Jesus said He'd be dead for three days and three nights -- but wasn't he really dead for a bit over a day?

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Scripture has Jesus telling us that He’d be dead for three days and three nights.

But, doesn’t that contradict what really happened? Jesus died at 3PM on Friday. Jews counted their days from the evening before; Easter Sunday started on what we would consider Saturday night. Jesus could have risen anytime from like 6PM Saturday night till (let’s say) as late as 9 AM Sunday morning. That’s not even two days, much less three days and three nights.

Why is there this discrepancy?
 
PazzoGrande said:
Scripture has Jesus telling us that He’d be dead for three days and three nights.

But, doesn’t that contradict what really happened? Jesus died at 3PM on Friday. Jews counted their days from the evening before; Easter Sunday started on what we would consider Saturday night. Jesus could have risen anytime from like 6PM Saturday night till (let’s say) as late as 9 AM Sunday morning. That’s not even two days, much less three days and three nights.

Why is there this discrepancy?
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They count the first and the last.
 
There were three days during which Jesus was dead: Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

Granted, even if you call a part of a day or a night a full day or night you still won’t reach more than three days and two nights. I would assume the “three days and three nights” phrase is poetic language and a sort of verbal parallel with the story of Jonah to establish that typological connection, not to be taken too literally. It might also be some kind of Semiticism, calling a day in general a “day and night” even if it doesn’t actually include both or something like that, but that’s a pure guess on my part which very well may not be true.

Certainly, even from a non-believing perspective, the author of the Gospel of Matthew didn’t have a problem with it or he wouldn’t have written it that way, and the Early Christians didn’t have a problem with it or they wouldn’t have accepted the Gospel of Matthew as canonical.
 
PazzoGrande said:
… why is there this discrepancy?
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It’s simply a cultural matter. Jews counted any portion of a day as a day, and they used inclusive counting. For example, a Jew tells you to go to the third street down to reach your destination. You’re currently at an intersection, and he counts it as the first street. A Westerner normally wouldn’t.
 
WoundedIcon said:
It’s simply a cultural matter. Jews counted any portion of a day as a day, and they used inclusive counting. For example, a Jew tells you to go to the third street down to reach your destination. You’re currently at an intersection, and he counts it as the first street. A Westerner normally wouldn’t.
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Right, sort of like how they called the period of pregnancy ten months. That answers the three days question, but what about the three nights? Or would a day be counted as a “day and night”, like I speculated?
 
This is a classic example of the tradition of man contradicting the revelation of God. The analogy of Jonah in the belly of the great fish is used to describe Jesus’ body in the grave. Three days and three nights is in there too. Regardless of which calendar one uses, if Jesus was gone on the morning of the first day of the week when the women arrived, crucifixion on Friday does not harmonize. Do the math!

One can cherish the long standing traditions of man ad infinitum–that does not change the facts.

“In vain they do worship, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.” Jesus said this of the Jews of day–the religious rulers and teachers who were in control. They are still in control.

Peace,

James Least.
 
James_Least said:
This is a classic example of the tradition of man contradicting the revelation of God. The analogy of Jonah in the belly of the great fish is used to describe Jesus’ body in the grave. Three days and three nights is in there too. Regardless of which calendar one uses, if Jesus was gone on the morning of the first day of the week when the women arrived, crucifixion on Friday does not harmonize. Do the math!

One can cherish the long standing traditions of man ad infinitum–that does not change the facts.

“In vain they do worship, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.” Jesus said this of the Jews of day–the religious rulers and teachers who were in control. They are still in control.

Peace,

James Least.
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You’re using quotes from the Bible, to tell us we shouldn’t follow the Bible? Thats just silly. And Christ said the gates of Hell would not overcome His church, so I find it hard to believe that it is so terribly corrupt especially since I can’t see too much corruption of doctrines. I think these corrupted beliefs with no basis from God would probably have been found on this site already if “they are still in control.”

And thank you Wounded Icon, your post definitely clears things up.
 
Heuchler said:
You’re using quotes from the Bible, to tell us we shouldn’t follow the Bible? Thats just silly. And Christ said the gates of Hell would not overcome His church, so I find it hard to believe that it is so terribly corrupt especially since I can’t see too much corruption of doctrines. I think these corrupted beliefs with no basis from God would probably have been found on this site already if “they are still in control.”

And thank you Wounded Icon, your post definitely clears things up.
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Quite the contrary. The Scripture refutes the tradition at every junction. This is why only the Most Holy, Right Reverend Doctors can understand. Jesus said a little child understands. Jesus talked with a misguided Right Reverend Master of the Jews–see John Ch. 3:10, then study the whole chapter.

This is a pivotal point: one cannot understand these things unless one is born again–such things are spiritually discerned.

A cursory comparison of the doctrines of the major christian religious groups with the Scripture will show serious disagreement. They all cannot be right. They could all be wrong. What is the standard? The corrupted standard of man? or the infallible Word of God? God does not author confusion. “Let God be found True–and every man–a liar.”

Will our religion get us to heaven? Where will we be in a hundred years?

Choose wisely,

Peace,

James Least
 
James_Least said:
Quite the contrary. The Scripture refutes the tradition at every junction. This is why only the Most Holy, Right Reverend Doctors can understand. Jesus said a little child understands. Jesus talked with a misguided Right Reverend Master of the Jews–see John Ch. 3:10, then study the whole chapter.

This is a pivotal point: one cannot understand these things unless one is born again–such things are spiritually discerned.

A cursory comparison of the doctrines of the major christian religious groups with the Scripture will show serious disagreement. They all cannot be right. They could all be wrong. What is the standard? The corrupted standard of man? or the infallible Word of God? God does not author confusion. “Let God be found True–and every man–a liar.”

Will our religion get us to heaven? Where will we be in a hundred years?

Choose wisely,

Peace,

James Least
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What are you even talking about? Please stay on the topic at hand. This has nothing to do with the OP’s question.

Both the time of Jesus’ death and resurrection as well as the prophecy of “three days and three nights” are found in the Bible. This has nothing to do with Tradition of any sort, divine or man made.

Start a new thread in Non-Catholic religions if you simply want to bash Tradition or better yet, don’t.
 
Jesus was speaking in his cultural context of the 3 days of his passion, death and resurrection, pointing to the fact that he would rise on the 3rd day, and speaking of this as one event, not a sequence of events, as we today commemorate it in the Triduum, which is one liturgical celebration in several parts, with “intermissions”.

Sundown Holy Thursday to Sundown Good Friday, from the Passover meal foreshadowing his sacrifice and establishing it as a permanent memorial and reality, through the whole passion, crucifixion, death and burial, the First Day.
Sundown Friday to Sundown Saturday, the Sabbath of Sabbaths (which is the designation of the Sabbath that falls within the week of Passover) the day of waiting in the tomb, the second day
Sundown Saturday to Midnight Sunday, the Resurrection, opening the gates of heaven, liberating the souls of the just from the limbo of the fathers, appearances to Mary and several apostles and disciples throughout the course of the day, iincluding the road to Emaus and in the Upper Room, the Third Day, establishing this as the Lord’s Day, replacing Saturday/Sabbath as the day of rest and worship.
 
Link0126 said:
What are you even talking about? Please stay on the topic at hand. This has nothing to do with the OP’s question.

Both the time of Jesus’ death and resurrection as well as the prophecy of “three days and three nights” are found in the Bible. This has nothing to do with Tradition of any sort, divine or man made.

Start a new thread in Non-Catholic religions if you simply want to bash Tradition or better yet, don’t.
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I think he’s either a Messianic Jew or a Seventh Day Adventist. This is a common complaint I’ve heard from the SDA crowd… and you’re right, he needs to start a new thread at least (although I’d say from the sound of his posts he’ll probably be banned soon since it’s obvious he’s here to proselytize rather than discuss)
 
James_Least said:
Quite the contrary. The Scripture refutes the tradition at every junction. This is why only the Most Holy, Right Reverend Doctors can understand. Jesus said a little child understands. Jesus talked with a misguided Right Reverend Master of the Jews–see John Ch. 3:10, then study the whole chapter.

This is a pivotal point: one cannot understand these things unless one is born again–such things are spiritually discerned.

A cursory comparison of the doctrines of the major christian religious groups with the Scripture will show serious disagreement. They all cannot be right. They could all be wrong. What is the standard? The corrupted standard of man? or the infallible Word of God? God does not author confusion. “Let God be found True–and every man–a liar.”

Will our religion get us to heaven? Where will we be in a hundred years?

Choose wisely,

Peace,

James Least
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Sorry Scripture doesn’t refute it, it enforeces it
From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life. Matthew 16:21
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and
Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” 20 The Jews then said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?” 21 But he spoke of the temple of his body. 22 When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this; and they believed the scripture and the word which Jesus had spoken. John 2:19-22
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Christ said it, and it is clearly in the scriptures. To define this as an innacurate tradition would be to say that Christ, the scriptures, and the Church are all wrong. It makes God himself a liar and the gates of Hell would have overcome the church. So, it wouldn’t make sense to say that this is simply a tradition and not based in the truth.
 
PazzoGrande said:
Scripture has Jesus telling us that He’d be dead for three days and three nights.

But, doesn’t that contradict what really happened? Jesus died at 3PM on Friday. Jews counted their days from the evening before; Easter Sunday started on what we would consider Saturday night. Jesus could have risen anytime from like 6PM Saturday night till (let’s say) as late as 9 AM Sunday morning. That’s not even two days, much less three days and three nights.

Why is there this discrepancy?
Click to expand...
correct me if I am wrong but the scriptures reads simply 3 days, not 3 days and 3 nights, there is a difference. Besides, in antiquity days were counted from dusk to dusk. Hence, Jesus was removed from the Cross on Friday evening, after dusk, the Jews could not work because of the Sabath.
 
PazzoGrande said:
Scripture has Jesus telling us that He’d be dead for three days and three nights.

But, doesn’t that contradict what really happened? Jesus died at 3PM on Friday. Jews counted their days from the evening before; Easter Sunday started on what we would consider Saturday night. Jesus could have risen anytime from like 6PM Saturday night till (let’s say) as late as 9 AM Sunday morning. That’s not even two days, much less three days and three nights.

Why is there this discrepancy?
Click to expand...
In the Jewish counting of night and day, any part of that day is considered 1 day.

Thus, Friday, is day one.

Saturday is day two.

Sunday is day three.

Hence, three days.
 
YourAverageJoe said:
correct me if I am wrong but the scriptures reads simply 3 days, not 3 days and 3 nights, there is a difference. Besides, in antiquity days were counted from dusk to dusk. Hence, Jesus was removed from the Cross on Friday evening, after dusk, the Jews could not work because of the Sabath.
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Matthew 12:40
“For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.”
 
CEM5 said:
In the Jewish counting of night and day, any part of that day is considered 1 day.

Thus, Friday, is day one.

Saturday is day two.

Sunday is day three.

Hence, three days.
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Yeah, that doesn’t account for the “three nights” part though. It would have been two nights, if we look at it that way.
 
PazzoGrande said:
Yeah, that doesn’t account for the “three nights” part though. It would have been two nights, if we look at it that way.
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Hi PassoGrande,

Any part of that 24 hr period is considered as one whole night and day. It is a matter of semantics. A “day” is inclusive of night.

I can say to someone, “one day I’ll come and visit”…yet if I arrive during the night, that doesn’t negate my statement.

Don’t forget that our use of language is not simple. Even God says for us to recall in
** 2 Peter 3:8**
But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.

Blessings,
CEM

P.S. the number 3 in the Bible is a number meaning “completeness”. This also means Jesus was in the tomb (and the place of the dead where He descended) for completely enough time.

There Jesus preached the Gospel to the dead (1 Peter 3:18)
 
CEM5 said:
Hi PassoGrande,

Any part of that 24 hr period is considered as one whole night and day. It is a matter of semantics. A “day” is inclusive of night.

I can say to someone, “one day I’ll come and visit”…yet if I arrive during the night, that doesn’t negate my statement.

Don’t forget that our use of language is not simple. Even God says for us to recall in
** 2 Peter 3:8**
But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.

Blessings,
CEM

P.S. the number 3 in the Bible is a number meaning “completeness”. This also means Jesus was in the tomb (and the place of the dead where He descended) for completely enough time.

There Jesus preached the Gospel to the dead (1 Peter 3:18)
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Thanks for your response. That frankly sounds a bit speculative to me; I’m also unsure of how those other aspects (thousand years and the number three) relate to it. Also, as I understood it, 7 represented completeness.
 
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