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The First Day and the Resurrection
What the Bible doesn’t say matters too
Angel Rodriguez
Q: Why is the first day of the week mentioned so many times in the Gospels?
I will summarize the data we have about the first day of the week in the Gospels and then draw some conclusions.
Summary: Matthew uses the first day of the week to date the moment the women went “to look at the tomb.” This happened “after the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week” (Matt. 28:1).[1] Around that time an angel had descended from heaven and rolled the stone away, and the soldiers had fallen unconscious. Later the women were informed about Jesus’ resurrection (verses 2-6). According to Mark, after the Sabbath the women went to the tomb of Jesus, “very early on the first day of the week . . . when the sun had risen” (Mark 16:2). The language intends to be exact on the chronology. After their arrival they saw that the stone had been removed, and an angel informed them that Jesus had risen.
The reluctance of the Gospels to explicitly state that Jesus was resurrected on the first day of the week is a significant one in the history of Sabbath observance.
Luke tells us that the women rested on the Sabbath “according to the commandment” (Luke 23:56), and dates their trip to the tomb as occurring on the “first day of the week, at early dawn” (Luke 24:1). The tomb was open, but the body of Jesus was absent. Two heavenly beings informed them that Jesus, as He had predicted, had risen “on the third day” (verse 7). John affirms that Jesus died on the day of preparation, before Sabbath (John 19:42). The next event is Mary Magdalene going to the tomb early “on the first day of the week . . . , while it was still dark” (John 20:1). The day of her travel is clearly identified. She found the tomb empty, informed two of the disciples, who came to the tomb and, not understanding what had happened, went home (verses 2-10). Mary stayed behind and talked to two heavenly beings, and finally Jesus appeared to her (verses 11-17).
Conclusions: First, the Gospel narratives used the first day of the week to date the travel of the women to the tomb of Jesus, after keeping the Sabbath. It is implied that other events also occurred during the same day. Second, the narratives clearly imply that Jesus was resurrected on the first day of the week, but this is nowhere explicitly stated.[2] Matthew informs us that the guards went to Jerusalem around the time when the women arrived at the tomb (Matt. 28:11, 13). John ascertains that Mary saw Christ before He ascended to the Father, implying that He had been recently resurrected (John 20:16, 17). In John 20:19 Jesus appeared to the disciples during the evening of “the first day of the week,” implying that Jesus’ resurrection occurred on that particular day. Third, Jesus’ resurrection is explicitly dated by the angel to “the third day” (Luke 24:7), a phrase used by the two disciples going to Emmaus to date their encounter with the resurrected Lord (verse 7). The reluctance of the Gospels to explicitly state that Jesus was resurrected on the first day of the week is a significant one in the history of Sabbath observance. It tones down the association of Jesus’ resurrection with Sunday and excludes the idea that this day was being offered to the church as the new day of worship for the church.
[1] Unless otherwise noted, Bible quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved..
[2] Mark 16:9 seems to be the exception: “When Jesus rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene” (Mark 16:9; NIV). This passage, however, is not found in the earliest Greek manuscripts of the Gospel of Mark, and consequently it is not considered to be a biblical witness to the resurrection of Jesus. The verse could also be translated, “Early on the first day of the week, after he arose, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene” (New English Translation Bible, copyright © 1996-2025 by Biblical Studies Press, LLC. All rights reserved.).
Angel Rodriguez
Ángel Manuel Rodríguez, Th.D., is retired after a career serving as pastor, professor, and theologian.
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Rodriguez:
The First Day and the Resurrection
What the Bible doesn’t say matters too
Reply:
Right! True! The Bible does not say anything like that Christ rose or would rise from the dead on the First Day of the week for the best reason there can be, that it is not true, but a lie that it was the First Day and not the Sabbath Day.
In fact, the Bible as a whole and in every respect and aspect of its Single Message of the Word that in the beginning was, and was the Promised Word of God to come, on the contrary culminates in the Last and Seventh Day of Jesus' coming up from the grave, the grave of death and the cause of death, sin, and of the wages of sin, which is death. 1Corinthians 15, Paul's greatest, and the greatest of SABBATH sermons ever preached except for Jesus' live proclamation of the Sabbath's Message of God's Rest by the Resurrection of His Son "in Sabbath's-time".
The Bible says it as many times as the Seventh Day Sabbath OF THE LORD GOD is spoken of in it, and says it a million times clearer and more emphatic where the name of the day is not mentioned but rather is implied and supposed and pre-supposed for understanding the things salvational in the relevant Bible passages, the things about the Word, Jesus the Christ of God, things not spelled out but ever present and inevitable relevant to the eye graced with faith to see.
What the Bible doesn’t say matters too
Angel Rodriguez
Q: Why is the first day of the week mentioned so many times in the Gospels?
I will summarize the data we have about the first day of the week in the Gospels and then draw some conclusions.
Summary: Matthew uses the first day of the week to date the moment the women went “to look at the tomb.” This happened “after the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week” (Matt. 28:1).[1] Around that time an angel had descended from heaven and rolled the stone away, and the soldiers had fallen unconscious. Later the women were informed about Jesus’ resurrection (verses 2-6). According to Mark, after the Sabbath the women went to the tomb of Jesus, “very early on the first day of the week . . . when the sun had risen” (Mark 16:2). The language intends to be exact on the chronology. After their arrival they saw that the stone had been removed, and an angel informed them that Jesus had risen.
The reluctance of the Gospels to explicitly state that Jesus was resurrected on the first day of the week is a significant one in the history of Sabbath observance.
Luke tells us that the women rested on the Sabbath “according to the commandment” (Luke 23:56), and dates their trip to the tomb as occurring on the “first day of the week, at early dawn” (Luke 24:1). The tomb was open, but the body of Jesus was absent. Two heavenly beings informed them that Jesus, as He had predicted, had risen “on the third day” (verse 7). John affirms that Jesus died on the day of preparation, before Sabbath (John 19:42). The next event is Mary Magdalene going to the tomb early “on the first day of the week . . . , while it was still dark” (John 20:1). The day of her travel is clearly identified. She found the tomb empty, informed two of the disciples, who came to the tomb and, not understanding what had happened, went home (verses 2-10). Mary stayed behind and talked to two heavenly beings, and finally Jesus appeared to her (verses 11-17).
Conclusions: First, the Gospel narratives used the first day of the week to date the travel of the women to the tomb of Jesus, after keeping the Sabbath. It is implied that other events also occurred during the same day. Second, the narratives clearly imply that Jesus was resurrected on the first day of the week, but this is nowhere explicitly stated.[2] Matthew informs us that the guards went to Jerusalem around the time when the women arrived at the tomb (Matt. 28:11, 13). John ascertains that Mary saw Christ before He ascended to the Father, implying that He had been recently resurrected (John 20:16, 17). In John 20:19 Jesus appeared to the disciples during the evening of “the first day of the week,” implying that Jesus’ resurrection occurred on that particular day. Third, Jesus’ resurrection is explicitly dated by the angel to “the third day” (Luke 24:7), a phrase used by the two disciples going to Emmaus to date their encounter with the resurrected Lord (verse 7). The reluctance of the Gospels to explicitly state that Jesus was resurrected on the first day of the week is a significant one in the history of Sabbath observance. It tones down the association of Jesus’ resurrection with Sunday and excludes the idea that this day was being offered to the church as the new day of worship for the church.
[2] Mark 16:9 seems to be the exception: “When Jesus rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene” (Mark 16:9; NIV). This passage, however, is not found in the earliest Greek manuscripts of the Gospel of Mark, and consequently it is not considered to be a biblical witness to the resurrection of Jesus. The verse could also be translated, “Early on the first day of the week, after he arose, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene” (New English Translation Bible, copyright © 1996-2025 by Biblical Studies Press, LLC. All rights reserved.).
Angel Rodriguez
Ángel Manuel Rodríguez, Th.D., is retired after a career serving as pastor, professor, and theologian.
Contact - Adventist Review - Adventist Review Contact - Adventist Review
Contact - Adventist Review
Rodriguez:
The First Day and the Resurrection
What the Bible doesn’t say matters too
Reply:
Right! True! The Bible does not say anything like that Christ rose or would rise from the dead on the First Day of the week for the best reason there can be, that it is not true, but a lie that it was the First Day and not the Sabbath Day.
In fact, the Bible as a whole and in every respect and aspect of its Single Message of the Word that in the beginning was, and was the Promised Word of God to come, on the contrary culminates in the Last and Seventh Day of Jesus' coming up from the grave, the grave of death and the cause of death, sin, and of the wages of sin, which is death. 1Corinthians 15, Paul's greatest, and the greatest of SABBATH sermons ever preached except for Jesus' live proclamation of the Sabbath's Message of God's Rest by the Resurrection of His Son "in Sabbath's-time".
The Bible says it as many times as the Seventh Day Sabbath OF THE LORD GOD is spoken of in it, and says it a million times clearer and more emphatic where the name of the day is not mentioned but rather is implied and supposed and pre-supposed for understanding the things salvational in the relevant Bible passages, the things about the Word, Jesus the Christ of God, things not spelled out but ever present and inevitable relevant to the eye graced with faith to see.