You hit on two of the major reasons:
*]We believe that Holy Saturday is the fulfillment of the Sabbath. That in a way not obvious until after it happened, the Sabbath foreshadowed Christ’s “rest” in the Tomb. To put it another way, Christ came to fulfill the Law, not to abolish it, so He observed the Sabbath even in His Death; and
*]Three is an important number for the Trinity.
There are a few other reasons as well:
*]Christ calls Himself the Sign of Jonah, and explains that as Jonah was in the belly of the whale for three days, so He’ll be in “the belly of the Earth” for three days (Jonah 1:17; Matthew 12:40). [The sign of Jonah is two-fold. It also contains the “40 days” prophesy to Nineveh (Jonah 3:4). If Nineveh had rejected Jonah, the city would have been destroyed in 40 days. When Jerusalem rejected Jesus, the city was destroyed in 40 years.]
*]The year that Jesus died, Passover began on a Friday night. Since this is also when the Sabbath began, some observant Jews celebrated it on Thursday night instead. So the timing here is fascinating, because it means that Christ (called both the High Priest and Passover Lamb in the New Testament) is killed at 3 PM on Preparation Day, the time when the Passover lambs were slain. But since Jesus and His Disciples celebrated the Passover a day early (again, out of respect for the Sabbath), it meant that the Last Supper on Thursday night was the fulfillment of the Passover meal.
*]Meanwhile, the Resurrection was on “the first day of the week, very early in the morning” (Luke 11:32). It calls to mind the beginning of Creation (Genesis 1:1-5) and of time (John 1:1-2). It shows that the Resurrection marks a new beginning – not only a New Covenant, but a New Creation.
So there are good reasons not only for the three days, but also for the placing of the Last Supper on Thursday, Good Friday on Friday, and Easter on Sunday.
There is evidence out there to support the Last Supper on Tuesday. I cannot articulate the argument myself, but I have heard them, and the Holy Father touches on them briefly in his new book. In short, there is no necessity for the Last SUpper to be on Thursday, and with the amount of things that went on between the Arrest and Crucifixion, it would seem that earlier in the week was likely.So there are good reasons not only for the three days, but also for the placing of the Last Supper on Thursday, Good Friday on Friday, and Easter on Sunday.
Thanks for the information. I’m not aware of the specification of three days in reference to Jesus (or the Messiah) in Old Testament prophecy. Is there a specific verse?in accordance with Old Testament prophecies.
Thanks for the specific information.3 in the bible, especially as in “the third day” means divine perfection, reconciliation of duality, and analogy to the Trinity
on the 3rd day the Lord will come down from Mt Sinai before the eyes of all the people Ex19:11
Jonah in the belly of the whale foreshadowing Christ’s time in the tomb as Matt 2:40 uses it “so will the Son of Man be in the belly of the earth for three days and three nights.” It is not a literal 72 hour period to the second but an analogy.
the 3 days are, sundown Holy Thursday and the beginning of the Passover meal/Lord’s supper to sundown Good Friday, the entire period being the accomplishment of the Paschal Sacrifice, Sundown Good Friday just after the entombment to Sundown Saturday when the Vigil begins. Beginning of the Vigil to midnight Easter Sunday, the entire period of the resurrection, post resurrection appearances to Mary Magdelene and several disciples, including on the road to Emmaus toward sundown, the appearance to the disciples that night. All encompass one event, the 3 days signifying completeness of the divine action and revelation of the action of the Trinity.
Thanks for the information. As always, more research is needed!There is evidence out there to support the Last Supper on Tuesday. I cannot articulate the argument myself, but I have heard them, and the Holy Father touches on them briefly in his new book. In short, there is no necessity for the Last SUpper to be on Thursday, and with the amount of things that went on between the Arrest and Crucifixion, it would seem that earlier in the week was likely.
Interestingly, it was a tradition in Middle Eastern religions - three days features in the Inanna/Ishtar/Astarte descent into the Underworld story, for example - so there was ancient significance to the concept.I wish to find out whether there is any verse in Scripture, or perhaps Catholic doctrine, that indicates why Jesus rose on the THIRD day? Does this have anything to do with waiting until the (Jewish) Sabbath had passed? Or does the number “three” have particular significance for Catholicism (and Christianity, in general) since Christians believe in a Triune G-d? Thanks for your reply.
At the Easter Vigil, the days of the creation of the Universe, Earth, animals, man will be spoken of in the Liturgy of the Mass - days 1 through 7. Seven and sevening has a long history throughout the Old Testament in relationship to God’s covenants (or the formation of family) for our salvation.Many are eight-sided as a reminder of the new creation and as a connection to the practice of circumcision, which traditionally occurs on the eighth day. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baptismal_font
We gather on the day of the sun because it is the first day, when God transformed darkness and matter and made the world; on this same day Jesus Christ, our Savior, rose from the dead.
I don’t doubt that numerology was significant in pagan religions throughout the Middle East, but it’s also thoroughly Jewish. After all, there’s the assigning of numbers to each Hebrew letter, the importance of numbers like seven, twelve, and forty, etc.Thank you for this comprehensive explanation! The number “forty” is also one of those that are repeated a lot in the Hebrew Bible. Did all this numerology also derive from paganism?