Kata Markon

[Khbonnell AT aol.com]

 The "A of D" thread has moved into a new theme:

 Matthew versus Mark on the time of the "resurrection"

It must be taken into consideration that Matthew has Mark as its main source, but that the writer of Matthew interprets Mark to fit his own agenda.   Notice first that where Mark has "after three days rise" (or slight variant), Matthew has "on the third day be raised."  This means we cannot use Matthew's elaboration of the Jonah reference (12:38-41) to "explain" Mark's prediction nor its effect on the crucifixion through empty tomb sequence.  I am sure that the writer of Matthew recognized the disorder of Mark, "after  three days" not fitting "when the Sabbath was past." He probably fitted his scenario to Hosea 6:2:  "After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will raise us up . . . "    In order to make his "on the third day" prediction come to pass, he shortened the events of Mark's Passion Week, combing Mark's day 2 with day 1, Mark's day 3 with day 2, etc. such the trial and crucifixion and entombment occur on Wednesday, that being the first of day, Thursday being the second day, and Friday being the third day, on which Jesus would be raised.  That is why he says that the women go to the tomb "as the first [day] of the week was coming on," to discover the empty tomb.  The Greek of Mat. 28:1 literally translates as "Late in the week [sabbaton, plural, = "week"] as the first of the week [sabbaton] was dawning ["coming on"] . . ."  This puts "on the third day" on the day of the sabbath.  Those translations that say "after the sabbath," which started to appear in editions about the turn of the nineteenth century into the twentieth, from certain commentaries (references to which I did not preserve in two articles I have written and saved) made late in the nineteenth century that  sought harmonize Matthew with the other gospels.    It seems to be de rigueur for commentators to ignore the differences between Mark's and Matthew's versions of Passion Week.  In discussions on the errancy AT ii_errancy.com, sometime ago, it was not accepted that there were differences. Since Mark's prediction had said, "After three days," then Monday, or after would have been when the dead Jesus would rise after a Friday death.  As for the women's going to the tomb and finding it empty on Saturday evening (or Sunday morning, as you will), even the writer of Matthew found it nonsense. 

Ken Bonnell, Los Angeles