I care.
Why?
Because scripture clearly records Jesus speaking of three days and three nights in the tomb.
Can’t get that out of Friday afternoon till Sunday. No way, no how.
And it matters, because in order to accept a Friday crucifixion, we have to agree that scripture is inaccurate. We have to invent excuses to make our notions work.
It’s not necessary.
Just go read what the recorded gospels say, with new eyes. Forget tradition.
Here’s what happened, according to scripture:
The Lamb of God rode into Jerusalem on Sunday in a procession similar to that ceremony in which the ceremonial passover lamb was traditionally presented at the Temple prior to the feast. The ceremonial lamb would be on display at the Temple during Passover week, prior to the sacrifice.
The Lamb of God would spend those days teaching at the Temple, on display, so to speak.
On the afternoon of Preparation Day for the Passover, as faithful Jews and priests began to perform the sacrificial ritual of killing spotless lambs in the Temple, the true Lamb was dying nailed to a cross on the outskirts of town.
The lamb’s throat would be cut, the blood drained into bowls and passed to the altar. Singers accompanied the ritual. Smelly, nasty, necessary — and then it got dark.
It got dark like night, and it wasn’t an eclipse. The Passover full moon was on the other side of the earth. Then the ground shook, and cracked, and the tall curtain that separated the High Priest’s innermost court from the public torn from top to bottom. Not bottom to top, for men could do that. Top to bottom.
A Passover to remember, a nightmare scene. Never in the history of humanity had mankind so completely missed the boat, rejecting the Son of God to cling to their rites and roles.
The city grew quiet, the Passover Sabbath the next day on which no one could work, followed by the weekly sabbath. Three dark days, one of sacrifice, two of quiet, probably among earthquake damage that couldn’t be cleaned up, an unnerved populace unsure of what has happened.
Then Sunday morning dawns, and a new era of grace and mercy. The ultimate sacrifice has been made, those of us choosing to stand under the blood-covered doorposts passed-over forever.
Like our savior, death may claim our bodies, but we triumph in the end.
concentrating on such irrelevent details is sometimes the very thing that separates us. Was Christ born on December 25th....who cares, He was indeed born. Easter has been bounced around forever but the exact date is not really meaningful The event itself, however, is of paramount importance to us and our salvation....I kind of thought that He would rise on the third day....as in Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.....just saying