Paul wrote that “Christ died for our sins [and] was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). The Old Testament doesn’t just prophesy that Jesus would die and be raised; it also prophesies that he would be raised on the third day. Where is the Old Testament prophecy of Jesus' death and resurrection on the third day? There are four possibilities.

https://youtu.be/o0HdYqct2pU

Where is the Old Testament prophecy of Jesus' death and resurrection on the third day (1 Corinthians 15:4)? Four possibilities exist.

Table of contentsThe Gospel's Two Essential ElementsFirst, Jesus Died for Our SinsPsalm 22 Prophecies of Jesus' DeathIsaiah 53 Prophecies of Jesus' DeathSecond, Jesus Was Raised from the DeadWhere Is the Old Testament Prophecy of Jesus' Resurrection on the Third Day?The Feast of Firstfruits Is an Old Testament Prophecy of Jesus' Resurrection on the Third DayHosea Contains an Old Testament Prophecy of Jesus' Resurrection on the Third DayIsrael as a Type of ChristThe Veil and Jesus’ Body TornJonah Is an Old Testament Prophecy (or Sign) of Jesus' Resurrection on the Third DayJonah's "Death" and BurialJonah Was "Raised" on the Third DayIsaac Is an Old Testament Prophecy of Jesus' Resurrection on the Third DayDon't Try not to BelieveFootnotes

Growing up we had a handful of movies on VHS tapes. I feel old knowing some of you don’t even know what VHS tapes are. One of the movies we had was Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. I don’t know how often I watched this movie, but it was a lot. Let me tell you how it ended.

The dying Khan activated a bomb that would blow up his ship and the nearby Starship Enterprise, finally delivering his revenge against Captain Kirk. The Enterprise’s engine was damaged, so it couldn’t enter warp speed and escape the explosion. With the lives of all the crew in jeopardy, Spock entered the nuclear reactor to restore power to the warp drive so the ship could escape. In the process, he was exposed to a lethal dose of radiation.

When Kirk realized Spock was missing, he ran to the engine room, where he saw his friend within minutes of death. Spock used his last words to ask Kirk if the ship was out of danger. Then he said, “The needs of the many outweigh…” Kirk interrupted to say: “the needs of the few,” showing he learned from his logical friend. And then Spock added, “Or the one. I have been and always shall be your friend.” Spock made the Vulcan salute, which Kirk mirrored, uttered, “Live long and prosper,” and then died. Spock died for his friends, and our minds could even go to Jesus’s words:

John 15:13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.

You don’t have to worry about Spock, though, because he only stayed dead until the beginning of Star Trek III: The Search for Spock. Spock rose from the dead, and the filmmakers wanted to make him look so much like Jesus there was even an empty coffin complete with nearby burial clothes paralleling Jesus’ empty tomb and burial clothes.

Resurrections are common in fiction. J.R.R. Tolkien has a clear resurrection in The Lord of the Rings. The wizard, Gandalf the Grey, dies only to return to life as the more powerful Gandalf the White.

Tolkien’s friend and fellow author, C.S. Lewis, has a clear resurrection in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Aslan the Lion, a picture of Jesus, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, sacrificed himself to save Edmund. Then, Aslan returned to life and defeated his enemy, the White Witch, I suspect picturing the way Jesus’s death and resurrection defeated the devil.

The Gospel's Two Essential Elements

I might sound like a fan of resurrections in fiction, but I wouldn’t say that’s the case. My biggest problem is that, with only a few exceptions, people are borrowing from Christianity without being Christian. There are allusions to Christ, but there’s no Christ. Nobody will be saved from these portrayals because they lack the essential elements of the gospel.

Paul presents the essential elements in 1 Corinthians 15:3-4. If you want to remember different chapters in the Bible, this is the Resurrection Chapter. We’ll focus on verses 3 and 4, but let’s start at verse one for context:

1 Corinthians 15:1 Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to youunless you believed in vain. 3a For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received:

Notice Paul said he delivered the gospel he received. Or you could say he delivered what was delivered to him. Paul did not come up with the gospel. Instead, he is a link in the long chain of people who have been preaching the gospel since its inception back in the Garden of Eden at the fall.52

Also, notice Paul said the gospel is “of first importance.” There are many important things to learn, such as love, forgiveness, service, and giving, but nothing is more important than learning the gospel. So, what is the gospel? Paul tells us the two essential elements in the rest of verse three and then in verse four.

First, Jesus Died for Our Sins

1 Corinthians 15:3b that Christ died for our sins,

God is just, which means he must punish every sin that has ever been committed. If even one sin escaped his punishment, he could be mostly just but not perfectly just. The Gospel allows God to be merciful and just:

He can be merciful because he gave his Son, Jesus Christ, to take the punishment our sins deserve.

He can be just because our sins are still punished.

We must choose whether to be punished for our sins or repent and believe in Jesus so he takes the punishment for us. Romans 6:23 says, "the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." Because the wages, or consequences of sin, is death, our sin must result in a death. There must be a death for our sin. Either we die for our sins, or as the verse says, Christ died for our sins.

Psalm 22 Prophecies of Jesus' Death

1 Corinthians 15:3c in accordance with the Scriptures,

Before the New Testament was written, the Old Testament was called the Scriptures. So, Paul is saying the Old Testament prophesied that Jesus would die for our sins. I will share three verses from each of the two passages that most clearly prophesy of Jesus’s death—Psalm 22 and Isaiah 53—but each chapter contains much more than three prophecies. You’ll also see that most of the verses have accompanying New Testament verses identifying them as prophecies.

Psalm 22:1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?

David wrote this at a low point in his life. We know it is a prophecy about Jesus because he said these words on the cross:

Matthew 27:46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

Later in the Psalm, David wrote:

Psalm 22:16 For dogs encompass me; a company of evildoers encircles me; they have pierced my hands and feet.

Piercing his hands and feet refers to the crucifixion itself. The dogs encompassing Jesus and evildoers encircling him were those at the foot of the cross mocking and ridiculing him:

Luke 23:35 The rulers scoffed at him, saying, “He saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One!” 36 The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine 37 and saying, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!”

A few verses later:

Psalm 22:18 They divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.

They did this with Jesus’s clothing when he was crucified. This verse is quoted in Matthew, Luke, and John, but I’ll read just from John:

John 19:24 [the Roman soldiers] said to one another, “Let us not tear [his garment], but cast lots for it to see whose it shall be.” This was to fulfill the Scripture (referring to Psalm 22:18) which says, “They divided my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.”[v]53

Isaiah 53 Prophecies of Jesus' Death

Let me share a few verses from Isaiah 53:

Isaiah 53:5 He was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed…11 he shall bear their iniquities.

This is quoted in:

1 Peter 2:24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.

The next verse in Isaiah 53:

Isaiah 53:6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turnedevery oneto his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

This is quoted in the next verse in 1 Peter 2:

1 Peter 2:25 For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

The next verse in Isaiah 53:

Isaiah 53:9 And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth.

This is also quoted in 1 Peter 2:

1 Peter 2:22 He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth.54

Second, Jesus Was Raised from the Dead

1 Corinthians 15:4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,

The second essential element of the gospel is Jesus was raised on the third day. First Corinthians 15:3 and 4 conclude with the phrase “in accordance with the Scriptures” because the Old Testament prophesied of Jesus’ death and resurrection.

Isaiah 53 is most often associated with Jesus’s death, but there is a prophecy about his resurrection. I’m going to insert Jesus’s name to make the prophecy clearer: