First of the Sabbaths: The Four Gospels Agree
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The Gospel of Matthew
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mattityahu (Matthew) 28:1 reads:
/*But the later of the Sabbaths*, at the dawning into the
*first of the Sabbaths*, Miryam HaMagdalit and the other
Miryam came to look at the/ /tomb./
In 34 A.D., the Passover Sabbath fell on the Thursday (from Wednesday
evening). The later of the two Sabbaths that week fell two days
afterwards, on the Saturday (from Friday evening). This Sabbath is the
first of the seven Sabbaths we are commanded to count until Shavuot
(Pentecost). It was before dawn on this first of the (seven) Sabbaths
when Yeshua was raised from death by the Father.
In the original Greek, the verse reads as follows.
Now the later of the Sabbaths.
into the first of the Sabbaths.
My drawing (figure 1) shows the three days and three nights of
Yeshua's death and resurrection, and graphically details how he
fulfilled the multiple prophecies concerning his death and
resurrection. (On the third day, after three days, three days and
three nights, the first fruits, and so on.)
/And when the Shabbat/ [Passover Shabbat, Thursday 15
Aviv] /was/ /past/ [i.e., Friday 16 Aviv], /Miryam
HaMagdalit, and Miryam the/ /mother of Ya'aqov, and
Shelomit, bought spices, that they might/ /come and anoint
him./
/And very early on the *first of the Shabbats*/ [the
dawning of Saturday 17 Aviv], /they arrived at the tomb at
the rising of the sun./
The original Greek of Mark 16:1--2 is shown below.
The Gospel of Luke
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Luke 24:1 should be combined with 23:56b, to read as per the following
translation:
And on the one Sabbath they rested, *but on the first of
the Sabbaths*, at deep dawn they came upon the tomb,
bringing the spices which they had prepared.
The Greek grammar and syntax requires the chapter break to occur at
Luke 23:56b, and not at 24:1. The verse and chapter marks are not part
of the original text. Translators typically ignore the grammar here
because, not knowing the Law, they do not understand what Luke was
saying (i.e., the correct reading according to normal Greek grammar
does not make sense to them because of the lawless theology they have
been taught).
The original Greek text of Luke 23:56b--24:1 is as follows.
- The phrase, "according to the commandment," () was a later scribal
addition meant to draw the reader's interpretation towards the
weekly Sabbath.
- Notes on the Greek:
and on the one Sabbath
but on the first of the Sabbaths
a syntactical structure which is translated into English like
the following example: "on the one hand ... but on the other"
The Gospel of John
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The text of John 20:1 reads:
Now on the *first of the Shabbats* Miryam HaMagdalit came
early, while it was still dark at the tomb, and saw the
stone already taken away from the tomb.
The original Greek text reads:
Earlier, in 19:31, John notes:
... because that Shabbat had been great ...
Thus, by drawing attention to the high Sabbath of 15 Aviv, John
implies, along with the other three evangelists, that the first of the
seven Shabbats counted towards Shavuot that year was the /second/
Sabbath that week.
Conclusion
~~~~~~~~~~
All four Gospel writers agree that Yeshua's resurrection occurred on
the first of the Sabbaths (), and careful distinction is made between
the Passover Sabbath of 15 Aviv, and the weekly Sabbath which occurred
two days later. The image below from Torah Times Messianic Ministry
summarises this important fact.
The lawless theologian's insistence that means, "first day of the
week," cannot be justified when the plain, literal meaning of the
words makes perfect sense in every context in which they appear. The
phrase never occurs in any Scriptural context other than the context
of the time of Passover. No other first century or earlier Greek text
(Scriptural or secular) testifies to the Church's false claims in this
matter.
