According to the Scriptures
In his First letter to the Corinthians, Paul declares, "For I delivered
to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died
for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried,
that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures"
(15:3, 4, ESV). Of course, when Paul refers to "the Scriptures," he
means what we call the Old Testament. When stating that Christ died for
our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, he no doubt had in mind
passages like Isaiah 53. But what about his statement that Christ was
raised on the third day, according to the Scriptures? In fact, nowhere
does the Old Testament specifically prophesy that anyone would rise
from the dead in three days. What Paul says is that this teaching is in accordance with
the Scriptures. This means that it is consistent with the teachings of
the Old Testament. What one does find is a consistent pattern
throughout the Old Testament of gracious, victorious, and holy events
occuring "on the third day."
First, one needs to understand the concept of inclusive reckoning. Everyone
(at least in the United States) has probably heard of how a baby born
exactly at 11:59 p.m. on December 31st is considered a dependent for
the entire year and can be claimed as such on one's income tax returns.
Had the baby been born a minute later, on January 1st, the child could
not be claimed until the next year's returns. The Internal Revenue
Service of the United States practices inclusive reckoning. As
far as birth is concerned, any part of the year counts for that year.
In Biblical culture, where people walked everywhere they went, any part
of a day was considered that day.
For this reason, the phrases "in three days," "after three days," and
"on the third day" are synonymous. An astute student of the Jewish
Scriptures would have been familiar with the biblical pattern of "three
days." Look at some of the following examples:
Genesis 22: 4. "On the third day" Abraham saw the place where he was
to sacrifice his son, Isaac, only to have the Angel of the Lord stop
him from doing so. In the New Testament, Abraham’s willingness to offer
Isaac in sacrifice was seen as evidence that he believed in the
resurrection of the dead (Hebrews 11:19).
Genesis 40:13. Joseph interprets the dream of a man who had been
demoted, telling him that within “three days” Pharaoh will restore him
to his office.*
Genesis 42:18. "On the third day" Joseph released one of his brothers from prison.
Exodus 10:23. "For three days" the plague of darkness covered Egypt before ending.
Exodus 15:22. The Israelites wandered in the wilderness "for three days" before they found water.
Leviticus 7:17, 18 (cf. 19:6, 7). The sacrifice was to be eaten, with none of it left over, by "the third day."
Numbers 10:33. The Israelites took a journey of "three days" from the Mountain of God before finding a resting place.
Joshua 1:11. "In three days" the Israelites will cross over the Jordan River and enter the Promised Land.
Judges 14:14. For "three days" Samson’s riddle could not be solved.
I Samuel 30:12. An Egyptian, who had gone "three days" without food or water, was revived by king David.
Ezra 6:15. The building of the Temple was completed "on the third day"
(Jesus referred to his own body that, if destroyed, he would rebuild
"on the third day," John 2:19-22).
Ezra 8:15. The people camped by the river for "three days" before finally returning from Exile to the city of Jerusalem.
Esther 4:16. Queen Esther had her fellow Jews fast for "three days" before she approached King Mordecai.
Esther 5:1. "On the third day" Queen Esther put on her royal robes and
entered the presence of King Mordecai, having found favor in his sight.
Hosea 6:2. "After two days he [God] will revive us; on the third day
he will raise us up, that we may live before him" (ESV).
Jonah 1:17. Jonah was in the belly of the fish (or whale) "for three
days" and three nights (Jesus cites this story specifically in
reference to his own resurrection from the dead in Matthew 12:40).
When faced with the possibility of the Messiah rising from the dead,
the natural question would be, "When?" Immediately? That would be too
soon--and critics could argue that he never really died. After forty
days? Forty is certainly a biblical number with strong precedence--but
that would be too long, and decay would have done its work. Seven was
a popular number in the first century (and gets a lot of use in the
Book of Revelation), but one with a thorough knowledge of Scripture
would eventually recall the consistent pattern of the three days, and
could easily conclude that the Messiah would rise "on the third day, in
accordance with the Scriptures."
On the road to Emmaus, the
risen (and unrecognized Christ) met up with two of his disciples who
were grieved over the death of Jesus. "But we had hoped that he was the
one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third
day since these things happened" (Luke 24:21). They then report how
some of their women claimed to find an empty tomb and a vision of
angels declaring that Christ had risen. What was Jesus' reply? "'O
foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have
spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things
and enter into his glory?' And beginning with Moses and all the
Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things
concerning himself" (vv. 25-27).
The lessons for us here are
many, not the least being the need for us to understand the
Scriptures--to familiarize ourselves so thoroughly with them, that we
are not found to be foolish and slow of heart to believe what they say:
"Make me understand the way of your precepts, and I will meditate on
your wondrous works" (Psalm 119:27, ESV).