3 days and 3 nights

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seek1st

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How does one reconcile the scripture in Matthew 12:39 where Jesus says:
"Just as Jonah was in the belly of the whale three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights. "
There are not really three days and three nights from Friday until Sunday morning. You could technically count FSS as parts of three days but it isn’t three nights.

Thanks for your insight!
God bless you all!
 
It’s my understanding that the calender that they had back then was different from the calender that we have today. I could be wrong, but I believe a day back then did not start at midnight, like today. If I remember right the new day started at sundown. Hopefully someone can clarify that. 🙂
 
Hi Sabda,

It was the custom, among the ancients, including Jews, Greeks and Romans, to count every day of an event as a full day. There is still a relic of this in French : “8 jours” is a week from now. “15 jours” is two weeks from now.

Verbum
 
Verbum,

I’m not quite sure I understand that. Of course I don’t know french, so I’m sure that doesn’t help. 😃 Could you explain that again for me, thanks. I’m guessing jours means a day?
 
From A Commentary on the New Testament, prepared by the Catholic Biblical Association, in 1942, page 93:
Christ actually rose on the morning of the third day, but according to the Hebrew way of reckoning, any part of a day (of twenty-four hours) at the beginning and at the end of a period of time was considered a whole day. In Jonah 2:1, which our Lord quotes literally, the whole or a part of a period of twenty-four hours is called “a day and a night.” Therefore Christ truly fulfilled this prophecy of “three days and three nights” even though He was actually in the tomb only one full day and two nights.
 
Todd_Easton said:
From A Commentary on the New Testament, prepared by the Catholic Biblical Association, in 1942, page 93:Christ actually rose on the morning of the third day, but according to the Hebrew way of reckoning, any part of a day (of twenty-four hours) at the beginning and at the end of a period of time was considered a whole day. In Jonah 2:1, which our Lord quotes literally, the whole or a part of a period of twenty-four hours is called “a day and a night.” Therefore Christ truly fulfilled this prophecy of “three days and three nights” even though He was actually in the tomb only one full day and two nights.
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The word we are looking for is "onah." It describes an indefinate period of time. In relation to the average day, though, it meant the period of day vs. night. A day began at sunset, or with the night onah. The last half of the day, during daylight, was the day onah. Even though day and night last for different durations throughout the year, they still equal one onah. (9 hours of sun in winter, or 13 hours of sun in summer is the same onah.)

So, Jesus was “dead” during the Friday “day onah” - Saturday “night onah” - Saturday “day onah” - Sunday “night onah” and Sunday “day onah” since it was dawn when He rose. One could look at it as 3 periods of day and night onahs. To the Jews, when Jesus died about 3pm Friday, by sunset Friday he was dead two days. By sunset Saturday, he was dead three days. If he arises Sunday morning, he arises on the third day.

Also remember that to the Jewish mind back then, it took 3 days for the spirit to leave the body before it was considered undeniably dead. This is why Jesus waited until the third day before visiting Lazarus; so that all there would know Lazarus was dead and that He was raised from the dead, rather than simply “healed” by Jesus were He to have raised him before three days expired.

Jesus being in the grave for “3 days” in their mindset meant He was indeed dead and that His reappearence constituted true resurrection from the dead.

Thal59
 
any part of a day was counted as a full 24 hour day in their culture, just look in any bible customs book. So, if one died on Friday night, was in grave all saturday and rose sunday mouning that would be counted as three full days.
 
Daniel_Marsh said:
any part of a day was counted as a full 24 hour day in their culture, just look in any bible customs book. So, if one died on Friday night, was in grave all saturday and rose sunday mouning that would be counted as three full days.
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My problem with this understanding, Daniel, is seen in Acts where it reads :
"He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. 20 The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; 21but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place. 22."

Notice that Jesus was handed over to the chief priests on thursday night, identifying Sunday afternoon as being the third day from that particular event, that is, thursday night. In my opinion, the night that Jesus was handed over to be crucified must coincides with the three days and nights that Jesus said that He would be in the “belly of the earth”, which is not His grave, but a spiritual death which He experienced when He offered Himself at the last supper.In Mark’s gospel,it reads:

"And they came to a place named Gethsemane; and He said to His disciples, “Sit here until I have prayed.” 33 And He took with Him Peter and James and John, and began to be very distressed and troubled. 34 And He said to them, “My soul is deeply grieved to the point of death; remain here and keep watch.” 35 And He went a little beyond them, and fell to the ground, and began to pray that if it were possible, the hour might pass Him by. 36 And He was saying, “Abba! Father! All things are possible for Thee; remove this cup from Me; yet not what I will, but what Thou wilt.” 37 And He came and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, "Simon, are you asleep? Could you not keep watch for one hour? (Mark 14.32)'

My opinion would be that Jesus was, at that moment, tasting the cup He asked His Father to remove from Him. This is what made Him distressed and troubled to the point of death. If one counts from the last supper to the resurrection, we have three days and three nights; this would also stress the last supper as being inseparable from His sacrificial death on the cross.

Andre
 
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