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FROM: 4/21/02 Radio Program
Question:
Jesus didn't raise on the first day of the week. There is no Scripture which says Jesus arose on the first day of the week. The women went to the tomb on the first day, but He was gone. So we don't know when He arose. He could have arose on Saturday or any other day. It says He was to be 3 days and 3 nights in the tomb, so it couldn't have been the first day of the week
Answer:
Just one thought before we answer, since our querist said, "He could have arose on Saturday or any other day." does this not leave him open to the possibility that Christ did raise on the first day of the week??
To answer the question, we find Paul speaking concerning Christ, that He died, was buried, and arose the third day "according to the Scriptures" (I Corinthians 15:1-4). Certainly, He did that. When the women came to the empty tomb on the first day of the week, the angel spoke and reminded them of the prophecy concerning Christ when he said, "He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee, Saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again." (Luke 24:6-7). The fulfillment of this passage is found in Mark 16:9 when it says in no uncertain terms: "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." When was Jesus "risen"? "Early." "Early" when? "The first day of the week"! Yes, the Bible teaches that Christ was risen on the first day of the week.
Some might say, well, this hadn't been three days. Please read in Luke 24, in the context of Christ's resurrection. It tells us that the women came to the tomb on "the first day of the week, very early in the morning" (v. 1). After describing the events at the tomb, Luke turns his attention to some men who were going to the village of Emmaus on the "same day" (v. 13). In other words, the first day of the week. Christ appears to these men, though their "eyes were holden" and they did not recognize him (v. 16). They spoke with Christ, explaining the events of the Passover, and of the death of Christ on the cross (v. 17-20). They then told our Lord, "But we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel: and beside all this, to day is the third day since these things were done" (v. 21). Notice please that this was the "third day" since Christ died (Luke 24:21), which was the "first day of the week" (Luke 24:1). The day they found the empty tomb, and the day Christ talked with the men on the road to Emmaus was the "same day" (Luke 24:13).
The Bible teaches the very thing our querist denied.
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