The 9th
hour of the preparation day. Reference:
Matthew
27:45-50, 62; Mark 15:33-39, 42; Luke 23:44-46, 54; John 19:14, 31,
42
Christ was
placed on the stake at the 3rd hour, Mark 15:25. From the
6th hour until the 9th there was darkness over
the land, Mark 15:33.
About the 9th
hour Christ died.
The 9th
hour is equivalent to 3:00 in the afternoon. As the gospels relate,
at the 9th hour, after He cried out to the Father, Christ
died. Yet His body remaining on the stake until the evening (Christ
was dead awhile. cf. Mark 15:44-45).
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Reference:
Mathew 27:57-60;
Mark 15:42-46; Luke 23:50-54. John 19:30-42.
During the even,
the 12th hour of the day, Christ was placed in the tomb.
The evening of a
day commences at the 12th hour of the day. Reference:
Matthew 20:6-12. Verse 6 read: the 11th hour.
Then verse 8 read even was come. The even would be the 12th
hour. Why? Christ said "are there not 12 hours in the day" (John
11:9). The 12th hour is the last hour of the day and is
called the evening. When the 12th hour (even) of the
preparation day came, Joseph Arimathea asked for the body of Christ
to put into the tomb.
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After the
evening (the completion of the 12th hour) of the
preparation day concluded, the night (also known as the 1st
hour of the night) of the next (new) day commenced.
That new day was
the Sabbath (High Day) Matthew 27:62; Mark 15:42; Luke 23:54; John
19:31 and was also called the First Day of The Feast of Unleavened
Bread, a High Day.
The first day of
Unleavened Bread was the 1st Day of the required 3 days
and 3 nights in which Christ had to be in the tomb.
It was necessary
and required that Christ be in the tomb
3 days and 3 days.
Notice: Matthew
12:39-40.
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"But he answered
and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after
a sign: and there shall be no sign given to it but the sign of Jonas
the prophet: For as Jonas was three days and three nights
in the whale's belly; so shall the
Son of Man be three days and three nights in
the heart of the earth."
Three days and
three nights equates to 72 hours.
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Elements to
consider about 72 hours in the tomb:
Did Christ say
he would be in the heart of the earth 72 hours?
No! And the
reason is obvious. The hour (60 minutes) which we utilize today was
not yet in practice then. The sundial was operational then and
helped mark off time. One could know the 3rd hour, the 9th
hour, the 11th hour, etc by the positioning of the sun
(in the sky and on the sundial). Within each hour degrees of that
hour were marked off. But for that generation, precision of minutes
was not an exacting practice.
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We do know that
Christ was in the tomb for 3 days and
3 nights.
Just how close
to the 73rd hour (or the beginning of the 4th
day) was he resurrected?
Was it around
the 9th hour of the 3rd day? Was it around the
12th hour of the day?
We do know that
Jesus was resurrected on the 3rd day. We know he had to
be resurrected before the 4th day or before the 73rd
hour had commenced.
Consequently, He
was raised no later than the completion of the evening (12th
hour) of the 3rd day, which also was called the weekly
Sabbath day.
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Clearly Christ
would be raised on the 3rd day. Reference: Matthew
16:21, 17:23, 20:19; Mark 8:31, 9:31, 10:34; Luke 9:22, 18:33, 24:7;
John 2:19 (21); I Corinthians 15:4.
Why did Christ
have to be raised on the 3rd day; why the requirement for
3 days and 3 nights?
Read Acts 2:31,
"He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that His
soul was not left in hell (the grave), neither his flesh did see
corruption." Peter spoke, quoting from Psalm 16:10 "For thou will
not leave my soul in hell: neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One
to see corruption."
The word corruption comes from the
Greek diaphthora meaning decay or corruption.
Notice Acts 13:33-37. "God hath fulfilled the same unto us their
children, in that he raised up Jesus again; as it is written in the
second psalm, Thou art my Son, this day I have begotten thee. And as
concerning that he raised him up from the dead, now no more to
return to corruption, he said on this wise, I will give you the sure
mercies of David. Wherefore he saith also in another psalm, Thou
shalt not suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. For David after
he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell on sleep
and was laid unto his fathers and saw corruption: But he whom God
raised up saw no corruption."
Conclusion -
Jesus (His flesh) saw no corruption, no decay. For three days and
three nights Christ was in the heart of
the earth, in (hell) the grave.
If Jesus were in
the tomb longer than 3 days and 3 nights, into the 4th
day, he would have begun to decay. Consequently, if Jesus were in
the tomb longer than three days and three nights, he (His flesh)
would have seen corruption.
Notice John
11:17. "Then when Jesus came, he found that he had lain in the grave
four days already." Now verse 39, "Jesus said, Take ye away the
stone. Martha the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord,
by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days."
Lazarus was
beginning to stink because he was beginning to see corruption/decay
as he was now in the tomb (grave) four days.
If Christ were
to have remained dead into the fourth day, beyond the third day, he
would not have fulfilled David's prophecy pertaining to the Holy One
and corruption because Jesus would have begun to see corruption.
3 Days and 3
Nights were required. No more and no less.
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