A sarcastic skeptic wrote:
> Mark 16:9 – “Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the
week, he
> appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven
devils.”
> Here we have “overwhelming evidence” that the resurrection of
Christ [was on the first day of the week].
I believe that Jesus was accurate when He said,
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.
In order for Jesus to have been in the tomb three days and three
nights, the following scenario is necessary. The days are based on
the Jewish reckoning that begins a new day at sunset. That is, Jesus
died on Thursday and was buried Thursday afternoon. The Jewish Friday (which was also the Passover sabbath, the year that Jesus died) began at sunset. His first night in the tomb would therefore have been
Friday night that began at sunset at the end of Thursday.
Time Jesus was in the tomb. Days are according to Jewish reckoning
Day Night
Thursday Friday
Friday Saturday
Saturday Sunday
If Jesus rose on the Sabbath (Saturday), He was not in the tomb three
days and three nights. It is necessary that He arose on the first day
of the week in order for Him to fulfill the prophecy of three nights
in the tomb and arise on the third day (I Cor 15:4). Certainly He did
not arise on the third day if He was crucified Friday as most
religions assume. He could have been in the tomb less than 24 hours
with a Friday crucifixion and a Saturday resurrection.
There is no adequate explanation for the universal observance of the
first day of the week by the early Christians if Jesus did not rise on
the first day of the week. What is the point of the commemoration of
first day of the week if there is no evidence for it? However it was
the universal practice of the early church. Here are some quotations from the first through the third centuries.
The Didache, c. AD 80, “But every Lord’s Day, gather yourselve
together, and break bread, and give thanksgiving after having
confessed your transgression, so that your sacrifice may be pure.”
Ignatius, c. AD 105, “No longer observing the Sabbath, but living in
the observance of the Lord’s Day.”
Justin Martyr, c. AD 180, “And on the day called Sunday, all who live
in cities or in the country gather together in one place, and the
memiors of the apostles or the writings of the prophets are read…But
Sunday is the day on which we all hold our common assembly, because it is the first day on which God… made the world. And Jesus Christ our
Savior rose from the dead on that same day.”
Clement of Alexandria, c. AD 195, “Christ rose on the third day, which
fell on the first day of the weeks of harvest, on which the Law
prescribed that the priest should offer up the sheaf.”
Anatolius, c. AD 270, “It should not be lawful to celebrate the Lord’s
mystery of Easter at any othre the but on the Lord’s Day, the day on
which the Lord’s resurrection from death took place.”
From these quotations two facts are clearly established
1) It was the practice of Christians to meet on the First Day of the
Week, the Lord’s Day
2) The practice commemorated the resurrection of Christ that occurred
on the First Day of the Week.
The Bible also agrees with these later customs. “Upon the first day
of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul
preached unto them” (Acts 20:7)
“Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in
store, as God hath prospered him” (I Cor 16:2)
There is no adequate explanation for the custom of meeting on the
First Day of the Week and the stipulation to take up the collection on
the First Day of the Week unless something significant relative to
Christianity happened on that day. That something was the
resurrection of Christ.
“Now when he came back from the dead early on the first day of the
week, he went first to Mary Magdalene” (Mk 16:9, BBE)
” When Yeshua rose early Sunday, he appeared first to Miryam of
Magdala” (Mk 16:9 CJB).
“Now after He had risen early on the first day of the week, He first
appeared to Mary Magdalene” (Mk 16:9 NASB)
“When Jesus rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first
to Mary Magdalene” (Mk 16:9, NIV)
Clearly Jesus arose on Sunday, the First Day of the Week, the Lord’s
Day.
