1. By carefully examining the Gospels we can know the truth about the Lord's death, burial, and resurrection. a. Jesus was crucified on the day of preparation [Friday]. b. His body was buried late in the afternoon of the same day. c. A number of women intended to provide additional care for the Lord's body after the Sabbath [Saturday]. d. When the women arrived at the tomb on the first day of the week [Sunday], Jesus had been resurrected. 2. Following His resurrection, Jesus made numerous appearances, several of which we noted previously. 3. Before we examine additional appearances, let us first consider . . .
Discussion:
I. HOW LONG JESUS WAS IN THE TOMB
A. Jesus spoke about how long His body would remain in the tomb on many occasions, and He used a variety of expressions. 1. (Matthew 12:40) "So shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth" (Jonah 1:17). 2. (Matthew 17:22-23) "The third day He shall be raised again." 3. (Mark 8:31) ". . . after three days rise again." 4. (Mark 9:31) "He shall rise the third day." 5. (Mark 10:34) "The third day He shall rise again." 6. (John 2:18-19) "In three days I will raise it up." B. To us, these statements may seem to be contradictory; however, let us determine how the Jews understood them. 1. (Matthew 27:62-64) Those who wanted Pilate to post a guard at the tomb quoted Jesus as saying, "After three days I will rise again;" however, they wanted the tomb secured "until the third day." 2. (Mark 14:55-58) When Jesus was tried before Caiaphas, witnesses charged Him with saying that He would build another temple "within three days." 3. (Mark 15:29-30) Those who mocked Jesus while He was on the cross said that He would build the temple "in three days." 4. The Jews understood the Lord's statements to mean that something would happen to His body on the third day [Sunday]. C. The Hebrew people had been using similar statements for many years. 1. Genesis 42:17-18 2. 1 Kings 12:5, 12 3. Esther 4:16; 5:1 D. There is no contradiction about how long Jesus' body was in the tomb. 1. Bible characters used various expressions to refer to the same period of time: "three days and three nights," "after three days," and "on the third day." 2. Jesus was crucified on Friday, His body was buried Friday afternoon, His body remained in the tomb on Saturday, and He was resurrected early on Sunday.
II. LET US CONSIDER 2 ADDITIONAL OCCASIONS WHEN JESUS APPEARED TO WITNESSES AFTER HIS RESURRECTION
A. Jesus appeared to the apostles when Thomas was absent (John 20:19-25). B. Jesus appeared to the apostles when Thomas was present (John 20:26-29). C. Thomas believed because he saw the Lord -- John recorded evidence to lead us to believe, even though we cannot see Jesus with our eyes (John 20:30-31).
