THE RESURRECTION - A REEXAMINATION OF THE EVIDENCE - Part Six

LESSON SIX

HOW JUDAISM MEASURES DAYS IS THE KEY TO UNDERSTANDING WHAT JESUS MEANT BY “THE THIRD DAY”

We have reached now the point in our investigation where we come upon the inexplicable events which occurred that Sunday after Shabbat on the first day of the week.

For this we go again to the oldest records, each presenting a partial record of these events, but when taken as a whole, all of the four Gospels present for us what one may call a three dimensional tableau of the events which rocked the world. Let us proceed.

In understanding this fundamental manner of measuring time, we can reconstruct from the Gospels the time frame upon which the events in the Gospels take place.

This also will allow us to come to a correct understanding of what Jesus meant by three days when He promised to His disciples that He would rise from the dead on the third day.

During the Second Temple Era, as it is among Orthodox Jews today, time is reckoned by the Lunar Hebrew Calendar and not by the Solar Gregorian calendar.

There is a rabbinic tradition which says that when the children of Israel were given the Law, they were taught to sanctify the New Moon, and not do as the Egyptians who worshipped the sun god Ra.

It is thought that this is the reason why they departed from the solar tradition of the Egyptians, and have looked since, to the New Moon to measure their times and their seasons.

Some have described the Hebrew Calendar as being luni-solar, because every lunar cycle runs approximately 29.5 days.

Because the Jewish Year contains 354 days versus 365 for the Solar Year; the month of Adar II is added to the Hebrew Calendar every three years to assure that the holy days fall precisely on schedule according to their seasons.

This extra month helps offset the 11 day lag that occurs every solar year.

But we need not go into detail on calculations and how the Hebrew Lunar Calendar works here, but for the purposes of our study we will explain how the Hebrew Calendar measures each day by comparing it to the Gregorian method of reckoning one day from the next.

The Gregorian Solar Calendar reckons each day beginning at midnight to the following midnight; whereas the Hebrew Calendar reckons each day from one day’s sundown to another day’s sundown – from sundown to sundown.

A day as reckoned by the Hebrew Calendar begins at sundown and does not end until sundown the following day. We can now proceed in our study.

THE EVENTS AS THEY TOOK PLACE IN THEIR ORDER

A QUICK BREAKDOWN OF THE DAYS LEADING UP TO THE THIRD DAY

DAY ONE: BETWEEN 3 PM AND 6 PM

It is the day of preparation, Jesus has died by crucifixion, and His body has been laid to rest in Joseph’s tomb.

The tomb has been sealed with a giant heavy stone weighing approximately one to three tons.

This stone so heavy it would take as many as twenty men to move from its place in front of the only entrance to the tomb.

This prevents the tomb from being violated by potential grave robbers, and deters any such attempts, regardless the motivation; from transpiring during the quiet hours of Shabbat and those after it.

DAY TWO: 7 PM SUNDOWN – FIRST HALF

SHABBAT HAS BEGUN – EVERYONE LEAVES TO WORSHIP AND REST

The day of preparation is past; night time has set upon Jerusalem and it is now Shabbat.

At the location where Jesus and the other two men were crucified, there is a nearby garden with a private area containing a private tomb belonging to Joseph where Jesus’ body has been interred.

This location can be seen from the temple, and by all logic, it is watched, especially during the night watches by the temple police on duty, who watch the area for movement. There is none.

DAY TWO: SECOND HALF

JOSEPH’S TOMB AND SURROUNDING PERIMETER IS SECURED

The next morning- during Shabbat – the chief priests post their own guard comprised of temple police around Josephs’ tomb, as the chief priests go to Pilate to make a request of him.

Their visit to Pilate is to request from him a Roman Guard be posted at Joseph’s tomb to keep watch over it against potential grave robbers, because Shabbat is about to end at sundown.

Pilate grants them their request and deploys a guard at Joseph’s tomb to augment the temple police presence already there guarding the tomb.

Securing Joseph’s tomb is accomplished by several of them moving the huge stone from its place and gaining entry into the tomb to verify that Jesus’ body is there. It is.

As many as twenty men move the stone back into place, and they affix Caesar’s seal over the large stone covering the tomb.

They post their sentries in front of the tomb, and at every access point into and out from the garden and around the perimeter surrounding that area.

DAY THREE: SUNDOWN – FIRST HALF

Night has fallen, and Shabbat has ended. The Roman troops comprising the guard and the temple police make the location and its surrounding perimeter as secure as humanly possible.

Nothing and no one can get in or out of the area without being spotted by the Romans and the temple police.

Because of the nature of what the Gospels report about which we are about to read and examine; before we continue, we must take a moment to examine the seriousness of guard duty was for Roman troops, and for the temple police.

THE ROMAN GUARD AND ITS DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

“Each of the men who have gone the rounds brings back the tesserae (passwords) at daybreak to the tribune. If they deliver them all they are suffered to depart without question; but if one of them delivers fewer than the number of stations visited, they find out from examining the signs on the tesserae which station is missing, and on ascertaining this the tribune calls the centurion of the maniple and he brings before him the men who were on picket duty, and they are confronted with the patrol.
“If the fault is that of the picket, the patrol makes matters clear at once by calling the men who had accompanied him, for he is bound to do this; but if nothing of the kind has happened, the fault rests on him. A court-martial composed of all the tribunes at once meets to try him, and if he is found guilty he is punished (fustuarium).
“This is inflicted as follows: The tribune takes a cudgel and just touches the condemned man with it, after which all in the camp beat or stone him, in most cases dispatching him in the camp itself. But even those who manage to escape are not saved thereby: impossible! for they are not allowed to return to their homes, and none of the family would dare to receive such a man in his house.
“So that those who have of course fallen into this misfortune are utterly ruined. The same punishment is inflicted on the optio and on the praefect of the squadron, if they do not give the proper orders at the right time to the patrols and the praefect of the next squadron. Thus, owing to the extreme severity and inevitability of the penalty, the night watches of the Roman army are most scrupulously kept.
“While the soldiers are subject to the tribune, the latter are subject to the consuls. A tribune, and in the case of the allies a praefect, has the right of inflicting fines, of demanding sureties, and of punishing by flogging. The castigato is also inflicted on those who steal anything from the camp; on those who give false evidence; on young men who have abused their persons; and finally on anyone who has been punished thrice for the same fault.
“Those are the offences which are punished as crimes, the following being treated as unmanly acts and disgraceful in a soldier - when a man boasts falsely to the tribune of his valour in the field in order to gain distinction; when any men who have been placed in a covering force leave the station assigned to them from fear; likewise when anyone throws away from fear any of his arms in the actual battle.
“Therefore the men in covering forces often face certain death, refusing to leave their ranks even when vastly outnumbered, owing to dread of the punishment they would meet with; and again in the battle men who have lost a shield or sword or any other arm often throw themselves into the midst of the enemy, hoping either to recover the lost object or to escape by death from inevitable disgrace and the taunts of their relations.”

This is the extent of Roman discipline dispatched with swiftness and thoroughness to anyone who is dilatory in the slightest of his duties.

Between ten to sixteen battle-hardened and well armed professional troops of the most powerful empire of its day are stationed in front, and above Joseph’s tomb, and at every entrance and exit point in and out of the garden.

This is the Roman Guard of which the Gospel of Matthew makes mention which is tasked with guarding Joseph’s tomb and the garden surrounding it.

If sixteen troops are what comprise the Roman guard participating in overnight duty, each quaternion takes the watch for about three hours.

THE TEMPLE GUARD AND ITS DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Another Guard comprised of an equal number of temple police is stationed around the perimeter of the garden, watching closely who comes and goes on the road below Golgotha and the area of the garden and private tomb near it on the hill above them.

They too are very well armed and ready to spring into action at the sign of the slightest movement to the tomb.

The Mishnah describes the temple police and their duties in the following manner:

"The priests kept watch at three places in the Temple: at the Chamber of Abtinas, at the Chamber of the Flame, and at the Chamber of the Hearth; and the Levites at twenty-one places: five at the five gates of the Temple Mount, four at its four corners inside, five at five of the gates of the Temple Court, four at its four corners outside, and one at the Chamber of Offerings, and one at the Chamber of the Curtain, and one behind the place of the Mercy Seat."

An excellent Internet article on the temple police says the following about its composition and duties:

“Now, if you want to say it's a Temple guard, you need to realize who made up that guard. It consisted of a group of 10 Levites who were placed on duty at different places at the Temple. The total number of men on duty was 270. This represented 27 units of 10 each. The military discipline of the Temple guard was quite good. In fact, at night, if the captain approached a guard member who was asleep, he was beaten and burned with his own clothes. A member of the guard also was forbidden to sit down or lean against something when he was on duty.”

This leads us to understand then, that the Roman Guard posted at Joseph’s tomb and garden, and the temple police guarding the perimeter of the garden form a formidable presence.

Between the two, there are as many as between twenty and thirty-two well armed troops guarding the area, with half as many keeping station according to their watch.

In light of such a presence, we can appreciate then why nothing can occur either around, in front of, or at Joseph’s tomb without these troops being aware of it as it happens, as we shall see.

It is humanly impossible to breach this type of security with nothing short of a small army of well armed, battle-hardened, seasoned professionals.

DAY THREE: 12 AM – 6 AM EARLY MORNING – SECOND HALF

MIRIAM AND THE OTHER WOMEN LEAVE FOR THE TOMB WHILE IT IS NIGHT AND STILL DARK OUTSIDE

Now after Shabbat, it is the first day of the week, and while it is still night, Miriam of Magdala and the other Miriam – the mother of Jacob and Salome, and Joanna; bring with them spices, and proceed from their various locations to walk towards Joseph’s tomb.

They intend to anoint the body of Jesus with the spices once they have all arrived at their location.

They know where the tomb is because they followed the entire proceeding connected to Jesus’ burial, and saw where His body was laid to rest on Friday before the onset of Shabbat.

On their way to the tomb, they wonder how they’ll get the huge stone moved so they may gain access to Jesus’ body to anoint it.

THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS TAKES PLACE WITH AN EARTHQUAKE

By the time the women arrive at the tomb, it is dawn, and the sun is beginning to break through the early morning sky.

The sun has risen, and with it, the promise of a new day – a new dawn, and what a dawn it will be.

None of the women are prepared to see what they discover. All they know is that as they arrive, the Roman soldiers and temple police guarding the entire area are spectators to a most incredible sight; one which they also are witnesses to.

For the record of this we go to Matthew’s Gospel to read about what all of these troops witness in the early morning hours following the end of Shabbat at sundown hours earlier, and the dawn of that fateful Sunday morning.

It is he who has access to all of the records available to him from the Procurator’s office, and makes good use of these, as well as the testimony of all of the women present at the tomb as he describes the following as happening:

And behold, a severe earthquake had occurred, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled away the stone and sat upon it.
And his appearance was like lightning, and his garments as white as snow; and the guards shook for fear of him, and became as dead men.

This then, is what the Roman troops and temple police behold while serving guard duty outside of and around the tomb and its perimeter.

The sight is so overwhelming, the appearance of the angel descending so riveting, the earthquake underneath their feet so severe; that the entire contingency of troops and police and any others outside and around the parameter of the tomb lose consciousness.

Not a single Roman soldier, temple officer, or any others present; remain conscious through the entire ordeal.

However, they remain conscious long enough to see, what Matthew calls an angel of the Lord descend from the sky, and watch in stunned silence as the angel rolls the stone that hours before took with great effort more than twenty or more mortal men move.

The record indicates that they all faint as these things transpire before them, and are immovable, as though dead by the time Jesus’ followers arrive at the scene and see them all fall to the ground.

Whatever it was that has come over them, has affected every single soldier and temple officer tasked with guarding Joseph’s tomb, so that every one of the troops and temple police there are unconscious; they literally “shake in their boots” and look like “dead men.”

This mass unconsciousness is caused by the shock, where human senses and emotions are so stimulated and heightened that the body cannot contain and process the sensory overload, thus acute mass unconsciousness is induced by the experience.

Now it must be pointed out here that the angel has rolled the stone away, not to allow Jesus to exit the tomb, since later we shall see He can appear or disappear at will; but to allow those outside of the tomb to gain entry into it and see that Jesus is no longer there; He lives!

As we continue our examination, we will return, if the Lord wills, and examine how these Roman troops and temple police react to this incident.

We will also see how the chief priests hearing them, react to them, and what actions the Gospels tell us they decide to take with regard to them.

In the dizzying rush of all of the events that take place; we are able to piece together the details of those events as they unfold before us from the four narratives, which in some places appear to contradict one another; but in reality complement each other, and when properly put together, establish a full tableau of the events as each one of them takes place.

Even more startling for the women is that looking up at the entrance of the tomb, they discover the huge stone has already been rolled away from the tomb by the angel who is sitting on it, so that their previous concern about who would roll the stone away when they got there is no longer a factor.

As if this weren’t enough, even more startling for them is their discovery of an angelic-like being himself sitting atop the stone, who addresses them in the following manner:

“Do not be afraid; for I know that you are looking for Jesus who has been crucified. He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said. Come, see the place where He was lying.”

And entering in the tomb, they encounter a young man sitting at the right side of the interior of the tomb, wearing a white robe; and the women are amazed by this, and he tells them, “Do not be amazed; you are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who has been crucified. He has risen; He is not here; behold, here is the place where they laid Him.
“But go, and tell His disciples and Peter, ‘He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him, just as He said you would.’”

As they’re still pondering all of these things, frozen by the sensory overload that has bombarded them – these women are overwhelmed.

All of sudden, two men stand near them in dazzling apparel, and the women, either out of fear or because they recognize these to be two very unique beings; the women bow to the ground.

The two men proceed to speak to them in the following manner:

“Why do you seek the Living One among the dead?
“He is not here, but He has risen. Remember how He spoke to you while He was still in Galilee, saying that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.”

We are told that they remember Jesus’ prophetic words. As they exit the tomb, and are pondering these things, the angel speaks to them one last time:

“And go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead; and behold, He is going before you into Galilee, there you will see Him; behold, I have told you.”

Gripped with a mixture of joy filled with astonishment and fear, the women – still trembling – flee the tomb as quickly as they can, telling no one but Jesus’ immediate disciples of what they have just seen and experienced, while also the other women with them were telling these things to the apostles.

THE EVENTS AS THEY TOOK PLACE IN THEIR ORDER

We will now piece together the various appearances of Jesus in bodily form and alive as it takes place according to the earliest records – the four Gospels – which provide an exact chronology of the events themselves.

As the women flee, Miriam of Magdala immediately goes directly to Peter and the other disciple whom Jesus loves, reporting to them that some people have taken Jesus’ body, because regardless of what she’s seen and heard from these beings at Joseph’s tomb, as far as she knows; somebody is in possession of Jesus’ remains.

She’s not convinced yet that Jesus has risen from the dead, because she hasn’t seen Him; and this is what she says to Peter and to the other disciple at this time, when she tells them:

“They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him.”
And these words appeared to them as nonsense, and they would not believe them.

Wanting to see for the tomb for himself – at this point, because of the excitement of this news, Peter forgets about the Romans and temple police – and he races to the tomb along with the other disciple, and the other disciple ran ahead of faster than Peter, and came to the tomb first; and stooping and looking in, he saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he did not go in.

Simon arrives at the tomb, first looks in and then enters the tomb; stooping and looking in, where he sees the empty shell of the linen wrappings lying there, and Jesus’ face cloth, which had been on His head, not lying with the linen wrappings, but rolled up in a place by itself.

What Peter and the other disciple see convinces them that something inexplicable has happened here, but as yet they do not fully understand what, as John’s Gospel says:

For as yet they did not understand the Scripture that he must rise again from the dead.

Peter goes home marveling at that which had happened, whereas the other disciple believes – as John’s Gospel says, because having seen the folded face cloth and the empty cocoon-like linen straps that had contained Jesus’ body inside, convinced and assured him that there was no body inside Joseph’s tomb; just as it says, the other disciple who had first come to the tomb entered then also, and he saw and believed.

So the disciples went away again to their own homes.

THE ROMAN TROOPS’ REACTION TO THE EVENTS THEY’VE JUST WITNESSED – THEY FLEE TO THE HIGH PRIESTS

Some of the troops posted at Joseph’s tomb approach the chief priests and report what they saw happen before they lost consciousness.

They fear for their lives, because if Pilate gets wind of this, they will all be beheaded. The chief priests promise the guards who report to them of everything that has happened at Joseph’s tomb – events that as we shall see – will shake the Romans and the corrupt priesthood to their foundations, and turn the world upside down.

It is interesting also that this is not mentioned by the Romans because they had lost consciousness almost immediately after they saw the stone rolled away by the angelic visitor.

The Roman troops themselves have no idea about the nature of what they have experienced at Joseph’s tomb; all they’re concerned with is their fate if word gets out that they failed in their responsibility.

These troops have seen death up close in battle, but what they saw that night defies all of their collective experiences. They have no point of reference from which they can understand what has just occurred.

This indicates that these troops were under Pilate’s direct command, and not under the command of the chief priests, as the temple police would be, since they are accountable to the governor and not the chief priests.

The penalty for failure to properly executing their responsibilities to guard the tomb is capital punishment under Roman Law, which is why though these troops were answerable to the Procurator, it is the chief priests they went to first, because of their fear of execution for the charge of failing to carry out their responsibilities, as it would seem at first glance.

WHY THE GUARD POSTED AT JOSEPH’S TOMB ARE ROMAN TROOPS

There are very good reasons why the troops comprising the Guard are from Pilate, and we explore them here, because some have suggested that these troops might actually be temple police, as absurd as that suggestion may sound; there are some who believe it.

1.) The guard consisted of several troops, not one soldier, because later, they are seen as a group of soldiers reporting to the high priests all that went on while they were guarding the tomb.

2.) The guard was Roman, because Pilate would not execute Judean temple guards who were under the high priest’s command and control.

THE REACTION OF THE CHIEF PRIESTS TO THESE REPORTS TOLD THEM BY THE ROMANS – BRIBE THE ROMANS TO LIFE FOR THEM

Upon hearing the reports from the Romans, instead of repenting, the corrupt religious rulers bribe the Romans and promise them that if word of this gets back to Pilate, they will handle him for them.

The chief priest and their allies are so obsessed with retaining power, that they have not even considered what the Romans report to them.

Under these circumstances, the chief priests and their allies feel empowered by their new found power over these Romans and their new trump card – the incident – which they can leverage against the Romans in keeping them silent about this.

It suits their purposes, because it helps keep a lid on any reports outside of Jesus’ own followers of these events, especially at least from these Romans; about the supernatural beings, one of whom they saw roll the huge and heavy tonnage size stone to the side; related to a resurrection of Jesus from the dead.

But, thanks to Matthew and his connections to them, we have in his Gospel the record of what they saw and reported to the chief priests, and the origins of stories which Judaism later included in its writings about Jesus, whom it calls Jeshu:

JERUSALEM-

Now while they were on their way, behold some of the guard came into the city and reported and reported to the chief priests all that had happened.
And when they had assembled with the elders and counseled together, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, and said, “You are to say, ‘His disciples came by night and stole Him away while we were asleep.”
“And if this should come to the governor’s ears, we will win him over and keep you out of trouble.”
And they took the money and did as they had been instructed; and this story was widely spread among the Jews, and is to this day.

The evidence that all of the Synoptic Gospels were written much earlier than many scholars have attributed to them in the past is the fact that of the three, only Matthew’s Gospel records this incident.
If the Gospel of Mark and the Gospel of Luke had been late write-ups of the same events, as some higher critics have charged, they would have included this incident involving the Romans.

The fact that they do not, indicates that all of the Gospels were written early – Matthew writing his first, followed by Mark, then Luke – too early for Mark and Luke to have recorded what Matthew reports here in their Gospels.

Had Mark and Luke’s Gospels been written late, they would have included Matthew’s accounts, but the fact that they do not, indicate that they were not written late, but very early, within a few years of the events themselves.

Only John’s Gospel is of late origin, but written by John the Beloved priest, and John the Elder at the end of the first century A.D.

In our next and final lesson, we will examine closely and up front the other evidences of Jesus’ resurrection appearances to His disciples during a forty day period between the Feast of Unleavened Bread and Shavuot – the Feast of Weeks, or First Fruits.
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SOURCES CITED:
Exodus 12:1-2.
For example, Passover falls in the spring, and Sukkot falls in the fall, etc.
For further reading the article at this following URL is extremely helpful: http://www.hebrew4christians.com/Holidays/Calendar/calendar.html
On the Gregorian calendar, a Jewish Holiday spans two days, because the observance of any given Jewish Holy Day begins the night before at sundown, and the Hebrew Calendar does not indicate this, although some Jewish Calendars do indicate it. Observance begins the night before at sundown, though the calendar may not indicate it.
Friday late afternoon heading into early evening, and it is the Day of Preparation.
Matthew 27:50, Mark 15:37, Luke 23:46, John 19:30, 33-35. “… a revolutionary archaeological discovery was made in June 1968. Archeologist V. Tzaferis, under the direction of the Israeli Department of Antiquities and Museums, discovered four cave-tombs at the site of Gav'at ha-mivtar (Ras el-Masaref) just north of Jerusalem near Mt. Scopus.
“In Ossuary 4 of Tomb I, inscribed with the name Yohanan Ben Ha'galgal, were found the bones of an adult male and of a child. A large 7-inch spike had been driven through the heel bone, and both legs had been fractured. Haas reported: "Both the heel bones were found transfixed by a large iron nail. The shins were found intentionally broken. Death caused by crucifixion." 34/39
“The bones in Ossuary 4 confirm another passage in the New Testament:
‘The soldiers therefore came, and broke the legs of the first man, and of the man who was crucified with Him; but coming to Jesus, when they saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs (John 19:32,33).’” From the following link: http://www.greatcom.org/resources/areadydefense/ch20/default.htm to an Internet article titled: A Ready Defense.
Mark 15:42, Luke 23:54, John 19:42.
Matthew 27:50, Mark 15:46c. It is interesting the John doesn’t mention the stone rolled in front of the entrance to Joseph’s tomb (John 19:41-42), but mentions it in passing when he writes about Miriam (Mary) Magdalene’s discovery of it rolled away (John 20:1). Luke also doesn’t mention the heavy stone blocking the entrance to Joseph’s tomb (Luke 23:53), but mentions it having been rolled aside (Luke 24:2).
Codex Bezae, Mark 15:4.
Friday night, early evening, and Shabbat has begun at 7:00PM.
John 19:41.
Matthew 27:59, Mark 15:46, Luke 23:53.
It is Shabbat, Saturday morning.
Matthew 27:62-64. This would be the logical thing for them to do as they visited Pilate with their request, since their primary concern was that enough of Jesus’ disciples would attempt to move the stone, enter the tomb, and steal Jesus’ body. Note; they had no doubt that Jesus was dead, because they saw Him die on the cross.
A Roman Guard numbers between ten and thirty of Caesar’s finest troops.
Matthew 27:65-66.
They would not secure a tomb without a body, otherwise later, should there be an inquiry by Pilate about the body’s whereabouts, they would have to account why they guarded an empty tomb, and would pay with their lives for not first verifying that Jesus’ body was there to begin with. They would not assume this; it could cost them their lives.
Codex Bezae of Mark 15:4.
Matthew 27:66. They would not have affixed the emperor’s seal over an empty tomb, but one containing Jesus’ body.
The following link provides the reader with an opportunity to appreciate the impossibility of getting past any Roman guard: http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Polybius/6*.html
Sometime between 7:00PM and Midnight, Saturday night.
Matthew 27:66.
The reader is directed to the following URL for further study on the extent of Roman discipline and thoroughness: http://www.milism.net/romanarmy.htm
Polybius, The Histories.
Some sources say that the Roman Guard, or “Custodian” numbered between four and sixteen, but because of the nature of who and what they were guarding, and the potential for mischief or revolution, the higher number of troops is more likely, especially during those unsettling times.
Flavius Josephus describes the Roman camp and its discipline at the following URL: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/josephus-warb.asp
One squad of four troops per three hour watch.
Group of four men keeping watch.
The Mishnah, translated by Herbert Danby, Oxford University Press, 1933.
From the following link: http://www.greatcom.org/resources/areadydefense/ch20/default.htm to an Internet article titled: A Ready Defense.
This is if each guard is comprised of ten troops; thus, the Roman guard contains 10 troops and the temple guard contains 10 Levites comprising the temple police presence.
This is if each guard is comprised of sixteen troops; thus, the Roman guard contains 16 troops and the temple guard contains 16 Levites comprising the temple police presence.
Sunday morning before sunrise.
Exodus 12:16, 20:10.
Matthew 28:1, Mark 16:1.
John 20:1.
We are given the name Mary for these women, but their Hebrew names are Miriam.
Mark 16:1, Luke 23:56.
Matthew 27:61, Mark 15:47, Luke 23:55.
Mark 16:3.
Matthew 28:1, Mark 16:2, Luke 24:1.
Matthew 28:2-4.
Matthew 28:4.
Matthew 28:4.
Mark 16:4. It is Mark who gives us the clue that Joseph’s tomb and its surrounding garden was on an elevation. This is how we have determined by the evidence earlier, that the area where Jesus was crucified and the private garden tomb nearby, is on a hill outside and above the city walls.
Matthew 28:3. Apparently all of these things happened as the women arrived at the scene, and by the time they got closer to Joseph’s tomb, and looked up; they saw the stone rolled away the angel sitting on the stone.
Remember, these women do not yet know that the being is an angel, they only know that this being shines like lightning (Matthew 28:3), yet this might his appearance as he descended, but there is something supernatural about him – that they know. A normal human being would not astonish them, whereas an otherworldly being would.
Matthew 28:5-6
Mark 16:5-7.
Luke 24:4-8. When these Jewish women who worship God only bow, they are bowing before the presence of God, not to these angelic men, because they understand the symbolism here, and who these men represent and in whose presence they reside.
Luke 24:5b-7.
Luke 24:8.
Matthew 28:7.
Matthew 28:8, Mark 16:8, Luke 24:9.
Lk. 24:10.
Jn. 20:2.
Mt. 24:11.
Lk. 24:12a.
Lk. 20:3b., Jn. 20:3a.
Jn. 20:4.
Jn. 20:5. If this disciple is of priestly descent, he prevents himself from coming into contact with any dead body, because such contact is forbidden under Torah, because it renders whoever comes in contact with it ritually unclean
Jn. 20:6a.
Lk. 24:12b.
Jn. 20:6b.
Jn. 20:9.
Lk. 24:12c.
Jn. 20:8.
Jn. 20:10.
Matthew 28:11-15.
Knowing that Pilate’s relationship with Rome is tenuous at best, they know that any report reaching Caesar of soldiers under his direct command being dilatory in their guard duties and not disciplined by Pilate would end with Pilate’s own execution; the chief priests have a trump card against the governor and against his troops which they use in order to protect their hegemony over the people.
The oldest works in which references to Yeshu occur are the Tosefta and the Talmud, although some scholars consider these references to Yeshu to be post-Talmudic additions. They appear in the Babylonian Talmud, but also appear in the Venice Edition of the Jerusalem Talmud, also known as Palestinian Talmud. For more information, see the following URL: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yeshu#cite_note-TalmudTosefta-1
This happens as the women are leaving Joseph’s tomb with report of their experiences, having seen Jesus for themselves.
Mt. 28:11.
Mt. 28:12.
Mt. 28:13.
Mt. 28:14.
Mt. 28:15.
A period that lasts seven weeks and culminates with the Day of Pentecost. “In the Bible, Shavuot is called the Festival of Weeks (Hebrew: חג השבועות, Ḥag ha-Shavuot, Exodus 34:22, Deuteronomy 16:10); Festival of Reaping (Hebrew: חג הקציר, Ḥag ha-Katsir, Exodus 23:16), and Day of the First Fruits (Hebrew יום הבכורים, Yom ha-Bikkurim, Numbers 28:26). The Talmud refers to Shavuot as Atzeret[5] (Hebrew: עצרת‎, literally, "refraining" or "holding back"[1]), referring to the prohibition against work on this holiday[1] and to the conclusion of the holiday and season of Passover.[6] Since Shavuot occurs 50 days after Passover, Hellenistic Jews gave it the name Pentecost (πεντηκοστή, "fiftieth day").” From Wikipedia the Online Encyclopedia at the following URL: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shavuot
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