What Day Did Jesus Come Back To Life

When Was Jesus Christ Crucified and Resurrected? : Did He Really Die on Good Friday and Come Back to Life on Easter Sunday?

As recorded in Matthew 12:38, a group of scribes and Pharisees approached Jesus and requested for a sign to show He was the Messiah. However, Jesus informed them that the only sign He would provide would be similar to that of the prophet Jonah: “For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the big fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth” (Matthew 12:38). (Matthew 12:40). The question is, how can we accommodate “three days and three nights” between a Friday afternoon crucifixion and a Sunday morning resurrection?

A number of people feel that Christ’s “three days and three nights” remark does not necessitate a precise period of 72 hours, believing that a portion of one day can be counted as a whole day.

In this theory, however, only two nights are taken into consideration: Friday night and Saturday night Something is clearly wrong with the traditional perspective of when Christ was buried, and it is not difficult to see why.

In the event that Jesus remained in the tomb just from late Friday afternoon until early Sunday morning, the sign He delivered indicating that He was the predicted Messiah would not have been fulfilled, as previously stated.

When we do this, we unearth the true tale of how Jesus’ words were perfectly fulfilled, a story that was previously unknown.

Two Sabbaths mentioned

Take note of the events described in Luke 23. Luke 23:46-53 tells the story of Jesus’ death and burial, which took place in haste because of the approaching Sabbath, which began at sundown that evening. The Bible says in Luke 23:54, “That day was the Preparation, and the Sabbath was drawing nigh.” Many have thought that the weekly Sabbath is being referenced here, and that Jesus was killed on a Friday as a result of this assumption. However, according to John 19:31, the impending Sabbath “was a high day”—not the weekly Sabbath (which runs from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset), but the first day of Unleavened Bread, which is one of God’s yearly high, or Sabbath, days (as opposed to the weekly Sabbath) (Exodus 12:16-17;Leviticus 23:6-7).

This high-day Sabbath was observed on Wednesday night and Thursday because, according to Luke 23:56, after witnessing Christ’s corpse being deposited in the tomb shortly before sunset, the women “returned and prepared spices and aromatic oils” in preparation for the final preparation of the body for burial.

As recorded in Mark’s account, “Now when the Sabbath had passed, Mary Magdalene and her sister Mary the mother of James, and Salome went out and bought spices, so that they may come and anoint Him” (Matthew 26:35).

The ladies had to wait until the end of this yearly “high day” Sabbath before they could go out and purchase and prepare the spices that would be used for anointing Jesus’ body.

This second Sabbath stated in the Gospel reports corresponds to the ordinary weekly Sabbath, which is celebrated from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset every week.

The first, according to John 19:31, was a “high day”—the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which happened on a Thursday in the year A.D. 31. The second, according to John 19:31, was a “low day.” The second was the weekly Sabbath on the seventh day of the week.

Sign of the Messiah

“While it was still dark,” according to John 20:1, after the ladies had had their normal weekly Sabbath rest, they went to Jesus’ tomb on the first day of the week, Sunday, and discovered that He had already been raised (Matthew 28:1-6;Mark 16:2-6;Luke 24:1-3). It becomes evident when we look at the specifics in all four Gospel texts that the picture is painted in black and white. Jesus was killed and entombed late on Wednesday afternoon, shortly before the Jewish Sabbath began at sunset the same evening.

1. The Lord Jesus Christ was buried in the tomb from the evening of Wednesday until the evening of Saturday, when He rose from the dead.
2. It couldn’t have happened on Sunday morning since when Mary Magdalene arrived at the tomb that morning before daylight, “when it was still dark,” she saw the stone had been moved away and the tomb had been left vacant.
3. Exactly three days and three nights after He was laid in the tomb, Jesus resurrected from the dead.
4. We recommend that you read our pamphlet, Jesus Christ: The Real Story, for further information.

Jesus – resurrection – The nature of God and Jesus in Christianity – GCSE Religious Studies Revision – Eduqas

The resurrection, according to Christian religion, is the idea that Jesus rose from the dead three days after he died on the cross. Several passages in the Gospel of Luke (24:1–9) provide insight into how Jesus’ followers learned that he had been resurrected:

• On the Sunday following Jesus’ death, the female disciples of Jesus went to his tomb to pay their respects. The entrance to the tomb had been blocked off by a stone. The stone, on the other hand, had been moved aside, and the tomb was now empty. Two males in sparkling attire came in front of the women. The ladies were terrified, but the men questioned them, saying, “Why are you looking for the live among the dead?” He is not present
• He has ascended into the heavens! Remember what he said to you when he was still with you in Galilee: ‘The Son of Man must be given into the hands of sinners, be crucified, and on the third day be risen again’ (Luke 24:5–7). The female disciples then returned to Jesus’ apostles and other people to inform them that Jesus had risen from the dead.

Many Christians place a high value on their belief in the resurrection because of the following reasons:

• Many Christians place a high value on the belief in the resurrection because of the following reasons:

St. Paul emphasizes the importance of believing in Jesus’ resurrection from the dead in the biblical book 1 Corinthians, which is written by the apostle Paul. He adds that he personally saw Jesus after his resurrection, and that Jesus appeared to the apostles as well as over 500 other people during that time period. The apostle Paul then informs the audience that Jesus’ resurrection offers the possibility of life beyond death: If it is proclaimed that Christ has been risen from the dead, how can some of you claim that there is no such thing as a resurrected body?

And if Christ has not been risen from the dead, our message, as well as your faith, is pointless.

Is this true or false?

False. He was raised from the dead. Reincarnation is the process by which something is reincarnated and begins its existence all over again, usually in a new form. As far as we know, Jesus has returned to life in the same physical shape and at the same stage in his life as he was when he died.

Jesus’ Resurrection Day

QUESTION: Was Jesus’ resurrection day on a Sunday or a Saturday or both? Christians, as well as many other people, are familiar with the account of Jesus’ resurrection. Traditionally, it is thought that He died on a Friday (today known as Good Friday) and that He was raised the following Sunday (now celebrated as Easter Sunday). But there is disagreement about whether this timeline corresponds to the biblical prophesy contained in Matthew 12:40, which states: “For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” Our present technique of counting days indicates that Jesus would have been in His tomb from late Friday afternoon until early Sunday morning according to our calendar.

1. Even if you consider Friday and Sunday to be complete days, it would imply He remained in the grave for a total of three days and two nights at the most.
2. In defense of Friday and Sunday, many biblical scholars argue that it was typical among Jews at the period to consider any segment of a day to constitute the full day and night, which is what happened on those days.
3. According to Jewish custom, the next day (Sunday) begins when the sun sets on the previous day (Thursday), making it plausible that Jesus was killed and buried on a Thursday, or possibly a Wednesday, with His resurrection occurring on Saturday night.
4. His disciples, without a doubt, were the only ones who knew how long He had been in the tomb.
5. He either opted not to fulfill the prophesy in its entirety, lingering in the grave for three days and three nights, or he chose to do it in a way that was consistent with the text.
6. His challenge to them, as well as to all of us, was to place our trust in Him, rather than on whatever “evidence” He may provide.

However, it would be far more awful if He had genuinely been dead for the entire three days and nights and they had failed to acknowledge it because they had hardened their hearts to the truth.

Why did Jesus Rise on the Third Day?

Derek Hiebert contributed to this article. 1 year ago today

Why did Jesus Rise on the Third Day?

As a matter of tradition, Christians have commemorated the resurrection of Jesus Christ on a Sunday, three days following the commemoration of his crucifixion on Good Friday. This three-day chronology is based on a number of allusions in the New Testament to the Old Testament. Many times, Jesus foretold it, and the apostles included it in their delivery of the gospel message as well (see footnote references). However, why did Jesus’ resurrection take place three days after his death is a mystery.

Is the third day only a coincidental, insignificant element put on to the story of Jesus’ death and resurrection?

The Third Day Matters

Timing is extremely important for Jesus and his apostles because it has significant theological ramifications. When it comes to biblical story, the three-day timeframe is important because it represents the one-of-a-kind day on which God creates new life and activates his covenant with mankind. How did the writers of the New Testament get at this conclusion? After all, the Hebrew Scriptures have a constant “third day” design pattern, which Jesus and the New Testament authors are using as a model.

The Third Day Pattern in the Hebrew Bible

The passages Jonah 1:17 and Hosea 6:1-2 in the Hebrew Scriptures are among the clearest illustrations of third-day resurrection in the whole Bible. Jesus used Jonah’s three days in the belly of the huge fish as a metaphor for his own three days in the belly of the great fish. The prophet Hosea predicted that God’s reviving operation for Israel would take place on the third day. While these are important passages to study, the pattern of resurrection on the third day is established far earlier in the tale of Jesus.

The creation narrative in Genesis 1 and Abraham’s test in Genesis 22 both begin to develop a pattern of new life emerging on the third day.

The First “Resurrection”

What is the location of the initial glimpse into the three-day significance? The first page of the Bible. The creation story in Genesis 1 is written in the style of a poetry, with repeated declarations and parallelism between events. Within the rhythm of these repeats, two events in the creation tale stand out as particularly noteworthy, each occurring at a three-day interval and occurring at different points in the narrative. During the first “third day,” God creates dry ground and enables flora to emerge from the soil, including plants that produce seeds as well as trees that give fruit for human use (1:11-13).

The second “third day” event occurs on the sixth day of creation, when God produces animals and human beings for the first time (1:24).

Humans were produced from the dust of the earth, according to what we learn later in the book (2:7).

Take note of the parallels between humans and trees: both are newly generated from the ground (2:7, 9), both carry seeds and produce fruit (1:11, 28; 3:15), and both are made in this manner on the third day of creation.

One thing that distinguishes people from other animals, however, is that they are created in God’s image, and that God enters into a covenant with human beings, blessing and instructing them in their behavior.

A Pattern Emerges

There are three major characteristics of the “third day” events in Genesis 1 that serve as a template for subsequent events:

1. God brings new life where there was once only death (1:11-13
2. 26-27
3. 2:7)
4. God establishes his covenant with the creatures he has newly created, in this case humans (1:28-29)
5. God creates new life where there was once only death (1:11-13
6. 26 In Eden, which we understand to be a lofty site from which a river runs out (2:10-14), the event takes place.

It is impossible to emphasize the significance of this picture and pattern, since it serves as a precedent for future resurrections to come.

Abraham’s Test on the Third Day

Is there any other place where this pattern can be found? Abraham is put to the test by God in yet another “third day” occurrence, which is one of the most interesting events in all of Scripture (Genesis 22:1-19). When God commands Abraham to present his only son Isaac as a burned offering on a mountain, the Bible states that Abraham spotted the location from a distance on the third day and proceeded to complete the test (22:4). God wants Abraham to learn to put his confidence in him when it comes to the covenant and the blessing of offspring in this scenario.

The connection to the “third day” concept is established in this passage by a strikingly dramatic act of atonement on the part of God, in which he substitutes a ram for Isaac (22:13-14).

On the third day, we notice the same trend as we did on the first:

1. God working to bring fresh life, in this case to Isaac by his life being spared and to Abraham with the return of his son (22:11-14). (Genesis 22:17-18) God confirms his bond with Abraham, using language and ideas identical with Genesis 1:28
2. (22:2, 14) This event takes place on the summit of a mountain.

Israel’s Third Day at Sinai

It is God’s action to bring fresh life, in this case to Isaac by his life being spared and to Abraham through the return of his son (22:11-14). (22:17-18) God reinforces his promise with Abraham by employing language and concepts congruent with Genesis 1:28; 22:2 and 14 describe an occurrence that takes place on a mountain.

1. It is God who brings about new life for his people — in this case, new identity for Israel — just as he did at the creation and with Abraham and Isaac (19:4-6)
2. God enters into covenant with his people, specifically Israel (19:4-6)
3. God accomplishes all of this on a mountain (19:2)
4. And God accomplishes all of this on a mountain (19:2).

And that is exactly what we see in the tale! The rest of Israel’s experience in the Hebrew Scriptures, on the other hand, is defined by rebellion and disbelief, as well as a failure to fulfill their half of the agreement. This leads us back to the prophetic texts that refer to the third day, such as Hosea and Jonah, which we discussed before.

Hosea’s Hope, Jonah’s ‘Resurrection’

By returning to these prophets, we get a more complete picture of the “third day” and the tremendous imagery of resurrection that it evokes, as well as its relationship to God’s covenant with Abraham. A typical prophetic phrase for repentance toward covenant integrity is “return to Yahweh,” which Hosea uses to exhort Israel to do, and he also provides them hope in the form of resurrection language (Hosea 6:1-2). This restoration to the covenant will be marked by a renewal of life, as well as our resurrection as a people into the life of Yahweh, which will take place on the “third day,” in accordance with our pattern.

In many respects, the story of Jonah and his failure is a metaphor for the story of Israel. God, on the other hand, does not give up on him or his people. In the third day, he vomits Jonah out of the fish, bringing him back to life in one of the most bizarre “resurrections” recorded in the Bible.

Jesus Predicts a Third Day Resurrection

In the Gospels, we find Jesus speaking of a third-day resurrection while he is discussing his death with his followers, which leads us to believe that he would rise from the dead on the third day. In fact, he refers to “three days” a total of 21 times! By now, you’ve undoubtedly figured out that this was not a coincidental choice of words. It is on the third day that Jesus was adamant, since it signifies God’s initiative in the creation of new life and the establishment of a covenant with mankind.

1. Specifically, God raises fresh life from the earth (tomb), in this case, Jesus. God acts to bring about the new covenant via Jesus’ atoning death and resurrection, which in this case is for the benefit of everyone who believe in him. The act of atonement performed by Jesus takes place on a hill.

With the imagery of new life coming up from the earth in Genesis 1-2 on the third day, combined with the connection to the divine covenant found throughout the Hebrew Scriptures, the imagery of Jesus’ resurrection paints a striking picture of the theological importance of his resurrection. The significance of Jesus’ resurrection is underscored even further on the third day. It is the culmination of God’s mission of new life and covenant, which has been brilliantly represented since the beginning of time, and which will culminate in the future resurrection of Jesus’ disciples and the restoration of the entire universe at the conclusion of time.

So what does this mean for us?

This year, as we commemorate the resurrection of Jesus on Easter Sunday, we are not just carrying on a centuries-old tradition. We are engaged in a profoundly important theology centered on the third day, with all of the implications of God’s redeeming work that it entails, at this time. The design pattern for the third day serves as a reminder that God has begun the process of reviving individuals to new life and bringing them into his covenant partnership with them. What role are we going to play in it today?

April 3, AD 33: Why We Believe We Can Know the Exact Date Jesus Died

In our book, The Final Days of Jesus: The Most Important Week of the Most Important Person Who Ever Lived, Justin Taylor and I make an educated guess as to the date of Jesus’ crucifixion, but we do not argue for or against it. For a variety of factors, virtually all academics think that Jesus was executed in the spring of either AD 30 or AD 33, with the majority preferring the former. As a result of the astronomical data, the alternatives are reduced to AD 27, 30, 33, or 34). However, we would want to present our case for the date of Friday, April 3, AD 33, as the precise day on which Christ died in our place as atonement for our sins.

However, this does not rule out the possibility of understanding or importance.

No one makes this argument more forcefully than Luke, the Gentile physician who became a historian and inspired recorder of early Christianity. No other Gospel writer makes this point more forcefully than Luke.

The Year John the Baptist’s Ministry Began

In Luke’s account, John the Baptist began his public ministry soon before Jesus did, and the author provides us with a historical reference point for when the Baptist’s ministry began: “in the fifteenth year of Tiberius Caesar’s reign.” (See Luke 3:16). It is known from ancient Roman history that Tiberius succeeded Augustus as emperor on August 19, AD 14 and was approved by the Roman Senate on the same day. He reigned until the year AD 37. “The fifteenth year of Tiberius Caesar’s reign” appears to be a straightforward date, but there are some ambiguities, beginning with when one begins the calculation.

Most likely, Tiberius’ reign was measured from the day he assumed office in AD 14 or from the first day of January of the following year, AD 15 (whichever came first).

So John the Baptist’s ministry began anywhere between the middle of AD 28 and the beginning of AD 29.

The Year Jesus’s Ministry Began

Because the Gospels appear to suggest that Jesus began his ministry not long after John, the most likely date for Jesus’ baptism would be late in AD 28 at the absolute earliest, according to the calculations above. Nevertheless, it seems more likely that it occurred somewhere around the first half of the year AD 29, because a few months had probably gone between the beginning of John’s career and the beginning of Jesus’ ministry (and the year AD 30 is the latest possible date). As a result, Jesus’ career must have began somewhere between the end of AD 28 and the beginning of AD 30 at the earliest.

The most plausible dates for Jesus’ birth are 6 or 5 BC, which means he would have been roughly thirty-two to thirty-four years old in late AD 28 to early AD 30.

The Length of Jesus’s Ministry

To determine how long Jesus’ public ministry lasted, we must first determine how long Jesus’ public ministry lasted. If Jesus’ public ministry lasted two or more years, it appears that the spring of AD 30 cannot be considered as a plausible date for the crucifixion. The Gospel of John records that Jesus attended at least three (perhaps four) Passovers, which were held once a year in the spring and were as follows:

• To determine how long Jesus’ public ministry lasted, we must first determine how long Jesus’ public ministry lasted. If Jesus’ public ministry lasted two or more years, it would appear that the spring of AD 30 is out of the question as a viable time for the crucifixion. Jesus attended at least three (and maybe four) Passovers, which were held once a year in the spring, according to the Gospel of John.

This would make a date of a.d. 30 all but impossible as the date of Jesus’ crucifixion, even if there were only three Passovers in all. As previously stated, the earliest possible date for the beginning of Jesus’ career, according to Luke 3:1, is late in the first century AD. The first of these Passovers (which occurred at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry; John 2:13) would happen on Nisan 15 in the year 29 (since Nisan is in March/April, around the beginning of a year), which would be the first of these Passovers in the year 29.

If Jesus’ ministry corresponded with at least three Passovers, and if the first Passover occurred in AD 29, this suggests that he could not have been executed in ad 30, as previously thought.

Assuming, however, that John the Baptist began his career in AD 29, it is reasonable to assume that Jesus began his mission in late AD 29 or early ad 30. The Passovers in the book of John would thus take place on the following dates:

Nisan 15	AD 30	John 2:13
Nisan 15	AD 31	Either the unnamed feast in John 5:1 or else a Passover that John does not mention (but that may be implied in the Synoptics)
Nisan 15	AD 32	John 6:4
Nisan 15	AD 33	John 11:55, the Passover at which Jesus was crucified

Jesus Was Crucified on the Day of Preparation for the Passover

It is also mentioned by the apostle John that Jesus was crucified on “the day of Preparation” (John 19:31), which corresponds to the Friday before the Sabbath of the Passover week (Mark 15:42). Earlier in the day, on Thursday evening, Jesus had a Passover meal with the Twelve (Mark 14:12), which is referred to as his “Last Supper.” Passover always falls on the fifteenth day of Nisan (Exodus 12:6), according to the Pharisaic-rabbinic calendar that was generally used in Jesus’ day. According to this calendar, Passover begins on Thursday after sundown and finishes on Friday after nightfall.

33, the year in which the crucifixion is most likely to have occurred, the most likely date for Jesus’ crucifixion is April 3 in the year a.d.

Accordingly, we created the following chart in The Final Days of Jesus to indicate the dates for Jesus’ final week in the year a.d.

April 2	Nissan 14	Thursday (Wednesday nightfall to Thursday nightfall)	Day of Passover preparation	Last Supper
April 3	Nissan 15	Friday (Thursday nightfall to Friday nightfall)	Passover; Feast of Unleavened Bread, begins	Crucifixion
April 4	Nissan 16	Saturday (Friday nightfall to Saturday nightfall)	Sabbath
April 5	Nissan 17	Sunday (Saturday nightfall to Sunday nightfall)	First day of the week	Resurrection

Conclusion

According to John, Jesus was crucified on “the day of Preparation” (John 19:31), which is the Friday before Passover week’s Sabbath, and that he was beheaded (Mark 15:42). “The Last Supper” occurred the night before, on Thursday evening, when Jesus had a Passover supper with the Twelve (Mark 14:12). Passover always falls on the fifteenth day of Nisan (Exodus 12:6), according to the Pharisaic-rabbinic calendar that was generally used in Jesus’ day. According to this calendar, Passover begins on Thursday after sundown and concludes on Friday after nightfall.

33, the year in which the crucifixion is most likely to have occurred, the most plausible date for Jesus’ crucifixion is April 3 in the year a.d.

Accordingly, we created the following graphic in The Final Days of Jesus to illustrate the dates of Jesus’ final week in the year 33 AD:

HISTORICAL INFORMATION	YEAR
Beginning of Tiberius’s reign	AD 14
Fifteenth year of Tiberius’s reign:Beginning of John the Baptist’s ministry	AD 28
A few months later:Beginning of Jesus’s ministry	AD 29
Minimum three-year duration of Jesus’ ministry:Most likely date of Jesus’s crucifixion	AD 33 (April 3)

While this is, in our opinion, the most plausible scenario, it should be noted that many people think Jesus was killed in the year AD 30, rather than the year AD 33, as we have said. If, on the other hand, the beginning of Tiberius’ rule is set at the year AD 14, it becomes nearly difficult to fit fifteen years of Tiberius’ reign and three years of Jesus’ ministry between AD 14 and AD 30, as is the case. As a result, some have speculated that Tiberius and Augustus shared co-regency (combined rule) during the last few years of Augustus’ reign.

As a result, we believe that Jesus was most likely crucified on April 3, AD 33, as previously stated.

Because of this, when we celebrate Easter and walk with Jesus every day of the year, we may be certain that our faith is founded not just on subjective personal confidence, but also on solid historical evidence, which makes our faith a perfectly rational faith.

Crossway’s executive vice president and publisher for books, Justin Taylor, holds this position. Andreas Köstenberger and he have written a book together called The Final Days of Jesus: The Most Important Week in the Life of the Most Important Person Who Ever Lived (Crossway, 2014).

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The May/June 2016 issue of Biblical Archaeology Review is available online. Biblical Perspectives is a weekly column. Staff of the Biblical Archaeology Society On November 16, 20217, there were 106864 views and 20217 comments. What day did Jesus resurrect from the dead? Is it better to wait three days or to wait until the third day? During his Biblical Views column, “It’s About Time—Easter Time,” which appeared in the May/June 2016 edition of Biblical Archaeology Review, Ben Witherington III explores this subject in further depth.

—Ed.

“It’s About Time—Easter Time”

Anachronism is a hazard that arises when reading ancient books like the Bible in the twenty-first century. By this I mean that we risk introducing damaging current notions and expectations into our readings. This challenge becomes much more serious when dealing with old manuscripts, which have significant historical significance and are thus difficult to interpret. What day did Jesus resurrect from the dead? Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome visited Jesus’ tomb on Easter morning to anoint his corpse (Mark 16:1–2), as shown in Henry Osawa Tanner’s painting “The Three Marys” (1910).

1. To provide an example, we are a people who are fascinated with time — and with accuracy when it comes to time — to the millisecond level.
2. When it came to the passage of time, they did not stress over accuracy.
3. Jesus promised that he would rise from the dead “after three days,” according to certain sources.
4. In fact, the time reference should be avoided entirely.

In Mark 8:31, on the other hand, Jesus declares, “The Son of Man will rise from the dead after three days.” In John 2:19, he refers to the same event as taking place “in three days,” and the Gospel authors tell us that Jesus used the term “on the third day” on a number of occasions (see, e.g., Matthew 16:21; 17:23; 20:19; Luke 24:46).

1. While it is feasible that both forecasts will be incorrect, is it really possible that both will be correct?
2. Furthermore, the term “after three days” in the New Testament might simply indicate “after a time” or “after a few days” without any obvious specificity other than to hint that multiple days, in this case portions of three days, would be engaged in the event.
3. “Come to me again after three days,” says the Bible’s Second Chronicles 10:5, 12.
4. According to my interpretation, the term “after three days” is a more generic or imprecise way of expressing, but “on the third day” is a little more particular (albeit it still doesn’t tell us when it is on the third day).

When it comes to time, these books were not written in a way that would suit our present high expectations.

Become a Member ofBiblical Archaeology SocietyNow and Get More Than Half Off the Regular Price of the All-AccessPass!

With an All-Access pass, you may access more than 9,000 articles from the Biblical Archaeology Society’s extensive collection, as well as much more. We must recognize that most of the time references in the New Testament are not precise, and we must give the ancient author the freedom to be general when he wants to be general and more specific when he wants to be more specific. This is one of the keys to understanding how the New Testament interprets time references. When you find both types of references to the time span between Jesus’ death and resurrection in the same book by the same author, and in some cases even within close proximity to each other, it is reasonable to conclude that these texts were not written in accordance with our modern exacting expectations when it comes to time references.

• I believe it is past time for us to accord these ancient authors the respect they deserve and to read them with a knowledge of the standards they followed when writing ancient history or ancient biography, rather than imposing our later genre norms on them, as we have done in the past.
• This article has been updated.
• Ben Witherington III is the Amos Professor of New Testament for Doctoral Studies at Asbury Theological Seminary in Kentucky and a member of the doctoral faculty of St.
• He received his bachelor’s degree from Asbury Theological Seminary in Kentucky.

Notes:

Take advantage of an All-Access pass, which gives you unlimited access to the Biblical Archaeology Society’s extensive collection of more than 9,000 publications, as well as much more. We must recognize that most of the time references in the New Testament are not precise, and we must give the ancient author the freedom to be general when he wants to be general and more specific when he wants to be more specific. This is one of the keys to understanding how the time references in the New Testament are interpreted.

Ist it not time that we let these authors to speak in the manner in which they were accustomed throughout their own historical period?

1 – Originally published in Biblical Archaeology Review, May/June 2016, “Biblical Views: It’s About Time—Easter Time” by Ben Witherington III.

Asbury Theological Seminary in Kentucky and St. Andrews University in Scotland are home to Ben Witherington III, the Amos Professor of New Testament for Doctorate Studies. He is also on the doctoral faculty of Asbury Theological Seminary.

Related reading in Bible History Daily:

When Was the First Holy Communion Celebrated? Even yet, Jesus’ Last Supper was not a Passover meal. The Herod’s Jerusalem Palace Remains are on Display During a Seder Meal Tour— The site of Jesus’ trial is a possibility. And Why It Really Does Make a Difference The “Strange” Ending of the Gospel of Mark and Why It Really Does Make a Difference What Method Was Used to Seal Jesus’ Tomb?

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When Did Jesus Die? The Year, Day & Time

There has been much speculation concerning the day and year of Christ’s crucifixion and death, owing to the absence of clear day-to-day linkage in the stories of the four Gospels. We know that Jesus died on Preparation Day because it is mentioned in each of the four Gospel narratives. But was it a Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday when that happened?

In addition, what hour did Jesus die? There has even been discussion over the year in which he passed away. To figure out the day of Jesus’ death on the cross, we must piece together the evidence from his four Gospels and our understanding of his historical period and cultural context.

Cultural Information to Keep in Mind

1. The gospel writers were more concerned with depicting Jesus as a person than they were with the precise chronology of his appearance. Dates have become increasingly important in today’s environment in order to provide proper news coverage. However, the Gospel authors were more concerned with the events themselves than they were with the precise date of the occurrences. They were attempting to introduce Jesus to a variety of audiences rather than providing a thorough biography. It was the day before the Sabbath that was designated as the Day of Preparation.

This is the day on which Jews prepared meals and completed all of the tasks that were prohibited from being completed on the Sabbath but that still needed to be completed.

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What the Gospels Say about Jesus’ Burial

The Gospel of Matthew contains the most detailed account of Jesus’ death and burial (Matthew 27:31-62). In this tale, we learn about Joseph, a wealthy man from Arimathea “who had himself become a follower of Jesus,” according to one piece (Matthew 27:57 b). In Matthew 27:58-61, it is said that Joseph approached Pilate and begged for permission to bury Jesus’ body. “The next day, the day after Preparation Day, the chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate,” we are told in Matthew 27:62. Joseph followed out this plan on Preparation Day.

In the Jewish calendar, it was Preparation Day (i.e., the day before the Sabbath).” (Matthew 15:42 a.) … Consequently, Joseph purchased some linen material, brought the corpse down from the casket, wrapped it in the linen, and buried it in a tomb dug into the rock.

Jesus died on the Day of Preparation, as confirmed by Luke and John: “Then he carried it down, wrapped it in linen fabric, and buried it in a tomb cut into the rock, in which no one had yet been lain.” As it happened, it was Preparation Day, and the Sabbath was about to begin” (Luke 23:54).

What Day Did Jesus Die? Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday?

Over the years, academics have developed a variety of hypotheses about what occurred during the days of the week preceding up to Jesus’ death on the cross. These versions each offer a different day for Christ’s death, such as Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday.

• A number of theories on what transpired during the days leading up to Christ’s death have been proposed by scholars throughout the years. They all claim that Christ died on a different day, either Wednesday or Thursday or both.

What Time Did Jesus Die?

According to Matthew Henry’s interpretation, Jesus was nailed to the crucifixion between the third and sixth hours, which corresponds between nine and twelve o’clock in the morning. After then, he died shortly after the ninth hour, which was sometime between three and four o’clock in the afternoon.

Commensurate with the aforementioned practice, the Jews throughout the time of Christ measured days from dusk to nightfall. The Matthew 27:46 KJV, which is the “ninth hour,” can be translated into the Matthew 27:46 NIV, which is the “three o’clock in the afternoon,” according to Bible experts.

Timing of Jesus Death in Mark, Luke, and John

• The Gospel of Mark 15: 33:34, 37 “At midday, darkness descended across the entire region, lasting until three o’clock in the afternoon. Also, about three o’clock in the afternoon, Jesus said, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” in an obnoxiously loud voice. (which translates as ‘My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?’). “Jesus breathed his last with a piercing scream.”
• Matthew 23:44-46 ” It was now around midday, and darkness descended upon the entire region until three o’clock in the afternoon since the sun had ceased shining. And the temple’s curtain was split in two by the earthquake. I put my spirit into your hands,’ Jesus said with a resounding voice, calling out to the Father. At the moment he stated this, he exhaled his final breath.” (See also John 19:14-16.) “It was approximately midday on the day of Passover preparations, and it was the day of Passover preparations. ‘Your king has arrived,’ Pilate said to the Jews. They, on the other hand, cried out, “Take him away!” Take him away from me! ‘Put him to death!’ ‘Do you want me to crucify your king?’ Pilate was the one who inquired. ‘We do not have a monarch other than Caesar,’ the leading priests responded. Eventually, Pilate gave him over to them, and they crucified him.”

What Year Did Jesus Die?

During this video, Doug Bookman, a New Testament professor at Shepherds Theological Seminary, shows why biblical academics have reached an agreement about the year Jesus died. “It all boils down to this. Pilate served as prefect of Judea and Samaria from 26 A.D. to 36 A.D., according to the evidence we have. So that’s our view out the window. The following question is: On what day of the week did Passover occur during the year that Jesus died? In the opinion of the majority, it occurred on Thursday or Friday.

Given all of this, the vast majority of researchers will agree that it leads to one of two conclusions: ” Theory 1: Jesus died about the year 30 A.D.

“At this point, the argument becomes pretty technical,” says Bookman of the situation.

I am convinced that the year 33 A.D.

3 Significant Events Shortly After Jesus’ Death

Matthew 27:51-54, Matthew 27:51-54 As a result of this, the temple’s curtain was split in half, from top to bottom. The ground trembled, the rocks cracked, and the tombs burst into flames. Many pious persons who had died were brought back to life by the power of the Holy Spirit. They emerged from the graves following Jesus’ resurrection and proceeded to the holy city, where they appeared to a large number of people. They were startled and cried, “Surely he was the Son of God!” when the centurion and others with him who were guarding Jesus witnessed the earthquake and everything that had transpired.

• The temple curtain had been ripped in half.
• We know from the laws of the Old Testament that entering God’s presence was a severe matter.
• The fact that this curtain was destroyed represented the completion of Jesus Christ’s accomplished work on the cross, which eliminated the barrier between sinful humans and holy God by becoming the ultimate High Priest and the ultimate sacrifice on behalf of all people.
• 2.
• John Gill’s remark on the event states that “this was a demonstration of Christ’s authority over death and the tomb.” When Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his death, he demonstrated that he had destroyed both the power of death and the permanence of the grave.
• In addition to its grandiose claims, this event is noteworthy because it is a narrative predicting Christ’s second coming to collect the remainder of his people.
• 3.

Jesus is brought back to life from the dead. This text in Matthew glosses over such a remarkable occurrence, but Christ’s resurrection is told in greater detail in Matthew 28, which is the gospel of Matthew (as well as inMark 16,Luke 24, andJohn 20). Photograph courtesy of Joshua Earle via Unsplash.

The Case for Christ: What’s the evidence for the resurrection?

Strobel, a writer for the Chicago Tribune and a Yale Law School graduate, wrote “The Case for Christ: A Journalist’s Personal Investigation of the Evidence for Jesus” in 1998, which was released in English and Spanish. Strobel had previously been an atheist, but after his wife’s conversion to evangelical Christianity, he felt obligated to challenge some of the central Christian claims about Jesus. While the historicity of Jesus’ resurrection was the most important of these assertions, additional claims included the belief in Jesus as the actual Son of God and the veracity of the New Testament literature, among others.

It went on to become one of the most widely read and widely distributed works of Christian apologetic (that is, a defense of the rationality and correctness of Christianity) in history.

The film makes an attempt to present a persuasive argument for the historical accuracy of Jesus’ resurrection.

Are all of Strobel’s arguments relevant?

According to the film’s producers, the evidence supporting the historicity of Jesus’ resurrection is the film’s core subject. Several of its arguments, on the other hand, are not immediately applicable to this situation. According to Strobel, the fact that there are over 5,000 Greek copies of the New Testament in existence, which is significantly more than any other ancient literature, is a significant point in his argument. He does this in order to show that we may be reasonably certain that the original forms of the New Testament books have been faithfully conveyed.

There are fewer than ten papyrus texts from the second century that have survived, and many of them are extremely fragmented.

If these second-century copies are true, all we have left are first-century documents claiming that Jesus was risen from the grave, which isn’t very encouraging.

What do the New Testament writings prove?

One of the most important arguments in the film is drawn from the New Testament book known as First Corinthians, which was written by the Apostle Paul to a group of Christians in Corinth in order to resolve conflicts that had developed in their society. Paul is believed to have written this letter in the year 52, around 20 years after the death of Jesus. In 1 Corinthians 15:3-8, Paul provides a list of the persons who have seen the resurrected Jesus in their lives. The New Testament is a book of scripture that was written in the first century AD.

Many academics think that Paul is referring from a far older Christian faith, which may have formed only a few years after Jesus’ death and was adopted by the church.

Indeed, many New Testament scholars would agree that some of Jesus’ disciples believed they had seen him alive only a few weeks or months after his death, and that this belief was supported by other witnesses.

It is not uncommon for people to experience visions of their deceased relatives: Thirteen percent of those polled in a research of over 20,000 people claimed to have seen the dead.

To put it another way, sightings of the rising Jesus are not nearly as uncommon as Strobel would have us believe they are.

A miracle or not?

But what about the 500 people who witnessed Jesus’ resurrection at the same time? First and foremost, biblical scholars are baffled as to what incident Paul is alluding to in this passage. The “day of Pentecost” (Acts 2:1) is thought to be a reference to the Holy Spirit bestowing supernatural abilities on members of the Christian community in Jerusalem, allowing them to communicate in languages that were previously unknown to them. However, according to one leading scholar, this event was added to the list of resurrection appearances by Paul, and the origins of the event are unclear.

• Second, even if Paul is reporting accurately, his claims are no more credible than those of large groups of people who claim to have witnessed an apparition of the Virgin Mary or a UFO.
• The fact that Jesus’ tomb was empty on Easter morning, according to Strobel, is the greatest explanation for this event.
• There is substantial evidence to suggest that the Romans did not typically remove victims from crosses after they had died in battle.
• But even if we believe that the tomb was indeed empty that morning, what evidence do we have that it was a miracle rather than the corpse of Christ being moved for unknown reasons?

Who are the experts?

Aside from all of the obvious flaws in Strobel’s presentation, I feel that Strobel has made no genuine effort to include a diverse range of academic viewpoints in his presentation. As part of the film, Strobel travels around the country, interviewing professors and other professionals about the historical significance of Jesus’ resurrection. In his book, Strobel describes the experts he interviewed as “renowned scholars and authority who have impeccable academic credentials.” The movie does not explain how Strobel selected the experts he interviewed.

“We affirm that the Bible, both Old and New Testaments, though written by men, was supernaturally inspired by God so that all of its words are written true revelation of God; it is therefore inerrant in the originals and authoritative in all matters,” states the faculty application for Liberty University, for example.

Many of the other experts he interviews for his book have connections that are comparable to his own.

(I believe there are around 10,000 professional biblical scholars in the world at this time.) His arguments for the historicity of Jesus’ resurrection were compelling, according to an email response I received in response to my query regarding whether most professional biblical academics would find his arguments persuasive.

Furthermore, Dr.

At the end of the day, though, each individual must come to his or her own conclusion on the Christ case. The way someone interprets the evidence is influenced by a variety of factors, including, for example, whether or not the person has an anti-supernatural prejudice.”

No compelling evidence

The Easter Cross is a symbol of hope and resurrection. Artist Sharon’s Art4TheGlryOfGod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. According to Strobel, if he had polled experts at public institutions, private colleges and universities (many of which have religious affiliations), or denominational seminaries, the results of his poll would have been very different. Many Christian apologists, like Lee Strobel, assert that the primary reason secular scholars do not acknowledge the historicity of the resurrection is because they have a “anti-supernatural prejudice,” which is consistent with what Strobel says in the statement above.

Although some Christians believe in miracles, I believe that apologists such as Gary Habermas are equally as anti-supernaturalist when it comes to miraculous claims involving later Catholic saints or miracles from non-Christian religious traditions that occur after the beginning of Christian history.

While such astonishing claims abound in the world today, I believe that “The Case for Christ” has failed to give persuasive proof that Jesus’ resurrection was historically accurate.