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 Y’shua’s body. However, they were once again delayed, this time by the weekly Sabbath.
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. Luke 23:55 - 24:1
Thus far, Y’shua has died, been placed in a tomb as the High Sabbath of the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread began. The women were forced to wait for that evening and day to pass. The next morning after the Sabbath when the shops were open, they purchased the spices and prepared them to anoint Y’shua’s body. They then had to rest for the weekly Sabbath 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 Y’shua arose on that day, or was tomb empty because He had already arisen?
To make all of these events fit, we can count backwards from the weekly Sabbath and figure out what evening Y’shua 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.²
Wednesday night – Y’shua in the tomb – first night, High Sabbath begins
Thursday – Y’shua in the tomb – first day, High Sabbath,
Thursday night – Y’shua in the tomb, second night, end of High Sabbath
Friday – Y’shua in the tomb, second day, spices bought & prepared
Friday night – Y’shua in the tomb, third night, weekly Sabbath begins
Saturday – Y’shua in the tomb third day, weekly Sabbath
Saturday Night – Y’shua NOT IN THE TOMB, End of weekly Sabbath
In order for Y’shua’s 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, Y’shua arose.
Would Y’shua’s resurrection on Sabbath violate torah (the “law’)? The torah instructs us to do no work on the Sabbath; could Y’shua rising from the dead be considered work? What did Y’shua say about this?
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? How much more valuable is a man than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath. Matthew 12:11-12
This passage refers to healing on the Sabbath. Rising from the dead to bring eternal life to the world would certainly be a bigger “good” to do on the Sabbath!
Y’shua also told us:
For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.” Matthew 12:8
(also Mark 2:28; Luke 6:5)
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 author’s writing have more authority than the author, Himself?
When the women arrived at the first opportunity to see what they had come to do, Y’shua had already arisen! He was gone. He did NOT rise on Sunday. He arose on Saturday, as the Lord of the Sabbath.
5 And the angel answered and said to the women, "Do not be afraid; for I
know that you are looking for Y’shua who has been crucified.
6 "He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said. Come, see the place where He was lying. Matthew 28:5-6
(Also Matthew 28:1-6; Mark 16:2-7; Luke 24:1-3)
The tradition of Y’shua dying on “good Friday” and rising from the dead on Sunday has long been the justification of believers changing the seventh day Sabbath God instructed His people to keep, to Sunday, as the supposed “day He arose.” The question begs to 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 changed³, or will they keep the Sabbath that men created?
The choice is yours: obey God or men.
FOOTNOTES:
¹Scripture can be confusing at times because it calls this season either the Passover Season and because unleavened bread is eaten from Passover throughout the seven day Feast of Unleavened Bread, sometimes Scripture includes Passover into the Feast of Unleavened Bread:
Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which is called the Passover, was
approaching. Luke 22:1
3 Now it was during the days of Unleavened Bread.
4 And when he had seized him (Stephen), he put him in prison, delivering
him to four squads of soldiers to guard him, intending after the Passover
to bring him out before the people. Acts 12:3-4
²(Matthew 27:45-46; Mark 15:33-34; Luke 23:44-49)
http://thewayofthemessiah.org/tsp.html