(LUKE 23:50-56) "And behold, a man named Joseph...And it was Preparation Day. And a Sabbath was dawning."
(JOHN 19:38-42) "And after these things...as is custom with the Jews for burying..."
It is impossible that they could bury the LORD before Friday sunset! Because Joseph went to ask Pilate on Friday evening. When Pilate learned from the centurion that it was so, he gave the body to Joseph. Joseph bought some linen cloth, took down the body, wrapped it in the linen,..., as is custom with the Jews for burying (must took several hours.) These things occured after Friday evening! Most likely, they finished all the works of burial at late Friday night, or even very early Saturday morning (3 or 4 AM, cf. Luke 23:54 "Sabbath was dawning") right before dawn, which is the beginning of the Sabbath. Clearly, we can know from the Bible that Friday night is still the Preparation day, not Sabbath. If the Sabbath ends Saturday evening, the women should have gone to the tomb at Saturday night. However, they came to the tomb on Sunday morning, because at that time, it is the end of the Sabbath.
(JOHN 20:19) "Then it being evening on that day, the first of the week,..."
According to the Halakah way of counting the day from sunset to sunset, Sunday (the Lord resurrected on that day) evening would be the second day, but the Bible says "first of the week". Therefore, according the Bible, a day begins in the mornig rather at sunset!
(MARK 11:11,12) "...the hour being already late...on the next day..."
(JOHN 6:16-22) "And when it became evening...it had already become dark...On the morrow..."
(ACTS 4:3) "...and put (them) into custody for the morrow; for it was already evening."
(ACTS 20:7) "...being about to depart on the morrow...until midnight."
(ACTS 23:23-32) "...for the third hour of the night...the soldiers brought (him) through the night to Antipatris. And on the morrow..."
(MATTHEW 20:1-12) "...eleventh hour...evening having come...These last have performed one hour..."
Evening is at 6PM, not 3PM, 4PM or 5PM, as many wanted to explain how the Lord could be buried before Friday sunset.
(JOHN 11:9) "...Are there not twelve hours in the day?..."
The first hour of the day should be the beginning of the day, a day starts at 6-7AM.
(MARK 1:32) Here only mentioned about when it was happened. It did not talk about the end of the Sabbath.
(MATTHEW 12:40) "...so shall the Son of man be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights."
We should interpret this passage spiritually. (LUKE 22:53) "...but this is your hour, and the power of darkness." When the LORD was arrested for the first time, HE was in the "heart of the earth". If we count from Thursday night until Sunday morning, there are three days and three nights! (LUKE 24:7,13,21,29) "...the third day to rise again...two of them were going on the same day...this third day comes today since these things occurred...because it is toward evening..." Sunday afternoon is the same day on which the LORD resurrected, which is the third day from Friday. Thus, the LORD died for us on Friday, and resurrected on Sunday early morning.
Some suggests that "in the heart of the earth" means in Jerusalem, in Israel, since Jerusalem/Israel is the center of the earth. If this is the case, the Lord was about three years in the heart of the earth when He preached in Israel, not only three days and three nights! Bible (Matthew 28:11) also shows that the tomb is located outside of Jerusalem.
"Three days and three nights" started on Thursday night when the darkness reigned. The LORD GOD in His flesh body, the Son of Man was delivered into the hands of sinful men, was crucufied, was buried, then was raised again on the third day - Sunday morning at dawn before sunrise when it was still dark.
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HalleluJah! Praise the Lord!
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