Scriptures (1124) (graphe from grapho = to write; English = graphite - the lead in a pencil!) means first a writing or thing written, a document. The majority of the NT uses refer to the Old Testament writings, in a general sense of the whole collection when the plural (= Scriptures - Matt. 21:42; 22:29; 26:54; Mk. 12:24; 14:49; Lk. 24:27, 32, 45; Jn. 5:39; Acts 17:2, 11; 18:24, 28; Rom. 15:4; 2Pe 3:16) is used and other times of a particular passage when the singular is used (= the Scripture - Mk. 12:10; 15:28; Lk. 4:21; Jn. 13:18; 19:24, 36f; Acts 1:16; 8:35; Ro 11:2; Jas. 2:8, 23) and is used in such a way that quoting Scripture is understood to be the same as quoting God!
NIDNTT notes that the root word of graphe is graph- which...
has the primary meaning of to scratch on, engrave, with reference to an ornament, reports, letters, lists, and instructions. From it are derived the English “graphic”, “graph” etc. The material can be various: stone, wood, metal, wax, or leather. The verb form grapho is found in its original sense in Homer, Il. 17, 599. In Herodotus., 4, 36 the word is used meaning to draw, of lines on maps; and scholars of the 3rd cent. B.C. used it of drawing of mathematical figures. In Homer grapho is already used in the sense of scratching signs on a tablet as a kind of letter (Il. 6, 169). From the time of Herodotus it is used generally in the normal sense of to write, and from the time of Pindar in the derived sense of to prescribe, to order. From the practice of handing in a written accusation, grapho came in judicial language to mean to accuse (Plato, Euthyphro 2b).
The noun graphe originally carried the abstract verbal sense of the act of writing, drawing or painting; then the concrete sense of writing, inscription, letter (generally from 4th cent. B.C. onwards), indictment; in papyri of the 3rd cent. a list; in Plato the written law (Leg. 11, 934c).
Gramma means: (a) the product of the action, especially where contrast with the spoken word is stressed; occasionally (b) the action itself; but then also (c) ability to write. It can mean the individual letters of the alphabet (Hdt., 5, 58 f.), but also papers, letters, documents. The plural grammata is used in the sense of elementary knowledge, then literature, learning. The concept of “holy writings” or “holy scriptures” becomes important in the Hellenistic period: temple records, magic books and hermetic literature; also imperial letters and decrees which are regarded as quasi-divine. The authority of the written word leads, even in the classical period, to the composition of explanatory commentaries, especially on the writings of Homer. (Brown, Colin, Editor. New International Dictionary of NT Theology. 1986. Zondervan)
It is worth noting that the majority of the OT passages quoted in the NT Scriptures are not from the original Hebrew but are from the Greek translation of the Hebrew, the Septuagint (LXX). The full title, “the Holy Scriptures,” is found only in Romans 1:2 (see note).
One of the most important NT descriptions of Scripture is found in 2Timothy where Paul reminds Timothy...
that from childhood you have known the sacred (holy - consecrated to God) writings (grammata) which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness. (see note 2 Timothy 3:15; 3:16) (Comment: Note that it is not the writers who were inspired but the writings! Without dictation or blocking out the individuality of the human writers, God the Spirit bore them along as they wrote the inspired writings, so that the product is "the holy Scriptures" the Word of God)
Graphe is used 51 times in the NT (42" class="scriptRef">Matt. 21:42; 22.29" class="scriptRef">22:29; 26:54, 56 - 4x; Mk. 12:10, 24; 14:49; 28" class="scriptRef">28" class="scriptRef">15:28 - 4x; Lk. 4:21; 24:27, 32, 45 - 4x; Jn. 2:22; 5:39; 7:38, 42; 35" class="scriptRef">10:35; 13:18; 17:12; 19:24, 28, 36, 37; 20:9; - 12x; Acts 1:16; 8:32, 35; 17:2, 11; 18:24, 28 - 7x; Ro 1:2; 4:3; 9:17; 10:11; 11:2; 15:4; 16:26 - 7x; 1Corinthians 15:3, 4 - 2x; Gal. 3:8, 22; 4:30 - 3x; 1 Timothy 5:18; 2Timothy 3:16; Jas. 2:8, 23; 4:5 3x; 1Peter; 2Pet. 1:20; 3:16 - 2x)
Graphe is used 21 times in the Septuagint (LXX) (Ex 32:16; Deut. 10:4; 1 Chr. 15:15; 28:19; 2 Chr. 2:11; 24:27; 30:5, 18; 35:4; Ezra 2:62; 4:7; 6:18; 7:22; Neh. 7:64; Ps. 87:6; Ezek. 13:9; Dan. 5:6ff, 15ff, 24ff; 6:8; 10:21)
Exodus 32:16 And the tables were the work of God, and the writing (Lxx = graphe) the writing (Lxx = graphe) of God written on the tables.
Ezra 6:18 Then they appointed the priests to their divisions and the Levites in their orders for the service of God in Jerusalem, as it is written (Lxx = graphe) in the book of Moses.
Below are some of the most (but not all) the uses of graphe in the NT. Notice how many have a Messianic "flavor" and allude to some aspect of the Gospel...
Matthew 21:42 Jesus said to them, "Did you never read in the Scriptures, 'The stone which the builders rejected, This became the chief corner stone; This came about from the Lord, and it is marvelous in our eyes'? (Comment: The Scripture cited here is Psalm 118:22,23--the same psalm sung by the multitude as Jesus was riding into Jerusalem -- Matthew 21:9. In their very rejection of Christ, these "builders" were fulfilling His Word.)
Matthew 22:29 But Jesus answered and said to them, "You (Sadducees) are mistaken, not understanding the Scriptures, or the power of God." (Comment: The Sadducees, who rejected the doctrine of resurrection, thought they could embarrass Jesus with their question of a woman who had married, successively, seven brothers. But all those who think they can find mistakes or contradictions in the Bible simply show that they know neither the Scriptures nor God's power.)
Matthew 26:56 "But all this (Jesus' betrayal and arrest by the Romans in the Garden of Gethsemane) has taken place that the Scriptures of the prophets may be fulfilled." Then all the disciples left Him and fled. (Comment: cf Mk 14:49, See Zechariah 13:7)
Luke 4:21 And He began to say to them, "Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing." (Comment: Jesus began His ministry by reading from Isaiah 61:1-2 but His reading stopped just before "the day of vengeance of our God," as this portion would not be fulfilled until His second coming!)
Luke 24:26 "Was it not necessary for the Christ (Messiah) to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?" 27 And beginning with Moses and with all the prophets ( = the Jewish way of designating the entire OT), He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures. (Comment: Jesus here confirms that all the Scriptures point, in one way or another, to the person and work of the Savior.)
Luke 24:45 Then He opened (open thoroughly what had been closed) their minds to understand (suniemi = entails the assembling of individual facts into an organized whole, as collecting the pieces of a puzzle and putting them together. The mind opened by Jesus grasps concepts and sees the proper relationship between them.) the Scriptures, 46 and He said to them, "Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and rise again from the dead the third day; 47 and that repentance for forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem."
John 5:39 You search the Scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is these that bear witness of Me;40 and you are unwilling to come to Me, that you may have life. (Comment: The written Word reveals the living Word, the OT Scriptures which are replete with testimonies of the coming Messiah.)
John 7:38 "He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, 'From his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water.'" (Comment: Isaiah 44:3 'For I will pour out water on the thirsty land And streams on the dry ground; I will pour out My Spirit on your offspring, And My blessing on your descendants. Isaiah 55:1 "Ho! Every one who thirsts, come to the waters; And you who have no money come, buy and eat. Come, buy wine and milk Without money and without cost.)
John 7:42 "Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the offspring of David (2Sa 7:12), and from Bethlehem (Micah 5:2), the village where David was?"
John 10:35 "If he called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken) (Comment: Morris writes that "Jesus is basing His entire defense against the charge of blasphemy on one word, "gods," in a relatively obscure psalm, commenting that the "Scripture"--that is the word actually written down--cannot be broken. This constitutes a very important testimony by Christ to the plenary verbal inspiration and authority of the Bible. The reasoning of Christ is very subtle yet powerful, relying entirely on the use of this precise word in its context. - Defenders Study Bible)
John 13:18 "I do not speak of all of you. I know the ones I have chosen; but it is that the Scripture may be fulfilled, 'HE WHO EATS MY BREAD HAS LIFTED UP HIS HEEL AGAINST ME.' (Comment: See also Acts 1:16. John is quoting the Scripture or grapho in Psalm 41:9 "Even my close friend, in whom I trusted, Who ate my bread, Has lifted up his heel against me")
John 17:12 "While I was with them, I was keeping them in Thy name which Thou hast given Me; and I guarded them, and not one of them perished but the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. (Comment: The son of perdition = Judas. See Ps. 41:9 above).
John 19:24 They said therefore to one another, "Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it, to decide whose it shall be"; that the Scripture might be fulfilled, "THEY DIVIDED MY OUTER GARMENTS AMONG THEM, AND FOR MY CLOTHING THEY CAST LOTS." (Comment: These actions were in precise fulfillment of an unlikely prophecy given a thousand years before in Psalm 22:18 and is one of the few events in the life of Christ recorded in all four Gospels.)
John 19:28 After this, Jesus, knowing that all things had already been accomplished (teleo = same verb as "It is finished" in John 19:30), in order that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, "I am thirsty." (Comment: Psalm 69:21 "They also gave me gall for my food, And for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.")
John 19:36 For these things (Jesus' volitional death - He gave up His life) came to pass, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, "NOT A BONE OF HIM SHALL BE BROKEN." (Comment: This death of Jesus before His legs could be broken was in fulfillment of the prophecy in Psalm 34:19,20. Jesus also fulfilled the symbolism of the sacrificial Passover lamb in 1Cor 5:7, the bones of which were not to be broken as recorded in the OT Scriptures Ex 12:46; Nu 9:12).
John 19:37 And again another Scripture says, "THEY SHALL LOOK ON HIM WHOM THEY PIERCED." (Comment: Fulfilled the prophecy in Zechariah 12:10 ""And I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him, like the bitter weeping over a first-born." His scars were still visible in His resurrected body in John 20:27 and will be with Him forever Revelation 1:7 {note} as marks of faithfulness to keep forever His inviolable blood covenant).
John 20:9 For as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead. (Comment: Refer to Psalm 16:9,10, Isaiah 53:10-12, compare Hosea 6:2)
Acts 8:32 Now the passage of Scripture which he (the Ethiopian eunuch) was reading was this: "HE WAS LED AS A SHEEP TO SLAUGHTER; AND AS A LAMB BEFORE ITS SHEARER IS SILENT, SO HE DOES NOT OPEN HIS MOUTH. (from Isaiah 53:7-8)...8:35 And Philip opened his mouth, and beginning from this Scripture he preached ("gospelized" = euaggelizo) Jesus to him. (Comment: This is a clear statement that the OT Scriptures relate to the Messiah, Jesus).
Acts 17:11 Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily, to see whether these things were so.
Acts 18:28 for he (Apollos) powerfully refuted the Jews in public, demonstrating by the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ (Messiah).
Romans 1:1 (note) Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, 1:2 which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures, (Comment: Paul began by stressing that the gospel was not new, but was the prophetic fulfillment of the promises given in God's Holy Scriptures from the beginning. Cp Gal 3:8)
Romans 4:3 (note) For what does the Scripture say? "AND ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS RECKONED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS." (Quoting Ge 15:6 - Abraham was justified by faith before he was given the sign of circumcision in Genesis 17:9-14) and before the Law was given, so justification by faith is God's only way of salvation).
Romans 10:11 (note) For the Scripture says, "WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED." (Paul quotes Isaiah 28:16 as he had done in Romans 9:33 - note)
Romans 11:2 (note) God has not rejected His people whom He foreknew. Or do you not know what the Scripture says in the passage about Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel? (Comment: God's "foreknowledge," as is evident from His calling of Israel long before Israel was a nation, involves not just pre-knowledge but pre-planning... and what God plans, He finishes. God is not finished with Israel yet)
Romans 15:4 (note) For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. (Comment: How much time do you spend in the OT Scriptures? They were all written for our benefit today, so by no means should Christians limit their Bible study to the New Testament)
Romans 16:26 (note) but now is manifested (the revelation of the mystery = the Gospel of Christ), and by the Scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the eternal God, (the Gospel) has been made known to all the nations, leading to obedience of faith (Comment: In developing the doctrine of the Gospel, Paul did so within the prophetic framework of the OT Scriptures, and in this one epistle alone, he quoted from the Old Testament, directly or indirectly, at least fifty times, in support of his arguments.)
Galatians 3:8 And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles (the nations) by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, "ALL THE NATIONS SHALL BE BLESSED IN YOU." (Comment: God's original promise to Abraham, quoted here from Genesis 12:3, required the coming of Messiah to redeem the world in order to be fulfilled. Note the promise was to "all nations" not just to Israel, which did not even exist at that time. Abraham thus believed this early form of the Gospel and was justified by faith in the Gospel).
Hodge summarizes according to the Scriptures writing that...
the fact that the Messiah was to die as a propitiation for sin had been revealed in the Old Testament. The New Testament constantly teaches that Christ’s death as an atoning sacrifice was predicted by the Law and the Prophets. Our Lord reproved his listeners for not believing what the prophets had said about this subject (Luke 24:25–26). Paul protested in front of Festus that in preaching the Gospel he had said “nothing beyond what the prophets and Moses said would happen—that the Christ would suffer and, as the first to rise from the dead, would proclaim light to his own people and to the Gentiles” (Acts 26:22–23). He assured the Romans that his Gospel was that “to which the Law and the Prophets testify” (Romans 3:21). The letter to the Hebrews is an exposition of the whole Mosaic service as a prefiguration of the office and work of Christ. And Isaiah 53 is the foundation of all the New Testament exhibitions of a suffering and atoning Messiah. Paul and all other faithful ministers of the Gospel, therefore, teach that atonement for sin by the death of Christ is the great doctrine of the whole word of God. (Hodge, Charles. 1 Corinthians)
1Corinthians 15:4 and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, (NASB: Lockman)
Greek: kai hoti etaphe, (3SAPI) kai hoti egegertai (3SRPI) te hemera te trite kata tas graphas,
Amplified: That He was buried, that He arose on the third day as the Scriptures foretold (Amplified Bible - Lockman)
Barclay: and that he was laid in the tomb, and that he was raised up on the third day according to the scriptures, (Westminster Press)
KJV: And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:
NLT: He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, as the Scriptures said. (NLT - Tyndale House)
Phillips: that he was buried and rose again on the third day, again as the scriptures foretold. (Phillips: Touchstone)
Wuest: and that He was entombed, and that He has been raised on the third day according to the scriptures, (Eerdmans)
Young's Literal: and that he was buried, and that he hath risen on the third day, according to the Writings,
AND THAT HE WAS BURIED: kai hoti etaphe, (3SAPI): (Isaiah 53:9; Matthew 27:57, 58, 59, 60; Mark 15:43, 44, 45, 46; Luke 23:50, 51, 52,53; John 19:38, 39, 40, 41, 42; Acts 13:29; Romans 6:4; Colossians 2:12)
That (hoti) is a demonstrative conjunction which is repeated before each of the four verbs (that...died...buried...raised...appeared) emphasizing each as a separate specific truth of the Gospel.
He was buried - It is somewhat ironic that a burial or funeral is part of the good news, but it is the subsequent events that make it such good news. The Christ had to be laid in the grave before He could be raised from the grave. Messiah's burial was foretold hundreds of years earlier in Isaiah, the prophet recording that...
His grave was assigned with wicked men, yet He was with a rich man in His death, because He had done no violence, nor was there any deceit in His mouth. (Isaiah 53:9) (Comment: Jesus would normally have been buried along with the two criminals in an unmarked grave, except for divine intervention. The rich man Joseph of Arimathea [see Mt 27:57ff below] intervened with the Roman authorities and had Jesus buried in his private tomb. It is notable that once Jesus died, God allowed no more wicked eyes to see Him or wicked hands to touch Him.)
Matthew 27:57-60 (with additional facts from the other 3 gospels in parentheses and green italics) firmly documents the fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy noting that...
When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea ("a city of the Jews" Lu 23:51), named Joseph ("a prominent member of the Council" [Sanhedrin] Mk 15:43; "a good and righteous man - he had not consented to their plan and action" Lu 23:50-51), who himself had also become a disciple of Jesus ("but a secret one, for fear of the Jews", Jn 19:38; "waiting {see prosdechomai} for the kingdom of God" Mk 15:43). This man ("gathered up courage and" Mk 15:43) went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ("wondered if He was dead by this time, and summoning the centurion, he questioned him as to whether He was already dead. And ascertaining this from the centurion" Jn 19:38) ordered it to be given over to him ("granted permission" Jn 19:38; "granted the body to Joseph." Mk 15:44-45). And Joseph ("came therefore and" Jn 19:38) took the body ("down" Mk 15:46; "And Nicodemus came also, who had first come to Him by night; bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds weight" Jn 19:39) and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth ("with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews" Jn 19:40), and ("on account of the Jewish day of preparation, because the tomb was nearby" Jn 19:42; "and the Sabbath was about to begin" Lu 23:54;) laid it ("in the place where He was crucified... in the garden" Jn 19:41) in his own new tomb ("where no one had ever lain" Lu 23:53), which he had hewn out in the rock and he rolled a large stone against the entrance of the tomb and went away.
Buried (2290) (thapto) means to put into a grave, to perform funeral rites, to inter, to entomb. The point is that Christ did not just "swoon" but that His human body was literally dead.
Here are the 11 uses of thapto in the NT and all refer to a literal burial...
Matthew 8:21 And another of the disciples said to Him, "Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father." 22 But Jesus said to him, "Follow Me; and allow the dead to bury their own dead."
Matthew 14:12 And his disciples came and took away the body and buried it; and they went and reported to Jesus.
Luke 9:59 And He said to another, "Follow Me." But he said, "Permit me first to go and bury my father." 60 But He said to him, "Allow the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God."
Luke 16:22 "Now it came about that the poor man died and he was carried away by the angels to Abraham's bosom; and the rich man also died and was buried.
Acts 2:29 "Brethren, I may confidently say to you regarding the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.
Acts 5:6 And the young men arose and covered him up, and after carrying him out, they buried him...5:9 Then Peter said to her, "Why is it that you have agreed together to put the Spirit of the Lord to the test? Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they shall carry you out as well." 5:10 And she fell immediately at his feet, and breathed her last; and the young men came in and found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband.
1 Corinthians 15:4 and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures
There is no question that the disciples believed that he was dead. In their minds there was no doubt about it. They could never have entertained any idea that he had merely fainted on the cross, or entered into a coma, for they themselves had performed the burial service. That is why Paul adds that here. It marked the acceptance of the disciples that Jesus was truly dead.
AND THAT HE WAS RAISED ON THE THIRD DAY: kai hoti egegertai (3SRPI) te hemera te trite: (1Cor 15:16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21; Matthew 20:19; 27:63,64; 28:1-6; Mark 9:31; 10:33,34; 16:2-7; Luke 9:22; 32-Luke.18.33" class="scriptRef">Luke 18:32,33; 24:5, 6, 7; John 2:19, 20, 21; 20:1-9; Acts 1:3; 2:23,24,32; 13:30; Acts 17:31; Hebrews 13:20)
Vine writes that...
By the death and burial of His body He came down to our condition; by His Resurrection He raised us to His position. (Vine, W. Collected writings of W. E. Vine. Nashville: Thomas Nelson or Logos)
It is worth noting that because the idea of resurrection was foreign to Greek thought, there existed no technical words in Greek to describe it.
He was raised on the third day - It is notable that two of the "most famous" disciples of Jesus, Peter and John, did not understand what the Old Testament Scriptures and Jesus Himself had clearly prophesied regarding His resurrection. And so Matthew records that...
From that time (once the disciples had formally recognized Him as the Messiah the Lord began to prepare them for His real mission--and theirs) Jesus Christ began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on the third day. (Matthew 16:21)
Even in the face of such clear teaching they did not fully comprehend, John testifying that...
the other disciple (John) who had first come to the tomb entered then also, and he saw (perceived - he perceived the significance of the grave clothes without a body!) and believed. For as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead. (John 20:8-9) (Comment: John was the first to understand the truth of the resurrection and as a result to believe. Edwin A. Blum adds that "Peter must have been thinking, “Why would a grave robber have left the clothes in this order? Why take the body of Jesus?” But John perceived that the missing body and the position of the grave clothes was not due to a robbery. He realized that Jesus had risen from the dead and had gone through the grave clothes. The tomb was open not to let Jesus’ body out but to let the disciples and the world see that He rose." - Walvoord, J. F., Zuck, R. B., et al: The Bible Knowledge Commentary. 1985. Victor or Logos)
John believed and in fact recorded his and the other disciples' belief in chapter two writing that...
When therefore He was raised from the dead, His disciples remembered that He said this and they believed the Scripture, and the word which Jesus had spoken. (John 2:22)
Raised (1453) (egeiro) is used literally meaning to cause someone to wake from sleep. It means to cease sleeping and wake up literally (Mt 1:24) or figuratively (Ro 13:11) to awaken from thoughtless indolence. Egeiro means to cause some to stand up from a lower position of sitting or lying. Egeiro can mean to cause to come into existence as in Luke 1:69 where God "raised up a horn of salvation" speaking of Jesus' birth. The expression is Semitic for “cause to be born,” “raise up a progeny".
Egeiro as used in 1Corinthians 15:4 means to cause to return to life. This idea comes from the fact that the ancients closely associated death with sleep. Paul uses the perfect tense which emphasizes that Christ arose at a point in history and continues in His risen state. The passive voice indicates in this verse that Christ did not raise Himself but was raised by God.
Numerous passages attest to the importance of the doctrine that the Father raised the Lord Jesus...
(Peter in his first sermon on Pentecost declared that) God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power. (Acts 2:24)
(Peter addressing a Jewish audience declares) (You) put to death the Prince of life, the One Whom God raised from the dead, a fact to which we are witnesses. (Acts 3:14)
(Peter filled with the Holy Spirit addressed the Jewish rulers and elders declaring) Let it be known to all of you, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, Whom you crucified, Whom God raised from the dead-- by this name this man stands here before you in good health. (Acts 4:10)
(Peter and the apostles declared to the Sanhedrin who ordered them not to teach in the Name of Jesus) "The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, Whom you had put to death by hanging Him on a cross. (Acts 5:30)
(Peter speaking in the house of Simon the tanner declared) "God raised Him up on the third day, and granted that He should become visible" (Acts 10:40)
(Paul emphasizes Christ's resurrection 3 times as he speaks a word of exhortation in the Synagogue at Pisidian Antioch on his first missionary journey) "But God raised Him from the dead ... 33 that God has fulfilled this promise to our children in that He raised up Jesus, as it is also written in the second Psalm, 'THOU ART MY SON; TODAY I HAVE BEGOTTEN THEE.' 34 "And as for the fact that He raised Him up from the dead, no more to return to decay, He has spoken in this way: 'I WILL GIVE YOU THE HOLY and SURE blessings OF DAVID.' (Acts 13:30, 33, 34) (Comment: Most commentaries cite the OT quote in Acts 13:34 from Isaiah 55:3 but it reads "I will make an everlasting covenant with you, according to the faithful mercies shown to David." This quote in Acts 13 therefore is not exact, but regardless of its OT source, it still implies the necessity of Christ's resurrection because a dead Messiah could not have been the channel for the blessing promised to David and his posterity, Christ being of the lineage of David. And Paul goes on to further substantiate that he is referring to the resurrection in the next verse quoting for the Messianic resurrection passage in Psalm 16:10)
(Paul on Mars Hill, the Areopagus, before the pagan Greek intelligentsia and philosophically minded declared) He (God) has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man Whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead." (Acts 17:31)
Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, in order that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life... 9 knowing that Christ, having been raised (passive voice = resurrection was effected by an outside power, in context the Father) from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him. (see notes Romans 6:4; 6:9)
If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved; (see note Romans 10:9)
Now God has not only raised the Lord, but will also raise us up through His power. (2Cor 6:14)
knowing that He who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and will present us with you. (2Cor 4:14)
Paul, an apostle (not sent from men, nor through the agency of man, but through Jesus Christ, and God the Father, Who raised Him from the dead), (Galatians 1:1)
(The power available to believers is according to the working of the strength of His might) which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places (see note Ephesians 1:20)
(Believers) having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. (see note Colossians 2:11)
(The saints at Thessalonica) wait for His Son from heaven, Whom He raised from the dead, that is Jesus, who delivers us from the wrath to come. (see note 1Thessalonians 1:10)
The resurrection asserts the Father’s approval of Jesus’ life, teachings, and sacrificial death.
The OT Scriptures prophesied of Messiah's resurrection, David writing that...
For Thou wilt not abandon my soul to Sheol; Neither wilt Thou allow Thy Holy One to undergo decay. Thou wilt make known to me the path of life; In Thy presence is fulness of joy; In Thy right hand there are pleasures forever. (Psalm 16:10-11).
Peter and Paul both gave Psalm 16:10-11 a Messianic fulfillment...
(Peter declared) "For David says of Him (Messiah), 'I WAS ALWAYS BEHOLDING THE LORD IN MY PRESENCE; FOR HE IS AT MY RIGHT HAND, THAT I MAY NOT BE SHAKEN. 26 'THEREFORE MY HEART WAS GLAD AND MY TONGUE EXULTED; MOREOVER MY FLESH ALSO WILL ABIDE IN HOPE; 27 BECAUSE THOU WILT NOT ABANDON MY SOUL TO HADES, NOR ALLOW THY HOLY ONE TO UNDERGO DECAY. 28 'THOU HAST MADE KNOWN TO ME THE WAYS OF LIFE; THOU WILT MAKE ME FULL OF GLADNESS WITH THY PRESENCE.' (Acts 2:25-28)
(Paul declared) "Therefore He also says in another Psalm (Ps 16:10), 'THOU WILT NOT ALLOW THY HOLY ONE TO UNDERGO DECAY.' (Acts 13:35)
Spurgeon (ref) commenting on Psalm 16:10 wrote...
Into the outer prison of the grave his body might go, but into the inner prison of corruption he could not enter. He who in soul and body was preeminently God's "Holy One," was loosed from the pains of death, because it was not possible that he should be holden of it. This is noble encouragement to all the saints; die they must, but rise they shall, and though in their case they shall see corruption, yet they shall rise to everlasting life. Christ's resurrection is the cause, the earnest, the guarantee, and the emblem of the rising of all his people. Let them, therefore, go to their graves as to their beds, resting their flesh among the clods as they now do upon their couches.
Since Jesus is mine, I will not fear undressing,
But gladly put off these garments of clay;
To die in the Lord is a covenant blessing,
Since Jesus to glory through death led the way.
Wretched will that man be who, when the Philistines of death invade his soul, shall find that, like Saul, he is forsaken of God; but blessed is he who has the Lord at his right hand, for he shall fear no ill, but shall look forward to an eternity of bliss.
John S. Whale wrote that..
The Gospels do not explain the Resurrection; the Resurrection explains the Gospels. Belief in the Resurrection is not an appendage to the Christian faith; it is the Christian faith.
On the third day according to the Scriptures - Paul states that this Christ's resurrection on the third day is according to the Scriptures. The question arises then as to where does the Old Testament declare Messiah will be resurrected on the third day? There are at least 2 (and possibly 3) places in the Scriptures that prophetically picture the fact that Jesus would rise on the third day:
(1) The sign of Jonah
(2) The Feast of Firstfruits
(3) The Third Day in Hosea
THE SIGN OF JONAH
Jesus answered the Pharisee's call for a sign by appealing to the OT experience of Jonah
Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered Him, saying, "Teacher, we want to see a sign from You." 39 But He answered and said to them, "An evil and adulterous generation craves for a sign; and yet no sign shall be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet; 40 for just as JONAH WAS THREE DAYS AND THREE NIGHTS IN THE BELLY OF THE SEA MONSTER, so shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 41 "The men of Nineveh shall stand up with this generation at the judgment, and shall condemn it because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, something greater than Jonah is here. (Mt 12:38-41).
The OT passage Jesus quoted was Jonah 1:17...
And the LORD appointed a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the stomach of the fish three days and three nights.
The Lord Jesus confirmed the historicity of both Jonah and his experience in the "whale" by citing it as a type of His own coming death, burial and resurrection. On another occasion Jesus again appealed to the book of Jonah..
And as the crowds were increasing, He began to say, "This generation is a wicked generation; it seeks for a sign, and yet no sign shall be given to it but the sign of Jonah. For just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so shall the Son of Man be to this generation. (Luke 11:29-30)
Matthew emphasizes the time preceding His resurrection, while Luke focuses on the actual event of deliverance from death.
THE FEAST OF FIRSTFRUITS
Christ's resurrection was also pictured in the OT Scriptures describing the feast of first fruits and Paul made reference to this association in 1Corinthians 15 writing...
But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. 21 For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all shall be made alive. 23 But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ's at His coming, (1Cor 15:20-23) (Comment: Paul's main purpose in these verses on firstfruits is that Christ's resurrection serves as a pledge or guarantee of the resurrection of all believers, so that their faith was not in vain.)
How does the Feast of Firstfruits pre-figure Christ’s resurrection on the third day? Refer to the table below and observe that the Festival of Passover which took place in the month of Nisan (the first month on the Jewish calendar) actually encompassed three feasts.
FIRST MONTH: NISAN
FESTIVAL OF PASSOVER
PASSOVER UNLEAVENED
