Was Jesus Entombed 72 Hours? - Part I

Is the phrase "three days" meant to be understood as a literal 72 hours? We look at several verses to get some clues.

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We are going to take this in two parts. In this first one, the phrase "three days" and similar phrases. In the second, the phrase "three days and three nights".

We have important questions to answer. How did ancient Israel count days? Were partial days really counted as whole days? Can Sunday morning be three days from Friday evening? By the end, we will see that a 72-hour literalism is not necessary and a Friday crucifixion scenario is entirely possible.

We are going to let the Bible interpret the Bible.

GENESIS

Let's start at the start, where we will see a pattern emerge.

(GEN. 40: 12-13) 12 And Joseph said to him, “This is the interpretation of it: The three branches are three days. 13 Now within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your place, and you will put Pharaoh’s cup in his hand according to the former manner, when you were his butler.

Joseph interprets a dream for a fellow prisoner, the Chief Butler for Pharaoh. The Chief Butler dreamed of three grape vine branches that budded and fruited. Joseph explained the three branches represented three days of imprisonment. Notice very carefully the timing here. Even though the three branches represent three days, his release would come before the third day was complete.

If we force the Bible to be chronologically literal, one would expect two partial branches and one full. But the full three branches are there, each budding and providing grapes, even though a full three days are not there.

This same thing is repeated in verses 18 and 19, without the happy outcome.

Now, let's see something similar in another place.

(GEN. 42: 17-19) 17 So he put them all together in prison three days. 18 Then Joseph said to them the third day, “Do this and live, for I fear God: 19 If you are honest men, let one of your brothers be confined to your prison house; but you, go and carry grain for the famine of your houses.

Joseph, now the Vizier of Egypt, has imprisoned his brothers in retaliation for selling him into slavery those years ago. Notice very carefully the timing here once again. Joseph's brothers were only in the prison for part of one day, then a full day, and then part of another day, same as the Chief Butler we saw before. Sounds pretty much exactly like Jesus’ death. Yet there the Bible says "three days."

Do you see the pattern emerging already?
     A part of a day counts as the whole.

That is how days are counted throughout the Bible. Our term for this method of counting is "inclusive reckoning". The ancient Jews called this the "onah". The story of Joseph demonstrates inclusive reckoning was used even from early in the Bible.

With inclusive reckoning, all items in a count are included in the count, regardless if they are partial or full. The first day, the last day, and all days in between.

When modern Western minds count days, we might say, "Friday to Saturday, Saturday to Sunday; that's two days." Everyone I have ever seen counts that way when they are trying to demonstrate that the Friday crucifixion timeline doesn't work. But that is not how ancient Jewish minds counted days. They would say, "Friday, Saturday, Sunday; that's three days."
We count objects this same way. 1-2-3-4, etc. We wouldn't count eggs in a carton 1-2, 2-3, 3-4. This changes when we count consecutive days. Not so for ancient minds.
All ancient cultures around the Mediterranean counted time inclusively. For example, in Rome, March 25 would be 8 days before April 1. Both the first and last days in the count are included. We would count 7 days. We usually skip the last day in counts like this because that is the destination so why count it. They did not skip the last day, because they counted inclusively.

Do you see how we count differently today? It would not be proper to force our counting style onto the ancient Jews who wrote the Bible.

If we are not using the Biblical method of counting days, we are guaranteed to misunderstand the timing of the crucifixion.

EXODUS

Here is an even more blatantly plain example from Exodus.

(EXO. 19: 10-11) 10 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their clothes. 11 And let them be ready for the third day. For on the third day the Lord will come down upon Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people."

We could not ask for a more plain example than when God says today, tomorrow, and the third day. What can we conclude? "Third day" means the exact same thing as "day-after-tomorrow."

Understand this happened well into day 1. Moses and the Elders had already gone up and come back down the mountain. Day 1 was well spent. Day 2 would be a full day. On day 3, God would visit the people. This is just like the selections with Joseph.

Do we not see that the Jews were counting time inclusively even from the beginning? It's the same in the New Testament as well.

ACTS AND LUKE

We find another example of inclusive reckoning in Acts 10: 1-30. This is the story of when Peter met Cornelius, the first Gentile to receive the Holy Spirit.

On day 1, after 3 PM Cornelius sends men 36 miles south to Joppa to find Peter.
On day 2, Peter has a vision around noon as Cornelius' men approach Joppa. They stay the night and leave the next day.
On day 3, they travel all day.
On day 4, before 3 PM they arrive at Cornelius' house. In verse 30, Cornelius relates that "four days ago" he sent men.

Cornelius includes his current day in the count. That's inclusive reckoning. Onah!
If we count in the modern, Western way, we would say, "three days ago I sent men," not four. Because we are not using inclusive reckoning.

And yet again, Cornelius ignores the fact that both day 1 and day 4 are only partial days. Day 1 began after 3 PM, and day 4 ends sometime before 3 PM, yet both were included in the count as if they were full days.

Didn't Jesus die at around 3 PM? Yes. According to multiple Gospel accounts, He died around the 9th hour, which equates to 3 PM. The day was practically over. It ended around 6 PM. In Jewish thinking, even at that late hour the day is still included in the count. We can be assured of this by paying attention to Cornelius.

We find another example in Luke 24.

Cleopas and another person (possibly his wife, Mary) were walking to the town of Emmaus on Sunday. Jesus joins them, hiding His identity. Cleopas talks about the events of the past few days. Jesus asks, "What things?" Cleopas responds about the trial and crucifixion, then in verse 21 he says, "Today is the third day since these things happened."

There's that "third day" phrase again. Since we know this is Sunday, we must assign that day 1. Day 2 would be Saturday. Day 3 would be Friday. Friday is the third day before the road to Emmaus discussion. Third day here means "day before yesterday".
A Friday crucifixion scenario works naturally with inclusive reckoning.

Herbert Armstrong was a staunch proponent of the Wednesday crucifixion scenario. He said Jesus died on a Wednesday, on Thursday they set the Roman guards to watch the tomb, on Friday the women of Galilee bought spices, on Saturday Jesus rose from the dead, then on Sunday they found Him alive. He tried to prove this out by counting the wrong way. Let's count the biblical way and see how inclusive reckoning works in this scenario.
Day 1 = Wednesday, day 2 = Thursday, day 3 = Friday. So Friday is the third day from Wednesday. A Wednesday scenario cannot work if we count days as the Bible counts. Saturday is the fourth day from Wednesday. Armstrong also said Cleopas was referring to the setting of the guard. Cleopas never said that. Even so, according to Armstrong, the setting of the guard happened on Thursday. Thursday is the fourth day before Sunday.

None of this works!

For yet another fine example of inclusive reckoning, please see our post "Wednesday Crucifixion? Not Likely".

I was unable to find an example where counting days was clearly done without using inclusive reckoning.

A DISSENT

Now, let's look at an example of someone who disagrees with my conclusions, provided by Herman Hoeh, chief historian of Armstrongism; a man Herbert Armstrong called, "the most accurately informed man in the world."

In his booklet titled "The Crucifixion Was Not On Friday", Hoeh goes to II Chronicles 10, with its parallel in 1 Kings 12. Hoeh then gives us this:

"The people left 'for three days' and did not return until 'after three days' - 'as the king had appointed.' Let us suppose they had first met the king sometime on Friday. As they were ordered to return at the end of three days, they could not have returned before the same time of day the following Monday. Now was Monday “the third day” from the day they had originally met with the King? The first day from that Friday was Saturday; the second day from that Friday was Sunday; and the third day was Monday - exactly the time the king expected them to return."

-Herman Hoeh, "The Crucifixion Was Not On Friday", 1968, pp. 9-10.

Pay very close attention to what Hoeh just did. He makes two unfortunate errors.

1) Hoeh said, "The people left 'for three days' and did not return until 'after three days'." That order is backwards! What Rehoboam told the people to return 'after three days' (v. 5) and they returned on 'the third day' (v.12). You should also know verse 12 is actually a quote of verse 5. Verse 5 doesn't say "after" at all. All this fuss over the word "after" is really making a big deal out of nothing.

2) Hoeh counts incorrectly, using modern counting styles rather than the appropriate inclusive reckoning. We learn elsewhere that Hoeh was fully aware of the onah and inclusive reckoning, he just dismissed it as Pharisaical. But it is not an invention of the Pharisees. The Pharisees coined the phrase "onah" to describe what we call inclusive reckoning, yes, but as we clearly saw in today's post, the counting style is entirely biblical and must not be simply dismissed.

So, not only does Hoeh misquote the selection, he misunderstands the passage entirely. In the end, the best thing we get from Herman Hoeh is a lesson on why paying attention to the details is valuable.

Hoeh's entire point is the people returned precisely when Rehoboam expected them to. With that I agree! If the king asks you to return after the third day but you return on the third day, and everyone is fine with that, then that is a good indicator that everyone understood it the same way and all happened as expected.

I am taking so much time on this for a good reason. It displays something very important. That being, we should accept the phrases "third day", "after three days", and "within three days" all mean exactly the same thing to these people. They were not as chronologically exact as we are. Why is this so important? Because these are the same phrases used to describe Jesus' entombment:

• "The third day" 11 times.
• "In three days" 5 times.
• "After three days" 2 times.
• "On the third day" 1 time.
• "Within three days" 1 time.

Twenty different verses describing one event that happened in one way. They all mean the same thing!

CONCLUSION

Today, we had important questions to answer.

• Does the phrase "three days" mean exactly 72 hours? No.
• Were partial days counted as whole days? Yes.
• How did ancient Israel count days? Inclusively.
• Can Sunday morning be three days from Friday evening? By counting days as the people in the Bible did, yes, it can.

"Three days" means three consecutive days, whether they are full or partial. "Third day" means either "day after tomorrow" or "day before yesterday". The third day from Friday is Sunday. The third day from Wednesday is Friday. The Wednesday crucifixion timeline does not work because it relies on counting the wrong way.

A literalist will insist on 72-hours, but they base that on what, exactly? I find no evidence in the text to support this. My disagreement is based on what, exactly? Multiple verses and cultural context.

We cannot simply take everything literally. If we must take everything Jesus said literally, then we must believe that for 72 hours Jesus was literally in the beating heart, the cardio-vascular system, of the planet. He did say "heart of the earth" after all. No one has a problem with that part of His statement being idiomatic. Yes, dear reader, God sometimes uses colloquialisms and slang terms to communicate with us.

For more, read our post "Three Days and Three Nights".

In the next post, we will see the twenty-first verse where the Bible describes Jesus' entombment.

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It is important that you understand; Everything on this blog is based on the current understanding of each author. Never take anyone's word for it, always prove it for yourself, it is your responsibility. You cannot ride someone else's coattail into the Kingdom. ; )

Acts 17:11

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When Did The Women of Galilee Buy Spices?

Comparing Wednesday and Friday crucifixion timelines to see which best fits the Gospel narrative and first-century customs.

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Sixteen years ago, I did a post called "Two Sabbaths of Matthew 28" where we investigated Herbert Armstrong's Wednesday crucifixion timeline and his claim there were two Sabbaths in that week. We saw several things, one of which was the timing of when the women from Galilee purchased and prepared spices to anoint Jesus' corpse. It recently dawned on me there is no article on As Bereans Did dedicated specifically to this topic. We do go over it in the article I mentioned, but you wouldn't know it was there unless you stumbled over it. I want to correct that. This article is only going to focus on this topic - the women of Galilee and their spices - with no side quests.

To understand this article, you must be familiar with the Wednesday crucifixion scenario. I am going to assume you know it already. In summary, it claims Jesus died on a Wednesday, Thursday was an annual holy day, Friday was a normal week day, and Saturday was the weekly Sabbath. Clearly different from the traditional Friday crucifixion timeline.

Time to dust off the old As Bereans Did patented gauntlet! Will Armstrong's version survive or come out a wreck?

THE SPICE MUST FLOW

For the "final clinching proof" of his Wednesday timeline, Armstrong said this:

"There is only one possible explanation: After the annual high-day Sabbath, the feast day of the days of Unleavened Bread - which was Thursday - these women purchased and prepared their spices on Friday, and then they rested on the weekly Sabbath, Saturday, according to the commandment (Ex. 20:8-11)."
-Herbert Armstrong, "The Resurrection Was Not On Sunday", 1972, p. 13

Is it the only possible explanation, though? Let's find out.
But first, just to be thorough, let's put up the two verses we need.

(MAR 16: 1) Now when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, that they might come and anoint Him.

(LUK 23: 55-56) 55 And the women who had come with Him from Galilee followed after, and they observed the tomb and how His body was laid. 56 Then they returned and prepared spices and fragrant oils. And they rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment.

The women from Galilee are usually recognized as Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, Salome, Joanna the wife of Chuza, and Susanna. There may have been others besides these who went unnamed in the Gospels.
Now, notice Mark says "bought" and Luke says "prepared". They did not have to buy spices twice. Nothing precludes it, but it isn't necessary.
Also notice Mark says after the Sabbath and Luke says before the Sabbath. That's the key here. A contradiction? No. There are explanations. Armstrong says his explanation is the only one and it clinches the debate. Other authors from the Armstrong tradition copy and reprint his booklet almost verbatim, so they must agree. I used to agree, but no longer.

Let's put this into a chart to help you visualize when the women could buy and prepare spices.
The following chart compares the Wednesday and Friday crucifixion scenarios. It gives the date in half days, then shows when the ladies could work versus when they had to rest for religious reasons. The chart starts on the day Jesus was crucified. The chart stops before the Sunday morning when they found Jesus alive.

	Nissan 12 Wednesday	Nissan 12/13 Wed/Thu	Nissan 12/13 Thursday	Nissan 13/14 Thu/Fri	Nissan 14 Friday	Nissan 14/15 Fri/Sat	Nissan 15 Saturday	Nissan 15/16 Sat/Sun
	Day	Night	Day	Night	Day	Night	Day	Night
Wednesday	Work	Rest	Rest	Work	Work	Rest	Rest	Work
Friday	----	----	----	----	Work	Rest	Rest	Work

All the green cells in that chart are opportunities for the ladies to purchase/prepare spices.

In the Friday scenario, the events before Friday are not relevant to the spice purchase. In this scenario, the women inventoried and began preparation of spices and oils on the Friday on which Jesus was crucified, rested as commanded, then bought more spices on Saturday evening after the Sabbath ended.

In the Wednesday scenario, Herbert Armstrong tells us the only possibility was that the women purchased and prepared spices on Friday. But you can see for yourself Friday was not the only opportunity. Remember, Jewish days begin and end at sundown, not midnight. Their options were Wednesday evening before sundown, Thursday evening after sundown, all Friday until sundown, and Saturday evening after sundown.

I want you to consider something ---  a Friday spice purchase is not necessary at all in the Wednesday scenario.

Armstrong prefers a one-time purchase and preparation - his entire case stands on it - but nothing in the Gospel narrative demands this. If all we care about is a one-time event, Thursday evening would have worked just as well as Friday.
Or, the women could have done it in the same way as the Friday scenario - meaning, on two different days. But look at the chart. They could have prepared on any of three other opportunities besides Friday (I grant Wednesday would have been of little use for anything more than getting started). He never explains why he ignores those opportunities. He simply concludes one purchase on Friday and that is that. But if nothing in the language demands it, and there are clearly other options, then why should we insist on it?

We know that Nicodemus brought 100 pounds of myrrh and spices to anoint Jesus before His entombment (JON. 19: 39). Apparently this was something one could do rather quickly. So, there is no good reason to exclude the evening before the crucifixion.
Also, we know from historical sources that shops would be open to the last possible moment before Sabbath began, then they would reopen as soon as possible in the evening after sundown when Sabbath ended, especially at this very busy time of year (for example, read Nehemiah 13: 19). So, there is no good reason to exclude Thursday evening after the annual holy day or Saturday evening after the weekly Sabbath.
These three opportunities are legitimate opportunities.

In case someone from the Armstrong camp wishes to eliminate Saturday evening as an option because Jesus was resurrected on Saturday in their scenario, I remind you this is not about when Jesus was resurrected. This is only about when the ladies bought spices. They didn't know a thing about the resurrection yet. Whether Jesus was resurrected on Saturday evening or Sunday morning is neither here nor there to either scenario.

The Wednesday crucifixion scenario has all the time the Friday crucifixion scenario has plus an entire free day. So, already we have proven Armstrong's version of events is not the "only possible explanation". He simply declares it so.

ALL THE TIME IN THE WORLD

Herbert Armstrong ignored another important point. The biggest issue I have with his explanation is the eagerness of the women to go to the tomb.

One must ask why did they not visit the tomb on Thursday evening or Friday or Saturday evening?

As I said, the Wednesday crucifixion scenario has all the time the Friday crucifixion scenario has plus an entire free day. This is very bad for Armstrong's explanation. If Nicodemus can obtain what he did in such short order, then these women couldn't possibly need all that time. They weren't afraid to travel in the dark, which only adds more time. They could have visited Him at any time on Friday. Why didn't they go? If they were so eager, then why wait until Sunday morning?
In Armstrong's timeline, we must conclude the women were not actually eager at all ...except, inexplicably at 4 AM on Sunday. They sat around for days until they took off like a shot in the dark. This requires some explanation, because the Bible narrative here is about how eager the women were and Armstrong contradicts this. But no explanation is given.

Here's the catch -- they didn't have all the time in the world. There is a hard stop in there.

If we take a note from John 11: 39, they knew the body would stink by day 4. No point in anointing at that stage. The attempt itself would not just be in vain but potentially dangerous. But there is more to it than just this. Jewish writings, such as the Mishnah, tell us more:

"We go out to the cemetery and examine the dead within three days and do not fear [being suspected of] superstitious practices. It once happened that [a man who was buried] was examined [and found to be living], and he lived for twenty-five years and then died."
-Mishnah, Semachot, chapter 8 (from Sefaria.org)

The Jews had a deep respect for the dead. They would want the body cared for quickly and properly. One was even allowed to do certain preparations on the Sabbath (see Mishnah 'Shabbat' 23:4-5), which the women could not do because of the stone. Taken together, we can see the women likely felt pressured to inspect the body and anoint the body on or before day 3.

In the Wednesday scenario, according to how Armstrong counted days, day 4 would be Sunday. That's too late. But if we use inclusive reckoning and count days like ancient Israel did, Saturday is day 4 and Sunday would be day 5 in a Wednesday timeline. From bad to worse. Why would the women waste good time then rush to the tomb when it was far too late?

In the Friday crucifixion scenario, there is a very good reason for why the women were so anxious to get to the tomb on Sunday morning - this was their first real opportunity. And, by inclusive reckoning, Sunday was only day 3.

Does the Wednesday scenario provide the better explanation versus the Friday scenario? I cannot agree that it does. It makes the ladies seem rather aloof and lazy, like the lazy grasshopper who sat around while he should have been working then had to rush, versus the industrious ant who worked hard the entire time.

EASTER SEAL

I ask you to consider another point which greatly complicates Armstrong's timing. The Romans sealed the tomb on the Sabbath after the crucifixion.
Let that idea roll around in your head a bit.

In Armstrong's Wednesday crucifixion scenario, LUK 23: 56 must happen on Friday. Allow me to quote it again, "After the annual high-day Sabbath, the feast day of the days of Unleavened Bread - which was Thursday - these women purchased and prepared their spices on Friday." (Even though "after the Sabbath" began Thursday at sundown.)
But have you read verse 55? It says, "...they observed the tomb and how His body was laid..." It is quite clear, they saw the body.

Now, let's consult Matthew's rendition.

(MAT. 27: 62-66) 62 On the next day, which followed the Day of Preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees gathered together to Pilate, 63 saying, “Sir, we remember, while He was still alive, how that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise.’ 64 Therefore command that the tomb be made secure until the third day, lest His disciples come by night and steal Him away, and say to the people, ‘He has risen from the dead.’ So the last deception will be worse than the first.” 65 Pilate said to them, “You have a guard; go your way, make it as secure as you know how.” 66 So they went and made the tomb secure, sealing the stone and setting the guard.

On the Sabbath which began after the crucifixion - Thursday, according to Armstrong - during the daylight hours, the Romans sealed the tomb.
How, pray tell, could the women go to the tomb on Friday and see the body if the tomb was sealed on Thursday? They could not.

To fix this, we might imagine a day-long gap between Luke 23 verses 55 and 56. The women went to the tomb and saw the body on Wednesday evening - insert gap here - then, on Friday they prepared spices. That seems like the only way to solve this. But it also seems like convenient excuse making. There is nothing in the original Greek which precludes this, but nothing to support it either. In fact, verses 55 and 56 read strongly like one continuous action. Luke is the most chronological of the Gospel writers, after all.

For the sake of argument, let's grant that gap. Now, let's see the issue it has caused.

The ladies took their spices on Sunday morning before sunrise, expecting to have the stone rolled away so they could anoint the body, but the tomb was sealed almost three days before, on Thursday. The women obviously were not yet aware of this seal and guard.
This causes us to ask - why didn't the women know this?

The sealing was quite public, after all. This was not done in a corner. The chief priests and Pharisees all went in a cluster to the Romans, risking ceremonial uncleanliness on a high holy day. It is a hard sell indeed to claim three full days had passed but word hadn't yet gotten around.

Now, which makes more sense regarding the women on Sunday morning:
A) The tomb had been sealed since Thursday, for almost three days now, but the women had not heard about it yet, or
B) The tomb was sealed Saturday, a half day at this point, but the women had not heard about it yet?

I am going with option B!
Considering the amount of interest these ladies had in the death and the amount of time they would have had in a Wednesday scenario, it makes practically no sense at all to go with option A.

So, insert the gap between verses 55 and 56 of Luke 23 to save the Wednesday timeline and you only cause an issue with Sunday morning which harms the Wednesday timeline. The Friday timeline, however, fits naturally.

CONCLUSION

Did Armstrong really deliver the crushing blow of arguments? Does the timing of spice preparation clinch the victory and demonstrably prove there were two Sabbaths? I have no choice but to conclude no.

Wednesday scenario is indeed the only possibility if we insist on one spice preparation. However, there is no good reason to insist on this. Also, in a Wednesday scenario, Sunday is two days past the three-day limit. I think that, when we look at all the details critically, the Wednesday scenario is not a clincher at all but is quite weak because there is more to it than just spice preparations. If we only read Herbert Armstrong's material, the explanation he offers will seem to work. It is only when we question it critically that the issues arise. Armstrong simply ignored the problems his scenario created and hoped we wouldn't notice.

Decide for yourself which scenario best explains the behavior of the women of Galilee. Did they buy and prepare spices during the limited time available then rush to the tomb at the first opportunity, or did they lazily take their time over multiple opportunities, avoiding gossip about Roman guards, then inexplicably decide they needed to rush to the tomb on Sunday morning after the corpse should already have started to stink?

I prefer the Friday timeline for these and many other reasons, and here is how I propose things went:

The timing of Luke 23: 55-56 is one continuous thought with no gap, taking place immediately after Jesus was taken down from the cross on Friday. The ladies observed the way He was buried and considered the burial incomplete. They returned to inventory and begin preparation of spices in the very limited time they had that same evening, concluding they did not have enough material on hand to complete the burial to their preference. I do not think they bought anything this night, only "prepared". They rested on the weekly Sabbath, unable to do anything more or even discuss it - because even discussing what to do after Sabbath would be considered participating in work - while the Pharisees plotted further. At sundown Saturday, they busied themselves with purchasing more spices and finishing the preparation. Then, at the first opportunity early on Sunday - roughly between 4:30-5:00 AM on day 3 by their count - they hurried out, not yet aware the tomb was sealed and under guard.

Rather than clinching the argument, we are left clenching two logical fallacies in the Wednesday scenario:

Circular Reasoning (using something as evidence for itself)
How do we know the crucifixion was on Wednesday? Because the ladies bought spices on Friday. How do we know the ladies bought spices on Friday? Because the crucifixion was on Wednesday.

Begging the Question (assuming the truth of the conclusion without supporting it)
Armstrong concludes the ladies bought spices on Friday, but ignores the opportunities on Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday. He offers no other support for this. He just declares Friday the only option, when it was not.

The flaws in logic we see here are not unique for Armstrong. They are less a one-off mistake and more a way of life.

I know many will punt to "three days and three nights" (we have an article for that), or argue for there being two Sabbaths in Matthew 28 (we have an article for that, too). Today's post is not about those things, so we did not get into them here. I invite you to read our other material on the Categories page which address any additional concerns you may have.

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It is important that you understand; Everything on this blog is based on the current understanding of each author. Never take anyone's word for it, always prove it for yourself, it is your responsibility. You cannot ride someone else's coattail into the Kingdom. ; )

Acts 17:11

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The Road To Sabbatarianism - Part III

Part 3 of 3, where we review some of the chief things that lead a person into Sabbatarianism.

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Today we conclude talking about what, in my experience, are the top things which I've seen over the years that lead a person into Sabbatarianism.

In the previous posts, we saw the road to Sabbatarianism includes:

• Insufficient information,
• Misunderstanding who Jesus is,
• Misunderstanding the two Covenants,
• Misunderstanding the singular nature of the body of laws,
• Not Properly Understanding To Whom The Bible Was Written, and
• Not Properly Understanding the Sabbath itself.

Today's post is going to require everything we've reviewed up to this point. That's why I've saved it for last. (See if you can spot where the points above fit into the scenario below.) Today, we will see two critical errors in understanding, and then we'll see what to do about it.

Please understand that this is a much bigger topic than I can do justice to here. This is merely a surface overview, not a manifesto. I am only touching on things relevant to the topic at hand, and my hope is you will take it from here on your own. I will put some resources at the end to help you further. First, let's see how far you can make it through this post before walking away.

Thinking Laws Define Sin and Righteousness

Sabbatarianism is a symptom of a fundamental misunderstanding about sin and righteousness. 

The base assumption is that law - Old Covenant laws, Ten Commandments especially - defines sin itself, and therefore righteousness. It does not.
And therefore sin is breaking those laws, and righteousness is "keeping" those laws. (Partially keeping, that is.) It is not.
Now that I've lost most of my audience....
Refer back to our very first point in this series. In that post, I said the claim "the Sabbath is necessary for righteousness" is based on a false premise about the law. Let's see why.

Sin Without Law

The first critical error is thinking sin needs a law to exist. This is one side of the coin.

We all know there is such a thing as sin. The legalist mindset equates sin with law-breaking. Sin apart from law doesn't compute. They conclude the Old Covenant law is the only law, and so they imagine the Old law is everywhere - for Cain and Abel, for Gentiles in the New Covenant, and even for the angels. This definition causes other things to make no sense, like "sin nature", the weakness we all have to sin. (If a law isn't written, are we weak to it, or is there more to sin than written laws?) This can be taken to an extreme. "A Christ without law is a false Christ," I've heard it said. As if to say Christ must perpetually be subject to the law, even after His death. Which, of course, is contrary to the law.

If law defines sin, then there cannot be sin without law. Yet, the Bible tells us sin does not need a written law to exist.

(ROM. 2: 12a) For as many as have sinned without law...
(ROM. 5: 13) For until the law sin was in the world...
(GAL. 3: 17a) And this I say, that the law, which was four hundred and thirty years later...
(GAL. 3: 19) What purpose then does the law serve? It was added because of transgressions...

Therefore, the claim must be false.

And before the KJV fans get angry with me, no, I am not ignoring I John 3: 4. (For more, see "Without the Law There Is No Sin".) I want to clarify that I am talking more about sin itself in the larger sense. If there is a Covenant which applies to you and a law is in that Covenant, then yes, breaking that law is a sin (the Old Covenant does not apply to you). I am not saying rules have no part to play at all. But sin in and of itself does not require a law to exist.

Righteousness Without Law

The second critical error is assuming righteousness needs a law to exist. This is the other side of the coin.

Once we equate sin with law-breaking, it seems natural to equate righteousness to law-keeping. What else could it be? Yet, the Bible tells us righteousness does not require a law to keep.

(ROM. 2: 14-15) 14 for when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do the things in the law, these, although not having the law, are a law to themselves, 15 who show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness...
(GAL. 2: 21) I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain.
(GAL. 3: 21) For if there had been a law given which could have given life, truly righteousness would have been by the law.

God is righteous, but not because of keeping laws.

Neither sin nor righteousness require a law. If not by law, then what and how are these things?

Sin

Here is a glimpse into the Sabbatarian thinking:
Murder is wrong? Yes. Adultery is wrong? Yes. Theft is wrong? Yes. Idolatry is wrong? Yes. Then, this means the Ten Commandments are still valid, and therefore Sabbath-breaking is wrong, too. False!

How??

Murder, adultery, idolatry, and etc are sins, it's true, but not because of the Old Covenant law. There is a greater principle at work, which has always been and always will be.

Jesus said the two greatest commandments were to love (MAT. 22: 34-40). Everything else hangs on these (even the Sabbath). Everything in the Old Covenant law is summed up in these two. "Hangs on" indicates dependence; because of; lower than. But above these two is love itself. And God is love (I JON. 4: 7-8). It is the nature of God which is highest. So, any violation of love is a violation of His nature. And therefore, at its very core, sin is a violation of God. David understood this about sin (PSA. 51: 4).

And that extends to us, His images. When we violate (or bless) each other, we violate (or bless) Him (MAT. 25: 40). When Saul persecuted the church, what did Jesus say (ACT. 9: 3-6)?

Sin is not just a violation of God's loving nature, but any aspect of God. His reason, justice, truth, etc. In the Old Covenant period, we see this expressed in laws, laws, laws. Like a nanny guiding Israel (GAL. 3: 23-25). But if laws, laws, laws were all we needed, Jesus never would have arrived in the first place. Now, Jesus has come and that Covenant has gone. Replaced by the very One who built it. In the New Covenant period, things have matured quite a bit. So, sin and righteousness are much more than just lists of laws. Sin and righteousness are distilled to their essence. The law described many good things. Those things do continue, but not because of the law. They continue because of God Himself. This is not a distinction without a difference.

Righteousness

When I was an Armstrongist, we would often say, "Sin is missing the mark." That is a good way to understand it! But what mark? Our answer was the law, of course (the ones we picked). Ironically, that answer misses the mark. If law-keeping were the answer, then the Pharisees would be kings! Yet, Jesus called them lawless (MAT. 23: 28). (You can see "lawless" does not mean "without law".) But if not law-keeping, then what is the standard? Isn't it obvious? If sin is violating God, then righteousness is...

(MAT. 5: 48) Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.
(I JON. 3: 3) And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.
(I PET. 1: 15) but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct

...mirroring Him. God Himself is the target and the standard, and God's holy, righteous perfection is expected of us. Anything less is sin.

Still think you're basically a "good person"?

Wait, what?! I can handle not murdering, but this is too much for me! Woe is me! How do we, mere sinners, ever achieve such a lofty thing??
We cannot. It's impossible.
The law was intended to help Israel realize this. Poorly keeping a handful of laws was never the solution. The law is good, but law-keeping fails because it relies on us. We are the issue.

So, I am offering you impossibility?? No.
But I just said it was impossible! Yes.  ...for us.

Look. Our own righteousness is not what God wants. It's filthy. It's incomplete. It's sporadic. It's imperfect. It's barely better than sin. (ISA. 64: 6; ROM. 3: 10.) The law is great for showing us this wretched condition of ours (and condemning us for it), but it does little at all for fixing it. Remember, it was the people who were the most fanatic about the law that killed the very Law Giver.
Begrudgingly - or worse, self-righteously - doing our law-keeping rituals and thinking it earns something from God is so far from the mark I cannot find a good word for it. Sitting idle for 1/7th of your life certainly is not going to make you more like God. Using the law as a weapon to beat others with, like Satan, when we are supposed to understand our own guilt and therefore act as attorneys for the defense, is among the worst things we can do.

Promising God that this time you're going to try even harder is not the solution. (You know you do it.) The solution to our weakness is His strength. What God wants is His own perfect righteousness within us. That is what righteousness is. His righteousness. Remember MAT. 5: 48.
Not to try harder, but to surrender.

Faith

How can anyone achieve this? Not by law. The law is all or nothing. Sabbatarians are fond of saying, "Jesus did not die so we could continue to sin." Well said! But He also didn't die so we could continue failing to achieve righteousness via the Old Covenant. There is but one way for us: faith!

(ROM. 3: 21-22a) But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, 22 even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe.
(PHP. 3: 9) ...and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith...

This grace comes only by being one with Him through faith, He solves the problem as we are credited His righteousness and covered by His grace. This is about so much more than just forgiveness! In this life and in our present condition, the path to achieving real, biblical righteousness is not to look to ourselves but to Him. His efforts, not ours. His righteousness, not ours. Not to the law, which is beneath, but to faith and love, which is above.

Do me this favor - read the book of Romans again with this in mind. I know you don't agree with me yet, but try anyway. Especially chapters 3 and 4. See for yourself if it fits. But here is one good selection for you:

(ROM. 9: 30-32) 30 What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness of faith; 31 but Israel, pursuing the law of righteousness, has not attained to the law of righteousness. 32 Why? Because they did not seek it by faith, but as it were, by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumbling stone.

Once you see it, you'll see it all over in the New Testament.

(GAL. 5: 5-6) 5 For we through the Spirit eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision [being a Jew with the law] nor uncircumcision [being a Gentile with no law] avails anything, but faith working through love.

Remember this phrase: Jesus is the law-keeper.
(ROM. 5: 19) For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous.
He is the only one who ever truly kept it. He is the only one who could. The law is one indivisible body. Break one and you're broken them all. In over a thousand years of law-keeping, Israel never once achieved the goal. Only Jesus, the True Israel, did. And the Sabbatarian conclusion is even more of the same frustrated failure? No! Jesus Himself tore down that system. And He replaced it with Himself (ROM. 10: 4).

When you conclude righteousness comes from laws, you stumble over Jesus, the source and goal of righteousness. But when you conclude righteousness comes from God to us through faith, you fulfill the goal of the law.

Get this in place first. Then, let our lives be an expression of this truth; of His love. It is the only way.

And that should lead you to realize this: Works are not a cause of righteousness, they are a result.

Righteousness is a proper relationship with God, and works should be an expression of the in-dwelling of the Holy Spirit. For sake of time, I am not going to get into works today. But understand that "works" does not equal law-keeping. It equals love. Faith expressed in works of love. James and Paul, Peter and John all speak the same thing on this. And that is why Paul can say, "for whatever is not from faith is sin," (ROM. 14: 23b), and "love fulfills the law" (ROM. 13: 8-10; GAL. 5: 14; JAS. 2: 8).

Murder is wrong? Correct. Adultery is wrong? Correct. Theft is wrong? Correct. Then we must keep a seventh-day Sabbath, too. False!
How??
The nature of God, and faith working through love! A well-formed conscience that follows the Holy Spirit is not going to be doing evil things. They will be enjoying a Sabbath rest in Jesus Christ.
The Old Covenant and its laws is gone. A direct connection to God is brought in. Faith and love - that is the law in the New Covenant. (It has always been the law. I JON. 2: 7; II JON. 1: 5-6.)

(I JON. 3: 23) And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment.

The road to Sabbatarianism is paved with a fundamental misunderstandings of law, faith, love, sin, and righteousness. Sabbatarianism is not necessarily a detour away from these things, but it very easily can be.

CONCLUSION

I think that's enough. Those are the most important points, in my experience, that lead to Sabbatarianism. These are things I wish I'd known before I "studied" myself into the system. I hope they help you. There are definitely more things that could have been on the list, but I needed to choose only so many or risk dragging this out far too long.

In this series, we saw how the road to Sabbatarianism always involves:

• Insufficient information - The road to Sabbatarianism always involves not having enough accurate information which one needs to truly understand the issue and make truly informed decisions. Hopefully these articles help with this.
• Misunderstanding who Jesus is - This is the most important point in this list. Understanding who Jesus is and what He did, and following that through to its conclusion, is key not just to this but to everything.
• Misunderstanding the two Covenants - We must, must, must comprehend what a covenant is and which Covenant we belong in. Truly understanding this point alone would solve most issues.
• Misunderstanding the singular nature of the law - There are not 10 laws, nor 20, nor 500, but 613, in the Old Covenant. Do not add to nor take away from them. Keep all the law, or you're not keeping the law at all. Jesus is the only one who ever has, or could.
• Misunderstanding to whom the Bible was directly written - It wasn't to "us". But it was for us.
• Misunderstanding the Sabbath in the New Covenant - Going to church on Sabbath is never commanded anywhere in the Bible. Not once. Rest is, though. But the Sabbath day never gave rest. A new rest was promised and now it is delivered. The rest is by faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ. The rest is for our very souls.
• Misunderstanding sin and righteousness - Both sin and righteousness exist apart from laws. Laws only put sin on display and condemn us. Righteousness and sin are not in laws, but in our proper relationship with God. A rightly ordered relationship with God is bounded by the New Covenant. Believe, have faith, and stay true to the Covenant God made with you, and you will be counted as righteous by faith. Same as Abraham. Then, go, love God and one another.

If you spend just a little of your precious time to study these things before you rush off to a Sabbatarian church, you may just save yourself quite a bit of headache later on down the road.

Most of my target audience will never read this far. It is simply too much for the legalist mindset to accept. You, dear reader, are to be commended for making it to this point. Have these been difficult things? I do apologize. I honestly feel like this is a Christianity 101 series. The basics. At least they ought to be basics. If modern church leaders would do their jobs properly, they would be. I know this can be a very difficult topic until it "clicks" (sometimes, even afterward). There is a lot more to this topic than I can get to here. So, to help you further, I suggest a few articles:
"Without the Law There Is No Sin"
"Sin And The Law"
"Covenant Loyalty, Righteousness In Faith"
"Are The Ten Commandments Removed?"
"Works, Faith and Salvation - or Faith and Parachutes, Part 2"
"Faith, What It Aint"
"What Use Is The Old Law?"
"Common Legalist Arguments part VI"

Our Categories page has quite a few more articles to help you now that you have the basics.

Our friends over at the "God Cannot Be Contained" blog also have some very helpful material for you. They would love to help you along your journey to understanding.
Also, Rescue Ministries International has a fabulous article on the Sabbath which I highly recommend, titled "The Sabbath, the Patriarchs, and the Sinai Covenant".

I leave you with a prayer, dear reader, beloved by God. I pray the Holy Spirit fill you and guide you to a fuller, deeper faith and love in and through Jesus Christ to the glory of the Father. I pray you will be led by the Holy Spirit to a truer understanding and a more meaningful walk with Him in the New Covenant.

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It is important that you understand; Everything on this blog is based on the current understanding of each author. Never take anyone's word for it, always prove it for yourself, it is your responsibility. You cannot ride someone else's coattail into the Kingdom. ; )

Acts 17:11

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