In
order for one to confirm the day and time Jesus Christ was resurrected from the
dead it is imperative that we know the day and time that He was placed in the
tomb. So then, if the day which followed His death was a High Day Sabbath, this
means that the women who followed Him rested on that day, the next day after
the High Day Sabbath the women purchased and prepared the spices and the
fragrant oils to anoint Him.
After
purchasing and preparing the spices and fragrant oils, the women again rested
according to the commandments and at the end of the Sabbath very early while it
was still dark, as the first day of the week began to dawn the women went to
the tomb with the ointment to anoint Jesus but the tomb was empty, He had
already risen from the dead. So then when and what day was Jesus Christ resurrected?
Jesus
Christ definitely was not resurrected on Sunday and so, Sunday which is the
first day of the week has absolutely no connection or association with the
three days and three nights which the Lord gave as the only sign to prove that
He is the Messiah.
The
three days therefore are as follows;
1.
The weekly Sabbath (Saturday) the day on which women rested after purchasing
and preparing the spices and fragrant oils to anoint Jesus after the Sabbath.
2.
Friday, the day the women purchased and prepared the spices and the oils.
3.
Thursday, the High Day Sabbath which followed the Passover.
And
the three nights were Wednesday, the night of the crucifixion, Thursday, and
Friday.
So
then at what time was Jesus Christ placed in the heart of the earth? According
to the Gospels Jesus Christ was placed in the heart of the earth very late in
the evening for it is written; “Now when evening had come, there came a rich
man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who himself had also become a disciple of
Jesus. This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate
commanded the body to be given to him. When Joseph had taken the body, he
wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and laid it in his new tomb which he had
hewn out of the rock; and he rolled a large stone against the door of the tomb,
and departed” (Matthew 27:57-60: Mark 15:42).
Jesus
Christ gave up the ghost at the ninth hour of the day which is three O’clock in
the afternoon according to the Roman Calendar, Jesus Christ must have stayed a few hours on the cross after He died, and by the time Joseph of Arimathea
went to Pilate to asked for the body and permission granted to take down the
body, then Nicodemus came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a
hundred pounds. Then they took the body of Jesus, and bound it in strips of
linen with the spices, as the custom of the Jews is to bury, this again must have
taken a few hours to accomplish,
Therefore,
it is conclusive that, by the time Jesus was placed in the heart of the earth
it was late in the evening and theoretically, in order for Jesus Christ to
fulfill the sign He gave to prove that He was indeed the Messiah He had to be
resurrected precisely at the same time He was placed in the heart of the earth
after spending three days and three nights.
So
then, what is the significance of the Sunday which follows the crucifixion and
death of Jesus Christ? The Sunday which follows the death of Jesus Christ is
called, “the Feast of First Fruits” It is the day on which Jesus Christ
ascended to the Father in heaven after His resurrection
Remember while Mary Magdalene who stayed
behind in the garden weeping after they did not find the body of Jesus Christ
in the tomb, Jesus came and said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom
are you seeking? She, supposing Him to be the gardener, said to Him, "Sir,
if You have carried Him away, tell me where You have laid Him, and I will take
Him away."
Jesus
said to her, "Mary!" She turned and said to Him, "Rabboni!"
(Which is to say, Teacher)? Jesus said to her, "Do not cling to Me, for I
have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, 'I
am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God” (John
20:15-17).
Then,
the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were
shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and
stood in the midst, and said to them, "Peace be with you." When He
had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were
glad when they saw the Lord. So Jesus said to them again, "Peace to you!
As the Father has sent Me, I also send you” (John 20:19-21).
The
resurrection of Jesus Christ indeed plays a very important role and it is
associated with our act of worship and the celebration of the feast of First
fruits, for we have been duly admonished saying; “But if there is no
resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen,
then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty. Yes, and we are found
false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that He raised up
Christ, whom He did not raise up --- if in fact the dead do not rise. For if
the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen,
your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! Then also those who have
fallen asleep in Christ have perished.” (1 Corinthians 15:13-18).
So,
the resurrection of Jesus Christ is not what that is being questioned, but
rather the time of His resurrection, for we have been duly admonished saying;
“But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the first-fruits of
those who have fallen asleep. For since by man came death, by Man also came the
resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall
be made alive” (1 Corinthians 15:20-22).
Jesus
Christ is the reality, so He fulfilled a perpetual statute which the Lord gave
to His people saying; "Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them:
'When you come into the land which I give to you, and reap its harvest, then
you shall bring a sheaf of the first-fruits of your harvest to the priest. He
shall wave the sheaf before the LORD, to be accepted on your behalf; on the day
after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it. And you shall offer on that day,
when you wave the sheaf, a male lamb of the first year, without blemish, as a
burnt offering to the LORD. Its grain offering shall be two-tenths of an ephah
of fine flour mixed with oil, an offering made by fire to the LORD, for a sweet
aroma; and its drink offering shall be of wine, one-fourth of a hin. You shall
eat neither bread nor parched grain nor fresh grain until the same day that you
have brought an offering to your God; it shall be a statute forever throughout
your generations in all your dwellings” (Leviticus 23:9-14).
The
problem here is that, most people used Easter Sunday resurrection theory as a
pretext to promulgate the observance of Sunday as the Lord’s day, instead of
observing the Lord’s seventh day Sabbath, but the truth of the matter is, Jesus
Christ was not resurrected on Sunday, He was resurrected on Saturday evening
and He being the first fruit of those who have fallen asleep presented Himself
to the Father on the day after the Sabbath, the Feast of first fruits.
His
ascension to heaven after His resurrection fulfilled the perpetual statute the
Lord gave to the children of Israel which they are to observe forever throughout
their generations. This leads us to another massive
worldwide deception which is, when is the beginning of a new day? Does a new
day begin at sunset, midnight, or at sunrise?
To be continued stay tuned
With brotherly love
Lucius Joseph
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