Matthew 12:40, “for just as
Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so will
the Son of Man be three days and three
nights in the heart of the earth.”
As Christianity celebrates
Good Friday today, I wonder if any have ever considered that if Christ died on
Friday, then He lied when He spoke Matthew 12:40.
No doubt the Hebrew day ran
from sundown to sundown keeping with the literal word of Genesis where it says “and
there was evening and there was morning, one day.” (Gen 1:5) But if Christ died
Friday just before sundown and arose Sunday morning then He would have been
buried Friday night, and Saturday night… not the “three nights” He said He
would. But why do we have this tradition of Good Friday? Is Good Friday a
misunderstanding, or was Jesus a liar?
I can assure you that Jesus
is no liar, and therefore 99% of Christianity must have their theology out of
place. In this particular case it has become globally disjointed because the
interpretation of the Sabbath has been limited to be Friday evening until
Saturday evening when in fact every holy day, every feast, every special
offering days was considered a Sabbath. (Lev 23:32) It is in this understanding
of the Sabbath that the true day of Christ obedience on the cross is revealed.
In a study of Leviticus 23 we
can see that “In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at
twilight is the Lord’s Passover.” (V. 5) We know from scripture that Jesus
celebrated Passover with His disciples immediately prior to His death and this
is where He instituted the sacrament of Communion. What is not written in
Matthew, but what we know from Leviticus is the next day begins the Feast of
Unleavened Bread, and it last for seven days with the first and last days being
Sabbaths. “On the first day you have a holy convocation; you shall not do any
laborious work… On the seventh day is a holy convocation; you shall not do any
laborious work.” (V 7 &8) ‘You shall rest… you shall observe a Sabbath.’
This seventh day of the Feast
of Unleavened Bread is the Sabbath they were trying to avoid when Christ hung
on the cross, not the Sabbath of a Saturday. It is actually most likely that
Christ died for our sins on a Wednesday. He would have been in the grave Wednesday
night, Thursday day, Thursday night, Friday day, Friday night, Saturday day… arising
from the grave on Saturday night which to the Hebrews is Sunday.
Look at the beautiful fulfillment
of prophecy when the season of Easter is put in true context. Christ celebrates
our sins being passed over because of His blood that was to be shed. And then
the week of His arrest, torture, and crucifixion occurring in the midst of the
Feast of the Unleavened Bread. A feast
that is nothing less than a type and shadow, a prophetic utterance of Christ
and His sinless nature… without sin… without leaven. And when Christ role on
earth ends, when the feast ends, we have a holy day of rest, a symbolic,
prophetic entering of the grace of God. Simply beautifully, masterfully choreographed
by the Father to eliminate any doubt about Who Christ is and His purpose.
Happy Easter to us all.
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