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Do we care if Jesus was gone for ‘3 days & 3 nights’ or ‘3 nights & 3 days’? Maybe a conversation will just help us relive and revive ‘The Greatest Story Ever Told’. Else, the Easter Bunny culture prevails.
3 Nights & 3 Days: To defeat the power of darkness, in the earth.
Jonah 1:17. Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
Matthew 12:40. For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
Like the 6 literal days of Genesis 1, would it be illuminating and profitable to find 3 literal days? In my day, one literal day followed the next literal day.
There is a logical and practical explanation for 3 days and 3 nights: Friday is the 1st day, Saturday is the 2nd, and Sunday is the 3rd.
Others have tried to find 3 literal days, maybe ignored the historical record, and even hoped to change history.
But, just using the Scripture record can we find 3 literal days? Like, looking at the Bible in context to find ‘realism’ answers?
Jesus gave himself up on Thursday night for the mission to ‘defeat the power of darkness (Lu. 22:52 below)’ and it was completed by Sunday night. The day and night sequence is an issue, but was it “And they say unto him, We have here but five loaves, and two fishes.” Or was it 2 fishes and 5 loaves?
But then again, Matthew the Gospel writer and a Jew, knew that the Jewish day began at sunset, and yet non Jews knew this as nighttime. I guess like Matthew 1 and those Missing Kings, Matthew, even under Inspiration, must have thought, is this right?
Anyway, all I may accomplish is that I can sleep in and sing the Hallelujah Chorus much later on Easter Sunday. At least, I have 3 whole days, as well as Maundy Thursday. And I can say ‘The Lord is risen indeed’ as the Apostles did, on Sunday Night, also. And I can rest assured that God’s Word is pretty reliable. At least the King James versions. (newer versions are ‘spinning’ in their ism direction) And of course the originals are the ‘gold standard’.
Thursday - Night 1 = Luke 22:52. Then Jesus said unto the chief priests, and captains of the temple, and the elders, which were come to him, Be ye come out, as against a thief, with swords and staves? 53. When I was daily with you in the temple, ye stretched forth no hands against me: but this is your hour, and the power of darkness. 54. Then took they him, and led him, and brought him into the high priest's house.
Friday - Day 1 = Luke 23:44. And it was about the sixth hour, and there was a darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. 45. And the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was rent in the midst. 46. And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost.
Friday - Night 2 = Luke 23:53. And he took it down, and wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a sepulchre that was hewn in stone, wherein never man before was laid. 54. And that day was the preparation, and the sabbath drew on. 55. And the women also, which came with him from Galilee, followed after, and beheld the sepulchre, and how his body was laid. 56. And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the sabbath day according to the commandment.
Saturday - Day 2 = Matthew 27:62. Now the next day, that followed the day of the preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees came together unto Pilate, 63. Saying, Sir, we remember that that deceiver said, while he was yet alive, After three days I will rise again. 64. Command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure until the third day, lest his disciples come by night, and steal him away, and say unto the people, He is risen from the dead: so the last error shall be worse than the first. 65. Pilate said unto them, Ye have a watch: go your way, make it as sure as ye can.
Night 2, Day 2? 1 Peter 3:18. For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit, 3:19. By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; 20. Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.
Sunday - Day 3 (morning) = Luke 24:1. Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them. 2. And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre. 3. And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus. 4. And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments: 5. And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead?
Mark 16:8. And they went out quickly and fled from the tomb, for they trembled and were amazed. And they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid. 9. Now when He rose early on the first day of the week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom He had cast seven demons. 10. She went and told those who had been with Him, as they mourned and wept. 11. And when they heard that He was alive and had been seen by her, they did not believe.
Sunday - Day 3 (interim?) = Matthew 27: 52. And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, 53. And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.
Spending Sunday with the Heroes of the Faith, that ‘great cloud of witnesses’? What a Novel idea. And what did they do for 40 days? If I were Moses, Joshua and Caleb, I would have walked to Egypt and back. A trip that originally took 40 years, one way. Or Abraham revisiting his journeys on how he became the Father of the Faithful. Or Isaac and Jacob discussing how Jacob was jealously maligned for being a man of integrity. Could they have had a Banquet? Remember Jesus cooking for the disciples in John 21? How about Adam and Eve discussing with the saved thief on the cross how he waited 3 days, while they waited like 3000 years. And poor Lazarus, who missed the first banquet by a couple of days. We can talk to him later…
Sunday - Day 3 (evening) = Luke 24:13. And, behold, two of them went that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was from Jerusalem about threescore furlongs. 14. And they talked together of all these things which had happened. 15. And it came to pass, that, while they communed together and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near, and went with them. ….
28. And they drew nigh unto the village, whither they went: and he made as though he would have gone further. 29. But they constrained him, saying, Abide with us: for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent. And he went in to tarry with them. 30. And it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them, he took bread, and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them. 31. And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight. 32. And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures? 33. And they rose up the same hour, and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven gathered together, and them that were with them, 34. Saying, The Lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared to Simon. 35. And they told what things were done in the way, and how he was known of them in breaking of bread. 36. And as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.
Heroes of Faith:
http://historyreally.org/hof.html
(From Ussher’s Annals of the World)
6504. (Sir Robert Anderson gave the dates for the passover from 22 AD to 37 AD. {*Anderson, The Coming Prince, 1:104} Note that the passover would start at sundown on the previous day and end at sundown for the date shown. The passover meal would be eaten the previous evening. These dates are:
Year Passover
AD Day Date
22 Sunday April 22
23 Thursday March 25
24 Wednesday April 12
25 Sunday April 1
26 Thursday March 21
27 Wednesday April 9
28 Monday March 29
29 Sunday April 17
30 Thursday April 6
31 Tuesday March 27
32 Monday April 14
33 Friday April 3
34 Tuesday March 23
35 Monday April 11
36 Friday March 30
37 Thursday April 18
6505. Anderson independently confirmed the date that Ussher computed for the passover for 33 AD.
The NKJ Bible has 58 references to 'three days'.
/genesis 30/ 36. Then he put three days' journey between himself and Jacob, and Jacob fed the rest of Laban's flocks.
/genesis 40/ 12. And Joseph said to him, "This is the interpretation of it: The three branches are three days.
/genesis 40/ 13. "Now within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your place, and you will put Pharaoh's cup in his hand according to the former manner, when you were his butler.
/genesis 40/ 18. So Joseph answered and said, "This is the interpretation of it: The three baskets are three days.
/genesis 40/ 19. "Within three days Pharaoh will lift off your head from you and hang you on a tree; and the birds will eat your flesh from you.''
/genesis 42/ 17. So he put them all together in prison three days.
/exodus 3/ 18. "Then they will heed your voice; and you shall come, you and the elders of Israel, to the king of Egypt; and you shall say to him, `The Lord God of the Hebrews has met with us; and now, please, let us go three days' journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God.'
/exodus 5/ 3. So they said, "The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Please, let us go three days' journey into the desert and sacrifice to the Lord our God, lest He fall upon us with pestilence or with the sword.''
/exodus 8/ 27. "We will go three days' journey into the wilderness and sacrifice to the Lord our God as He will command us.''
/exodus 10/ 22. So Moses stretched out his hand toward heaven, and there was thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days.
/exodus 10/ 23. They did not see one another; nor did anyone rise from his place for three days. But all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings.
/exodus 15/ 22. So Moses brought Israel from the Red Sea; then they went out into the Wilderness of Shur. And they went three days in the wilderness and found no water.
/numbers 10/ 33. So they departed from the mountain of the Lord on a journey of three days; and the ark of the covenant of the Lord went before them for the three days' journey, to search out a resting place for them.
/numbers 33/ 8. They departed from before Hahiroth and passed through the midst of the sea into the wilderness, went three days' journey in the Wilderness of Etham, and camped at Marah.
/joshua 1/ 11. "Pass through the camp and command the people, saying, `Prepare provisions for yourselves, for within three days you will cross over this Jordan, to go in to possess the land which the Lord your God is giving you to possess.' ''
/joshua 2/ 16. And she said to them, "Get to the mountain, lest the pursuers meet you. Hide there three days, until the pursuers have returned. Afterward you may go your way.''
/joshua 2/ 22. Then they departed and went to the mountain, and stayed there three days until the pursuers returned. The pursuers sought them all along the way, but did not find them.
/joshua 3/ 2. So it was, after three days, that the officers went through the camp;
/joshua 9/ 16. And it happened at the end of three days, after they had made a covenant with them, that they heard that they were their neighbors who dwelt near them.
/judges 14/ 14. So he said to them: "Out of the eater came something to eat, and out of the strong came something sweet.'' Now for three days they could not explain the riddle.
/judges 19/ 4. Now his father-in-law, the young woman's father, detained him; and he stayed with him three days. So they ate and drank and lodged there.
/1 samuel 9/ 20. "But as for your donkeys that were lost three days ago, do not be anxious about them, for they have been found. And on whom is all the desire of Israel? Is it not on you and on all your father's house?''
/1 samuel 20/ 19. "And when you have stayed three days, go down quickly and come to the place where you hid on the day of the deed; and remain by the stone Ezel.
/1 samuel 21/ 5. Then David answered the priest, and said to him, "Truly, women have been kept from us about three days since I came out. And the vessels of the young men are holy, and the bread is in effect common, even though it was sanctified in the vessel this day.''
/1 samuel 30/ 12. And they gave him a piece of a cake of figs and two clusters of raisins. So when he had eaten, his strength came back to him; for he had eaten no bread nor drunk any water for three days and three nights.
/1 samuel 30/ 13. Then David said to him, "To whom do you belong, and where are you from?'' And he said, "I am a young man from Egypt, servant of an Amalekite; and my master left me behind, because three days ago I fell sick.
/2 samuel 20/ 4. Then the king said to Amasa, "Assemble the men of Judah for me within three days, and be present here yourself.''
/2 samuel 24/ 13. So Gad came to David and told him; and he said to him, "Shall seven years of famine come to you in your land? Or shall you flee three months before your enemies, while they pursue you? Or shall there be three days' plague in your land? Now consider and see what answer I should take back to Him who sent me.''
/1 kings 12/ 5. So he said to them, "Depart for three days, then come back to me.'' And the people departed.
/2 kings 2/ 17. But when they urged him till he was ashamed, he said, "Send them out.'' Therefore they sent fifty men, and they searched for three days but did not find him.
/1 chronicles 12/ 39. And they were there with David three days, eating and drinking, for their brethren had prepared for them.
/1 chronicles 21/ 12. `either three years of famine, or three months to be defeated by your foes with the sword of your enemies overtaking you, or else for three days the sword of the Lord the plague in the land, with the angel of the Lord destroying throughout all the territory of Israel.' Now consider what answer I should take back to Him who sent me.''
/2 chronicles 10/ 5. So he said to them, "Come back to me after three days.'' And the people departed.
/ezra 8/ 15. Now I gathered them by the river that flows to Ahava, and we camped there three days. And I looked among the people and the priests, and found none of the sons of Levi there.
/ezra 8/ 32. So we came to Jerusalem, and stayed there three days.
/ezra 10/ 8. and that whoever would not come within three days, according to the counsel of the leaders and elders, all his property would be confiscated, and he himself would be separated from the congregation of those from the captivity.
/ezra 10/ 9. So all the men of Judah and Benjamin gathered at Jerusalem within three days. It was the ninth month, on the twentieth day of the month; and all the people sat in the open square of the house of God, trembling because of this matter and because of heavy rain.
/nehemiah 2/ 11. So I came to Jerusalem and was there three days.
/esther 4/ 16. "Go, gather all the Jews who are present in Shushan, and fast for me; neither eat nor drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will fast likewise. And so I will go to the king, which is against the law; and if I perish, I perish!''
/amos 4/ 4. "Come to Bethel and transgress, at Gilgal multiply transgression; bring your sacrifices every morning, your tithes every three days.
/jonah 1/ 17. Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
/matthew 12/ 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 15/ 32. Then Jesus called His disciples to Him and said, "I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now continued with Me three days and have nothing to eat. And I do not want to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way.''
/matthew 26/ 61. and said, "This fellow said, `I am able to destroy the temple of God and to build it in three days.' ''
/matthew 27/ 40. and saying, "You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, save Yourself! If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross.''
/matthew 27/ 63. saying, "Sir, we remember, while He was still alive, how that deceiver said, `After three days I will rise.'
/mark 8/ 2. "I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now been with Me three days and have nothing to eat.
/mark 8/ 31. And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.
/mark 14/ 58. "We heard Him say, `I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and within three days I will build another made without hands.' ''
/mark 15/ 29. And those who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads and saying, "Aha! You who destroy the temple and build it in three days,
/luke 2/ 46. Now so it was that after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions.
/john 2/ 19. Jesus answered and said to them, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.''
/john 2/ 20. Then the Jews said, "It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?''
/acts 9/ 9. And he was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank.
/acts 25/ 1. Now when Festus had come to the province, after three days he went up from Caesarea to Jerusalem.
/acts 28/ 7. Now in that region there was an estate of the leading citizen of the island, whose name was Publius, who received us and entertained us courteously for three days.
/acts 28/ 12. And landing at Syracuse, we stayed three days.
/acts 28/ 17. And it came to pass after three days that Paul called the leaders of the Jews together. So when they had come together, he said to them: "Men and brethren, though I have done nothing against our people or the customs of our fathers, yet I was delivered as a prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans,
Four Old Photographs
Abraham Lincoln 1862?
Bethlehem 1862
Nazareth 1862
Jerusalem 1893
Somehow Lincoln’s November 19, 1863 Gettysburg Address (a version) sounds appropriate:
Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battlefield of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.
But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate, we can not consecrate, we can not hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.