Jesus stays in the tomb three days and three nights

Matthew 28:1. Jesus stayed in the tomb three days and three nights starting from 14th Nisan.

Then Jesus rose from the dead, as He said He would.

Passover, which included Unleavened Bread and First Fruits, was one of three sets of festivals that God ordained for the Israelites to keep yearly. The others were Feast of Weeks or Shavuot, or Pentecost, and the set around Feast of Trumpets and Day of Atonement.

Jesus had said that, like Jonah, the Son of Man would be three days and three nights in the earth.

However you want to treat “three days and three nights”, the real issue is that Jesus died and rose again and lives on at the right hand of God to intercede for us.

Background Reading:

3 Days and 3 Nights

28:1 After the Sabbaths [Passover Sabbath and the weekly Sabbath], around dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to take a look at the burial site.
Matthew 28:1

This translation has like the Greek the word Sabbath in the plural Sabbaths. The Greek text clearly says, “After the Sabbaths were passed,” Sabbaths being plural. Why is that significant?

Was the Passover Sabbaths namely Unleavened Bread and Firstfruits and the weekly Sabbath two different days? If it was which day was the Passover Sabbath on? Maybe as we believe a Wednesday. If so you can get the needed Three days and Three nights in the Tomb for Jesus. Also, leaves us with which year? Our best try is AD32.

More Information:

Jesus was in the tomb three days and three nights.

Hebrew day starts at dusk or sunset, so the Hebrew day overlap two Roman days.

AD32:
10th Nisan – Friday sunset-Saturday sunset was the triumphal entry: April 6th-7th

11th Nisan – Saturday sunset-Sunday sunset the fig tree was cursed: April 7th-8th
12th Nisan – Sunday sunset-Monday sunset the conspirators counseled: April 8th-9th
13th Nisan – Monday sunset-Tuesday sunset was the Last Supper: April 9th-10th
14th Nisan – Tuesday sunset-Wednesday sunset was the Crucifixion: April 10th-11th
15th Nisan – Wednesday sunset-Thursday sunset was the Feast of Unleavened Bread: April 11th-12th
16th Nisan – Thursday sunset-Friday sunset the women prepared the spices and so forth: April 12th-13th
17th Nisan – Friday sunset-Saturday sunset, weekly Sabbath, they all rested: April 13th-14th

18th Nisan – Saturday sunset-Sunday sunset morning the woman went to the tomb: April 14th-15th.
18th Nisan – The Feast of First Fruits: April 14th-15th.
191h Nisan – Sunday sunset-Monday sunset April 15th-16th.

Read: Matthew 28:1 Sabbath here in Greek is Sabbaths.
Also, read John 19:31 “and the next day was to be a special Sabbath.”

There are the normal weekly Sabbaths and also a small number of Special Sabbaths and “The Feast of Unleavened Bread” is one of these special Sabbaths.

The word Sabbath in Hebrew means: rest.
Passover was celebrated at the full moon.


Other slides in this module: