When did Jesus rise from the dead?

Recently, someone pointed out to me that Jesus must have resurrected from the death on the Sabbath because of Matthew 28:1. It states in that text that the women came to the tomb late on the Sabbath. If the tomb was empty because Christ had already risen, does this mean He resurrected on the Sabbath? Let’s take a closer look.

To make this simple, we will see that the more accurate translations of Matthew 28:1 read like this: “after the Sabbath day, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week…” We must first establish when Christ died. In Mark 15:42, we read that Jesus died the day before the Sabbath. This day was also called the preparation day (Luke 23:54, Matt. 27:62). Without a doubt, Christ was crucified on the sixth day of the week.

Now let’s turn our attention to the statements made concerning the length of time the Lord would spend in the grave. Jesus clearly said that He would be killed and be raised the third day (Matt. 16:21). The same thing was stated in Mark 8:31. On another occasion, the Lord said He would be three days and three nights in the grave (Matt. 12:40).

It is vital to understand how the Jews reckoned time. The Jews told Pilate that the body should not be on the cross on the Sabbath (John 19:31). This is why they wanted His legs broken on the cross – to ensure He died before the Sabbath. Since the text stated “for the Sabbath was a high day”, it meant that the Sabbath was near. It started at 6 pm that evening and lasted until 6 pm the next day.

Knowing all of this, let us revisit the accounts of the women coming to the tomb. The descriptions in Luke and John both state that the women came on the first day of the week (Mark 16:1-2; Luke 24:1; John 20:1).  In Mark’s account, he said they came when the Sabbath was past and on the first day of the week (Mark 16:1-2). Based on this, we can understand that when some versions of the Bible say that the women came at the end of the Sabbath, they are not also saying that Jesus resurrected on the Sabbath. Consider Matthew 28:1 again. It says that the women came “as the first day of the week began to dawn.”  Since the Sabbath ended 6 pm the night before, the first day of the week was close to being half over by the time dawn arrived.

Now let’s focus on some serious problems people have by insisting that Jesus resurrected on the Sabbath. If Jesus was taken down from the cross just before the Sabbath day began, He would not have spent three days in the grave. This would conflict with Jesus’ many statements about spending three days in the grave. We would also have to question whether Paul was truly inspired by Jesus Christ as he preached this point too (Gal. 1:12; I Cor. 15:4).   

We should also question why some people are so adamant that Jesus resurrected on the Sabbath. In some cases, it is because they want to give the Sabbath even more significance. Christians came together on the first day of the week to remember the sacrifice of Christ (Acts 20:7). Christians were never obligated to keep the Sabbath because Jesus nailed the Old Law to the cross (Col. 2:14). If Jesus did not resurrect on the first day of the week, then those who insist He rose on the Sabbath will struggle to harmonize several areas of scripture.

Jesus’ enemies put guards at the tomb because they knew He said He would rise in three days (Matt. 27:64). It would have been easy for them to discredit Jesus if He did not rise as He said He would. But Jesus did rise, so all His enemies could do was to bribe the soldiers to lie (Matt. 28:11-13). We can see clearly that Jesus spent three days in the grave and arose on the first day of the week.

   Chuck 

Are Christians brainwashed?

If you read the first article carefully,  you will realize that Christians are not brainwashed. Being a Christian means a person must reason and come to proper conclusions on their own. If saints are instructed to come to their own conclusions, are Christians thus allowed to believe whatever they want? Only if they ignore the word of God.

Children of God are supposed to only speak by the oracles of God (I Pet. 4:11; II Tim. 3:16). How then can we say that Christians are also supposed to think on their own? To answer this, we must understand the concepts of general and specific authority. For example, husbands and wives are to have their own mate to love (Eph. 5:28; Titus 2:4). Yet, the Bible does specifically state how the husband and wife can demonstrate their love for one another. They are simply required to think of ways to please them (I Cor. 7:33).

If married couples were brainwashed, they would mindlessly go through the motions of doing things they were programed to do and would not consider whether their spouse actually appreciated these gestures.  The same goes for Christians in all other areas of their lives. They are to be hospitable (Rom. 12:13). But how is that to be done? One Christian might demonstrate hospitality by letting visiting Christians stay in their home overnight. Another Christian might demonstrate hospitality by having a family over to share a meal.  Or by hosting several families for a meal. Or by taking a fellow Christian out to eat. The point is that Christians are told to be hospitable – a general command – but that there are several specific ways to accomplish this. These specifics are left to the Christian.

If God’s people were brainwashed, then nothing that was offered to the Lord would be genuine. Something cannot be done out of free-will if that person does not even have a will. This explains why Christians are told such words as, “beware”, “watch”, “take heed”, “choose”, etc. Just as God’s people can choose to serve faithfully, they can also choose to disobey (Matt. 13:18-23).

                                                                                        Chuck

Are you a good recruit for a cult?

Based on my experiences, members of cults seem to share some common characteristics. This article will examine the qualities that make a person a prime target for recruitment into a religious cult. We will do this by noting people in New Testament times who exhibited the same traits and became victims of false teachers.

Be influenced more by the teacher than the teaching

An example of this is found in Acts 14:8-18. Paul and Barnabas healed a man. The people tried to worship them as Gods, but Paul and Barnabas insisted that they were just men and should not be treated that way (verses 12-14). Even after this, they could not stop the multitude from sacrificing to them (verse 18). This happened with teachers who tried to stop correct the crowd - imagine what could happen if Paul and Barnabas encouraged the crowd to worship them instead! Cult teachers tend to be intimidating to begin with. When they find someone who can be so influenced by a teacher, they will have an easy time recruiting followers.

Do not question the teacher nor their teachings

Stories about the shady practices of cult leaders are easy to find in the media, yet their followers are often not dissuaded. Why not? Followers have blind allegiance and refuse to ask hard questions about the cult, its leaders, its teachings, etc. Not only that, followers will defend their actions and teachings. This sounds Biblically familiar.

Jesus asked, “Can the blind lead the blind? Will they not both fall into the ditch? A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is perfectly trained will be like his teacher,” (Luke 6:39-40). Just as a righteous teacher can foster righteous disciples, false teachers can foster lost, unquestioning followers.

Avoid those who believe differently

The biggest fear cults have is losing their converts. If they had the truth, they would not have to be afraid. However, they want complete and utter control of all their members. This is achieved by isolating them from family and friends. They are trained only to talk with those who will listen and not question – other people like them. In contrast, Christians are encouraged to associate with non-Christians in order to have a positive influence (Matt. 5:13-16; I Cor. 7:13-16, I Cor. 5:9-10). We do not want Christians to fall away but also do not fear a fallen Christian exposing “secrets” or the inner-workings of the church like those who leave cults tend to do.

Develop an irrational confidence in the cult’s teaching

Christians are told to examine themselves regularly to make sure they are in the faith (II Cor. 13:5). Many Christians, including the apostles, had to be rebuked for doing things that were wrong (Gal. 2:11-12; Gal. 1:6-9; I Cor. 5:1-2; Acts 5:1-5). I have been in many studies with those who belong to cults. I consistently tell them that while I do not believe I am wrong, I will certainly admit that I am if it can be proven. When I ask them to state the same, they refuse. Why? They are puffed up and think the cult is infallible. We all need to remember the words in Romans 12:3, “…not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.”

Cults only have as much power as their members give them. Let us consider these Biblical examples and remember that faith grounded in genuine truth has nothing to hide!

                                                                                  Chuck

Kicking a habit is not conversion

I think it is great when people tell me they no longer do a certain sin that they were a slave to for a long time. I know a man who got up one morning and said, “That’s it, I am not smoking anymore.” This man smoked all day, every day for 30 years until he quit. As wonderful as that is, it was not a conversion.

People kick all kinds of bad habits. Some do it for health reasons. Others do it for financial reasons. Some even do it for the Lord. But again, stopping a sinful behavior does not automatically make everything right with you and the Lord. That may seem odd, especially if you did it because of the Lord. Let’s take a closer look.

In Acts 3:19, Peter stated, “Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out…”  It is one thing to stop doing a certain sin, but getting it blotted out is another thing altogether.  Many people forget is that there are consequences to sin. It brings forth spiritual death (Rom. 6:23). This spiritual death means we are separated from God (Isa. 59:1-2; I Pet. 3:12). Knowing this, it is illogical expect that everything is restored as soon as we stop committing wrong.

Imagine a husband who constantly beats his wife. One day he wakes up and says to his wife, “I have decided not to beat you anymore.” Does the wife thank him and rejoice now that everything is okay?  Of course not. Where is the man’s sorrow and the repentance? We are told that godly sorrow leads to repentance (II Cor. 7:10).  Those who want to be saved must repent and then get baptized for the remission of their sins (Acts 2:38; 22:16). We need to make things right with the Lord, not just quit our wrongdoing.

To make things right, we must turn away from sin. However, we must also turn to the Lord and seek forgiveness. If we do not turn to Him, then we are just changing a behavior for ourselves. Christians are to live their lives for the Lord, so consider Him when you are deciding how to proceed in daily life.

  Chuck

Reach out or avoid? 

As students of the word, we sometimes come across passages of scripture that seem to conflict. For example, we read that we are to go into the world to teach the lost (Mark 16:15; Matt. 9:13), yet we are also warned that that evil company corrupts good habits (I Cor. 15:33). What should God’s children do – spend time with the lost or avoid them? Let’s clear up the confusion.

First, we need to understand that there is a big difference between being around the lost to help them learn about the Lord and being partners with the evil doers. The word “company” in I Corinthians 15:33 means “companionship”. This is what Paul spoke about in his second epistle to the brethren at Corinth: “Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness?” (II Cor. 6:14).

Christians need to be wary of being influenced by those who are not children of God. This occurs when saints (which means “a person recognized to be holy”) engage in things that are ungodly. We are not told to cut ourselves off for the lost. We are admonished not to allow evil company to corrupt good habits.

This does not mean that God wants us to overcorrect and fully separate ourselves from those who walk in darkness. The Corinthians were also told: “I wrote to you in my epistle not to keep company with sexually immoral people. Yet I certainly did not mean with the sexually immoral people of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is a fornicator, or covetous, or a drunkard, or an extortioner – not even to eat with such a person,” (I Cor. 6:9-11).

The above text helps us see how to interact with the lost. We are not to avoid those who are not Christians, but we must also be careful around sinners to avoid corrupting our own morals. That’s why we are warned to not be a participant in their evil doings. Light has nothing in common with darkness. However, a Christian may have non-sinful things in common with one who is lost, like a common occupation, hobby, etc. Often, those things we might have in common can be used as doors to try and impart the gospel.

We all know that Jesus ate with the sinners. His motive was always to reach them with the truth, though. There is something seriously wrong when Christians only want to fit in with the lost and avoid bringing up the word of God to avoid disrupting the relationship. Sadly, Christians who do this also tend to remain silent when their “company” does evil and make them feel comfortable in their sins (Rom. 1:28-32).

When these warnings are ignored by God’s children, they will soon feel more comfortable hanging around the lost than around their own brothers and sisters in Christ. You would think the opposite would be true since God’s people are part of a spiritual family that have a longing to spend eternity in heaven. But that is not the case when one does not keep their eye on the mark (Heb. 12:1-2; 28).

The title of this article is “Reach out or avoid?” The answer to that question is “yes and no”. Yes, reach out to the lost and do not avoid them. But also no, do not allow your good morals to be corrupted by evil doers and avoid those who actively try to corrupt you.

                                                                                        Chuck