Is the third day merely a random, inconsequential detail tacked on to the resurrection? Or is there significance to this timeline? For Jesus and the apostles, the timing of his resurrection has strong theological implications. The three-day timeline matters to the biblical narrative, because it is the special day on which God creates new life and activates his covenant with humanity.
How did the New Testament arrive at this understanding? It turns out Jesus himself and the New Testament authors are drawing from a consistent "third day" design pattern from the Hebrew Scriptures. Exploring this pattern for ourselves can enrich our understanding of the Easter event. Perhaps the most clear examples of third day resurrection in the Hebrew Scriptures are found in Jonah and Hosea While these are worthy texts to consider, this pattern of resurrection on the third day begins even earlier in the story.
Where do we see the first peek into the three-day significance? Page one of the Bible. The creation account in Genesis 1 is written like a poem with repetitive statements and parallels. Within the rhythm of these repetitions, two events in the creation narrative stand out as significant, each happening at three-day intervals.
The picture here is of new life sprouting or rising up from the ground—a place of non-existence or death. Later we read that God formed humans from the dust of the ground Again, here we see new life created out of the ground.
Notice as well the connection between humans and trees: both are newly created from the ground , 9 , both bear seeds and fruit , 28; and both are created in this way on the third day. God establishes his covenant with the creatures he has newly created, in this case humans The event takes place in Eden, which we understand as a high place from which a river flows out The importance of this imagery and pattern cannot be overstated, as it becomes the prototype for future resurrection.
Where else does this pattern appear? When God calls Abraham to offer his only son Isaac as a burnt offering on a mountain, the text says that on the third day, Abraham saw the place from afar and proceeded to go through with the test In this scene, God wants Abraham to learn to trust him with the covenant and blessing of offspring.
Ultimately, it is God who provides the sacrifice and brings about the purposes of his covenant. Here again, on the third day we see the same pattern:. God acting to bring new life, in this case to Isaac in his life being spared, and to Abraham in receiving back his son God reaffirms his covenant with Abraham, using language and themes consistent with Genesis The chronology conundrum is "a bit of a puzzle," said Marcus Borg, a progressive biblical scholar and co-author of The Last Week , a book about Holy Week.
But Borg and other experts say the puzzle can be solved if you know how first-century Jews counted time, and grant the four evangelists a little poetic license. For Jews of Jesus' time, days began at sunset, a schedule that still guides Jewish holy days such as Shabbat. So, Saturday night was Sunday for them. Ancient Jews also used what scholars call "inclusive reckoning," meaning any part of a day is counted as a whole day, said Clinton Wahlen of the Seventh-day Adventist Biblical Research Institute in Silver Spring, Md.
Using these counting methods, a backward calculation from Sunday morning to Friday afternoon makes three days. Besides, the four evangelists were likely not counting time literally, according to some scholars.
For the evangelists, "three days" means "a short period of time. The phrase "three days," is a colloquialism comparable to "directly" in Southern-speak, meaning "after a little while," he said.
It's anachronistic to expect the evangelists to monitor time like modern-day men, Witherington said. Most troubling for these believers is Jesus' own prophecy, recorded in the Gospel of Matthew, that he will rise from the dead after "three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
John Behr, dean of St. Give Menu. Give Online Your gift helps share the Gospel. Share Tweet. Home Answers. Why did Jesus stay around for 40 days after He came back from the grave, instead of going immediately into heaven?
This came up in our Bible class the other day and no one seemed to have an answer.
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