The Day Jesus Christ Died

[An advanced study]

Part Two

In the Gospel of John is a verse of Scripture that has been misunderstood and this is perhaps why so much error has been taught. John chapter 19, John 19, verse 31. Talking about the death of Jesus Christ, it says in verse 31.

The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation. The preparation day was on the fourteenth of Nisan. The Passover was on the fifteenth. The first year of the month shall always be this month and on the fifteenth day of the month and so forth. Because it was the preparation, preparation being the fourteenth that the body should not remain upon the cross on that what? Sabbath day. That Sabbath day. You see and the people that have read this, the theologians, the commentaries and the rest of the laypeople that keep reading this immediately when it says Sabbath day what do they think of? Saturday. And if the day of preparation was the day before the Sabbath and if they’re right, then Christ must have died on what day. Good Friday. On Friday. It wasn’t good, but Friday. Good. Do you see how they got to it? Yet, why didn’t they read what’s written? Because if you just read the next phrase, it tells you what kind of Sabbath this was. For that Sabbath, that Sabbath was an what? High day. And the word high day is holy convocation. Then that Sabbath was the first day of the feast of Passover which would be on the fifteenth of Nisan.

Now, this has been what’s caused all the misunderstanding of the Word. And so we’ve held on to our tradition, our teaching contrary to what the Word says. And we’ve been sincere but sincerity is no guarantee for truth and if you ever want people, young people to really believe God’s Word, it’s going to have to fit. The reason young people don’t believe in anything from God’s Word is because nothing fits anyway. Nobody has tried to fit it. All they do is push it down our throat, we have to believe what they’ve already erroneously endeavor to teach us through the years. Therefore we need a place like the way ministry where people can research the Word. Where we can let the Word speak and if somebody wants to believe it, wonderful. If they don’t want to believe it. Praise God. Ha. Makes no difference. It’s not a question of whether you want to believe it or I want to believe. It’s a question of the integrity of the Word. That’s all. I believe almost every Christian I’ve ever met is absolutely convinced that the Bible record and all four of the Gospels, especially the synoptic Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. That all four of the Gospels but especially those synoptic Gospels Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John teach that Jesus Christ got up on Easter Sunday morning. There is not one record in any of the synoptic Gospels that says that Jesus Christ got up on Easter Sunday morning. I’m going to read them with you. Matthew, don’t go home yet. Matthew chapter 28. Now I am not going to read the entire chapter and this kind of thing, but I’m going to show you those verses which will teach the accuracy that I’m setting before you.

Verse 5: And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which (next word) was (what) crucified.

And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. – Matthew 28: 5

Verse 6: He is not what? For he has just now arisen. No, it doesn’t say he just caught up then, does it? It says he has already what? It doesn’t say when it just says that he was already up by the time they got there. It’s a wonderful truth. Come see the place where the Lord lay.

He is not here: for he is risen, and he said. Come see the place where the Lord lay. -- Matthew 28: 6

Now this is exactly what every gospel teaches. Just like this. That when those people came there early on what we refer to as Easter Sunday morning, they came to the sepulcher. It doesn’t say Jesus got up then, but every record says that he had already risen. He was already up so you’ve got to go to other records in the Word of God find out when he got up. Because you can’t find out from Matthew, Mark or Luke.

Check Mark chapter 16. Mark chapter 16., Verse 6.

And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him. -- Mark 16: 6

He is risen which is the same truth we just read in Matthew. It doesn’t say he just got up then, he is already what? Risen. So we’re going to have to find out from other sections of the Word of God when he got up when the Gospels don’t tell you. Luke chapter 24. Luke 24, verse 6.

He is not here, but is risen: but is risen……… -- Luke 24: 6a

Now in that seventh verse is a wonderful verse also.

The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified, and the third day rise again. -- Luke 24: 7

Boy, now that’s it. From Matthew chapter 12: 40 tonight, you read that as Jonas was 3 days and 3 nights, so shall the son of man be 3 days and 3 nights in the heart of the earth. And yet here it says in Luke 14: 24, that he would rise what day? Third day. That’s the problem I had for 10 years or 15 . I could count to 3. Some people have a lot of trouble with that. Because if you could get 3 days and 3 nights out of Friday afternoon, Friday night, Saturday, Saturday night, and Sunday morning, you know you’re a real genius. We got ‘em by the millions. Intellectual graduates of the greatest universities, PHD’s and everything else. But when it comes to the Word of God, they can’t count to three. I’m glad they’re better in the block house for outer space. We’d be in the soup.

You know, Matthew 12: 40, this record here from Luke and that one from I Corinthians 15 pinpoints the time of the resurrection. It’s putting like it in a vice, you know, you have the first time here, you have the other end here and God just squeeze it in a vice. Nobody can get out of it. Nobody. I Corinthians 15 has it. I Corinthians chapter 15, verse 4. Verse 3.

For I delivered unto you first of all of that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures. – I Corinthians 15: 3

And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the Scriptures: -- I Corinthians 15: 4

He would be 3 days and 3 nights and yet he would rise the third day. Now first of all let me handle the 3 days and the 3 nights. Why? If he was dead he was just as dead 5 minutes after he was dead as he was dead 3 days later. Right? When you’re dead, you’re dead. Then why 3 days and 3 nights? Because Jesus Christ came to fulfill the law, right? He took the whole law and he fulfilled it. The Word of God says in Galatians says Christ end of the law. It says that in so many words. And one of the legal requirements was that nobody could officially be pronounced dead except he had been dead for 3 days and 3 nights, 72 hours. Then the wife can go and then collect the insurance, or something. But otherwise he was not officially declared and this was the law and Jesus Christ kept the whole law, but nobody ever thinks about that. They think he flipped every once in a while and all this other stuff. When he kept the law, he kept it. He not only kept the law for our sins and all the rest of it. But he fulfilled it all. Christ didn’t extend the law, he fulfilled it. And one of the requirements was in death that you can officially declare someone dead after a period of 72 hours.

Now, that is one of the things you must remember. And the other thing you must remember is that it’s in our reckoning of our days that we get into a great deal of difficulty. And this is with what I wrote on the board for you before you came in tonight. You see, we reckon our day from midnight to midnight. Monday starts at midnight - tonight. Well isn’t that a crazy time to start a day at midnight? But this is our culture, this is what we do. But, the Egyptians, they started their day with sunrise. They started from sunrise to sunrise. But the Jewish day, the old Bible days. These days started with sunset in the evening so technically the first part of the day for the Jews was their night.

But technically for us, the first part of the day is the last half of the night, isn’t it? From 12 o’clock on. It depends on what time you go to bed. But the day is anyways. Now, this is really wonderful and if you can get it into your mind and get your days straightened out and I tell you this takes a little work. Because the average person has never been made to sit down and think through a day. I tell you sunset but boy for you to keep sunset, a sunset straight will really be hard for you until you renew your mind. Cause you are so used to living from midnight to midnight on a day, that to get the days straight is tremendous.

Every one of these perpendicular marks on the blackboard represent a period of 24 hours, a day. They represented from sunset to sunset. I’ll put sunset across each one of these perpendicular lines. So from sunset here to sunset there is a period of 24 hours. From sunset here to there is 24 so each day has a period of 24 hours in it.

Now we read from the Word of God tonight that it was the day of the preparation when they crucified Jesus. And I want you to turn to Matthew 27 to get the time right. Matthew 27, verse 45.

Now from the sixth hour, I’m in Matthew 27: 45, the sixth hour would correspond to our 12 o’clock noon, the sixth hour of the day, the daylight day. It would correspond to our 12 o’clock noon. From the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto what? The ninth hour which would correspond to our 3 PM.

Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour. -- Matthew 27: 45

And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying [the text] My God, my God, for this reason was I spared. -- Matthew 27: 46

And in verse 50:

Jesus when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost. -- Matthew 27: 50

And behold the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; etc.

And behold the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake and the rocks rent. -- Matthew 27: 51

He yielded up the ghost. He yielded up his life. He died as we read in John on the day of the preparation. By the way this verse in here you will find this in Mark, you will find the same truth in Luke and so forth. It’s all in the same field in the gospels. That he died at 3 o’clock, our time, about the ninth hour, 3 o’clock. But now they had groomed him and on the fourteenth of Nisan, they killed the Passover lamb. And they killed the Passover lamb as we read in the Word of God tonight in the afternoon, the even of the fourteenth. And that was 3 o’clock. And that year when Jesus Christ died, that year when the people of Israel slew their Passover lambs at 3 o’clock in the afternoon that year Jesus Christ was the Passover Lamb and they didn’t know it. He was the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. He was the Lamb of God. And at the same time, class, boy you talk about God synchronizing his Benrusses, he sure have on. My goodness. At the very same time, while the Jews were slaying the Passover Lamb, Jesus Christ the Lamb of God died upon that cross and he was the Passover Lamb that year. They just know didn’t know it. At the very time he died at the ninth hour, 3 o’clock.

Now, in Matthew, we read he would be 3 days and 3 nights in the heart of the earth. In I Corinthians as well as in Luke, we read he’d rise the third day. Now people, just keeping your time in mind here and your dates. It becomes real interesting and very accurate. First of all let me remind you it says he’d be in the grave 3 days and 3 nights. It didn’t say he’d be crucified. He would be in the grave 3 days and 3 nights, right? He was crucified at 3 o’clock in the afternoon, our time. How long did it take to get him in the grave? I don’t know. But I know he had to be in there before sunset because sunset would start what day? The fifteenth of Nisan, the Passover and nobody was allowed to touch any of those, that’s why they broke their legs, you know. Not because the criminals would die. You see a lot of people with broken legs that haven’t died. The reason they broke their legs that day and got to Jesus and saw he was dead already. They broke their legs so that they couldn’t run away. That’s all. Till the affair was over with. They had a high day coming up, a Sabbath day coming up and they couldn’t work on the Sabbath, only before and after. So they broke their legs.

For convenience of teaching, now the Bible doesn’t say this say but the Bible does say it had to be before sunset. So for convenience of teaching, I’m going to take the hour of 5 o’clock. Just for convenience, now you stay put. Don’t say the Bible says 5, it doesn’t. But it says some time between 3 PM and sunset. So for convenience, we’ll take 5.

From 5 o’clock this day to 5 o’clock this day would be a period of 24 hours of which the first part would be the night. [Using a blackboard] Now, from this day to this period of time would be the second period of 24 hours. And from this day to this time would be the third period -- 3 days and 3 nights. And yet Corinthians said he would rise what day? The third day. Therefore he had to get up. He had to get up before sunset. Because sunset would start what day? The fourth day. Right. And in the Gospels it says, every one of them we read tonight. That when they came early on the fourth day, some said it was still dark when they got there he had already what? It doesn’t say when he arose in the Gospels. This Word of God tells us when he arose. Corinthians said he arose the third day. He arose the third day. So, that’s very simple. He arose the third day and this is what we refer to as Easter Sunday. And on Easter Sunday, Jesus appeared to the people that the records talk about. But he had been raised on the third what? Day. So putting this all together, you take back from Saturday, well anybody can work this now.. Saturday, Sunday, Saturday Friday, Thursday, Wednesday.

What day of the week was he crucified? Wednesday, 3 o’clock our time. Buried some time between Wednesday and sunset because sunset would begin the 15^th of Nisan and the 15th of Nisan was the Passover and therefore they buried him sometime before and he got up on our weekday of a Saturday before sunset. That gives you 3 days and 3 nights, gets him up on the third day, and there is not one Scripture left untouched or the accuracy with which it sits. The only thing that can now bother people is their theology, not the Word because the Word fits like a hand in a glove and it will fit with a mathematical exactness and with a scientific precision. So when you put these together, it’s real wonderful how you can date this back. The eighteenth was Sunday, seventeenth, sixteenth, fifteenth because this is the Passover. The day before the Passover is the day of the preparation, the fourteenth. Now you can go back to Tuesday which would be the thirteenth, right? And if you take it back, you’ll find out that the tenth of Nison, that day was on a Sabbath, the weekly Sabbath. And therefore when the Word of God said, where Jesus sent his disciples in to make ready or get prepared for the Passover. They couldn’t have gone that day, the tenth. They couldn’t get the Lamb on the tenth. Why? Because it was a Sabbath day, weekly Sabbath. Marvelous how the Word puts all of this together. Well, there can only be one problem left and that’s the one in Luke. So please turn to it.

Luke chapter 24. Luke 24, verse 21. This on what we refer to as Easter Sunday. These men were on the road to Emmaus and verse 21 says:

But we trust that that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel: and besides all this, to day is the third day since these things were done. -- Luke 24: 21

And so they’ll quote you this Scripture and they’ll say see, these men on the road to Emmaus said this is the third day. No, it doesn’t say that. It says its the third day - next word - since - that’s the key. If there had been 3 days gone by, then this automatically says it’s the third day since, it automatically becomes the fourth day. That’s what that verse says even in old English. Mofffit’s translation has it I think very accurately given. He translates it here as follows and I will quote it. And that it is 3 days ago. The Aramaic, that Jim and I have gone over, says and lo 3 days have passed since all these things. That’s the Aramaic make on it. A literal translation from the Greek of this 21st verse would read as follows: But then with all these things today goes away 3 days when these things came to pass. That’s the accuracy with which the Word is set.

The Bible says he’d be in the earth 3 days and 3 nights and said he’d rise the third day. And how in the world can anybody get 3 days and 3 nights out of Friday afternoon, Friday night, Saturday, Saturday night and Easter Sunday morning? Nobody. Now somebody is surely going to say, so what? Well, when you say so what, it indicates you haven’t got a brain cell in your head. So what? All the greatness of God’s Word. That’s what. Because on everything else, you’d never say so what. You’re go in to the bank with a $100 check and the cashier gives you $55 for your 100. So what! Who are you kidding? But you see anything to belittle Gods Word cause nobody wants to come and believe God’s Word we just want to follow in our error and our teaching and disgrace and make everybody else who believes God’s Word a fool. And I tell you ladies and gentlemen, God’s Word stands. The Scripture says he was dead. He was buried 3 days and 3 nights. He rose the third day and all the Scripture says that it wasn’t Easter Sunday, but by Easter Sunday he had already risen. And he got up on Saturday of the week before sunset, because sunset would begin the first day of the week which we refer to as Sunday.

End of Part Two

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