Matthew 12:40

[rstrats]

Someone new looking in may know of examples.

[rstrats]

 And that someone needs to be someone who believes the crucifixion took place on the 6th day of the week, and who thinks the "heart of the earth" refers to the tomb, and who tries to explain the lack of a third night by saying that the Messiah was using common figure of speech/colloquial language.

[rstrats]

Since it's been awhile, perhaps someone new visiting this topic may know of examples.

[rstrats]

For anyone looking in who starts at the end of the posts and skips the previous ones:

The Messiah said that 3 night times would be involved with His time in the "heart of the earth".  However, there are those who believe that the Messiah died on the 6th day of the week with a 1st day of the week resurrection, and who think that the "heart of the earth" is referring to the tomb or at the earliest to the time between the leaving of His spirit from His body. But this belief allows for only 2 night times to be involved. To reconcile this discrepancy, some of those may say that the Messiah was using common Jewish idiomatic language.  I am simply asking anyone from the above for examples to support that assertion; i.e., instances where a daytime or a night time was forecast to be involved with an event when no part of the daytime or no part of the night time could have occurred. If it was common usage, there ought to be examples in order to legitimately make that assertion.

[rstrats]

Maybe someone new looking in might know of examples.

[rstrats]

 And remember, the someone new needs to be someone who thinks the crucifixion took place on the 6th day of the week with the resurrection taking place on the 1st day of the week, and  who thinks that the "heart of the earth" is referring to the tomb and who tries to explain the lack of a 3rd night by saying that the Messiah was using common figure of speech/colloquial language.   

[NyawehNyoh]

.
A preponderance of textual evidence certifies that Jesus' crucified dead body was restored to life during the third day rather than after the third was all over and done with.

Matt 17:22-23
Matt 20:18-19
Mark 9:31
Luke 9:22
Luke 18:33
Luke 24:5-8
Luke 24:21-23
Luke 24:46
John 2:19
Acts 10:40
1Cor 15:4

FAQ: What about Matt 27:63 and Mark 8:31? They say "after" the third day rather than during the third.

REPLY: To begin with, those verses are outnumbered 11÷2.

Plus; the Greek word translated "after" is somewhat ambiguous. It can indicate moments following the conclusion of an event, but it can also indicate moments within an event. I suggest letting the 11÷2 majority decide how best to interpret the intent of Matt 27:63 and Mark 8:31.

FAQ: Luke 24:21-23 says the morning that women came to the cemetery was the third day. How can that be true when the sun wasn't up yet when they arrived?

REPLY: This is a mite confusing due to a natural day following close on the heels of a liturgical day.

Whereas liturgical days were a twenty-four hour amalgam of daytime and nighttime; natural days consisted of only twelve hours of daytime. (John 11:9-10)

The day preceding the first day of the week was a sabbath (Matt 28:1) which began at sunset Friday and ended at sunset Saturday. So in accord with liturgy the first day of the week began with sunset Saturday, whereas in accord with nature it began with sunrise Sunday morning. I can't advise folks how best to untangle the confusion resulting from mixing and mashing liturgical days with natural days 'cause I can't even do it myself. It's definitely a bit of a challenge.

FAQ: Can the hours of darkness during Jesus' crucifixion be counted as one of the three nights?

REPLY: Jesus survived those hours. Matt 12:40 requires that he be dead and buried.
_

[Hobie]

Someone new looking in may know of examples.

Here is a very straight forward description which explains this text...
"The controversy surrounding this issues stems from a Bible verse, found in Matthew 12:40:

"For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth."

Because of a simple misunderstanding, this particular passage in Matthew has managed to cause confusion, frustration, and even division among laypersons, clergy, and scholars alike. By dealing with the popular "three days and nights" conundrum regarding the story of Jonah, we'll be able to peacefully come to a logical conclusion.

Jesus says that the Son of Man will "be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth"—meaning in the tomb. We'll assume, as commonly believed, that Jesus died Friday and rose Sunday. Noting this, no matter how you cut it, Jesus was not in the tomb for three nights—even though Scripture distinctly states "three nights."

Many people I've met felt that the Bible just could not be trusted because of this supposed discrepancy. And others attempt to accommodate the "three nights" verse by adopting the belief that Jesus died on Wednesday or Thursday—still others reason that Jesus did not really mean three literal nights.

Frankly, it's very sad to see Christians expend so much energy struggling to explain something that the Bible clearly explains itself! The problem is not in "the three days and three nights" at all. The problem springs from our misunderstanding of the phrase "in the heart of the earth."

The Heart of the Earth
Whenever we attempt to gather the meaning of a passage in Scripture, we must compare it with other similar or related passages. This allows the Bible—the inspired Word—to interpret itself. Since the term "heart of the earth" is found only in Matthew 12, and nowhere else in Scripture, we need to find similar verses to reference.

The phrase "in the earth" appears 66 times in the King James Bible, but none of these refers to the grave. For instance, in the Lord's Prayer we pray, "Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven." Does this mean we're praying for God's will to be done in the tomb as it is in heaven? No, of course not. Rather, it means His will among the people of earth—the nations of the earth—as it is done among the angels in heaven.

In the second commandment, we read, "Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth" (Exodus 20:4). We easily recognize here that "in the earth beneath" does not mean in the grave, but rather in the world. Jesus also says, "Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth" (Matthew 5:5). Does that mean they will inherit the tomb?

I think you get my point.

In Matthew 12:40, the word "heart" comes from the Greek word kardia, which is where we get the word "cardiac." According to Strong's, kardia means the heart (i.e., thoughts or feelings [mind]); it also can mean the middle. Additionally, the Greek word for "earth" is ge. It literally means soil, a region, or the solid part or whole of the terrene globe (including the occupants in each application)—including country, ground, land, or world.

So the phrase "in the heart of the earth" can easily be translated as "in the midst of the world"--or in the grip of this lost planet—-that Jesus came to save!

In other words, in Matthew 12:40, the Lord is telling His disciples that just as Jonah was in the belly of a great fish, so the Son of Man would be in the central clutches of the world.

The Hour of Truth
The life of Jesus is marked by several pivotal moments. When He turned 12, He became aware of His life calling as the Lamb of God and His special relationship with the Father. Then at His baptism, Jesus began His life of public ministry. "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand" (Mark 1:15).

But when exactly were the sins of the world placed upon the Lamb of God? Was it when He died on the cross, or when they laid His body in the grave? The answer is no. These were part of paying the penalty for sin—having died on the cross and placed in the tomb, His suffering had ended. Was it when they drove the nails into His hands? That was certainly part of it, but the starting point was actually before the crucifixion.

According to Hebrew law, the sins of the people were placed upon the Passover lamb before it was slain. During the Last Supper, with the bread and grape juice, Jesus sealed His new covenant to be the Lamb who takes away the sins of the world.

Soon after the establishment of this new covenant at the Last Supper, Jesus began bearing our guilt, shame, and penalty. It's worth mentioning that Jesus died during the Passover festival. During that week, thousands of sheep were sacrificed in the Temple so that a virtual stream of blood was flowing from the Temple down to the Kidron brook and eventually flowing into the Dead Sea. After the Last Supper, Jesus crossed the stream of blood on His way to Gethsemane.

"When Jesus had spoken these words, He went out with His disciples over the Brook Kidron, where there was a garden, which He and His disciples entered" (John 18:1). Jesus went through the Jordan when He began his ministry, and He crossed the bloody Kidron when he began his sufferings.

Then in the Garden of Gethsemane, He prayed an intense prayer of surrender three times. On that Thursday evening, Jesus prayed in agony, sweating drops of blood. He said, "Not my will, but thine, be done" (Luke 22:42-44). From that moment on, Christ had sealed His surrender, fulfilling His destiny as the guilt-bearer for the fallen race. The mob came and carried Him away.

Jesus was a captive of the devil. For the first time in eternity, communion between the Father and the Son was interrupted. The scissors of our sin cut the cord that had always linked Him to His Father. He was in "the heart of the earth," or more clearly: "the depths of the world." Just as with Jonah, there appeared to be a total and hopeless darkness that surrounded the world's redeemer.

There are five Bible verses in which Jesus refers to Thursday evening as "the hour," meaning a pivotal transition time in His ministry:

"Then cometh he to his disciples, and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest: behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners" (Matthew 26:45).
"Then He came the third time and said to them, 'Are you still sleeping and resting? It is enough! The hour has come; behold, the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners'" (Mark 14:41 NKJV).
"And when the hour was come, he sat down, and the twelve apostles with him" (Luke 22:14).
"Behold, the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me alone" (John 16:32).
"Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee" (John 17:1).
Hell's Headquarters
A distinct change took place the hour Christ was betrayed into the "hands of sinners"—or we might better say "into the hands of the devil." Something different began to happen.

You see, before this point in Jesus' ministry, every time a mob tried to capture or stone Him or hurl Him off a cliff, He passed unharmed. He slipped right through their fingers. This was because He was innocent before the Father, and therefore under divine angelic protection. His hour had not yet come. It was not yet His time to suffer for the sins of the world. But after that hour-—Thursday evening-—when the past, present, and future sins of the world were placed upon the Lamb of God, then it was time.

Sometimes we forget that the penalty for sin is not just death; there is also punishment or suffering that is perfectly measured out according to our works (Luke 12:47; 2 Peter 2:9). Jesus came to take our total penalty, the suffering, and the death (Romans 6:23). When exactly did He begin to bear the sins of the world? It was actually long before that. It began Thursday evening in the Garden of Gethsemane.

From the moment He began bearing the penalty for our sins, Jesus was in the heart of the earth, or more accurately, the headquarters of hell. Soldiers beat Him. The crowds spat on Him. He was dragged from one trial to another—from the high priest to Pilate, from Herod back to Pilate, and then finally to Golgotha. He was in the clutches of this evil world, the clutches of the devil who is the prince of this world (John 16:11).

Also, remember that Jonah was not stationary while he was sequestered in the great fish, as with a dead person in a tomb. Rather, he was like a living captive in a mobile submarine, to go wherever the fish took him. When the fish went up, he went up; and when the fish went down, he went down. In like manner, Jesus was a captive of the devil and his minions. Satan was completely in the control of a demon-crazed mob that took Jesus from place to place, heaping abuse, insult, and physical punishment upon our Redeemer. When He suffered the punishment and penalty for our sins, He was "in the heart," or in the midst, of this lost world.

Imagine how Jonah must have suffered during his ordeal as a captive in the pitch-black belly of the great fish. Three days in that slimy, stench-filled darkness must have seemed like an eternity. (Have you ever considered that if Jonah could survive alive in that fish's digestive abyss, he may not have been the only creature still alive and squirming around in there?) Yet the suffering of our Lord was infinitely greater than that of the famous wayward prophet. How much Jesus must love us to willingly endure all that to spare us the miserable fate of the lost!

So as we look again at our Bible text, keep in mind that Jesus never said it would be three 24-hour segments, but rather, the suffering to end all suffering would occur over a period of three days and three nights.

Jesus was "in the heart of the earth," or in the grip of the enemy, over a period of three days and three nights—Thursday night, Friday night, Saturday night. He rose on Sunday morning.".....

[NyawehNyoh]

.
Jesus and his men ate their Passover dinner the night of his arrest.

Matt 26:17-20
Mark 14:12-17
Luke 22:7-15

The Jews ate theirs the following night after he was dead and buried.

John 13:1-2
John 18:28-29
John 19:13-14
John 19:31

FAQ: The law of the Passover per the 12th chapter of Exodus is very explicit about the times and circumstances relative to Passover. How was it not wrong for Jesus to dine early? (cf. Num 9:12)

REPLY: He, being a prophet in direct contact with God, would of course known the precise moment that Passover that year was supposed to begin. So I think it safe to assume the Jews' liturgical calendar was tardy the year that Christ was crucified.

Ironically, the Jews were careful to avoid going after Jesus during Passover.

● Matt 26:3-5 . .Then the chief priests and the elders of the people assembled in the palace of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas, and they plotted to arrest Jesus in some sly way and kill him. But not during the feast-- they said --or there may be a riot among the people.

Due to their liturgical calendar's error, the Jews were a day late preparing for dinner and thus inadvertently put Jesus to death during the very season they wanted to avoid.

The Jews' mistake worked to Jesus' advantage. Had their calendar been correct, then Jesus would've lost an opportunity to share one last sacred event with his men; something he really wanted to do.

● Luke 22:14-15 . .Then, at the proper time, Jesus and the twelve apostles sat down together at the table. Jesus said: I have looked forward to this hour with deep longing, anxious to eat this Passover meal with you before my suffering begins.

NOTE: Jesus isn't done with Passover yet; he's already anticipating a future event with his men again at dinner.

● Luke 22:15-16 . . I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you: I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God.
_

[Rella]

.
Jesus and his men ate their Passover dinner the night of his arrest.

Matt 26:17-20
Mark 14:12-17
Luke 22:7-15

The Jews ate theirs the following night after he was dead and buried.

John 13:1-2
John 18:28-29
John 19:13-14
John 19:31

FAQ: The law of the Passover per the 12th chapter of Exodus is very explicit about the times and circumstances relative to Passover. How was it not wrong for Jesus to dine early? (cf. Num 9:12)

REPLY: He, being a prophet in direct contact with God, would of course known the precise moment that Passover that year was supposed to begin. So I think it safe to assume the Jews' liturgical calendar was tardy the year that Christ was crucified.

Ironically, the Jews were careful to avoid going after Jesus during Passover.

● Matt 26:3-5 . .Then the chief priests and the elders of the people assembled in the palace of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas, and they plotted to arrest Jesus in some sly way and kill him. But not during the feast-- they said --or there may be a riot among the people.

Due to their liturgical calendar's error, the Jews were a day late preparing for dinner and thus inadvertently put Jesus to death during the very season they wanted to avoid.

The Jews' mistake worked to Jesus' advantage. Had their calendar been correct, then Jesus would've lost an opportunity to share one last sacred event with his men; something he really wanted to do.

● Luke 22:14-15 . .Then, at the proper time, Jesus and the twelve apostles sat down together at the table. Jesus said: I have looked forward to this hour with deep longing, anxious to eat this Passover meal with you before my suffering begins.

NOTE: Jesus isn't done with Passover yet; he's already anticipating a future event with his men again at dinner.

● Luke 22:15-16 . . I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you: I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God.
_

You dont believe God can do anything He wants at any time?

Or are you a non-Trin believer?

[rstrats]

Here is a very straight forward description which explains this text...
"The controversy surrounding this issues stems from a Bible verse, found in Matthew 12:40:

Your comments deal with issues for a different topic. Perhaps you might start one.

[rstrats]

.
Jesus and his men ate their Passover dinner the night of his arrest.

Are you a 6th day of the week crucifixion advocate?

[rstrats]

You dont believe God can do anything He wants at any time?

Or are you a non-Trin believer?

Are you a 6th day of the week crucifixion advocate?

[Rella]

Are you a 6th day of the week crucifixion advocate?

Nope. Count me in the 4th.

[Amo]

Here is a very straight forward description which explains this text...
"The controversy surrounding this issues stems from a Bible verse, found in Matthew 12:40:

"For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth."

Because of a simple misunderstanding, this particular passage in Matthew has managed to cause confusion, frustration, and even division among laypersons, clergy, and scholars alike. By dealing with the popular "three days and nights" conundrum regarding the story of Jonah, we'll be able to peacefully come to a logical conclusion.

Jesus says that the Son of Man will "be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth"—meaning in the tomb. We'll assume, as commonly believed, that Jesus died Friday and rose Sunday. Noting this, no matter how you cut it, Jesus was not in the tomb for three nights—even though Scripture distinctly states "three nights."

Many people I've met felt that the Bible just could not be trusted because of this supposed discrepancy. And others attempt to accommodate the "three nights" verse by adopting the belief that Jesus died on Wednesday or Thursday—still others reason that Jesus did not really mean three literal nights.

Frankly, it's very sad to see Christians expend so much energy struggling to explain something that the Bible clearly explains itself! The problem is not in "the three days and three nights" at all. The problem springs from our misunderstanding of the phrase "in the heart of the earth."

The Heart of the Earth
Whenever we attempt to gather the meaning of a passage in Scripture, we must compare it with other similar or related passages. This allows the Bible—the inspired Word—to interpret itself. Since the term "heart of the earth" is found only in Matthew 12, and nowhere else in Scripture, we need to find similar verses to reference.

The phrase "in the earth" appears 66 times in the King James Bible, but none of these refers to the grave. For instance, in the Lord's Prayer we pray, "Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven." Does this mean we're praying for God's will to be done in the tomb as it is in heaven? No, of course not. Rather, it means His will among the people of earth—the nations of the earth—as it is done among the angels in heaven.

In the second commandment, we read, "Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth" (Exodus 20:4). We easily recognize here that "in the earth beneath" does not mean in the grave, but rather in the world. Jesus also says, "Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth" (Matthew 5:5). Does that mean they will inherit the tomb?

I think you get my point.

In Matthew 12:40, the word "heart" comes from the Greek word kardia, which is where we get the word "cardiac." According to Strong's, kardia means the heart (i.e., thoughts or feelings [mind]); it also can mean the middle. Additionally, the Greek word for "earth" is ge. It literally means soil, a region, or the solid part or whole of the terrene globe (including the occupants in each application)—including country, ground, land, or world.

So the phrase "in the heart of the earth" can easily be translated as "in the midst of the world"--or in the grip of this lost planet—-that Jesus came to save!

In other words, in Matthew 12:40, the Lord is telling His disciples that just as Jonah was in the belly of a great fish, so the Son of Man would be in the central clutches of the world.

The Hour of Truth
The life of Jesus is marked by several pivotal moments. When He turned 12, He became aware of His life calling as the Lamb of God and His special relationship with the Father. Then at His baptism, Jesus began His life of public ministry. "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand" (Mark 1:15).

But when exactly were the sins of the world placed upon the Lamb of God? Was it when He died on the cross, or when they laid His body in the grave? The answer is no. These were part of paying the penalty for sin—having died on the cross and placed in the tomb, His suffering had ended. Was it when they drove the nails into His hands? That was certainly part of it, but the starting point was actually before the crucifixion.

According to Hebrew law, the sins of the people were placed upon the Passover lamb before it was slain. During the Last Supper, with the bread and grape juice, Jesus sealed His new covenant to be the Lamb who takes away the sins of the world.

Soon after the establishment of this new covenant at the Last Supper, Jesus began bearing our guilt, shame, and penalty. It's worth mentioning that Jesus died during the Passover festival. During that week, thousands of sheep were sacrificed in the Temple so that a virtual stream of blood was flowing from the Temple down to the Kidron brook and eventually flowing into the Dead Sea. After the Last Supper, Jesus crossed the stream of blood on His way to Gethsemane.

"When Jesus had spoken these words, He went out with His disciples over the Brook Kidron, where there was a garden, which He and His disciples entered" (John 18:1). Jesus went through the Jordan when He began his ministry, and He crossed the bloody Kidron when he began his sufferings.

Then in the Garden of Gethsemane, He prayed an intense prayer of surrender three times. On that Thursday evening, Jesus prayed in agony, sweating drops of blood. He said, "Not my will, but thine, be done" (Luke 22:42-44). From that moment on, Christ had sealed His surrender, fulfilling His destiny as the guilt-bearer for the fallen race. The mob came and carried Him away.

Jesus was a captive of the devil. For the first time in eternity, communion between the Father and the Son was interrupted. The scissors of our sin cut the cord that had always linked Him to His Father. He was in "the heart of the earth," or more clearly: "the depths of the world." Just as with Jonah, there appeared to be a total and hopeless darkness that surrounded the world's redeemer.

There are five Bible verses in which Jesus refers to Thursday evening as "the hour," meaning a pivotal transition time in His ministry:

"Then cometh he to his disciples, and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest: behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners" (Matthew 26:45).
"Then He came the third time and said to them, 'Are you still sleeping and resting? It is enough! The hour has come; behold, the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners'" (Mark 14:41 NKJV).
"And when the hour was come, he sat down, and the twelve apostles with him" (Luke 22:14).
"Behold, the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me alone" (John 16:32).
"Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee" (John 17:1).
Hell's Headquarters
A distinct change took place the hour Christ was betrayed into the "hands of sinners"—or we might better say "into the hands of the devil." Something different began to happen.

You see, before this point in Jesus' ministry, every time a mob tried to capture or stone Him or hurl Him off a cliff, He passed unharmed. He slipped right through their fingers. This was because He was innocent before the Father, and therefore under divine angelic protection. His hour had not yet come. It was not yet His time to suffer for the sins of the world. But after that hour-—Thursday evening-—when the past, present, and future sins of the world were placed upon the Lamb of God, then it was time.

Sometimes we forget that the penalty for sin is not just death; there is also punishment or suffering that is perfectly measured out according to our works (Luke 12:47; 2 Peter 2:9). Jesus came to take our total penalty, the suffering, and the death (Romans 6:23). When exactly did He begin to bear the sins of the world? It was actually long before that. It began Thursday evening in the Garden of Gethsemane.

From the moment He began bearing the penalty for our sins, Jesus was in the heart of the earth, or more accurately, the headquarters of hell. Soldiers beat Him. The crowds spat on Him. He was dragged from one trial to another—from the high priest to Pilate, from Herod back to Pilate, and then finally to Golgotha. He was in the clutches of this evil world, the clutches of the devil who is the prince of this world (John 16:11).

Also, remember that Jonah was not stationary while he was sequestered in the great fish, as with a dead person in a tomb. Rather, he was like a living captive in a mobile submarine, to go wherever the fish took him. When the fish went up, he went up; and when the fish went down, he went down. In like manner, Jesus was a captive of the devil and his minions. Satan was completely in the control of a demon-crazed mob that took Jesus from place to place, heaping abuse, insult, and physical punishment upon our Redeemer. When He suffered the punishment and penalty for our sins, He was "in the heart," or in the midst, of this lost world.

Imagine how Jonah must have suffered during his ordeal as a captive in the pitch-black belly of the great fish. Three days in that slimy, stench-filled darkness must have seemed like an eternity. (Have you ever considered that if Jonah could survive alive in that fish's digestive abyss, he may not have been the only creature still alive and squirming around in there?) Yet the suffering of our Lord was infinitely greater than that of the famous wayward prophet. How much Jesus must love us to willingly endure all that to spare us the miserable fate of the lost!

So as we look again at our Bible text, keep in mind that Jesus never said it would be three 24-hour segments, but rather, the suffering to end all suffering would occur over a period of three days and three nights.

Jesus was "in the heart of the earth," or in the grip of the enemy, over a period of three days and three nights—Thursday night, Friday night, Saturday night. He rose on Sunday morning.".....

Interesting. If the term heart of the earth does denote or symbolize the grave or a tomb, it would certainly be the only instance in which such symbolism was used. To my knowledge in any case. Perhaps I will look deeper into the subject.

[Wycliffes_Shillelagh]

Whenever the three days and three nights of Matthew 12:40 is brought up in a "discussion" with 6th day crucifixion folks, they frequently suggest that it is a Jewish idiom for counting any part of a day as a whole day. I wonder if anyone has documentation that shows an example from the first century or before regarding a period of time that is said to consist of a specific number of days as well as a specific number of nights where the period of time absolutely doesn't/can't include at least a part of each one of the specific number of days and at least a part of each one of the specific number of nights?

I would suggest that an accurate accounting of time wasn't Matthew's purpose in what he wrote.

Rather, Matthew's point seems to be to show that Jesus death-and-resurrection are a fulfillment of something in the Old Testament - the story of Jonah.  Matthew writes a lot about "Jesus fulfilled ___."

As for Jonah... the Old Testament frequently uses numbers for something other than their precise mathematical meaning.  The number three in particular is used to mean "a few."  Twelve is "many."  Seven seems to mean "until it was finished."  I wouldn't rely on them for a precise accounting of time.

[4WD]

I would suggest that an accurate accounting of time wasn't Matthew's purpose in what he wrote.

Rather, Matthew's point seems to be to show that Jesus death-and-resurrection are a fulfillment of something in the Old Testament - the story of Jonah.  Matthew writes a lot about "Jesus fulfilled ___."

As for Jonah... the Old Testament frequently uses numbers for something other than their precise mathematical meaning.  The number three in particular is used to mean "a few."  Twelve is "many."  Seven seems to mean "until it was finished."  I wouldn't rely on them for a precise accounting of time.

What do think Jesus meant by "three days and three nights" in Matthew 12:40?  Supposedly Matthew was quoting Jesus.

[Jaime]

And Jesus was using a phrase that  the prophet Jonah used in Jonah 1:17:

"Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights."

[Wycliffes_Shillelagh]

What do think Jesus meant by "three days and three nights" in Matthew 12:40?  Supposedly Matthew was quoting Jesus.

"A few days and nights"

The idea there is "Jesus fulfilled the sign of Jonah" and not "let's count the number of hours that Jesus remained in the grave."

[Jaime]

Jesus claimed that one sign and one sign only would authenticate Him as the Messiah. Jesus was fully aware that the day consisted of  12 hours (John 11:9). He was also aware that the night consisted of 12 hours, completing the 24 hour cycle, yet, when does Christianity believe that Christ died and was. Buried? Good Friday. When do we celebrate his rising from the dead? Resurrection Sunday. So how  is Friday evening to Sunday morning before sunrise three days and three nights matching the "sign of Jonah" in the Jew's very familiar Hebrew texts three days and three nights? How could the one single sign that identifies Him as Messiah not be a literal 3 days and three nights? It DOESN'T anywhere except in Westerm Christianity. A specific signpost familiar to every Jew could be nothing but a literal and meticuloisly specific fulfillment of that single sign given them Centuries before.

[Jaime]

https://crossexamined.org/the-mind-blowing-meaning-behind-the-sign-of-jonah/

[Jaime]

https://christianity.stackexchange.com/questions/63049/was-there-a-special-sabbath-in-addition-to-passover-when-jesus-was-crucified

[Texas Conservative]

How would the Jews of the time understood it?  Western thought is not necessarily how the audience of that time and place would have understood it.

[Jaime]

I think the key is the subject of some of the Biblical feasts were also known as High Sabbaths even though they don't often coincide with weekly Sabbath. Western Christianity seems to be focused on the weekly Sabbath to derive the amount of time in the grave for the death, burial and the resurrection of Christ, and trivializing the ALL IMPORTANT sign of Jonah as the identifying characteristic of the Messiah.

Seems like a very prudent thing for Satanic powers to confuse - the one and only identifying sign of the Messiah. I would think the devout Jews would have been very familiar with what the term three days and three nights meant in the context of the Jonah story they would be well familiar with.

[Rella]

Jesus claimed that one sign and one sign only would authenticate Him as the Messiah. Jesus was fully aware that the day consisted of  12 hours (John 11:9). He was also aware that the night consisted of 12 hours, completing the 24 hour cycle, yet, when does Christianity believe that Christ died and was. Buried? Good Friday. When do we celebrate his rising from the dead? Resurrection Sunday. So how  is Friday evening to Sunday morning before sunrise three days and three nights matching the "sign of Jonah" in the Jew's very familiar Hebrew texts three days and three nights? How could the one single sign that identifies Him as Messiah not be a literal 3 days and three nights? It DOESN'T anywhere except in Westerm Christianity. A specific signpost familiar to every Jew could be nothing but a literal and meticuloisly specific fulfillment of that single sign given them Centuries before.

First, after extensive study on this subject I have concluded that it was Wed. Not Fri. but am not going to delve into that here because it deserves to be on its own. (Has to do with Passover and the Weekly Sabbath and what they could or could not do on those days.

Anyway...

I was listening to a tape by a Rabbi just yesterday when he made a comment that I did not know, and could put me off my timing.

He said that in that day any portion of a day would be counted as a whole day... If he is correct and the reference to Jonah was for an example, not knowing if Jonah was 24 hours x 3 in the belly then I am wrong and all of history that has claimed Friday is right.

Back to my studies...  

[DaveW]

I was listening to a tape by a Rabbi just yesterday when he made a comment that I did not know, and could put me off my timing.

He said that in that day any portion of a day would be counted as a whole day...

Yes that is how time was figured back then.

IMO the reason Friday was selected was that the text says that the next day after the crucifixion was a Sabbath.  But the first day of Passover/Unleavened bread was also a Sabbath.  So that first week of the festival had 2 sabbaths.

That fact was a point of dispute between Pharisees and Sadducees. Lev 23.15 it talks about "the day after the Sabbath" to start the count for determining Shavuot/Pentecost.  Pharisees believed it was the first day of Passover while the Sadducees believed it to be the weekly Saturday Sabbath. 

But perhaps that is a discussion for another thread.  Point being there were 2 Sabbaths that week.

[Rella]

Yes that is how time was figured back then.

IMO the reason Friday was selected was that the text says that the next day after the crucifixion was a Sabbath.  But the first day of Passover/Unleavened bread was also a Sabbath.  So that first week of the festival had 2 sabbaths.

That fact was a point of dispute between Pharisees and Sadducees. Lev 23.15 it talks about "the day after the Sabbath" to start the count for determining Shavuot/Pentecost.  Pharisees believed it was the first day of Passover while the Sadducees believed it to be the weekly Saturday Sabbath. 

But perhaps that is a discussion for another thread.  Point being there were 2 Sabbaths that week.

Yes there were and Ill keep looking and researching.

I had done a paper but cant find.

So, I will start a thread in the not too distant future I hope.