3 Days and 3 Nights

This post is in reply to Rstats on Mark 16:9…. I could not publish it as a comment for some reason…

Mar 16:9 “Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils.”

Jesus said the proof of his Messiahship was to be found in being in the grave “three days and three nights” as was Jonah. He told the Pharisees, “destroy this temple and in three days, I will raise it up…” to prove the same point.

People make silly arguments that it means “parts of three days and nights,” which is not how people would read any other verse… except they are sold first on the “Good Friday – Easter Sunday narrative of the Catholic Church, and so they bend the words to fit the scenario.

Scripture tells us that Jesus was buried at sundown, in the eventide between the two days… thus making it the beginning of a day, as well as the end of another. The biblical narrative can be clearly seen as 3 literal days and nights as follows…

Crucified Wednesday, Buried Wednesday evening

Women prepared on Friday, because they could not on the following Thursday because it was the preparation day for the Feast of Unleavened Bread, a 7 day festival also know more broadly as the Passover Festival. with the spices, as the manner of the Jews is to bury.

Jn 19:31 – The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation, that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the sabbath day, (for that sabbath day was an high day,) besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away.

Luk 23:56 “And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the sabbath day according to the commandment.” This, after the day of preparation that they were required to take off from labor on Thursday.

After one night and one day passed, it was Friday. This is when the women prepared the spices… however, they did not have time to do that and administer them fully before the weekly Sabbath, so,

Luk 24:1 “Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them.”

So, here is the breakdown of 3 days and 3 nights….

1st Night _ Wednesday Night

1st Day – Thursday. (High Sabbath Day – all rested)

2nd Night – Thursday Night

2nd Day – Friday (Women prepared spices but ceased at weekly Sabbath)*

3rd Night – Friday Night (Sabbath)

3rd Day – Saturday (Sabbath)

Saturday evening was the beginning of the third day! Jesus was resurrected and had the night portion to himself and was known to have spent all night in prayer. Why not now? The discovery of his resurrection is what happened on Sunday morning, not the resurrection itself.

The stone was rolled away, not so He could arise, nor to let him out, but to let the women see in.

Mar 16:2 And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun.
Mar 16:3 And they said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre?
Mar 16:4 And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great.

When Jesus prached to the spirits in hell, could it not have been after his resurrection and before the discovery, on Saturday night? He was well rested! In the morning we also see he had not ascended, but this was so scripture could be fulfilled… see

Lev 23:6 And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of unleavened bread unto the LORD: seven days ye must eat unleavened bread.
Lev 23:7 In the first day ye shall have an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein.
Lev 23:8 But ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD seven days: in the seventh day is an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein.
Lev 23:9 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
Lev 23:10 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye be come into the land which I give unto you, and shall reap the harvest thereof, then ye shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest unto the priest:
Lev 23:11 And he shall wave the sheaf before the LORD, to be accepted for you: on the morrow after the sabbath the priest shall wave it.

Note that on the Sunday during this week-long festival, a wave sheaf was to be lifted up… compare that with Jesus’ admonition to Mary, “do not touch me, for I have not yet ascended unto my Father.” If anyone other than the priest touched the wave sheaf before it was offered, it was profaned… So, too, Jesus was not to be touched.

So, to answer your question briefly. There is no contradiction in the first place. How much earlier in the day can one be risen than in the very first minute following sunSET?? There is nothing that says he immediately saw Mary upon resurrection… she is simply the first disciple he appeared to.

“Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils.”

*Note that they were at the cross until the body was laid to rest, coming right up to the ‘day of preparation’. The spices they gathered were 50 pounds and this could not have been prepared on Wednesday evening because they had zero time to even begin to prepare… their preparations of gathering and prep were done on a larger time frame than that… thus, it was a daylong affair on Friday and not having enough time to administer the spices to the body before the Sabbath, they waited.

Let me know your thoughts on this and if it helped!

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