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By this logic you are saying that He was buried before the Sabbath (Feast of Unleavened Bread which is the 1st of 2 Sabbaths) and then Friday comes and goes and the women return "on the first of the Sabbaths, at early dawn, they came to the tomb, bearing the spices they made ready, and certain {others} with them.

Crucifixion week was also the beginning of Passover and "The Days of Unleavened Bread." Passover preparation began on Tuesday night and lasted until Wednesday at sunset. This 24 hour period was the 14th of Nisan [Leviticus 23:5]. During this 24 hours The Lord and His disciples celebrated a "Last Supper" together during the night period which also saw Judas leave to betray him to the Sanhedrin; A visit to the Garden of Gethsemane for prayer and fellowship; An arrest by the Chief Priests, scribes and soldiers (this is where the suffering at the hands of mankind begins) [Matthew 16:21][Mark 8:31][Luke 9:22]....the "Heart of the Earth" [Matthew 12:40]; And a visit to the home of the High Priest where a mock trial and physical abuse occurs.

At sunrise of the 14th He is taken to Pilate's residence for interrogation.....on to King Herod and then back to Pilate for further abuse and suffering. He is flogged, bleeding and is given a crown of thorns. It is now late morning of the 14th and He is taken to Golgotha for crucifixion at the 6th hour. He dies as the lambs are being slaughtered (3:00 P.M. "Between the Evenings") in the temple for the upcoming Passover meal which will begin at sunset.

Joseph of Arimethia obtains His body from the stake and entombs him shortly before sunset. The First Sabbath of Unleavened begins and the Passover is now being eaten all over Jerusalem as the sun is setting. This begins the 15th of Nisan [Leviticus 23:6].....and it is now Wednesday night.

If you were to ask any first century Jew what was meant by the phrase "First of the Sabbaths" they would answer, "The first weekly Sabbath between Pesach and Shavuot." They would not say, "The First Sabbath of Unleavened Bread" (although the observance indeed had two Sabbaths). So.... when we say "The first of the Sabbaths" which is the correct Greek translation for [Matthew 28:1][Mark 16:2][Luke 24:1][John 20:1; 20:19][Acts 20:7][I Corinthians 16:2]....we don't mean the First Sabbath of Unleavened Bread [Leviticus 23:6]! We mean the first weekly Sabbath between Passover and Pentecost.

I'm trying to understand this but I feel like laughing when you guys tell me (and others) that it is a stretch for our views to work and yet you are trying to make sense of a verse that you say is translated as: After the Sabbath they returned to the tomb before the first of the Sabbaths began .

It is now evident you are construing the phrase "First of the Sabbaths" incorrectly. It does not mean the first Sabbath of Unleavened.....it means the first of seven Sabbaths between Passover and Pentecost [Leviticus 23:15-16].

Especially when, as Diego said, this is not a count down to Pentecost (which I think is a possibility). I would have to say that it would be phrased telling us that the 1st Sabbath ended and the next was about to begin. It doesn't make any attempt at this and that makes me question it.

I'm not sure I understand what you mean here.....or where I said this. You do understand that there was a non Sabbath day in between the Sabbath of Unleavened (Wednesday night/Thursday) and the weekly Sabbath (Friday night/Saturday)....don't you?

You can not say --- after the first, the first began.

I don't believe I've ever said that.