The Day Yahawashi Died……
By: Arthur J. Anderson
I remember as a young boy in the early 80’s how my Grandmother and Mother would always interrupt my playing outside on a particular Friday evening in April so-called “Good Friday”. Particular because it was the ONLY Friday of the year I had to, instead of play all night past curfew, be in church.
Why I ask? “Because its the day that (so-called) Jesus Christ(Yahawashi Hamashiach) Died on the cross(So they say)!” Really?? Well, as a kid I was alright with that understanding. Being that I trusted that my Parents and Grandparents would always tell me the truth concerning these types of things, why give it any more thought RIGHT?? Well, in the words of the Apostle Paul, “When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things…”1 Corinthians 13:11.
Think about it!! Did Yahawashi die on a Friday and rise again on a Sunday? Does Friday early evening to early before sunrise Sunday morning constitute the 3 days and 3 nights that Yahawashi himself spoke of?
Before we examine this particular issue, I want to establish a few things. In the words of the great Jedi Master Yoda, “You must unlearn what you have learned”..! Most of the time as humans, we are unable to see past our cultural world view. We are hard-pressed to accept certain facts that go against what we have in most cases, been taught and have believed all of our lives. Paul also taught us that we should “prove all things” 1 Thessalonians 5:21. We must be vigilant concerning what we know to be the truth. We confirm and reconfirm lest we get comfortable in our OWN ABILITY to disseminate truth!
Lastly, I would like to suggest, that for purposes of this Article we will use ONLY THE BIBLE as our ONLY SOURCE OF AUTHORITY. No commentaries, no dictionaries, NO ONE ELSES OPINION except the SCRIPTURES! In order to get the whole picture, we must examine the New Testament writings in light of Old Testament Scripture. We must piece together the information presented by New Testament with an accurate understanding of what was actually going on during the time of Yahawashi’s death. Having said these things, Let’s begin our study.
Now as I remember, the story goes that Yahawashi (so-called Jesus) died (on a cross?) and 3 days later rose from the dead. Or was it ON THE 3rd DAY?? I don’t trust me so let’s examine what Yahawashi said himself. We find this statement in Mathew 12:38-40;
38 Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee.
39 But he (Yahawashi) answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas:
40 For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
It is imperative at this point that we stop and examine 2 distinct issues in this text. First, as if we don’t know that Yahawashi has already healed the sick, raised the dead, opened blind eyes, deaf ears, clean lepers etc. However, Yahawashi himself said, “An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas:” Matt 12:39. So what was all that other stuff Yahawashi did? Simply put, all the other works SHOULD NOT BE associated with the IDENTIFICATION OF THE MESSIAH! Rather, the sign of SIGNIFICANCE would be the death and his Resurrection.
In light of this statement more questions arise. From his own statement we understand that the current generation was an “evil and adulterous generation”, and that NO SIGN WOULD BE GIVEN TO IT, save ONE! That sign brothers and sisters? Matthew 12:40, “….as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth”.
Since of course, Yahawashi (so-called Jesus) used the reference of Jonah to shed light on the ONE SIGN GIVEN to the current generation of his time, I feel it is important to go back and investigate the reference first hand. Thus, lets read Jonah 1:15-17;
15 So they took up Jonah, and cast him forth into the sea: and the sea ceased from her raging.
16 Then the men feared the Lord exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice unto the Lord, and made vows.
17 Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
At this point, I turn and ask you the dumbest question. What constitutes a day? I ask this because after reading the text here in Jonah, it is clear that the scriptures conclude, that Jonah spent a COMPLETE 72 HOURS of time inside the belly of a “Great Fish”! Why was it important for the Messiah to point to this incident with Jonah? Because like Jonah, he would also spend 72 hours in what was for Jonah symbolic death.
Three days AND three nights! 72 hours! Three periods of daylight and three periods of the night. Think about that. How do we get 72 hours from Friday evening to Sunday morning? Typically it is at this point that personal world view begins to try to justify something that cannot be with any reason. When Yahawashi spoke of the sign of Jonah, it was for all of those who would later enquire about the length of time in measurement. There is a certain doctrine that suggests the 3 days and nights spoken of was “symbolic” of a length of time but not a definite set amount of time. This certain doctrine is an incorrect interpretation of 2 Peter 3:8 which says,
“But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.”
This certain doctrine would suggest that one day for YAH (24 hours to us) equals for Him 1000 years. This is incorrect as the message Peter was trying to convey was that YAH exists outside of time! That is to say, that 1000 years or 24 hours, its all the same to YAH because he is not bound by it nor subject to it.
Also, I would attack the issue of when an actual day begins. However, I will not deal with this issue at this time in this article. Why? I DOSENT MATTER! How, do you say? Because whether or not the day begins at sundown or not IT DOSENT MATTER! Yahawashi marked a period of daylight and a period of darkness! EVERY DAY 24 CONTAINS BOTH, with the addition of Evening!
As we continue to examine this issue, we must, of course, isolate some key issues as presented by the textual account. I would like to establish first that all of the Gospels agree that Yahawashi (so-called Jesus Christ) was crucified and died on the preparation day, the day before the Sabbath. Here are the four passages that show this:
Mathew 27:57-63
57 When the even was come, there came a rich man of Arimathaea, named Joseph, who also himself was Jesus’ disciple:
58 He went to Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the body to be delivered.
59 And when Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth,
60 And laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock: and he rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulchre, and departed.
61 And there was Mary Magdalene, and the other Mary, sitting over against the sepulchre.
62 Now the next day, that followed the day of the preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees came together unto Pilate,
63 Saying, Sir, we remember that that deceiver said, while he was yet alive, After three days I will rise again.
** I know the word Sabbath isn’t mentioned here, but this passage is in agreement with the other passages.
Mark 15:42-43
42 And now when the even was come, because it was the preparation, that is, the day before the Sabbath,
43 Joseph of Arimathaea, an honorable counsellor, which also waited for the kingdom of God, came, and went in boldly unto Pilate, and craved the body of Jesus.
Luke 23:54-56
54 And that day was the preparation, and the Sabbath drew on.
55 And the women also, which came with him from Galilee, followed after, and beheld the sepulchre, and how his body was laid.
56 And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the Sabbath day according to the commandment.
John 19:31 54 And that day was the preparation, and the Sabbath drew on.
55 And the women also, which came with him from Galilee, followed after, and beheld the sepulchre, and how his body was laid.
56 And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the Sabbath day according to the commandment.
All four Gospels agree that Yahawashi (so-called Jesus Christ) was crucified and died on the “Preparation day”. However, John 19:14 throws us a curve-ball! It reads,
“And it was the preparation of the PASSOVER, and about the sixth hour: and he saith unto the Jews, Behold your King!”
Hmmm…So let me now ask you, was it the preparation day of the Sabbath? Or, was it the preparation of the PASSOVER? This is where it gets tricky my friends. However, with a little patience and a Bible, we can work it all out!
Now that we can by preciseness agree that Yahawashi died on the “Preparation Day”, we now ask the question, “Preparation” for what? John 19:14 told us! Let’s read it again:
John 19:14 And it was the preparation of the Passover, and about the sixth hour: and he saith unto the Jews, Behold your King!
Here is our problem! All of the gospel suggest that it was the preparation day for the Sabbath or a Sabbath. However, in John 19:14 he is telling us that it is the preparation for the PASSOVER. So what was it? Let’s forget what your local preacher says and use some independent thinking!
At this particular moment, we DO NOT have to have a clear understanding of what the Passover is. However what is important to this teaching is what are the rules and guidelines established by YAH concerning this particular holy day. Leviticus 23 gives us the important and missing information that is lacking from the traditional teaching. Because we have not bothered to put the New Testament account into its Old Testament framework, we have misunderstood and misconstrued the events of the Passover season in which Yahawashi died and was resurrected. Therefore, to understand what happened, let’s look at this missing info. For this, I will reference Leviticus 23:4-8:
4 These are the feasts of the Lord, even holy convocations, which ye shall proclaim in their seasons.
5 In the fourteenth day of the first month at even is the Lord’s Passover.
6 And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of unleavened bread unto the Lord: seven days ye must eat unleavened bread.
7 In the first day ye shall have an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein.
8 But ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord seven days: in the seventh day is an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein.
John did not contradict Matthew, Mark or Luke. And he didn’t contradict himself. (John 19:4 contrasted with John 19:31. Sabbath or Passover?)
The Passover always fell on the 14th day of Nisan (originally Abib). Nisan is the first month of the Hebrew year (Lev 23:5). ‘In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at twilight is the LORD’S Passover.The Passover was also a preparation day for the Sabbath. However, the weekly Saturday Sabbath is not in view here. On the day after Passover, on the 15th day of Nisan, the seven day Feast of Unleavened bread began. The first day of the Feast of Unleavened bread was a special Sabbath and no work was allowed to be done. Leviticus 23:6 says,
6 Then on the fifteenth day of the same month there is the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the LORD; for seven days you shall eat unleavened bread.
7 On the first day you shall have a holy convocation; you shall not do any laborious work.
8 But for seven days you shall present an offering by fire to the LORD. On the seventh day is a holy convocation; you shall not do any laborious work.
Now, Jesus was crucified on Passover, the 14th day of Nisan. However, Passover and the seven day Feast of Unleavened bread were so closely connected that they were often considered as one feast. Allow me to qualify this. Again, John 19:14 says,
Now it was the day of preparation for the Passover; it was about the sixth hour. And he (Pilate) said to the Jews, ”Behold your King!”
Now lets contrast this verse with Luke 22 verse 1 and verse 7:
1 Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread which is called the Passover was approaching .…
7 Then came the first day of Unleavened Bread on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed.
Now, remember from Lev. 23:5-6 that the seven day Feast of Unleavened Bread began on Nisan 15, the day after Passover. Yet as you can see in Luke 22:1,7 the Feast of Unleavened Bread is also called Passover. That’s not a contradiction or an error, it’s just that in a popular sense, the entire eight-day period from Nisan 14 Passover day, through the seven day Feast of Unleavened Bread beginning Nisan 15 and ending on Nisan 21 was considered one Feast.
Understand however, Passover is not a Sabbath. It is the day of preparation for the High Sabbath that is the first day of the (seven day) Feast of Unleavened Bread.¹ Yahawashi died on Passover but was removed from the cross before sunset, which began the High Sabbath, the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread.
On a Sabbath no work is done. Therefore, the women could not prepare Yahawashi’s body for burial. Yahawashi was removed from the cross, wrapped in linen and placed in a tomb. Mark 15:46 says,
46 And Joseph bought a linen cloth, took Him down, wrapped Him in the linen cloth, and laid Him in a tomb which had been hewn out in the rock; and he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb.
Because of the coming High Sabbath, the linen wrapping was all that time allowed to be done for Yahawashi. Under the Torah (law) no one can buy or sell on a Sabbath. Nehemiah 10:31 says,
31 As for the peoples of the land who bring wares or any grain on the Sabbath day to sell, we will not buy from them on the Sabbath or a holy day;
Therefore, the women could not obtain the necessary items to properly anoint His body and bury Yahawashi. However, once the High Sabbath was over, the women could buy what they needed for this task. Mark 16:1 says,
1 And when the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, bought spices, that they might come and anoint Him.
Since there were no food processors or machinery during the first century, this was a time consuming, laborious task. On the day after the High Sabbath, the women purchased the spices and spent the day preparing them to anoint Yahawashi’s body. However, they were once again delayed, this time by the weekly Sabbath. Luke 23:55-24:1 reads,
55 Now the women who had come with Him out of Galilee followed after,
and saw the tomb and how His body was laid.
56 And they returned and prepared spices and perfumes. And on the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment.
1 But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb, bringing the spices which they had prepared.
Thus far, Yahawashi has died and has been placed in a tomb as the “High Sabbath” of the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread was about to begin. The women were forced to wait for that evening and day to pass. The next morning after the Sabbath (Friday) when the shops were open, they purchased the spices and prepared them to anoint Yahawashi’s body. They then had to rest for the weekly Sabbath (Saturday) to pass. Since there were no electric lights to enable them to work at night, they waited until morning on the first day of the week, Sunday, to go to the tomb to prepare His body. When they arrived, the tomb was empty. Does this mean that Yahawashi arose on that day, or was tomb empty because He had already arisen?
To make all of these events fit, we can count backward from the weekly Sabbath and figure out what evening Yahawashi and the disciples had the Passover meal and what day He was crucified. The timeline of events would look like this:
Tuesday night – Passover Seder (meal), prayer in Gethsemane, arrested, brought before the Jews.
Wednesday morning – before Pilate, on the cross by 9 a.m., dead by 3 p.m.
Wednesday night – Yahawashi in the tomb – first night, High Sabbath begins
Thursday – Yahawashi in the tomb – first day, High Sabbath,
Thursday night – Yahawashi in the tomb, second night, end of High Sabbath
Friday – Yahawashi in the tomb, second day, spices bought & prepared
Friday night – Yahawashi in the tomb, third night, weekly Sabbath begins.
Saturday – Yahawashi in the tomb third day, weekly Sabbath
Saturday Night – Yahawashi NOT IN THE TOMB, End of weekly Sabbath.
In order for Yahawashi words to be fulfilled of three days AND three nights in the earth, He could not have spent a fourth night in the tomb! Therefore, sometime before sunset and the end of Saturday, Yahawashi arose.
Would Yahawashi resurrection on Sabbath violate Torah? The Torah instructs us to do no work on the Sabbath; could Yahawashi rising from the dead be considered work? What did Yahawashi say about this? Mathew 12:11-12 reads,
11 If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out? 12 How much more valuable is a man than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath. This passage refers to healing on the Sabbath. Rising from the dead to bring eternal life to the world would certainly qualify as good works on the Sabbath!
Yahawashi also told us in Mathew 12:8,
For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.
HE is Lord over the Sabbath, not the Sabbath lord over Him! As the Word of God (John 1:1-5), He was the author of the Sabbath commandments. Would the authors writing have more authority than the author, Himself?
Moving along we see when the women finally arrived at the tomb. When the women arrived, at the first opportunity because it was around sunrise, to see the body of Yahawashi, he already rose! He was gone. He did NOT rise on Sunday. He arose on Saturday, as the Lord of the Sabbath!
The tradition of Yahawashi dying on “Good Friday” and rising from the dead on Sunday has long been the reason why believers keep the 1st day Sunday, instead of the seventh day Sabbath God instructed His people to keep. The question has to of necessity be asked: where in Scripture does GOD give us permission to change His Sabbath to ANY day other than the day He ordained: the seventh day of the week?
Each reader will have to decide whether they will hold to the traditions they have been taught, or whether the Word of God will be their “bottom line” and ultimate guide. If the later is chosen, then that reader will have a choice to make: will they keep the Sabbath God ordained and has never changed, or will they keep the Sabbath that men (Emperor Constantine) created?
The choice is yours: obey God or men.