THE EDITOR, Sir:RJR'S RELIGIOUS Hard Talk on Sunday April 20, 2003, featured a 'sin side' discussion on the death/resurrection of Jesus Christ. It was not a 'sin side' because the host Ian Boyne (Pastor of Church of God International) teamed up with one of his deacons, George Ramocan against Catholic deacon/pastor, Peter Espeut.
It was a 'sin side' because Peter was engaged in a biblical discussion, pre-recorded (not live), and not only did not have a Bible with him but revealed surprising ignorance or forgetfulness of some basic biblical passages pertaining to the death/resurrection of Jesus. Passages that could easily demolish the argument put to him, that Jesus died on a Wednesday and rose on a Saturday.
TWO THINGS
Even without a Bible, Peter should have called to mind two things that are destructive of the Wednesday/Saturday thesis.
One, the two on the road to Emmaus, late Sunday afternoon said to Jesus "-this is the third day since these things happened-" (Luke 24.1, 13, 21).
None of the discussants even alluded to this passage. Yet, I know, as an absolute fact, that Ian is aware of this passage and the fact that it is destructive of his church's doctrinal position. I have discussed the passage with him.
If Jesus really died on a Wednesday, then Sunday would be, as the Jews then reckoned days, the fifth day since Jesus died (fourth in our reckoning). The Jews then, counted days inclusively and a portion of a day or night was regarded as the whole day and night. So, the third day from an event includes the day when the event happened.
Rabbi Eleazar ben Azariah, who lived about AD 100, stated, "A day and a night are an Onah ['a portion of time'] and the portion of an Onah is as the whole of it." (Jerusalem Talmud, Shabbath 9, 3). For examples of inclusive reckoning elsewhere in the Bible interestingly, on the same 3 days, 3 nights span of time see Esther 4.16 and 5.1, also I Samuel 30.12-13.
The second thing that Peter should have remembered is the sequence of days concerning the death/resurrection of Jesus. All the gospel writers are united on this. Jesus died on Friday or preparation day, the next day was a Sabbath, then the next day was the first day of the week, Sunday (Matthew 27.57-62; 28.1; Mark 15.42; 16.1-2; Luke 23.54-56; 24.1; John 19.31, 42; 20.1)
TWO FULL DAYS
By linking, the beginning of the Sabbath to the end of the preparation day, and the beginning of the 'first day of the week' to the termination of the Sabbath, the gospel writers leave absolutely no room for two full days to intervene between the crucifixion and the resurrection.
Just think about it, the women were eager to anoint Jesus' body but were delayed because the Sabbath was the following day. On the spurious Wednesday scheme they would have been delayed because of the Thursday (Passover) Sabbath, but then why did they not go to anoint the body on the Friday?
For more details on this issue and for refutation of the theories that seek to gainsay the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ see my cassette, The Resurrection of Jesus: Saturday or Sunday, Fact or Fiction?
I am, etc.,
CLINTON CHISHOLM
