On this same day of 13th Nisan, 30 AD, just as people were rushing to start the festivities of Passover, whose hour was fast approaching, the lifeless body of the Savior was hurriedly laid to rest in a brand-new tomb, by his friends, and the tomb’s entrance closed with a big stone. It must be clear to all bible-readers that the rushed activities of the evening of the crucifixion of the Savior, were not in preparation for a last day of the week Sabbath Day, but for the “high day” Feast of Passover. We must note that, the Passover lamb, by the Law of God and custom of the Jews, was normally killed in the evening, just before sunset. At sunset however, the lamb meat must be within the homes of Passover celebrants, with all doors locked, for the festivities to immediately start. The streets of Jewish cities always became deserted, as everybody remained indoors for Passover. During the time of the Passover meal, nobody must be seen out of his home; coming out only at sunrise. And so, this same scenario played out in the crucifixion accounts of the Savior, as the Passover Lamb of the Christian Faith. Jesus Christ, after being slaughtered, finally entered the tomb at sunset, on the Passover Day of 14th Nisan, 30 AD, a couple or so hours after his death which occurred toward the evening of 13th Nisan. We must therefore understand and accept that the Savior was crucified in the run-up to the start of Passover and not on Passover Day. His body was however laid to rest in the tomb at the start of Passover Day. Joseph of Arimathaea, Nicodemus and a handful of the followers of Jesus Christ, after completing their task of laying the body of the Savior in the tomb, then had to make a dash home to partake of the Passover meal. Did they break the Sabbath in journeying home from the tomb and probably arriving a little late to join their family members to observe Passover? No; for, it is good to do good on the Sabbath. Let us now begin to make some logical deductions from the foregoing treatise, toward establishing the actual days of the crucifixion and the resurrection of the Savior. And we might yet draw evidence from other scriptures to come to the conclusion that neither was the Savior’s crucifixion day Friday, nor was the resurrection day Sunday. The bible reveals that, the body of the Savior was destined by God to be in the belly of the earth for three full days before being raised back to life. This is stated in many places in the bible accounts. Let us consider some of these here in our study. While yet alive, certain scribes and Pharisees asked the Savior for a sign, as proof of his Messiah-ship. This, we are told in the records of Matthew 12: 38, after which the Savior gave his response in Matthew 12: 40, captured also in Luke 11: 29-30. The Savior’s response was that no sign would be given them, except the sign of Jonas (Jonah). Let us quote here, this response in Matthew: “For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and nights in the heart of the earth.” (Matthew 12: 40, KJV). This is a very clear statement, telling us of how long the Savior was to be in the earth, between his burial and resurrection. This period is revealed to be exactly three days and three nights: A total of seventy-two hours, not more, not less. In many other verses of scripture, this revelation is repeated, albeit in not so much detail. In Matthew 17: 22-23, 20: 18-19, Mark 9: 31, 10: 33-34, Luke 9: 22 and 18: 31-33, the Savior reveals that he would be killed, and on the third day, rise up, out of the grave. Let us quote here, one of these verses of Matthew to this effect: “The Son of man shall be betrayed into the hands of men: and they shall kill him, and the third day he shall be raised again”. (Matthew 17: 22-23, KJV) . In John 2: 19, this is what the Savior says: “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. ” And then, in the twenty-first verse of this same chapter of John, this statement of the Savior is explained thus: “But he spake of the temple of his body.” (John 2: 21, KJV) . If we understand and accept all these verses quoted above, then we must count to the end of three full days, after the time of burial, to arrive at the exact time of the resurrection of the Savior. Exactly three days and three nights are revealed for the Savior to be in the belly of the earth, as a sure sign and proof to his Messiah-ship, in much the same way and time that Jonah (Jonas), the intransigent prophet of God to Nineveh, was in the belly of the big fish. The three days and three nights, that are needed by God to raise the body of the His Son back to life, must be counted from the very second the disciples of the Savior finished rolling the stone over the entrance to the tomb, where his body was laid. And so we must appreciate that the only one with Wisdom and Might, to count three days and three nights from when the Savior was laid to rest, without adding or taking away any second in time or even a fraction of a second, is God the Almighty, the only Perfect Timekeeper. Furthermore, the Almighty God, with all the Wisdom and Might at His disposal, needed exactly three days and three nights, to accomplish the feat of raising Jesus Christ from death to life. God stands by His Word, watching over it zealously, to come to pass. So God would never change His mind from the three days and three nights spoken out of His mouth, to do anything else, no matter how close to what He has committed Himself to by His utterances. From all of these accounts of three days and three nights, we must understand that if ever Jesus Christ resurrected from death after his burial, in a period of time more or less than three days and three nights, the testimony of God breaks down, His integrity becomes questionable, He would not seem truthful to His Word, and then we would not have as Perfect a Savior as revealed in the bible accounts. And then, salvation would have eluded all salvation-seekers forever. And mankind would have remained in his sins, even after all the sacrifices the Savior made in his suffering, crucifixion and death. Without a credible Savior, mankind would have remained accursed with the First Adam forever. God, the Perfect Timekeeper, counting three days and three nights from the evening of 14th Nisan, 30 AD, when the Savior was buried, takes us to the sunset of 17th Nisan, to witness Him raising back to life, His only begotten Son. And so if we can believe that God meant what His Word tells us about “three days and three nights”, as being the time set by His Wisdom and Might to raise up His only begotten Son, salvation-seekers would have been looking for the resurrected-Savior in the streets of Jerusalem, not long after sunset, when 17th Nisan started. But there is only one reason why nobody saw Jesus in the streets of Jerusalem in the evening of 17th Nisan, 30 AD, and indeed up to the end of the whole of that day. This reason must be obvious to readers of this article by now; nonetheless, I will soon reveal this reason in all its clarity. Let us, at this point, look closely at the actions of Mary Magdalene and the other women following the burial of the Savior in the evening of 14th Nisan, 30 AD. These women had a job they were committed and dedicated to executing in excellence; they did not show any intentions of wanting to delay in executing the task. What must have stood in their way, for three days and three nights to elapse, or after Jesus Christ had resurrected, after which time Mary Magdalene would then be rushing to the tomb of the Savior, at dawn, to do an embalming job on the body of her Master, which was to have been done before internment? (---continuing part to this article is in Part Four). Chris Bapuohyele is a bible-expositor and author of the book: BEWARE OF THIS FALSE DOCTRINE... His email address is: chrisbapuohyele@yahoo.com.

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