into heresy. Now, the controversy also arose with Bishop Victor of Rome. When he attempted to declare that Nisan the 14th practice was heretical, and he was going to ex-communicate anyone who followed it. And so what you find is the same thing that has happened down through the ages. Anyone who tried to obey God and remained faithful and adhere to what the Bible teaches was excommunicated, was booted out of the Church. It was on this occasion that Irenaeus and Polycrates of Ephesus wrote to Victor, Irenaeus reminding Victor of his predecessor, Anacletus, more tolerant attitude, and Polycrates to define the Asian practice or defend it.

So this is what is recorded occurred at that time. As for us, this is what Polycrates says, we scrupiously observe the exact day neither adding or taking away. For in Asia, great luminaries have gone to their rest who will rise again on the day of the coming of the Lord. They all kept the 14th day of the month at the beginning of the Pasha festival in accordance with the Gospel. In accordance with the example we find in the Gospel, seven of my relatives were bishops and I am the eighth. My relatives always observed the day when the people put away the leaven. So not only did he keep the Passover, but he kept the days of unleavened bread. So here in 195, we have churches in Asia remaining faithful to the teachings of the Bible. And then we have, especially in Rome, in the western part of the Roman Empire, those who had apostated and began to adopt all kinds of other ideas. And we're bringing those teachings in. Now what you find, one of the reasons why the Catholic Church has claimed and others have claimed that they keep Easter, you see, they began to keep the resurrection on Sunday, the first day of the week. And then later on, they adopted the Easter customs to go along with it. And they sort of mesh these two customs together. It is that they say that Jesus Christ was resurrected on a Sunday. And as a result, we should honor his resurrection. Now the question is always asked, what does the Bible command? Where in the Bible does it tell you to observe a day concerning the resurrection of Jesus Christ? Or does it tell you to observe a day in memorial of his death, his crucifixion? Well, that's the Passover, and that's exactly what we do. Now what does the Bible say about the resurrection of Jesus Christ? Much of this controversy dealt with Sunday being the day Christ was resurrected. Even if this were true, which it's not, was it commanded to be observed by the Church? This controversy arose because the true followers of Jesus Christ continued to observe the Passover on the 14th. Therefore, we have the quartodecimon controversy. But the false church, as it was developing, did not want to keep anything Jewish, anything that would even go back to the Old Testament and those holidays that they kept. What I'd like for us to do today is to take a look at what the Bible teaches about the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ. You may not realize it, brethren, but the Passover and Days of Unleavened Bread are not too far away. A couple of months away are just a little over, and they'll be here before we know it. I think that all of us need to begin to focus and begin to think about what the Bible teaches. This is one of those basic, I think, fundamental teachings and doctrines that we really need to be aware of. In 1 Corinthians chapter 15, in verse 3, let's notice what the apostle Paul wrote.

Beginning in verse 3, he says, For I deliver to you, first of all, that which I also receive, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures. According to the Scriptures, go back to the Old Testament, you'll find that the Messiah was supposed to come and die for our sins.

Verse 4, that he was buried, that he rose again, the third day according to the Scriptures. So what you find is that Paul wrote during the middle 50s of the first century in 1 Corinthians. Paul wrote this epistle before the time that our Gospels became available in canonical form, where they had been canonized. So the Gospels had not yet been canonized as part of the Scriptures. The Old Testament writings, as well as Jesus Christ and what he taught about his death and resurrection, constituted the main evidence for Jesus rising the third day.

And Paul says he bases his teaching, not on Sunday, but on what the Scriptures say. Let me read this to you from the message, translation. It says, The first thing I did was placed before you what was placed so emphatically before me, that the Messiah died for our sins, exactly as the Scripture tells it, that he was buried, that he was raised from the dead on the third day, again, exactly as the Scripture says. So we have Christ rising on the third day, and it's exactly as we find the teachings in the Bible.

Now, the CEV translation says, I told you the most important part of the message, exactly as it was told to me. That part is, Christ died for our sins, as the Scriptures say, he was buried, and three days later, I want you to notice, three days later, he was raised to life as the Scriptures say. So we have clear evidence then from Paul that the Scriptures say that Christ was to rise the third day.

Now, there are Scriptures that say, after three days, Scriptures that say the third day, and basically what you find is that he arose at the moment that the three days were up. Now, in Luke 24, verse 25, we're going to be flipping back and forth in the Gospels quite frequently here. Luke 24, beginning in verse 25, he said to the Ambo foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe, in all that the prophets have spoken. Remember, this is after Christ had been resurrected. There were two men on the road. Christ came and joined them.

He asked them about what they were talking about. They talked about Christ, Him being crucified. And He said, oh, foolish ones, slow of heart to believe, and all that the prophets have spoken. So notice, the prophets spoke about these things, the Old Testament. Ought not to Christ who have suffered these things, and do enter into His glory? And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.

So Jesus Christ, when He began to talk to them about what the Messiah was supposed to do, went back to the Scriptures. And so the Scriptures clearly tell us. Let me read another translation here. It says, then, starting with Moses and all the prophets, what they had said about Him, Jesus began to explain everything that had been written about Himself in the Scriptures. So Christ rising on the third day is a truth found in Old Testament Scriptures, not necessarily just one verse in the Old Testament.

The events of the first day of the week that we find recorded in the Gospels reflect events surrounding the empty tomb, not the resurrection itself, as we will see. No human being was eyewitness to the resurrection. When the resurrection took place, Christ was resurrected. The stone was over the entrance.

No human being saw this taking place. Paul reported that Jesus Christ rose on the third day, according to the Scriptures. He did not base this truth upon the day of the week. See, this is where the argument comes in with the Catholic Church and Protestants. They said, well, Christ rose on the first day of the week, so therefore we ought to keep that day. And so they argue about a day, whereas Paul based his teachings on the Scriptures and what the Scriptures had to say. Now, backing up here in Luke 24, verse 5, let's take a notice. Luke chapter 24, and we'll begin here in verse 5 in the new NCV translation.

It says, then you remember the women had come to the tomb. They found the stone rolled back, and there were two angels there who appeared to them. And then, as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them, why do you seek the living among the dead?

He is not here. He is risen. Remember how he spoke to you when he was still in Galilee, saying, the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified, and the third day rise again. So Christ was going to rise again on the third day.

Verse 7, again from the NCV translation, says, he said, the Son of Man must be handed over to sinful people and be crucified and rise from the dead on the third day.

Now, Jesus Christ, when he walked the earth, taught his disciples, preached to the masses, did not conceal how long he would be dead. There are eight records in the book of Matthew, eight verses pertaining to the third day or three days as Jesus' resurrection. Mark has five verses, Luke has six, John has two. So there are approximately 20 verses that deal with the subject of when how long Christ would be dead and when he would be resurrected. In Matthew 16 verse 1, you'll notice clearly what Christ said here. Matthew 16 verse 1, Then the Pharisees and Sadducees came in testing him, asked him that he would show them a sign from heaven. He answered and said to them, When it is evening, you say it will be fair weather, for the sky is red. And in the morning it will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening. Well, hypocrites, you know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the time. A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except, so here's the only sign, the sign of the prophet Jonah. That was the only sign that Christ was going to give. Okay, he doesn't clarify it here, does he? What is the sign of the prophet Jonah? If you had to define it, what would it be? Well, back up to chapter 12, where we find the same thing occurred. Matthew 12, beginning in verse 38. Verse 38, then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, teacher, we want to see a sign from you. So they were looking for some wonder, some miracle, you know, something dazzling to take place. And he answered and said to them, and even an adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. Now, what was that sign? 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. So the point of the comparison in Matthew 12, if you go back to the book of Jonah, Jonah 2, verse 1, is a similar time spent in the belly of the fish and the heart of the earth. One was three days and three nights in the fish's belly, the other would be three days and three nights in a tomb. And so one was a type of the other. In John chapter 2, in verse 19, Christ reiterated this in John chapter 2, verse 19.

Jesus answered and said to them, destroy this temple, and in three days I'll raise it up. Then the Jews said, what, second, 46 years to build this temple, will you raise it up in three days?

But he was speaking of the temple of his body. Therefore, when he had risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this to them, and they believed the scripture and the word which Jesus had said. So notice the two things they believed. One, the scripture, that's the Old Testament. The other, Christ's verbatim words. So Jesus Christ's statement about three days, three nights, occurs throughout the gospel in about 20 verses. They are not limited to a description of events that take place on the first day of the week, but they are references to three days or three nights. Now, with that in mind, back up to Luke 24, just over two or three pages here, verse 21. Luke 24, verse 21.

Now, you'll remember here, the man said, as they were walking along the road, we were hoping that it was he who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, beside all this, today is the third day since these things happen.

Now, I want you to notice that this is Sunday morning. If Sunday morning is the third day since these things happen, then you could say, okay, Christ would be resurrected on Sunday.

But what is this referring to? What does it mean? Well, notice some of the more modern translations. Translate this a little differently. The CEV translation says we had hoped that he would be the one to set Israel free, but it has already been three days since this happened. So it says it's already been three days. The Living Bible says, and now besides all this, which happened three days ago. And the message says it is now the third day since it happened.

Now, stop and think. They're talking about the things that happened. Let's read it again. We were hoping that it was he who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, today is the third day since these things had happened. If one of the things that happened included the sealing of the tomb, one day after Jesus died, then certainly Sunday morning would be the third day since the sealing of the tomb. Let's go back to Matthew 27 to rehearse your memory. Matthew chapter 27 and verse 62.

The chief priest you will remember and the Pharisees petitioned Pilate to secure the tomb the day after the preparation day. We read that in verse 62. On the next day, which followed the day of preparation. Now, stop and think. The day of preparation was the day on which Christ was crucified. The next day they come to the chief priest and Pharisees and they gather together to Pilate saying, Sir, we remember while he was still alive how the deceiver said that after three days I will rise. Therefore, command that the tomb be made secure until the third day lest his disciples come by night and steal him away. And say to the people he has risen from the dead so that the last deception will be worse than the first. Pilate said to them, You have a guard, go your way, make it as secure as you know how. So they went and made the tomb secure, sealing the stone and setting the guards. So they sealed the stone. I don't know what they put around it, but they put a seal around it. And then they put guards there. So nobody was going to come and steal Christ's body. The Jews undoubtedly met with Pilate on the first day of Unleavened Bread. That's the day after the Preparation Day. They observed the Passover and what we would refer to as the night to be much observed. Remember, Christ and his disciples observed the Passover the night before he was crucified. The Jews observed it the next night, what we would call the night to be much observed. The beginning of the seven days of Unleavened Bread. They were preoccupied with eating Passover on Wednesday night. Jesus and his disciples again had eaten the Passover the previous evening, what we would call Tuesday evening of that week. And so therefore, they didn't have time to go meet with Pilate that evening. They were busy slaughtering the animals, preparing for the Passover, eating the Passover meal that evening. So it's the next day that they meet. Let's notice in John 18 in verse 28, putting these scriptures together, John 1828.

It says, then they led Jesus from Caiapas to the Praetorium. This is before he was crucified, and it was early morning. And they themselves did not go into the Praetorium, lest they should be defiled, but that they might eat the Passover. See, now Christ had already eaten the Passover. That's very clear. And he said with desire, I have desire to eat this Passover with you. So what Christ kept was a Passover with them. And here, they didn't want to be defiled. This was a preparation day. Preparation day for what? Well, for the first day of Unleavened Bread.

So this was the day they were concerned about being defiled on the preparation day. They were also fatigued from staying up all night before dealing with Jesus Christ, sending a troop out to capture him, bringing him in, trying him. They went through all of this, and finally, his crucifixion. So by the time they finally turned their attention to the Passover, it's late on the preparation day. The setting of the guard until the third day thus started approximately one calendar day after Jesus Christ was in the tomb.

See, they came on what we would call Thursday, daylight portion, approached Pilate. Pilate said, go ahead and set a guard. So they go ahead and do that sometime on that Thursday. And then that's a day later. In Matthew chapter 28, in verse 11, you'll notice here the women came to the tomb. Well, let's back up here to verse 1. It says, Now after the Sabbath, that's the weekly Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene, the other Mary, came to the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door and sat on it. His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. And the guards shook for fear of him and became like dead men. So the guards are still there. You come around to your early Sunday morning. And the angel answered and said to the women, they came early in the morning. You know, just as it's starting to get light, but it's still dark. Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus, who was crucified. He's not here. He's risen. Come and see the place. Go tell his disciples. So they go do that. Now, over here in verse 11, while they were going, behold, some of the guards came to the city, reported to the chief priests all the things that had happened. They said, guess what? An angel came down, rolled the stone back. We were powerless. We were fearful. We had no power against this angel. And there was nothing in the tomb.

Okay, you know, that would certainly stir the Jews up or stir the leaders up. They couldn't allow that to be voiced. So when they had assembled with the elders and consulted together, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, saying, tell them, the disciples came at night, stole him away while we slept. And if this comes to the governor's ear, we will appease him and make you secure. So they took the money and did as they were instructed. And this saying is commonly reported among the Jews unto this day. So all that I'm saying is that the guards were still present at the tomb three calendar days after the light portion of the first day of the week. And when these two men walking along said, well, it's three days since, you know, these things have taken place, you can look at that two different ways, and either one of them would be correct according to Scripture. And I think it's more of a reference to everything that happened. The fact that the tomb was sealed, guards were placed there, and they were still there three days later. But Christ had already been resurrected, as we will see.

Now with that as background, let's notice Matthew 27, verse 62. Jesus Christ's crucifixion and death took place on the preparation day.

You'll notice in chapter 27, Christ faces Pilate.

Pilate selects Barabbas to replace him. Soldiers mock Christ. He's crucified. He dies on the cross. As verse 46, he cries out, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? And then in verse 62, on the next day, which followed the day of preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees gathered together to Pilate. So, Christ died on what we would call the preparation day for the annual Sabbath, the first day of Unleavened Bread. Mark 15, 42.

Notice Mark 15, verse 42. Now, when evening had come, because it was a preparation day, that is, the day before the Sabbath, that's the annual Sabbath, Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent council member, came and asked for the body of Christ. So, again, we find that Jesus Christ died on the preparation day. Luke 23, and verse 50. Let's go over to Luke chapter 23, and we'll begin to read here in verse 50.

Now, behold, there was a man named Joseph, a council member, a good and just man. He had not consented to their decision. Indeed, he was from Arimathea, a city of the Jews, who himself was also waiting for the kingdom of God. This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen, laid it in a tomb that was hued out of the rock where no one had ever laid before. That day, notice, was the preparation, and the Sabbath drew near.

The Sabbath wasn't there yet, but it drew near. It was close. And the women who had come with him from Galilee followed afterwards and deserved the tomb and how his body was laid. We'll come back to this particular scripture later on. John 19 and verse 14.

John chapter 19 and verse 14.

Now, it was the preparation day of the Passover. In about the sixth hour, he said to the Jews, Behold, you're king.

So all three gospels tell us it was a preparation day, right? So that's clear. Now verse 31, key verse. John clarifies a lot with verse 31. Therefore, because it was the preparation day, most people assume that this was Friday before the weekly Sabbath. Because all they know, you go back to the Old Testament, you read about a preparation day. But not understanding the holy days and the sequence of the holy days. They have no knowledge, but notice, it's clarified here. Therefore, because it was a preparation day, that the body should not remain on the cross on the Sabbath, for that Sabbath was a high day. So that's a high day. It's an annual Sabbath, first day of unleavened bread. The Jews ask Pilate that their legs might be broken, that they might be taken away. So you find the preparation day that Christ was crucified on was the day before the annual Sabbath. It was crucified on Wednesday, and then Thursday was the first holy day. Then came Friday, which is another preparation day for the weekly Sabbath. Then came the weekly Sabbath. Then came the first day of the week. That's the sequence of events that week. Luke 23 and verse 16. I'll just refer to this. You'll remember Pilate didn't really want to necessarily have Christ killed. And he says here, I will therefore chasten him and release him, for it was necessary for him to release one to them at the feast. And they all cried out, saying, Away with this man, and release to us for rabbits.

Now, it is interesting that non-biblical evidence, non-biblical meaning not in the Bible, but historical, for the spring amnesty always dates it on Nice and the 14th, on the day of the Passover. And that's exactly when this occurred. Christ was crucified on the Passover day. It was also a preparation day. So the view that the crucifixion took place on the 14th of Nisan, well, let me read this. This was from George Oth, the chronology of the Last Supper. The view that the crucifixion took place on 14th Nisan, and consequently, the month date of the Last Supper was on Roman reckoning, 13th of Nisan, was accepted in many parts of the early church. Among its adherents were the authors of the Gospel of Peter, the Courtauldesimons of Asia, Tatian, Justin Martyr, Hippolytus of Rome, and the writer Tertelian. So all of them believed in the Passover being the 14th, but observed as the 13th ends and the 14th begins. We keep it at the beginning of the 14th, in the evening. The Sabbath following that preparation day was the first day of Unleavened Bread. That was Nisan the 15th. So again, Tuesday evening, Jesus and his disciples observed the Passover. Wednesday, Jesus was crucified. It's called the preparation day for the high day. Thursday was a high day, and that began Wednesday evening at sunset to Thursday evening at sunset. Now, in Exodus 12, we'll go back and read one scripture in the Old Testament. Exodus 12, verse 16, we find that when God gave the instructions concerning, originally, the Passover, and the days of Unleavened Bread, this is what he said, on the first day of Unleavened Bread, there shall be a holy convocation, and on the seventh day there shall be a holy convocation. No matter of work shall be done on them. So that was a holy day. There was to be a meeting on that. So there was a high Sabbath on Thursday of that week that began at sunset on Wednesday through sunset Thursday. And then there was the weekly Sabbath, Friday sunset through Saturday sunset, as we know.

Now, with all of that in mind, Mark 15 in verse 40. Stay with me here. We're coming to a point. Mark 15 in verse 40. We read this. Christ was crucified. Verse 34, he cries out, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? And you find there were also women looking on from afar. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, the less and Joseph and Siloam, who also followed him and ministered to him when he was in Galilee. Now, when evening had come, because it was the preparation day, that is, the day before the Sabbath, here you have Joseph of Arimathea comes along. Verse 46, he bought fine linen, took him down, wrapped him in the linen, laid him in a tomb which had been hewed out of rock and rolled the stone against the door of the tomb. And Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Josi observed where he was laid. So notice, they saw where he was laid. And then we find, well, let me first of all come in here. They observed where Jesus Christ was buried. The Sabbath was almost there, the Holy Days. Consequently, they did not have time to go out and purchase spices, prepare those spices, get them ready to anoint Jesus Christ's body. There just wasn't time. He was buried right before the sun was going down on what we would call the end of the day, and just about sunset, that period of time. So they didn't have time to purchase spices. And let's notice in chapter 16, verse 1. Now, when the Sabbath was passed, okay, here's the Sabbath. It's over. It's finished. It's passed. Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Siloam bought spices. So they go out and they purchase these spices.

That they might come and anoint him. Then very early in the morning, on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb. Now, you'll find many who read this assume that this is talking about the weekly Sabbath, but that's not what it's talking about. Notice, when the Sabbath was passed, that's the annual Sabbath. That's the high day. First day of Unleavened Bread. It's passed. So that's on Thursday. Then comes Friday. They go out and buy spices. And they prepare those spices. Get them ready to anoint him. Then comes the weekly Sabbath. They have to rest on the weekly Sabbath. And when the weekly Sabbath is over, early Sunday morning, as early as they could do it, they were going to go and anoint his body. They get there, and what did they find out? Well, the stones rolled back. Angel sitting there. He's not here. He's risen. And so, the sequence of events. So which Sabbath? This is obviously the high Sabbath, or annual Sabbath. And let's go over to Luke 23 now, verse 42. Luke 23, verse 42.

And, well, we could read through this whole section, but drop down to verse 49. It says, All his acquaintances and the women who followed him from Galilee stood at a distance and watched these things. So they saw Christ. They saw him being taken up. They saw him crucified. They saw him die. Behold, there was a man named Joseph.

He came along. He asked, verse 52, for the body of Jesus. Verse 53, who laid it in a tomb. That day was a preparation day. Notice. And the Sabbath drew near. It was almost there. It was a preparation day. And the women who had come with him from Galilee followed afterwards, and they observed the tomb and how the body was laid. And they returned. And they prepared spices and fragrant oils, and they rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment.

So here you find them resting according to the commandment. So what we have here, and let's notice very clearly, in verse 54, it says, that day was a preparation the Sabbath drew near. That's the annual Sabbath day, the high Sabbath, first day of unleavened bread. Verse 55 and 56, though, talk about how they go and prepare spices and fragrance. They had to buy those spices first and prepare them. Remember what we read in Mark 16, 1, the day after the Sabbath, Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James of Ceylon bought sweet-smelling spices to put on Jesus' body. So when we read here, they returned and prepared the spices.

This is in verse 56, isn't giving you the day it was done, but when you tie that in with Mark 16, 1, you know that it was on a Friday that they did this. And they prepared the spices, and then they rested on the Sabbath here that was the weekly Sabbath. So we have the annual Sabbath in verse 54. We have the weekly Sabbath in verse 56. Let me ask you a question. How can you buy spices after the Sabbath day and prepare the spices and rest on the Sabbath? Well, there had to be two Sabbaths that week, and that's exactly what occurred. Spices were bought and prepared on Friday, which the women rested then the Sabbath according to the command.

Now, in Luke chapter 24, they clearly intended to anoint Christ's body after the weekly Sabbath. Here they came early. Verse 1, on the first day of the week, early in the morning, they and certain other women with them came to the tomb, bringing the spices, which they had prepared. They had prepared them on Friday before the Sabbath. Now, let's back up and put a few things together.

Remember what was the sign that Jesus Christ was a Messiah? Matthew 12, 38 through 40, I won't read that. He said that He would be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. Jesus was crucified and entombed late on Wednesday afternoon. I hope I've proven that to you by now. Late Wednesday afternoon, just before a Sabbath began at sunset, this was an annual Sabbath. This was a high Sabbath lasting from Wednesday sunset to Thursday sunset that week, rather than the weekly Sabbath.

He remained in the tomb then from Wednesday at sunset until Saturday right at sunset when He rose from the dead. He rose from the dead on Saturday, not on Sunday. While no one witnessed His resurrection, which took place inside of a sealed tomb, it had to have happened near sunset on Saturday, three days, three nights after His body was in tomb. It could not have happened on Sunday morning because when Mary Magdalene and the other women came, it was still dark but starting to get light.

He was not there. He had already been resurrected. He had already risen when the women came. Matthew 28, 1-6. So what we find is that Jesus Christ fulfilled what He said. They like to say that this is an idiom. When you look at Matthew 12, you know, as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the fish, so Christ would be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth, they say, well, that's a Greek idiom.

Well, if it's a Greek idiom, does a Hebrew have an idiom also? You'd have to have two idioms. Well, neither one of them are an idiom. But whenever you specify specifically three days, three nights, that does away with any idioms. It's talking about three days, three nights.

And so that's exactly what we have. In John 20, one last scripture here, when the women came to the tomb, verse 1, notice in John chapter 20 verse 1, 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. She then goes and gets Peter and John and they come. They also see.

So Jesus Christ, the only sign that He gives that He's the Messiah, the only sign that we have that we can rely upon to know that truly He was the Messiah, is the sign of Jonah. And three days, the Bible talks about that we find in the scriptures. His resurrection was three days and three nights after He was placed in the tomb. So He was placed in the tomb Wednesday evening, shortly before sunset. So Wednesday evening, shortly before sunset. The Thursday evening, shortly before sunset, one day. Shortly before sunset, Thursday. Shortly before sunset, Friday, two days. Shortly before sunset, Friday. The sunset's Saturday or shortly before, three days. At precisely three days He came. He was resurrected. He was made a spirit being. Now, He could have waited in the tomb. I don't know how long He stayed in there to fulfill the symbolism of the wave-sheaf offering. That we don't know. You know, that's something you could speculate about. But we do know that He was resurrected exactly as He said. So, brethren, you and I can be absolutely assured that the length of His entombment that Jesus gave as proof that He was the Messiah was exactly as long as He foretold. Jesus rose precisely three days, three nights, after He was placed in the tomb. Because most people do not understand the Bible high days, that Jesus kept, His followers kept, that you and I keep today, they failed to understand the chronological details that are so accurately preserved in the Gospels. And when you go through it and you put it all together, you can accurately see what took place. The observance of the resurrection on Sunday is based upon a false premise. And that false premise is that Jesus Christ was resurrected on Sunday morning. That's why they have the Sunday morning sunrise services. He wasn't resurrected on any part of Sunday. Period.

Later that day was called Easter, where they began to observe Sunday. Then they began to say, well, Christ was resurrected on Sunday. We should observe that instead of the Passover. Later on, there were so many pagans being converted to Christianity, and they wanted to keep their customs like Easter. They just changed the names and adopted the custom and began to do it on the first day of the week. Easter was a pagan day that was slowly introduced into the false church in place of the Passover. But there were those who have always kept the Passover. And, brethren, you and I are a continuation of that group. You may not stop and think about it, but there are very few down through the ages who have truly understood the proper day that God wants us to keep, the meaning of that day, the purpose of that day, and all that it symbolizes. And the fact that if you do not believe what Christ said, then you deny that He is the Messiah. And we do believe that He is the Messiah. So we can be totally assured that we keep the Passover on the correct day, that Jesus Christ was resurrected exactly three days and three nights after He was placed in the tomb, and that what we do today certainly pictures and continues to follow the example from the Old Testament, Christ's example, the Apostles' example, Polycrates' example, the Church down through the ages, the Church in the 20th century, and we are still doing it today.