Easter is a holiday filled with bunnies, colorful eggs, and baskets of chocolate. However, none of those things are tied to the reason for the holiday, which is the Christian observation of the resurrection of Jesus Christ..READ FULL CONTENT>>>>>>
Jesus died on a Friday then resurrected on Sunday morning. The most popular Bible verse that refers to his death and resurrection is Matthew 12:40 and it reads, in part, “The Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.”
So, is the Bible mathematically challenged or are there other reasons for the claim?
Here are three explanations for the 3-day assertion that, collectively, make it easier to understand the apparent discrepancy and make one realize that it’s likely not a discrepancy at all.
1. What do other Bible verses state
Several other Bible verses speak of the timing between Christ’s death and resurrection slightly differently, at least in regards to the specific wording used.
Matthew 12:40 is somewhat unique because it adds “three nights,” which I’ll more specifically address in the third explanation below.
Despite Matthew 12:40 being the most quoted in relation to Easter, several other Bible verses speak of Christ’s resurrection. Most of them state that Christ will rise from the dead on the third day. For instance, Luke 18:33 reads, “On the third day, he will rise again.”
Such verses make the timetable more understandable, as Friday is the first day of the events and Sunday is the third day. Since this is only two nights then it becomes less confusing considering the nights are not mentioned in this verse as well as other verses that note the timetable.
2. Understanding how days were measured in Biblical times
Over the centuries, how we communicate time has changed. We have a greater understanding now of hours and minutes as opposed to two thousand years ago, when the time of the day didn’t mean the actual time on the clock but rather meant dawn, morning, midday etc. According to Catholic.com, “The ancient Jews counted as a whole day any part of a day, so ‘three days and three nights’ (which means the same as ‘three days’ in modern usage) could be as little as twenty-four hours plus a few seconds.”
Parts of the world measure certain aspects of time somewhat similar to this method. For instance, in China, your age is measured by how many lunar calendar years you’ve existed. So, you are one-year old while living in your first calendar year. Thus, you are born as being one-year of age. When come the new year, you are two-years of age because you are living in your second calendar year. This is true whether you were born 10 months earlier or 2 months earlier. Theoretically, a child born on New Year’s Eve of the lunar calendar would thus be two-years old the following day when, in reality, they are just two-days old.
So, measuring time based on the number of days — in this case, a Friday, a Saturday, and a Sunday — is a similar concept. Thus, despite Jesus dying on a Friday and rising at dawn on a Sunday — which is really less than two days later — that time still consists of three different days.
3. Why “three nights” may also be accurate
As noted earlier, the Matthew 12:40 verse requires an added explanation thanks to it stating that Jesus would spend “three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.”
Reading that carefully, it’s not the “three nights” that needs to be reinterpretated but rather it’s the “heart of the earth” that should be the focus.
Although Jesus died on a Friday, he was arrested on a Thursday — now referred to as Holy Thursday — after what has come to be known as the Last Supper. Although the scriptures do not name the prison he was taken to, a church was built over the area where he was believed to be held. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre houses the prison which basically looks like a small dungeon. In Jesus’ time, scholars believe it was a prison inside of a cave. Whether a basement-like dungeon or a cave, it means that Jesus did spend Thursday night “in the heart of the Earth.” He was then buried on Friday night in a rock-cut tomb, thus inside a natural part of the Earth, where his body remained for two nights.
Despite the timetable, it may not matter at all in the grand scheme of things. Many believers in Christ will tell you that the number of days and/or nights between his death and resurrection is insignificant because it’s the resurrection itself that really matters.
What happened to Judas after betraying Jesus?
He was overcome with remorse and did something unthinkable.
It’s one of the most recognizable stories in human history: Jesus Christ, a Jewish religious leader who lived from roughly 6-4 BC to AD 33, was betrayed by his apostle Judas Iscariot for 30 pieces of silver. Judas was then so remorseful he hanged himself, and then he rotted until he fell and his middle busted open (these accounts are from two different Bible scriptures combined). Let’s take a closer look at what happened to Judas after he betrayed Jesus.
Jesus is the most important figure in Christianity, which is the largest religion in the world. Christians believe that Jesus is God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, a combination known as the Trinity. After he was betrayed by Judas and crucified, they believe he came back to life three days later on a day Christians celebrate as Easter Sunday. While Judas will always be remembered as a part of Jesus’ story, he is considered a man of lowly character and a metaphor for evil and greed. In fact, just the name itself implies that someone is a traitor...READ FULL CONTENT>>>>>>
Who was Judas Iscariot?
In the New Testament of the Bible, some of the central figures have a second name that gives information about where they’re from, or an aspect of their personality. Jesus was often called the Nazarene, and Simon was known as the Zealot. Judas Iscariot was used to differentiate him from Judas Thaddeus. It’s believed that Iscariot means “Man of Querjoth,” with the latter being a village in southern Judea.
Judas comes from the Hebrew Judah, which translates to “let God be praised,” so there’s some good irony there. Judas was the treasurer of the disciples, meaning he handled the money. In John 12:4-6, we learn that Judas was preoccupied with money and would steal from the common purse:
“But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, ‘Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.’ He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it.” This of course foreshadows his eventual betrayal of Jesus and highlights his wicked character.
In the Bible, Judas agrees to deliver Jesus to the high priests for 30 pieces of silver. At the Last Supper, Jesus reveals that one of them will betray him, and then tells Judas directly: “What you must do, do it as soon as possible.” Judas has a plan to kiss Jesus to point him out to the Gethsemane high priests. It’s a subversion on the idea that a kiss is meant to express love. Here’s how it’s portrayed in Mark 14:43-45:
“Just as he was speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, appeared. With him was a crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests, the teachers of the law, and the elders. Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them: ‘The one I kiss is the man; arrest him and lead him away under guard.’ Going at once to Jesus, Judas said, ‘Rabbi!’ and kissed him. The men seized Jesus and arrested him.”
Interestingly, there are four different accounts of this instance. In Matthew 26:47-50, for example, it says that Judas said “Greetings, Rabbi” and after he kisses Jesus, the messiah replies, “Do what you came for friend.” Then he was seized. Luke 22:47-48 says that when Judas approached Jesus, the Son of God said “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?”
Finally we have John 18:2-5, which says that Judas knew where Jesus was because “Jesus had often met there with his disciples.” Then came “a detachment of soldiers and some officials from the chief priests and the Pharisees. They were carrying torches, lanterns, and weapons.” Jesus asked “Who is it you want?,” and when they asked for Jesus he said, “I am he.” In that passage, Judas does not kiss the messiah but he was “standing there with them.” So what happened next?
What Happened to Judas after he Betrayed Jesus?
Jesus chose Judas as an apostle after a period of intense prayer, as illustrated in Luke 6:12-13: “One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles.”
A big question a lot of people might have is why Jesus would choose Judas as an Apostle if he was all-knowing and already aware that he was going to be betrayed by him? Well, the reason is (according to Christianity) that he had to fulfill a prophecy from Psalm 41:9, which says, “Even my close friend, someone I trusted, one who shared my bread, has turned against me.” Jesus himself references this prophecy in John 13:18.
Why did Judas betray Jesus? Matthew 26:14-16 says he did it for money. Luke 22:1-4 says that Satan entered him and manipulated him. After the betrayal, there are two scriptures in the Bible that describe what happened next. In Matthew 27:1-5, it says that “When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders. ‘I have sinned,’ he said, ‘for I have betrayed innocent blood.’ ‘What is that to us?’ they replied. ‘That’s your responsibility.’ So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself.”
The money he got was used to buy the potter’s field, which is eventually called the Field of Blood. Acts 1:18-19 gives a bit of a different flavor to this account:
“With the payment he received for his wickedness, Judas bought a field; there he fell headlong, his body burst open and all his intestines spilled out. Everyone in Jerusalem heard about this, so they called that field in their language Akeldama, that is, Field of Blood.”
Basically, judas knew he sinned but didn’t want to repent, so he returned the money by throwing it at the priests and killed himself. The priests didn’t want to take back “blood money” so they used it to buy the field where Judas hanged himself.
What happened to Jesus after the Resurrection?
The story doesn’t end on Easter Sunday with the resurrection!
Even if you’re not particularly religious, we all at least somewhat know the story of Jesus Christ, his crucifixion, and subsequent resurrection. However, people tend to lose interest after that part, so what happened to Jesus after the resurrection?
What does the New Testament say?
So; on the third day after Jesus’ crucifixion an earthquake hit which marked the arrival of an angel who rolled the stone door to his tomb out of the way; this was witnessed by Roman guards. Then, a very shocked Mary Magdalene arrives at the Tomb only to be met by an angel who informs her that Christ is back. She runs to fetch Peter and John and when they reach the tomb they find him alive and well. This part is mostly well known, but what did Jesus and the disciples do afterwards?..READ FULL CONTENT>>>>>>
The 40 days after the resurrection
Jesus stuck around on earth for 40 days after his resurrection and there are numerous stories in the New Testament where he appears to his disciples. In one instance he joined two of them traveling to Emmaus. They didn’t recognise him at first, but nonetheless when they arrived at their destination they invited him to join them for dinner, it wasn’t until he blessed the bread they were eating that they realized who they had been traveling with.
His last 40 days on earth were mostly spent appearing to random people and disciples just like the two on their way to Emmaus. The New Testament has a number of similar stories, some where he appears to a few disciples, others involve him appearing in front of massive crowds. His final appearance was to the 12 apostles, but obviously now they were one down because of Judas’ betrayal and subsequent death; in the Bible they are referred to as “the eleven.” Jesus left them a series of instructions including to preach the gospel and wait for the holy spirit in Jerusalem.
The Ascension
At the end of the 40 days, after he had left his instructions to his disciples, Jesus left earth for good this time, ascending to heaven. On the fiftieth day after his resurrection, the holy spirit came down on the disciples in the form of fire, they were filled with the holy spirit and, as Jesus had instructed, they began spreading the teachings of Christ. The day this happened is still celebrated today, it is known as the Pentecost.
So that’s the cliff notes version of what Jesus and his disciples were doing post-resurrection. The time between the resurrection leading up to the Pentecost marks the beginning of the church’s mission to spread Christianity and it’s pretty interesting to learn about, even if you’re not particularly religious.
What happened to Jesus on Good Friday?
From palm branches to a crown of thorns, here’s all you need to know about Jesus’ final day.
Many of us are familiar with the basic concept of Good Friday and have likely reviewed it more times than your grandpa has told his favorite joke at Thanksgiving dinner. It’s the day Jesus Christ was crucified, but how much do we really know about what transpired on that fateful day nearly 2,000 years ago?
Jesus, who Christians believe to be the Son of God and the prophesied Messiah, entered Jerusalem to much fanfare the previous Sunday (now celebrated as Palm Sunday), but things took a rather dramatic turn in the days following. After a series of events that included the Last Supper with his disciples, Jesus was betrayed by one of his own, Judas Iscariot. The betrayal led to Jesus’ arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane. Following the arrest, Jesus was taken through a series of trials, first by Jewish authorities and then by Roman ones, including Pontius Pilate, the governor of the province. During the festival of Passover, it was customary for the Roman governor to release a prisoner to the crowd.
The Gospels suggest that Pilate was well aware of Jesus’ innocence in terms of Roman law and he believed the crowd would choose to release him. Despite Pilate’s own reported misgivings and the lack of a clear, unequivocal charge against Jesus, the crowds were rather persuasive. They chose to free a prisoner named Barabbas and demanded Jesus’ crucifixion.
So, on Good Friday, Jesus was scourged, mocked, and forced to carry his own cross to the site of his execution, a place called Golgotha, also known as the Place of the Skull. There, he was nailed to the cross and hung between two common criminals. According to the Gospels, while he was on the cross, Jesus endured further mockery, along with the agonies of crucifixion, which, as you can imagine, is a rather horrific way to die.
On Good Friday, Jesus completed his work of salvation
As Jesus hung on the cross, darkness is said to have fallen over the land for several hours. Jesus, feeling the weight of the world’s sins and experiencing a moment of profound human emotion, is reported to have cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” — words from Psalm 22 that resonated deeply with the faithful as a fulfillment of prophecy.
Ultimately, Jesus uttered, “It is finished,” and gave up his spirit, signifying the completion of his earthly mission to atone for humanity’s sins. The idea of a divine willingly submitting to such a gruesome fate for the sake of humanity is a concept that continues to inspire Christians today. It’s a reminder of the depths of love and the lengths to which some will go for the sake of others. Jesus’ death was a sacrificial act of love, one that offered redemption to all of humanity. And, lest we forget, the story takes a rather unexpected twist come Easter Sunday, but that’s a tale for another day.
Is Good Friday the day Jesus died?
If Jesus died on a Friday, why’s it called “Good Friday”?
As Easter rolls around, with its chocolate bunnies and pastel-drenched egg hunts, you might catch yourself wondering about the precise timing of Jesus’ crucifixion amidst all the festive frills. This day, somber and draped in centuries-old traditions, marks a critical chapter in the Christian history.
There are some who argue that Jesus actaully died on Wednesday based on their interpretation of the duration of Jesus’s body in the tomb before his resurrection. Jesus has been in the tomb for three full days and three full nights, as they interpret from the scriptures.
These individuals often point to Matthew 12:40, where Jesus is quoted as comparing his time in the tomb to Jonah’s time inside the fish – “For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.“
So, the Wednesday crew suggests that Jesus was crucified on afternoon, placed in the tomb just before sunset (the beginning of the Jewish Thursday), and remained there through Thursday night, Friday, and Saturday, before his resurrection on Sunday morning. This timeline, they argue, would fulfill the prophecy of three full days and nights.
While the Wednesday crucifixion theory raises interesting questions about the interpretation of biblical passages, it remains a minority view among Christian scholars and believers.
Clearing the confusion
So yes, according to what many scholars agree, Jesus was crucified and died on a Friday, which we now refer to as Good Friday. Why, then, do we call it “Good” Friday? Seems a bit counterintuitive, doesn’t it? Calling the day someone died “good” doesn’t exactly fit with how we usually think about death, especially one as brutal as crucifixion. Well, some say it’s derived from “God’s Friday,” while others claim it’s from the Old English “good” meaning holy.
But here’s an interesting look: the “good” in Good Friday isn’t about the act itself. It’s about what Christians believe Jesus’ death represents. They see it as the day when Jesus sacrificed himself for the sins of humanity. It’s like the ultimate act of love and selflessness. So, the “good” is about the outcome, the redemption, and the hope that comes from that sacrifice, not the suffering and the death part.
Tadition holds fast to Good Friday, and in many ways, the exact historical day is secondary to the profound impact of the event it commemorates. Whether it was a Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday, the narrative remains the same: sacrifice, suffering, and the ultimate display of love...READ FULL CONTENT>>>>>>