Three Days and Three Nights

In Matthew 12:40 Jesus prophesies that He would be dead “three days and three nights.” The fact of the matter is he was dead for only two nights and one full day. Let’s look at the record. Jesus died on a Friday afternoon and rose from the dead early Sunday morning. The inescapable conclusion is that Jesus was literally dead for only two nights and parts of three days — no more than about 40 hours.On the surface, this seems to contradict Jesus’ statement in Matthew 12:40 that He would be dead “three days and three nights.” To deal with the problem some Christians have created a bigger problem, they’ve concluded Jesus died on Thursday and rose on Sunday, or died on Wednesday and rose on Saturday. However, there is virtually no possibility of this view fitting what the Gospels really say. The Gospels agree that Jesus died and was buried late on the day before the Sabbath — that is, on Friday — and rose on the day after the Sabbath, or on Sunday [Matt. 27:62; 28:1; Mark 15:42; 16:1; Luke 23:54; 24:1; John 19:31, 42; 20:1].Now, the real problem is that most of us are unfamiliar with ancient, and especially Jewish, idiomatic ways of speaking. In fact, in the Gospel of Matthew, besides the expression “Three days and three nights” in Matthew 12:40, we also find the expressions “after three days” and “on the third day” [16:21; 17:23; 20:19; 27:63,64; cf. 26:61; 27:40]. The Jews understood all three of these expressions synonymously. In their terminology part of a day was counted as an entire day.From this alleged contradiction we can see that some ways of explaining a Bible difficulty just create bigger difficulties. We need to be careful not to be so worried about resolving an apparent contradiction that we create an even larger one. In addition, the Bible does not always speak in the same way we would. We need to learn the idioms and figures of speech which are used in the Bible if we are to avoid misunderstanding what it really says.These are just some of the important lessons to be learned from Matthew 12:40. Of course the real lesson is that Jesus rose from the dead, and that because He lives, we too shall rule and reign forever and ever.


Trev Carpenter
www.btmcallen.com

The "Swoon" Theory

Did Christ die or just “swoon” on the cross? This week we continue our look at Christ on the cross, with help from our friends at CRI

THE “SWOON THEORY”

Well, you’d expect skeptics of Christianity to deny the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. What really blows my mind is that some of them also have the temerity to deny that Jesus actually died on the cross. No death, therefore no resurrection. The theory that Jesus did not actually die on the cross is commonly called the “swoon” theory. It’s been resuscitated over and over ad nauseam, ad infinitum. Of course this is the idea that Jesus passed out on the cross and was later revived. The chief evidence cited in support of this theory is the fact that the Gospels admit that Jesus was on the cross for only a relatively short period of time.This argument attributes incompetence or even stupidity to quite a few people. The Romans, for example, failed to make sure that Jesus Christ actually died; the Romans and Jews both failed to discover the deception. And the disciples were stupid enough to believe that Jesus had raised Himself from the dead.In addition, if this theory were true, it is rather unique and strange that the Gospel writers admit to the short period of time that Jesus hung on the cross because this was obviously an embarrassment to them. It is especially odd that Mark would draw attention to Pilate’s surprise at hearing that Jesus Christ was already dead (Mark 15:44).Now, virtually all biblical scholars recognize the “swoon theory” argument is hopelessly flawed. What is surprising is that it keeps being brought up over and over again. Can you imagine that Jesus endured six trials, a crown of thorns, a Roman scourge, crucifixion, the spear in the side, loss of blood, 3 days without medical attention, and then overcame an armed guard, walked on pierced feet — and he somehow or other convinced his disciples that he conquered death and the grave — and that he was, in fact, the Prince of Life. That he then lived out his life in obscurity and died of natural causes?My friend, if you can believe this, the resurrection should pose no problem for you whatsoever. The “swoon theory” is ridiculous in the extreme and yet some people hang their hats on it.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATIONAnderson, JND. The Evidence for the Resurrection (P063/$1).Gary Habermas, The Historical Jesus: Ancient Evidence for the Life of Christ (College Press) (SB824/$14)Martin, Walter. “The Gospel of Resurrection” (C080/$6).Martin, Walter. “The Resurrection Debate” (C110/$6).McDowell, Josh, A Ready Defense, (Thomas Nelson) (SB817/$17).Nash, Ronald. Faith and Reason. (Zondervan) (SB515/$20)These resources are available through CRI. For shipping and handling information, please call CRI or refer to our Resource Listing. To place a credit card order, call toll-free (888) 7000-CRI. To receive a free copy of our Resource Listing, fax us at (714) 858-6111 or write us with your request at P.O. Box 7000, Rancho Santa Margarita, CA 92688-7000.


Trev Carpenter
www.btmcallen.com

Did the Sun go dark and the Moon turn to Blood?

DID THE SUN GO DARK AND THE MOON TURN TO BLOOD?

In Peter’s sermon on Pentecost, he quoted a prophecy in Joel which said that the sun would become dark and the moon would turn to blood before the day of the Lord. Peter claimed that this prophecy had been fulfilled in his day and time. But when did these events really take place?Matthew, Mark, and even Luke all mention that the sun became dark at Christ’s crucifixion [Matt. 27:45; Mark 15:33; Luke 23:44-45]. This doesn’t mean that the sun ceased to give light. Nor did it refer to an eclipse of the sun by the moon. Rather, it was probably caused by a dust storm.But the real question is, was Peter actually referring to this darkening of the sun when he quoted Joel? Interestingly enough, until recently the reference to the moon turning to blood seemed to indicate otherwise. However, now, beyond reasonable doubt, we know that the moon did “turn to blood” and it was on the very day that Christ died. You see, in ancient idiom the “moon turning to blood” was a reference to the moon turning blood-red during a lunar eclipse. And now scientists have discovered that a lunar eclipse occurred and was visible from Jerusalem on Friday, April 3, A.D. 33. Incidentally, this day was a Passover, and on independent examination it’s the most likely date of the Crucifixion.Not only this, but a dust storm in the afternoon (especially one that would have obscured the sun’s light) would also have intensified the reddening effect of the lunar eclipse, making the blood-red coloring of the moon even more dramatic.In and of themselves, a dust storm and a lunar eclipse are not overtly supernatural. However, the fact that they happened on the very same day — the day of Christ’s death — provides powerful evidence that Christ’s death was, as the Gospel writers clearly claimed, a fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy. For all these reasons and more, we can conclude that Peter was right in claiming that Joel’s prophecy had been fulfilled in his day.Interesting isn’t it? The more we learn the more we understand how incredibly reliable the Bible and Biblical prophecy really are. Well, did the Sun go dark and did the moon turn to blood in Peters’ day? The verdict is yes! That’s the CRI Perspective.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATIONHoehner, Harold W. Chronological Aspects of the Life of Christ (Zondervan) (SB540/$17).Humphreys, Colin J., and W. Graeme Waddington. “The Date of the Crucifixion,” Journal of the American Scientific Affiliation 37, 1 (March 1985): 2-10. SB-540 is available through CRI. For shipping and handling information, please call CRI or refer to our Resource Listing. To place a credit card order, call toll-free (888) 7000-CRI. To receive a free copy of our Resource Listing, fax us at (714) 858-6111 or write us with your request at P.O. Box 7000, Rancho Santa Margarita, CA 92688-7000.


Trev Carpenter
www.btmcallen.com

The Evidence for Christ's Resurrection

Greetings friends!

This week, I will be posting articles written from the Christian Research Institute, on several different topics surrounding the Resurrection of Christ. I hope that you are enlightened, disciple, and brought closer to the cross that we so desperately need.

Topic 1: THE EVIDENCE FOR CHRIST’S RESURRECTION
It’s often said that the validity of Christianity rests upon the resurrection of Jesus Christ. But how
do we know Jesus rose from the dead?
As Paul noted in 1 Corinthians 15:14, if Christ did not rise from the dead then our preaching and
our faith are useless. We must therefore be prepared to demonstrate that Christ’s resurrection
was an event that occurred in space and time — that it was in fact historical, and not
mythological (cf. 2 Pet. 1:16). The importance of this event cannot be minimized as Jesus
Himself proclaimed that His resurrection would prove His power over death, and thus His deity
(John 2:18-22).
Of the variety of evidence we have available, none is more compelling than the fact that over
five hundred individuals saw Jesus (1 Cor. 15:6) during a 40-day period following His death and
burial (Acts 1:3). In fact, the Apostles appealed to Christ’s resurrection as proof for the truth of
the gospel (Acts 17:18, 31). The historical evidence for the resurrection is so compelling that the
famed Harvard law professor, Simon Greenleaf, concluded that any cross-examination of the
eyewitness testimonies recorded in Scripture will result in “an undoubting conviction of their
integrity, ability, and truth.”
And even as we consider alternative explanations, reason drives us back to the conclusion that
Christ rose from the dead. We know that the Romans had no intentions of stealing Christ’s body
because the last thing they wanted was any turmoil that was sure to follow such an event. The
Jewish religious leaders would also have no motive in stealing the body since that would only
stir up the very movement they tried to crush. And certainly, the disciples could not have stolen
the body; after all, would anyone really suffer and die for a cause that they knew to be a lie? It is
conceivable that someone may die for the truth, but inconceivable that hundred’s of his
follower’s would, in fact, be willing to die for what they knew to be a lie.
All this leads us to only one possibility — that Jesus indeed rose from the dead, and lives to be
our Lord and our Savior (cf. Rev. 1:18)!
CRI, P.O. Box 7000, Rancho Santa Margarita, CA 92688
www.equip.org tel.949.858.6100 fax.949.858.6111


Trev Carpenter
www.btmcallen.com