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The resurrection of Jesus from the dead is an established fact for the true followers of Jesus the Messiah. However, there is one extremely important aspect of this event that most seem to ignore or gloss over. That is his prophetic utterance concerning his stay in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights.
Why is it extremely important? It is important because of the statement he made to those who wanted a sign, validating his Messiahship. He told them that they were an "evil and adulterous generation", requiring a sign. But he gave them a sign, ONLY ONE SIGN, The sign of Jonah.
We do not understand that if this sign that he gave, is not fulfilled exactly as he stated, then his claim to be the Messiah of Israel falls to the ground. This is the reason this sign is extremely important. It goes to the heart of Jesus' legitimate claim to be the Messiah of Israel.
I believe most have accepted the conventional wisdom that says this statement is to be understood symbolically and not to be taken in the literal sense. This is a grave error on our part. Most do not know how grave an error we are dealing with.
I am going to share with you just one example of how far those who defend the Friday to Sunday theory are prepared to go.
William Barclay, a renowned and highly respected scholar, in his writing The Gospel of Matthew, The New Daily Study Bible, makes this observation concerning the statement of Jesus as found in Matthew 12:38-40,
Matthew says that the sign is that, as Jonah was in the belly of the whale three days and three nights, the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights. It is to be noted that these are not the words of Jesus, but the explanation of Matthew1
I didn't realize that Mr. Barclay was so old. I had no idea that he was there in person to know what words were spoken by Jesus and which ones weren't. Matthew must have been out collecting taxes that day and missed that lesson. Mr. Barclay continues,
The fact is that Matthew understood wrongly the point of what Jesus said; and in so doing he made a strange mistake, for Jesus was not in the heart of the earth for three nights, but only for two. He was laid in the earth on the night of the Good Friday and rose on the morning of the first Easter Sunday.2
According to Mr. Barclay, it is a FACT that Matthew made a mistake and misunderstood the words and intent of Jesus, but Mr. Barclay, removed by almost 2,000 years understands the words of Jesus better than the one who heard Him in person. Amazing.
Allow me to submit to you the logical outcome of such a position. If Matthew made a mistake and misunderstood Jesus, then so could Mark, Luke, John, Peter and Paul. Every word in the Bible is now up for debate as to its trustworthiness. The validity of the words are judged by how well they fit our own theological musings and traditions.
Full well ye reject the commandment (words) of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.
Do you see how twisted we have become. We are prepared to sacrifice the very words of Jesus himself in order to maintain our own traditions. That is an evil and adulterous generation.
I tremble to reach as far as Mr. Barclay aspires to.
This practice of using the Friday to Sunday scenerio as the starting point and then making the Scriptures fit the scenario is quite a common practice. It seems to be the modus operandi for the bulk of all Biblical commentators. Someone once rightly observed,
"If you torture the Scriptures long and hard enough, they will eventuallly admit to anything".
The writings contained herein are based upon the position, that the prophetic utterance of Jesus, concerning his stay in the 'heart of the earth', is to be taken literal. It will be shown
The reasons for the theological change to a Sunday morning resurrection, is due to the efforts of the early Western/Roman Church, to distance itself from its Hebraic roots, in order to escape the persecution of the Jews by the Roman government. Also this change is to validate the decision to change the day of honoring God from Sabbath to the Sun's Day. If we are to be loyal to the Faith of our Fathers, we must reclaim that which was ours from the beginning. This is only one, of many such things to be regained.
The original text contained herein was written as a thesis, in 1996. Since then it has undergone countless drafts to finally congeal in its present, albeit abbreviated form, which I hope you will find understandable and readable. It is hoped, that this effort will inspire you to believe the words of the Lord Jesus, and to study the Word more from its original context, insteading of reading this Jewish book, the Bible, from a western mindset.
"These things were written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name" [John 20:31]
