Our Hope Beyond the Veil

In the context of Paul’s epistle the two absolutely unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to do is to lie, are when he gives a promise (Genesis 17:2) and when he takes his oath (Genesis 22:16-17). In either case his integrity compels him to be true (Hebrews 6:18). Therefore, God took an oath and swore to Abraham for the sake of Abraham and his descendants, that they might have strong encouragement or comfort (G3874) in the thing the Lord had promised to do.

 

The Third Day

from Google Images

Just because the Apostles and other disciples of Jesus wouldn’t believe in Jesus’ resurrection, doesn’t mean they had lost all hope. It is true that they didn’t look for Jesus to walk out of the grave, but the mention of the third day by the two traveling to Emmaus indicates that they did look for something to occur three days after Jesus was crucified (Luke 24:21). Nevertheless, how should we understand this? They couldn’t have mentioned the three days in the context of Jesus’ promise to rise again, otherwise their faith in that promise, i.e. to at least look for his resurrection, would have permitted the two to recognize Jesus who walked with them. Moreover their disbelief of the women’s witness, saying it was pure nonsense, shows they couldn’t have been looking for Jesus to rise from the dead. So, what significance did the three days have for Jesus’ disciples?