On both counts the deceiver has caused Christendom to question the authenticity and significance of Yahweh and Yahshua's words. In the case of the day on which Yahshua arose, this error could be removed if one simply started with a firm belief in Yahshua's words. If we do not have confidence in what Yahshua said, then we are open to accept any theory of man, in just the same way as Eve, without hesitation accepted the words of Satan rather than those of Yahweh. When the scribes and Pharisees asked Yahshua for a sign that He was who He claimed to be,
He answered and said to them, 'An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth,' Matt 12:38-40.
Yahshua specifically said that He would remain in His grave for three days and three nights. Friday evening to Sunday morning is neither three full days nor three full nights, Therefore, if Yahshua's body were placed in the tomb on Friday, near the beginning of Sabbath but was resurrected early on Sunday morning, then His one promised sign did not come to pass as He had said, and there is no proof that He was really the Messiah. If He were not the Messiah then He was a false prophet and our belief in Him is misplaced!
We cannot accept the popular theory of the interval within which He remained in the earth as well as the words of Yahshua. There is a distinct irreconcilable disparity between the two that cannot be brushed aside. If, instead of totally ignoring Yahshua's words, we started with the premise that His word is infallible, then rather than accepting the Friday to Sunday theory, we would seek to find out why this popular notion that is conveniently used to bolster Sunday worship is fundamentally flawed. 'Let Yahweh be true but every man a liar,' Rom 3:4. When we delve into this we discover within the Bible itself vital clues that lead to the revelation of the truth.
John records that on the day on which Yahshua was impaled that it was the Preparation Day for the Sabbath, but adds the invaluable information that that Sabbath was a high day, John 19:31. The weekly Sabbath was only one of many Sabbaths that Yahweh had instituted on which no work should be done. (See Leviticus 23) Since creation, the weekly Sabbath has always fallen on the seventh day (Gen 2:3), whereas His special Feast Days or Holy Days occurred at His appointed times and were not tied to a particular day except for the day of Pentecost, which was always on the first day of the week. Many Bibles correctly cross-reference the 'high day' mentioned in John 19:31 to Exod 12:16 or 18, which refers specifically to the First day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and is a Holy day or annual Sabbath. Leviticus 23:5-8 gives the following information on that day and the Feast,
On the fourteenth day of the first month at twilight is Yahweh's Passover. And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the Feast of Unleavened Bread to Yahweh; seven days you must eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall have a holy convocation; you shall do no customary work on it. But you shall offer an offering made by fire to Yahweh for seven days. The seventh day shall be a holy convocation; you shall do no customary work on it.
If we accept, as we ought, the infallibility of Yahshua's actions as well as of His words, the evening before His death, when He ate the Passover Feast with His disciples, would have been at the beginning of the fourteenth day of the month of Abib. He was put to death on Passover Day, which is not a holy day. On the evening after His death was the beginning of the fifteenth day, which was the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and is a Holy Day. It was to this day John was referring when he wrote:
Because it was the Preparation Day, that the bodies should not remain on the [tree] on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away, John 19:31.
Yahshua's prophecy concerning the length of His entombment, as well as the accounts in the evangels, make it clear that this Holy Day could not have coincided with the weekly Sabbath, for, counting three days and three nights from Friday evening, the resurrection could not have taken place before Monday evening. This would have been contrary to all records in the evangels of Matthew- John. Therefore, the first day of Unleavened Bread that began the evening of Yahshua's death had to be on a day of the week other than Friday evening.
Matthew records:
In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre. And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of Yahweh descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it. His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow: And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men. And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Yahshua, which was [impaled]. He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where Yahshua lay, Matt 28:1-6 KJV.
The Darby Version of Mathew 28:1, 2 states,
Late on sabbath, as it was the dusk of the next day after sabbath, came Mary of Magdala and the other Mary to look at the sepulchre. And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of Yahweh, descending out of heaven, came and rolled away the stone and sat upon it, Matt 28:1, 2 Dby.
This is rendered in the American Standard Version as follows:
Now late on the sabbath day, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre. And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of Yahweh descended from heaven, and came and rolled away the stone, and sat upon it, Matt 28:1, 2 ASV.
As the Jewish and Yahweh's days begin at sunset, the expression, as it began to dawn is not referring to the early morning but rather to the commencement of that day, which began at the end of the sabbath (KJV), after the sun was set, or at dusk … after Sabbath, according to the Darby version.
These and other translations make it clear that the two Marys came to the tomb after the Sabbath as it was getting dark, when the first day of the week (according to Jewish and Yahweh's method of determining days) was just beginning. On that evening the angel told them
Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Yahshua who was [impaled]. He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where [Yahshua] lay, Matt 28:5, 6.
Combining this verse with other evidences in Matthew to John, it is clear that He was resurrected at the end of the weekly Sabbath, that is, on a Saturday at dusk.
Counting backwards for three days and three nights we can find out when He was put into the tomb. Three full nights preceding Saturday evening would have been Friday, Thursday and Wednesday. Three full days from that Saturday evening would have been Saturday, Friday and Thursday. This suggests the following order of things: Yahshua had the Passover meal with His disciples on the Tuesday evening, was impaled on the Wednesday, and buried that evening just before the beginning of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. He remained in the tomb for three days and three nights and arose at dusk on Saturday, as the new day was about to begin. This vital conclusion is derived simply by taking as the starting position a firm belief in the authenticity of Yahshua's words, and working backwards from the known evidence of the time of His resurrection.
A verse that is often used to prove that Yahshua rose on Sundaymorning is Mark 16:9, which states:
Now when He rose early on the first day of the week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom He had cast seven demons, Mark 16:9.
There are two objections to this verse being used as evidence of a Sunday resurrection. Firstly, the NUText brackets this verse together with verses 10-20 in this chapter as having not been in the original as they are lacking in the Codex Sinaticus and Codex Vaticanus. The NU is an acronym for the twenty sixth edition of the Nestle Aland Greek New Testament (N) and third edition of the United Bible Society (U).
Secondly, even if it had been in the original, the manuscripts did not have punctuation marks. They were added at some time later. If the comma were placed after the word 'rose,' the verse would read: 'Now when He rose, early on the first day of the week He appeared first to Mary Magdalene,' This is not doing injustice to the Scripture since originally there had not been any punctuation. In the light of the very strong evidence that proves Yahshua arose at the end of Sabbath at dusk, it would be a very flimsy position to insist on the Sunday morning resurrection, based only on the position of a comma that had not been in the original manuscript, and at the same time discard Yahshua's words of the length of time He said He would have remained entombed. If, however, we accepted the possible alternative punctuation, then the last shred of evidence that He arose on a Sunday is removed and there is no Scriptural basis whatsoever for believing that Yahshua rose on the Sunday morning.
Since Yahshua arose at the end of Sabbath, which is known as Saturday evening, then the case for observing Sunday as the day on which He arose is no longer valid. It is important to bear in mind that this conclusion is deduced mainly as a result of believing the words of Yahshua.
The entrance of Your words gives light; It gives understanding to the simple, Psa 119:130.
Here, an implicit belief in Yahshua's words has dispelled the darkness and removed the confusion, mathematical impossibility and implications of a Sunday resurrection. It is inconsistent to express a belief in Yahshua and at the same time pay no attention to what He says. Yahshua said:
Whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall, Matt 7:24-27.
Man's theology will be always warped, confusing and erroneous as long as they ignore Yahshua's words. Yahshua said,
Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfil, Matt 5:17.
Therefore, if once again we believe His words, He has not abolished the fourth commandment of Yahweh. Yahshua was not resurrected on a Sunday and the Sabbath is not changed. It is still the seventh day as Yahweh had declared at Creation. Grace has not displaced the Sabbath law. If you seek to align all of your beliefs with the authentic words of the Bible, you shall discover for yourself the truth and the truth shall set you free from false teachings. 'Let Yahweh be true but every man a liar,' Romans 3:4. Be not deceived!