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Christ's Resurrection not On Sunday
(From Forerunner Commentary)

Matthew 28:1  (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up) Matthew 28:1 provides additional proof of two Sabbaths occurring that week. However, the Bible's translators, confused by the Greek wording of this verse, have consistently mistranslated it. Matthew writes, "Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn . . . ." The wording of the original text, though, reads, "after the Sabbaths"—plural! Richard T. Ritenbaugh 'After Three Days'

Matthew 28:1  (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up) By comparing these four accounts (Matthew 28:1; Mark 16:2; Luke 24:1; John 20:1), it is evident that Mary Magdalene and the other women arrived at the tomb early in the morning on Sunday morning, while it was still dark. When they arrived, they saw that the stone had already been rolled back.  None of these verses specify when Christ arose from the dead, but we do know that He left the tomb before the women arrived. It is plain that the women arrived early in the morning on the first day of the week, and first saw the resurrected Christ at that time. But these accounts do not say that was when Christ arose. Matthew 28:1 and Mark 16:1-2 also reiterate that the Sabbath is the seventh day of the week. David C. Grabbe

Matthew 28:1-6  (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up) Two women came to see the tomb where Christ had been laid. When they arrived, they found it empty. They were told that Christ had risen—"as he said"—after three days and three nights. The sign had come to pass! Jesus proved beyond the shadow of a doubt that He was the prophesied Messiah and Savior of mankind! World Peace? Or World in Pieces?

John 20:1  (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up) Mary Magdalene arrives at the grave early on the first day of the week while it was still dark—and Jesus has already been resurrected! So much for Easter sunrise services! Even if one thought Christ rose at dawn on Sunday, counting back 72 hours (three full days and three full nights) brings one to dawn on Thursday, and God's Word explicitly says that Christ was buried at sunset! Yes, Jesus rose from the grave, but not on Sunday, the day traditional Christians call "the Lord's day." If He did, He could not be our Savior because He would have failed to fulfill the one sign of His Messiahship: three days and three nights in the tomb. Jesus rose on the day of which He says He is Lord: the true seventh-day Sabbath (Mark 2:28). Staff Was Jesus Resurrected on Easter Sunday?

John 20:17  (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up) As the firstfruits of God's Family, Jesus had not yet appeared before the Father for acceptance as our Savior and High Priest! He had not yet been "waved"! The context of John 20 shows that it was still early in the morning, and most likely, shortly after Mary returned to the disciples, Jesus ascended to His Father's throne in heaven to be accepted as our Redeemer—at about the same time the priest waved the sheaf before God in the Temple. God fulfills His Word to the letter! Richard T. Ritenbaugh 'After Three Days'

John 20:17  (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up) Jesus was crucified on the day of the Passover in AD 31, which fell that year on a Wednesday. God resurrected Him at the end of the weekly Sabbath (Saturday). He appeared to Mary Magdalene the next morning, the day after the weekly Sabbath during Unleavened Bread, when the priests presented the wavesheaf offering. He did not permit her to touch Him because He had not yet ascended to the Father. Just as the High Priest had to wave the sheaf of grain before the spring harvest began, so our Savior had to ascend to the Father that day to be accepted before Him. Once this happened, He allowed His disciples to touch Him (cf. Matthew 28:9; John 20:20-28). Earl L. Henn (1934-1997) Holy Days: Pentecost

John 20:17  (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up) This occurred early in the morning not long after sunrise. We do not know exactly what time after sunrise, but the women originally came to the tomb while it was still dark (verse 1)—and He was already gone from the tomb at that point! He simply could not have risen at sunrise. It was sometime after sunrise when Jesus stopped her and instructed her to tell His disciples these things. So, shortly after Mary returned to the disciples—however long it took her to get back to where they were assembled—Jesus ascended to His Father's throne in heaven to be accepted as our Redeemer and High Priest. Richard T. Ritenbaugh Christ's Death, Resurrection, and Ascension

John 20:17  (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up) Early on this Sunday morning during the Feast of Unleavened Bread, Jesus would not let Mary Magdalene cling to Him, explaining that He had not yet ascended to His Father (John 20:17, 19). But later that same day, He voiced no such prohibition, allowing His disciples to handle Him (Matthew 28:9). This clearly shows that Christ ascended to heaven and was accepted by His Father as the spiritual "first of the firstfruits" on the same day the Levitical priests were commanded to offer the first of the firstfruits to be accepted by God! Jesus Christ therefore fulfilled the symbolism of the first of the firstfruits on the morrow after the weekly Sabbath—not an annual Sabbath. If it had been the first annual Sabbath that was intended by the words "the Sabbath" in Leviticus 23:11, then the sheaf or omer would have been waved on Friday in AD 31. But on Friday, the Messiah was dead, buried in a sealed tomb. So the explanation in Rabbinic Judaism of Leviticus 23:11 is incorrect. Christ's resurrection or harvest was necessary before any of the remaining spiritual harvests could be reaped (see Leviticus 23:14 for this truth in symbol). Pentecost: Only 'Firstfruits' Now Called!

Acts 12:4  (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up) This is the only verse in the Authorized or King James Version of the Bible where the word Easter is mentioned. However, as any authority of the Greek language knows, it is a flagrant mistranslation! The original Greek word here is pascha, meaning "Passover." In every other place in the New Testament where pascha is used, it is always translated "Passover." Examples of this can be found in Matthew 26:2, 17-19; Mark 14:12; and I Corinthians 5:7. Virtually all other translations of the Bible correctly render pascha as "Passover" in Acts 12:4. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, "There is no indication of the observance of the Easter festival in the New Testament, or in the writings of the apostolic Fathers. . . . The first Christians continued to observe the Jewish festivals [that is, God's—Leviticus 23:1-2], though in a new spirit, as commemoration of events which those festivals had foreshadowed" ("Easter," 11th edition). Another reason why "Easter Sunday" could not have been celebrated by the early Christian Church may be found in the fact that Christ was not resurrected on a Sunday morning. The only sign Christ gave to prove He was the Messiah was the length of time, following His death, that He would be buried—a period of three days and three nights, or 72 hours (Matthew 12:39-40; Mark 8:31). He fulfilled that sign "as he said" (Matthew 28:6). But according to the Easter tradition, Christ was crucified Friday afternoon and resurrected Sunday morning—a period of only a day and a half, or 36 hours! Since Christ did fulfill His sign, the Good Friday-Easter Sunday tradition is just that—a tradition and not a fact! If you have not read the facts that prove Jesus was crucified and buried on a Wednesday, and rose from the dead 72 hours later—late Saturday afternoon—see "After Three Days" and The Resurrection Was Not on Sunday! And what about the various customs and traditions associated with Easter? Most assume that the customs of this religious holiday came from "Christian" origins. Easter and its customs date long before the resurrection of Jesus. Similar ceremonies were observed nearly 2,000 years before the beginning of the Christian era! "Easter" is actually a slightly changed English spelling of the name of the ancient Assyrian goddess Ishtar. It was pronounced by the Assyrians as we pronounce "Easter" today. The traditions associated with Easter, such as colored eggs, the Easter bunny, and sunrise services, are pre-Christian and pagan in origin! The Last Great Day: God's Master Plan Completed!

 

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