Third Day Significance (Lent 17, 2025)

And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place. (Luke 24: 21)

As we continue our look at Jesus’ post-resurrection appearance to two men on the Road to Emmaus and their learning The Way it Had to Be, the men explain that it was the third day.  Not terribly meaningful for most of us today.  If a person was dead on Day One, chances are good they’d still be dead on Day 2 and Day 3 and so on.

For Jews of Jesus’ day, three days would have been additional testimony that He was truly dead, not just “swooning” or incapacitated.  The first testimony was from John 19:34 “Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water. 35 The man who saw it has given testimony, and his testimony is true. He knows that he tells the truth, and he testifies so that you also may believe.”

No recovering from that. 

But as in the case of Lazarus (about whom it was said four days total), Jesus explicitly said that Lazarus was dead (John 11:14).  Jesus still journeyed days two through four to Bethany anyway, and John 11:17 “On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days.” 

When Jesus arrived, He said, “John 11:39 “Take away the stone,” He said. “But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.” (John 11:39). Four days. Repeated twice. Not a coincidence. It’s an important and significant detail.

Decomposition happens and according to Jewish tradition,
the soul gives up returning to its body before that happens.

But the most important reason why the three days are significant is that Jesus predicted it.  Whether these two men on the Road to Emmaus heard this during Jesus’ ministry or remembered or not, Jesus did predict it.

Mark 8:31 “[Jesus] then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that He must be killed and after three days rise again. 32 He spoke plainly about this.” Three Days. Peter rebuked Him, so obviously Peter heard it, clear as day. Peter just didn’t want to believe any of that.

Principle: Three days was an important detail as prophetic proof of the Resurrection.

Questions for further thought:

Why was it important that Jesus spoke plainly ahead of time about what was going to happen?

Why is it helpful for us today that these two men included that in their testimony?

What do details like this do for giving our faith additional foundation?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank You that You’ve told us so many things ahead of time so we will not be surprised or devastated by the unforeseen.  Thank You for Your Word which is truth and a record so we will believe all You have told us.  Grant us receptiveness to Your Word.  Amen.

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Lent began Ash Wednesday, March 5, 2025, and will continue until Resurrection Sunday, Easter (April 20, 2025). I hope you’ll join me and be prepared to have your eyes opened. I know mine have been in writing this series, “The Way it Had to Be.”

The author gratefully acknowledges Grok XI for assisting with this year’s pictures.
Technology can be amazing.

If you’re already signed up on my Home Page sidebar to receive posts, you’ll get the 2025 Lent Devotionals automatically. Or you can “Like” Seminary Gal on Facebook and they’ll be delivered to your Facebook news feed. If you haven’t signed up, today is a great day to do so. Advent and Lenten devotionals remain among my most popular offerings. You don’t want to miss this encounter with God to prepare your heart for Easter! Understanding that prior years’ devotionals continue to minister, you may want to have access to a full series ahead of time:

“Seeing His Love with New Eyes” was the topic for 2024 and it explored looking at God’s love beyond the superficial and trite notions of love. They are archived beginning February 14, 2024.

Lent 2013 looked at The Letter to the Romans: Paul’s Masterpiece to reclaim foundations of our Christian heritage and began February 13, 2013.

A very special and ever popular offering was Lent 2014’s Be Still and Know that I AM God  which can be obtained through the archives beginning in March 2014. 

Lent 2015 began on February 18, 2015 with a series entitled With Christ in the Upper Room: Final Preparations.  We explored what is often called “The Upper Room Discourse” found in John chapters 13-17. 

ReKindle, the Lent 2016 series, began on February 10, 2016 and encouraged us to rekindle our spiritual lives.

Light: There’s Nothing Like It was the 2017 Lent series and explored this metaphor often used to portray Christ.  It is archived beginning March 1, 2017.

Lent 2018, we explored the questions of Pi and Chi (the Greek letter beginning the word Christos, which means Christ, Messiah, the Anointed One). We asked and answered the questions “Why?” from the movie Life of Pi as we discovered the uniqueness of Jesus Christ in a world of many faiths.

Lent 2019 gave us a deeper window into Easter “More to the Easter Story” since we miss so much when we rely only on a superficial understanding of the work of Christ. These devotionals are archived beginning March 6, 2019.

Our Lent 2020 devotional series offered prayer points surrounding “Be Thou My Vision” and were aimed at helping us to see God for who He is. The full set of devotionals are archived beginning February 26, 2020.

The theme for 2021 Lent Devotionals was how to live between two worlds while waiting for Christ’s return. Into the gap between the City of Man and its fixation upon sin and the City of God with its demand for holiness, two words minister peace: But God. Praise God for His intervention! They are archived beginning February 17, 2021.

Revelation in 40 devotionals for 2022 offered 40 vignettes, scenes, concepts, and thoughts to inspire us to read the Book of Revelation as it is written and to go deeper. They are archived beginning March 2, 2022.

“Created to Display His Image” explored what it truly means to be made in God’s Image and the profound significance of that fact. They are archived beginning February 22, 2023.