A. It describes the sunrise of Resurrection Day.
B. It refers to the beginning of a new day at sunset.
B is the correct answer.
Most of our Bible translations do not always reflect the difference between the biblical calendar and the one we use today. In Scripture, a day begins at sunset, not at sunrise. Matthew 28 speaks of the end of the Sabbath, which would occur at sunset, around 6 p.m. on what we call Saturday. John confirms this by stating, “Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene *came early to the tomb, while it was still dark, and saw the stone already taken away from the tomb.” (John 20:1)
The resurrection, therefore, took place after the Sabbath, while it was still dark.
This suggests that the resurrection occurred sometime after sunset on Saturday and before sunrise.
Why do churches celebrate Easter Sunday at Sunrise? By the time of the Roman Emperor Constantine the Great, the division between the church and Israel was already well underway. However, at the First Council of Nicaea, this split was further reinforced and formalized.
At the Council of Nicaea, presided over by Constantine, it was decided that Easter would be observed independently of the Jewish calendar rather than in connection with Passover.
In a letter preserved by Eusebius of Caesarea (Life of Constantine, III, 18–20), Constantine expressed his reasoning forcefully, urging believers to distance themselves from Jewish practices. He wrote: “We ought not, therefore, to have anything in common with the Jews … (we ought ) to separate ourselves from the detestable company of the Jews.”
This statement reflects a significant moment when the distinction between the Church and Israel was officially emphasized and enforced within the Roman Empire.