Photo by Tara Malouf used by permission
Have you ever wondered why we talk about Jesus spending three days in the tomb when we actually believe that he died Friday evening and rose again on Sunday morning?
Here is a great explanation by Ken Collins that I think is worth a look
The ancients counted days instead of calculating elapsed time—in fact, Jesus Himself counted days this way in Luke 13:31-32. This is why the tradition is universal that Jesus spent three days in the tomb when He was buried on Friday and rose from the dead on Sunday. All intervals in the Jewish and Christian calendars are calculated the same way, which is why Pentecost falls on a Sunday and not on a Monday. Read the entire article
Filed under: Easter, Good Friday, Kingdom of God | Tagged: Holy week, Jesus |
Godspace 
How did Jesus spend 3 days and 3 nights in the tomb?
Which was the third night? The Friday or the Saturday?
Without a doubt Christ was risen on a Sunday. This can be said with good measure of confidence, because the Jewish barley sheaf firstfruits wave-offering day (and so also the Pentecost day) is formulated/designed to be perpetually on a Sunday (http://www.karaite-korner.org/shavuot.shtml). It is the day, among all the Jewish festivals, that prophetically speaks to the resurrection or “harvest offering” of Christ unto God, even as the passover succinctly pictures the sacrifice of the Lamb of God.
But the crucifixion day was likely a Thursday because of the
1. preceding mandatory Sabbath day 16 Nisan (Sat),
2. the intervening Preparation day 15 Nisan (Fri) and
3. the Passover 14 Nisan (Thurs).
The combination of UNSO and NASA data shows 10 April 32AD was a Thursday. Daniel’s 173,880 days terminates here (check out http://www.endtimepilgrim email presentation available).
re: http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/phase/phases0001.html
http://www.usno.navy.mil/USNO/astronomical-applications/data-services/spring-phenom
FYI, Spring equinox in 32AD was on 22 Mar with the new moon occurring on the 29 Mar and full moon on 14 April. Month of Nisan, also known as month of Abib(Abiv) or Barley, must begin on the first new moon following Spring equinox and witness of ripening barley. But this was the Jewish year with an extra month so 1 Nisan was not fixed by the new moon and allowed to occur a day earlier. 28 Mar 32AD is the likely date for 1 Nisan that year.
Everything hinges on 17 of Nisan falling on a Sunday, i.e., the resurrection day. We arrive at 1 Nisan by working backwards
For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
Matthew 12:40.
I think the third night must have been Friday, because Saturday was the second night.
You are right. My understanding is that a day was counted as a full day and night when an event occurred at any time on that day so because Jesus died before sundown on Friday that is counted as the first day and night. A little confusing for us today but that made sense for people 2,000 years ago.
Yes it did, because you could work for an hour and then claim a full day’s pay.
And there was nothing anybody could do about it.
I thought so.
So Friday night was the first night and Saturday night was the third night.
That’s all cleared up.
Where is the second night?
No – 3 days not 3 nights in the tomb. Friday the first day Saturday the second and Sunday the third.
I told you.
Friday was the the first night and Saturday was the third night.
Didn’t you read what Jesus said?
‘For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.’
Three nights.
Friday was the first night, Saturday was the third night, and there was a miracle which explains the second night….
Steven obviously many different viewpoints here – read Jonathan Watts comment for a different perspective.
I’d rather read Jesus’s comments about three days and three nights.
Friday would then be the first night, and Saturday would be the third.
I always thought it was that Jesus would be raised up on the third day, which did not necessarily mean three 24 hour periods, but Event A would happen on the First Day, followed by Event B (or nothing at all) some time during the day on the Second Day, then some time on the Third Day, Resurrection.
Let’s say I have a three day festival, which begins 7 p.m. on Friday (Day One), and ends on Sunday (Day Three) at 3 p.m. This barely makes up a day and a half of hours, yet it is three days of festival.
The Roman catholic has changed every thing the Almighty originally sent to us, to benefit us here on earth. Why are they calling Easter instead of passover? why do they take communion every week instead of yearly memorial remembrance just like your birthday, you do not celebrate your birthday every week, why all this false, anti Christ, read John 6 and 1 John 2-15-27 .
See Genesis 1-13 the evening and the morning were one day, early morning of the first day of the week which is Sunday is it not still Saturday morning? are we saying Jesus was raised in 2010 with the Western clock or 2000 years ago with the calender of God which was Hebrew and still Hebrew today, have you not red in bible Yah warned of worshiping the Sun? will His son then came from heaven to worship what His father called abomination witchcraft? is there any were in the bible Jesus mentioned of worshiped him on Sunday?
Did Himself worshiped on Sunday why all the rebellion against the Most High, will human being get away from the fire ahead, is it not better we obey than follow man,
Daniel 7-25 warned of him that will change times and Laws that is the Ten Commandment which includes the 7 day Sabbath to worship and not Sunday, where in the bible will you see the Gentiles early church both the Apostles and the prophets worshiped on Sunday? Sabbath God’s seal involved your salvation
Sunday anti-Christ Roman Catholic seal you chose. Revelation said the beast deceived the whole world, do you also want to be deceived? There is no J alphabet in Jewish letters where did the word Jesus came from? His father’s name YHWH Psalm 68-4 YAH but the said Jah, His name Yahushuah pronounce Yah-OO-Shuah is removed by the anti-Christ community from most bible, when the angel Gabriel came to Mary did the angel said to Mary His name shall be called Jesus were they speaking English?
Do people call you difference from what your parent called you? except you change your name but Yahuah did not change His son’s name neither did His son changed His name, Yahushuah said in my name they shall do this and that, in my name you shall be save, He said l come in my father’s name and you rejected me another one shall come in their name and you shall received them,
How did Friday evening to Sunday morning make up to three days and three night , l am sure you are educated read the bible for yourself, do not let someone else give you hellish direction. This is the last days anti-Christ, book of Daniel called them the small horn. Roman Catholic takes that small white thing, Yahushuah said bread and wine grape juice, is that white thing from Roman Catholic bread? what about the grape juice? their church members is being giving that small white thing without the juice every week, when your person died how do you remember them every week?, or memorial? even they soldiers you even see it on TV they being remembered yearly, 1 Corinthians 11-29 even said eat and drink unworthlly eat and drink damnation to himself not discerning the lord’s body
Read the scriptures John 6 and 1 John 2 -18-20 you will see that the anti-Chris refused to eat the body and drink the blood of Yahushuah and went away from Him so that they will be manifest as you see it today, they do it their own way. They manifest to change YAH’s plane so they introduced the commandment of men which leads to hell. Search the scriptures yourself daily.
Thanks
The passover is on the 14th Day of Nissan you do not count by the day, you count by the date, because the day do change but the date remains the same that was why God said 14th, Exodus 12, the Almighty Father said 14th day of Nissan, it is not to be change to different dates anti-Christ changes the dates of the Almighty for their own will. Daniel 7-25. Obedience is better than sacrifies Thanks
The passover is on the 14th Day of Nissan you do not count by the day, you count by the date, because the day do change but the date remains the same that was why God said 14th, Exodus 12,
The Almighty Father said 14th day of Nissan, the first month, YaHushuaH also the first fruit too, it is not to be change to different dates anti-Christ changes the dates of the Almighty for their own will. Daniel 7-25. Obedience is better than sacrifce The date of passover is Yahushuah’s date of birth why will any one change it and you do not change your own date of birth, this is the only first date YaH mentioned concerning His son’s death, the month of His birth YaH did not give us date but month and season, Sept-Oct according to the season, today anti-Christ changes the dates and called it Easter instead of passover, Easter was the time John Baptize head was cut off by Herod.
When you say Easter you are just saying evil come in, but when you say passover you mean evil passover over you and your household AlleluaYaH Praise YaH
The RCC, without doubt, is the crowning jewel of the devil. They have done more damage to the gospel of Christ, than all of Christ’s enemies put together. But that does NOT make everything they say or do, wrong. The effectiveness of a lie is NOT in telling total unadulterated lies, but the skilful mixing of truth with lies. And none does it better than RCC.
So, they are wilfully and terribly wrong in countless matters of faith, but celebrating Christ on *Sundays* is NOT on of them.
YES, the RCC’s mass is not the most holy sacrament of Communion of the bible. RCC’s doctrine of Transubstantiation is an adaptation of the ancient egyptian pagan practice and is not the Christian communion celebrated by the apostles.
BUT trying to teach SATURDAY Sabbath as a law is ALSO wrong. VERY WRONG! It does disservice to Christian liberty from law of Moses. And destroys grace. You might as well insist that all Christian men circumcise.
I’ve noticed that every one who calls Jesus, Yeshua, consistently suffer this error. This is the blatant Judaising of Christianity. A concerted effort by Jewish lobby for hijacking Christianity.
I am pro-Israel. But I also known that they have been blinded for the season, for a reason, i.e. you and me, Gentile Christians. They were not only the enemies of Christ before they crucified him, but continued to persecute Him after His resurrection and the empowering of his Bride at pentecost. You read this in many of the epistles.
(Colossians 2:16, 17)
16 Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days:
17 Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.
Teaching Saturday Sabbath is as UNBIBLICAL as Transubstantiation.
New testament sabbath is Sunday to Saturday. Everyday is the Lord’s day. I am free to celebrate him all day every day.
Your’s in Christ.
What about explaining the three nights now that you have somewhat attempted to explain the three days. No matter which way you look at it our calculations are wrong. So much for tradition. The reason it is stated three days and three nights is to clarify that it was 3 full 24 hour periods. In your calculations there is no possibility of three nights.
Here is something a friend with Messianic Jewish ties told me: the first and last days of the Passover feast were also “Sabbaths” – not because it was Saturday, but because it was a holy day (see Lev. 23:5-8… also note that John calls it a “special Sabbath” – John 19:31). So she believes that Jesus was crucified and buried on Wednesday, when the Passover lambs were also sacrificed… Thursday was the “Passover sabbath,” on Friday the women bought and prepared spices, Saturday was the regular Sabbath, and by Sunday morning before sunrise Jesus was already gone from the tomb.
One thing this explains is how the women had spices bought and prepared by sunrise Sunday morning (see Mark 16:1-4, where it says they bought the spices after the Sabbath was over) – but even more significantly to me, it explains the three nights (Wed/Thu/Fri) and three days (Thu/Fri/Sat).
Another article I read suggested that the two Sabbaths fell back to back (Fri/Sat) and that Jesus died on Thursday.
I’ve heard the same explanation Christine posted too… not sure which is true, but figured the Messianic Jewish one was worth mentioning too. It does seem consistent with the chronology of Jesus’ final week as described in the gospels, and with the flow of the passover feast. Sorry for the long reply!
Jonathan,
This is extremely helpful. I had never heard this before and appreciate your sharing this perspective. We lose so much when we do not understand the culture in which something happened
The fact that the women were to the tumb Sunday morning and Jesus had already resurrected that doesn’t mean he had resurrected on that day, that was the day when they realized he wasn’t there. We can’t forget that on the Passover a lamb was sacrified, and Jesus symbolized that lamb. Nothing should be taken by chance when it has to do with fulfilment of the prophecy.
Saying that Jesus resurrected on Sunday is contradictory with the same prophecy said by Jesus [Mathew 12:40], and indeed agreeing with Costantine who established the resurrection of Jesus on Sunday, in order to set up the Easter Festivities.
Amein Juan!
I am asking about this querry Jesue went to Heades and rescued people frim there, when he was in the tmb 3 days.
Isaiah 61-l What does this mean?
Isaiah 61-1 What does this mean?
Adeline
To answer that would take a whole book. My understanding is that the coming Messiah would bring not just words of freedom and wholeness but actually proclaim it through his actions. That is why there was so much excitement when jesus healed and set people free – the Jews knew this was an important part of what it meant for him to be Messiah
Jonathan Watts, April 11th, 2009, has the correct answer from his Messianic Jewish friend. He was rising just as the Sabbath ended on that Saturday.
[…] Did Jesus Really Spend Three Days in the Tomb […]
None of the Gospel accounts give a “name” of the day of His crucifixion, it was during the Passover/ Feast of Unleavened Bread Holy Days. He said He would be 3 days in the grave. I believe it was about 6 p.m. on a Wednesday through about that same time on a Saturday. It was the early Romish Church that adopted the Pagan holiday of Ishtar (Easter) into the new state religion, Christianity under Emperor Constantine that brought about the Good Friday/ Easter Sunday abomination.
Saturday is the seventh day and it IS the true Sabbath that God instituted in the beginning. Teaching otherwise is a lie and a sin that will send one to the lake of fire. Don’t argue with me about this, argue with the Designer of everything that exist, God Almighty.
Ken Collins needs to study his Bible and put away that phony theological school training so highly influenced by the paganism of the Roman Catholic Church. Yeshua said 3 day and 3 nights, which isn’t Friday afternoon through early Sunday morning.
Your right it is not 3 days and 3 nights – so why do we think that jesus was crucified on Friday as that is the beginning of the Sabbath?
Because the RCC made uo that lie and all of Christendom has bought into that lie.
Obviously lost to think about here – many different viewpoints and understandings of the “3 days and 3 nights” in the tomb.
The Third Day by Avram Yehoshua http://www.SeedofAbraham.net
Yeshua spoke of being dead for three days and three nights in Matthew, but He also spoke of rising ‘on the third day,’ which precludes being dead for three full days and three full 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.”
In three of the Gospels it’s plain to see that Yeshua spoke more of rising on the third day than being in the grave three days and three nights:
“From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day.” (Mt. 16:21)
“and they will kill Him, and the third day He will be raised up.” And they were exceedingly sorrowful.” (Mt. 17:23)
“and deliver Him to the Gentiles to mock and to scourge and to crucify. And the third day He will rise again.” (Mt. 20:19)
“For He taught His disciples and said to them, “The Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of men, and they will kill Him. And after He is killed, He will rise the third day.”” (Mark 9:31)
“and they will mock Him, and scourge Him, and spit on Him, and kill Him. And the third day He will rise again.”” (Mark 10:34)
“saying, “The Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day.”” (Luke 9:22)
“And He said to them, “Go, tell that fox, ‘Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I shall be perfected.’” (Luke 13:32)
“They will scourge Him and kill Him. And the third day He will rise again.” (Luke 18:33)
“saying, “The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.”” (Luke 24:7)
“But 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 happened.” (Luke 24:21)
“Then He said to them, “Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day”” (Luke 24:46).
The question is asked: ‘If He wasn’t crucified on Passover day, how is He our sacrificial Lamb?’
Nowhere in the New Testament does it say that Yeshua would die on the Passover (14 Aviv) as the sacrifice lamb. That title or designation is defined by God, not by our attempts to place Messiah’s death on the day of the sacrificing of the Passover lambs (14 Aviv). The first Passover in Egypt was eaten in the night (15 Aviv) and it was in the middle of the night that God killed all the Egyptian firstborn sons. Then Pharaoh, still ‘in the night’ (darkness) called for Moses and told him to take all the Hebrews and leave Egypt:
Exodus 12:12: “For I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night and will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast, and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am Yahveh.”
Exodus 12:29–32: “And it came to pass at midnight that Yahveh struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the captive who was in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of livestock. So Pharaoh rose in the night, he, all his servants, and all the Egyptians and there was a great cry in Egypt for there was not a house where there was not one dead. Then he called for Moses and Aaron by night, and said, ‘Rise, go out from among my people, both you and the Sons of Israel. And go, serve Yahveh as you have said. Also, take your flocks and your herds, as you have said, and be gone; and bless me also.’”
Numbers 33:3: “They departed from Rameses” (were set free) “in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the first month (15 Aviv) on the day after the Passover the Sons of Israel went out with boldness in the sight of all the Egyptians.”
When Messiah was being crucified it became dark (like night) from 12 noon until 3 PM (at least) when He died. The point is that when Yeshua died we were set free from our Egypt, just as the Hebrews were set free from their Egyptian slavery. It seems that it was here, on 15 Aviv, the day after the Passover was eaten the night before, that God chose to align His Son’s death as the Passover Lamb that was slain for our freedom. God chose to have Yeshua sacrificed when the Hebrews were literally set free from Egypt by Pharaoh’s proclamation (15 Aviv), not the actual slaying of the Passover lambs in Egypt (14 Aviv) because the ancient Hebrews weren’t freed from Egypt by their sacrificing of the lamb, but by God’s slaying of the Egyptian firstborn sons in the middle of the night, hence, when Yeshua, God’s Firstborn Son was slain, on 15 Aviv, paralleling when the Egyptian firstborn sons were slain, we, too, were set free from slavery to sin, sickness, Satan and death.
In regards to biblical riddle did jesus spend 3 nights in the tomb ? Your bible also says many people went to the tomb in the day time & they saw for themselves that the tomb was empry ,,,now ask yuorself where would jesus go hide on sunday night with his favorite girlfriend. Mary the rependant hooker ? They went back into the tomb so as to hide from their adoring masses !!!