Page 16 - BV2

Continues Bacchiocchi --

To appreciate the significance of the last statement, notice must be taken of two facts.
First, the statement was made on the "evening" of the first day when the day was "far
spent" (Luke 24:29). Second, "the third day" refers specifically to the events mentioned in
the immediate context, namely, Christ's condemnation and Crucifixion. It is obvious,
then, that if Christ had been crucified on a Wednesday afternoon, those two disciples
could not have referred to that event on a Sunday night, saying: "It is now the third day
since this happened." According to the Jewish inclusive day-reckoning, it would have
been the FIFTH day and not the third. (The Time of the Crucifixion and Resurrection,
Chapter 2)

While Bacchiocchi mistakenly believes that the crucifixion took place on a Friday and the
resurrection on a Sunday, his reasoning concerning the "third day" is absolutely correct.

Chronology of Christ's Last Days

Let's now take a close look at Christ's last few days and see how the chronology provides
further evidence of the idiomatic usage of the phrase "three days and three nights." No matter how
you look at the gospel accounts of these last few days in the life of Christ, the crucifixion, entomb-
ment and resurrection are given in CLEAR SEQUENCE and with utmost clarity as Preparation
day, Sabbath day and first day of the week.

Remarks Bacchiocchi:

Mark, who writes for a Gentile readership less familiar with Jewish terminology, explains
with utmost clarity that Christ was crucified on "the day of Preparation, that is, the day
before the [weekly] Sabbath" (Mark 15:42) -- ibid.

Mark, then, is very exact in explaining that the crucifixion took place on the day the Jews
called "the day of Preparation" for the Sabbath. The very next day is labeled by Mark as the "sab-
bath" (Mark 16:1) which in turn is clearly followed by the "first day of the week" (Mark 16:2). It
should be crystal clear that Mark's chronological sequence leaves ABSOLUTELY NO ROOM for
a two-day interval between the crucufixion and resurrection.

For those with open minds and no hidden agendas to keep, Luke similarly makes it crystal
clear that the day of Christ's crucifixion was followed, not by a Thursday or Friday in our Gregor-
ian calendar, but by a weekly Sabbath. He writes: "That day was the Preparation, and the Sabbath
drew near" (Luke 23:54). "By linking the beginning of the Sabbath to the end of the day of Prepara-
tion," explains Bacchiocchi, "and the beginning of the "first day of the week" (Luke 24:1) to the
termination of the Sabbath (Luke 23:56), Luke LEAVES ABSOLUTELY NO ROOM for two full
days to intervene between the Crucifixion and Resurrection."

Now take a look at Matthew 27:57, 62 and 28:1: "Now when evening [of the Preparation
Day] had come, there came a rich man from Arimathea...Pilate commanded the body to be given to
him...On the next day, which followed the Day of Preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees

16