Information Related to "Three days and three nights"
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The choice of a Sunday date for Easter is based on the assumption that Christ rose from the grave early on a Sunday morning. The popular belief is that Christ was crucified on a Friday and rose on a Sunday. But neither of these suppositions is true. A close reading of the Bible makes that quite clear.
Matthew 12:38Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee. shows some of the scribes and Pharisees asking Jesus for a sign to prove He was the Messiah. Jesus told them that the only sign He would give was that of the prophet Jonah: "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" (Matthew 12:40For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.).
But can we fit "three days and three nights in the heart of the earth" between a Friday-afternoon crucifixion and a Sunday-morning resurrection? The traditional view of the crucifixion and resurrection only allows for Jesus to have been entombed for a day and a half.
Some try to reconcile Christ's words with their belief in a Friday crucifixion and Sunday resurrection by rationalizing that Christ's "three days and three nights" statement does not require a literal span of 72 hours. They reason that a part of a day can be reckoned as a whole day. Hence, since Jesus died in the afternoon-around "the ninth hour" after daybreak, or about 3 p.m. (Matthew 27:46-50 [46] And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?
[47] Some of them that stood there, when they heard that, said, This man calleth for Elias.
[48] And straightway one of them ran, and took a spunge, and filled it with vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink.
[49] The rest said, Let be, let us see whether Elias will come to save him.
[50] Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost.
)-they think the remainder of Friday constituted the first day, Saturday the second and part of Sunday the third.
However, they fail to take into consideration that only two nights-Friday night and Saturday night-are accounted for in this explanation. After all, the Bible is clear that Jesus had already risen before the daylight portion of Sunday (John 20:1The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre.). Something is obviously incorrect in this common conclusion regarding when Christ was in the tomb.
Jonah 1:17Now 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., to which Christ referred, states specifically that "Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights." We have no reason to think these days and nights were fractional. Nor is there any basis for thinking that Jesus meant only two nights and one day, plus parts of two days, when He foretold the length of time He would be in the grave. Such rationalization undermines the integrity of Jesus' words.
The reason that Friday is the day most think of as the day of Christ's crucifixion is that Mark 15:42And now when the even was come, because it was the preparation, that is, the day before the sabbath, states that it was the preparation day (the day before the Sabbath). In the normal weekly Sabbath cycle, Friday is indeed the preparation day. But in this case, there were two Sabbaths during that week. The Sabbath referred to in Mark 15:42And now when the even was come, because it was the preparation, that is, the day before the sabbath, was an annual Holy Day-the First Day of Unleavened Bread. John 19:31The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation, that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the sabbath day, (for that sabbath day was an high day,) besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. confirms this by specifically stating that it was a high day, or annual Holy Day. Then two days later was the weekly Sabbath, which is the one referred to in Luke 23:56And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the sabbath day according to the commandment..
Here's the timeline: Jesus was laid in the tomb in a hurry, as sunset (the beginning of the Holy Day) was approaching (Mark 15:42And now when the even was come, because it was the preparation, that is, the day before the sabbath,). Joseph of Arimathea, wanting to properly bury Jesus before the beginning of the high Holy Day, took down Jesus' body and wrapped it in linen. He then placed the body in the tomb (Luke 23:53And he took it down, and wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a sepulchre that was hewn in stone, wherein never man before was laid.; Mark 15:43Joseph of Arimathaea, an honourable counsellor, which also waited for the kingdom of God, came, and went in boldly unto Pilate, and craved the body of Jesus.). Luke's account then says Jesus' female disciples observed that He was buried as the Sabbath drew near (Luke 23:54-55 [54] And that day was the preparation, and the sabbath drew on.
[55] And the women also, which came with him from Galilee, followed after, and beheld the sepulchre, and how his body was laid.
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After seeing Christ's body being laid in the tomb just before sunset, the women then "returned and prepared spices and fragrant oils [for the final preparation of the body]. And they rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment" (Luke 23:56And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the sabbath day according to the commandment.). How could they have prepared these spices and oils in the very short time before sunset?
The wording of Mark 16:1-2 [1] And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him.
[2] And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun.
adds to the confusion some experience because it seems to suggest that the spices were purchased after the weekly Sabbath rather than before it on Friday? How is that possible?
By comparing details in both Gospels-where Mark tells us the women bought spices after the Sabbath and Luke relates that they prepared the spices before resting on the Sabbath-we can see that two different Sabbaths are mentioned. The first, as John 19:31The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation, that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the sabbath day, (for that sabbath day was an high day,) besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. tells us, was the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. The second was the weekly seventh-day Sabbath. Mark did not mention this weekly Sabbath rest in his account, but Luke, who wrote his account of these events later, did.
Thus, the women returned after seeing the burial Wednesday afternoon. They rested on the high-day Sabbath Wednesday night and Thursday. They bought the spices either Thursday night or Friday morning. They prepared them on Friday prior to sunset and then rested on the weekly Sabbath from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset.
Then, early on Sunday, before dawn, "while it was still dark" (John 20:1The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre.), they went to the tomb to apply the embalming mixture. They discovered that Christ had already been resurrected (Matthew 28:1-6 [1] In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre.
[2] And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it.
[3] His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow:
[4] And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men.
[5] And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified.
[6] He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.
; Mark 16:2-6 [2] And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun.
[3] And they said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre?
[4] And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great.
[5] And entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment; and they were affrighted.
[6] And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him.
; Luke 24:1-3 [1] Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them.
[2] And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre.
[3] And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus.
). The only plausible timeline for the events of the crucifixion week is that Christ was in the grave three full days and three full nights, from late on a Wednesday until late on a Saturday.
Now, consider Christ's promise that He would be in the grave for the same length of time that Jonah was in the belly of the great fish in conjunction with this historical record. What is the correct way to understand "three days and three nights" in both Matthew 12:40For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. and Jonah 1:17Now 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.? It means three literal days and three literal nights-72 full hours.
If Jesus were in the tomb only from late Friday afternoon to sometime early Sunday morning, then the sign He gave that He was the prophesied Messiah was not fulfilled. The claim of His Messiahship rests on the fulfillment of His words-it's that serious a matter.
When we allow the Scriptures to interpret themselves, all four Gospel accounts accurately harmonize and attest to the validity of Jesus' promise that He would be in the grave three days and three nights-not just part of that time.
Several Bible translations recognize that more than one Sabbath is discussed in these events. In Matthew 28:1In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre. some Bible versions, including Alfred Marshall's Parallel New Testament in Greek and English, Ferrar Fenton's Translation and Green's Literal Translation, properly translate a phrase occurring here as "after the sabbaths." Young's Literal Translation and The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament (1992, p. 1270) similarly acknowledge that multiple Sabbaths are intended here.
Some stumble over Mark 16:9Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils., not taking into account that there is no punctuation indicated in the original Greek. Therefore, to be in harmony with the material presented in the other Gospels, a better translation of the verse would be: "Now having risen, early the first day of the week He appeared first to Mary Magdalene..." So it's not saying that Jesus rose early on Sunday morning, but that He appeared early on Sunday morning to Mary Magdalene, having already risen some time earlier.
We can be assured that the duration of Christ's entombment before His resurrection, which He foretold as proof of His Messiahship, was precisely as long as He said it would be-equaling the "three days and three nights [Jonah was] in the belly of the great fish" (Matthew 12:40For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.). Thus, Jesus rose late Saturday afternoon around sunset-not Sunday at sunrise-exactly three days and three nights after He was placed in the tomb just before sunset on Wednesday.
Christ's prophecy of the time He would be in the tomb was fulfilled precisely. Because most people do not understand the biblical high days kept by Jesus Christ and His followers, they fail to understand the chronological details so accurately preserved for us in the Gospels.
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