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Epistle to the Trallians (LongVersion)
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Chapter 9: Reference to the History of Christ.
THEREFORE: close your ears when anyone speaks against Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who was descended from David and was also born of Mary; who was truly begotten of God and the Virgin, but not in the same manner. For indeed, God and man are not the same. He truly took on a body; for "the Word was made flesh," and lived on earth without sin. For He says, "Which of you convicts me of sin?" He really ate and drank.
He was crucified and died under Pontius Pilate. He truly, and not just in appearance, was crucified and died, witnessed by beings in heaven, on earth, and under the earth. By those in heaven, I mean beings with incorporeal natures; by those on earth, the Jews and Romans, and those who were present when the Lord was crucified; and by those under the earth, the multitude that arose with the Lord. For the Scripture says, "Many bodies of the saints who slept arose," their graves being opened.
He descended alone into Hades, but He rose accompanied by a multitude; and tore apart that means of separation that had existed from the beginning of the world, and broke down its partition wall. He also rose again in three days, with the Father raising Him up; and after spending forty days with the apostles, He was taken up to the Father, and "sat down at His right hand, waiting until His enemies are placed under His feet." On the day of preparation, then, at the third hour, He received the sentence from Pilate, the Father allowing it to happen; at the sixth hour, He was crucified; at the ninth hour, He gave up the spirit; and before sunset, He was buried.
During the Sabbath, He remained under the earth in the tomb where Joseph of Arimathea had laid Him. At the break of the Lord’s day, He rose from the dead, according to what He had spoken, "As Jonah was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly, so shall the Son of man also be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth." The day of preparation, then, includes the passion; the Sabbath includes the burial; the Lord’s Day includes the resurrection.