Does the Bible Say Jesus Rose on the First Day?

Doesn't Mark 16:9 clearly state that Christ rose on the first day of the week? "Now when He rose early on the first day of the week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom He had cast seven demons."

The meaning of this verse is determined by where the punctuation is placed. The original Greek had no punctuation. It was added hundreds of years later, in the ninth century, and then entirely based on human interpretation.

If we read this verse as it is punctuated, then it contradicts what verses 1-8 have already stated: Mary Magdalene had visited the tomb looking for Jesus'body and had left "when the sun had risen" without seeing Him.

Human translators simply placed the comma in the wrong place here. To agree with the context and the other Gospel accounts, it should follow the word "rose"—thus informing us that the first person to see the risen Christ was Mary Magdalene. "Now when He rose, early on the first day of the week He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom He had cast seven demons." Later that morning, He appeared to Mary before appearing to anyone else.

There is not a single scripture that says that Christ died on a Friday, nor is there one that says He was raised from the dead on Sunday morning. GN

 

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