SATURDAY, AUGUST 17, 2024
NO CONTRADICTIONS IN THE BIBLE – Pastor Chris
All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness (2 Timothy 3:16).
The Bible is a trustworthy material that contains the inspired Word of God and provides guidance and direction for us to live by. Some people however try to discredit it by claiming some of its details don’t add up.
An example is about the resurrection of Jesus; the Bible says He resurrected on Sunday morning after being in the grave for three days and three nights. So, they ask, “How could it have been three days and three nights from Friday to Sunday morning? It doesn’t add up.”
Well, the Bible never said Jesus died on Friday. Some religious people assumed this to be so because they read in the Bible that Jesus died the day before the Sabbath and they knew that Saturday was Sabbath. What they didn’t know was that the Sabbath the Bible was referring to wasn’t the weekly Sabbath but the Passover Sabbath.
This Passover Sabbath was a special event that took place on the 14th day of the month of Nisan every year. It therefore wasn’t fixed to any particular day of the week. It’s just the same way Christmas is on the 25th of December for most of the world, but the 25th of December doesn’t fall on a Monday every year.
That year, the 14th day of Nisan fell on a Thursday. And so, Jesus was crucified on a Wednesday, the day before the Passover Sabbath. The gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke didn’t mention that this was Passover Sabbath, but John clearly stated it, “…the Jewish leaders didn’t want the bodies hanging there the next day, which was the Sabbath (and a very special Sabbath, because it was Passover week)…” (John 19:31 NLT).
The purpose of this isn’t to criticize the celebration of Good Friday; no. Rather, it’s to show that Jesus was accurate when He said, “For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth” (Matthew 12:40).
He was crucified on Wednesday, and before dawn on Sunday, He had risen. This also shows that the Bible is trustworthy. You can trust its writings because it’s more than a religious book; it’s the testimony of God.
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PRAYERDear Father, your Word is trustworthy and true; it’s a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. I’m strengthened, firmly grounded in the accuracy and reliability of the Scriptures, for it’s profitable for every aspect of my life, in Jesus’ Name. Amen.
FURTHER STUDY:
Psalm 33:4
For the word of the LORD [is] right; and all his works [are done] in truth.
Psalm 119:160
Thy word [is] true [from] the beginning: and every one of thy righteous judgments [endureth] for ever.
Romans 3:3-4
For what if some did not believe? shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect? 4 God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged.
Hebrews 4:12
For the word of God [is] quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and [is] a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
DAILY SCRIPTURE READING
1-Year Bible Reading Plan: 1 Corinthians 2 & Psalms 107-108
2-Year Bible Reading Plan: Philippians 4:1-7 & Jeremiah 2
