Ministry of Grace Church

Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, “Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.” But answering, He said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the huge fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

Truth to Learn

We don’t need to “twist the facts” to believe that Jesus always told the truth.

Behind the Words

The word translated “just as” is the Greek word hōsper . This is made up of hos, meaning “as” and the emphatic particle per. Hōsper literally means “just as” or “exactly as.” It does not mean “kind of like” or “similar to.”

The words “three days and three nights” are a literal translation of the Greek, treis hēmeras kai treis nuktas.

Meaning Explained

I have studied the teachings of numerous scholars and esteemed teachers of the Bible and I do not cease to be amazed at the lengths they go to in order to make the crucifixion on Friday and the resurrection on Sunday. The most common explanation is to say that by Jewish reckoning a part of a day is reckoned as a whole day. Others say that “evening and morning, or night and day, is the Hebrew phrase for the natural day. The Greeks called this nuchthemeron, meaning “nightday.”

You may recall that when God created the heavens and the earth we are told that He said, “And there was evening and there was morning, the first day” (Genesis 1:5)

However, you will notice that Jesus did not say “three nightdays” and he did not say “three nights and three days,” either of which would be a Hebrew reckoning of days, and could indicate parts of three days. Instead, Jesus said, “three days and three nights” which is a Roman reckoning of days and means “three complete days and three complete nights.”

You may recall from yesterday’s post that the women who went to the tomb to anoint Jesus’ body, purchased the spices on the day after the Sabbath. Our immediate conclusion is that this indicates that the women purchased the spices on Sunday. But, as we pointed out earlier, there was not sufficient time to purchase the spices, prepare them, and still arrive at the tomb very early in the morning. We seem to be at an impasse! But wait! Remember that some of the Jewish holy days were Sabbaths in addition to Saturday Sabbaths. Passover was one of those holy day Sabbaths, called a “High Day.”

If Jesus was crucified on Wednesday (the Preparation Day of the Passover), then the following day (Thursday) would have been a Sabbath, and Friday would have been the “day after the Sabbath.” The women could have purchased the spices and prepared them on Friday. Then, early in the morning of the day after the Sabbath (Sunday) they went to the tomb to anoint His body.

Consider this: if Joseph placed Jesus in the tomb at 6:00 on Wednesday and Jesus was in the grave for three days and three nights (Wednesday night, Thursday day, Thursday night, Friday day, Friday night, and Saturday day), then he would have been raised at 6:00 on Saturday evening. That would be three days and three nights in the tomb.

Application

I know what you’re thinking, “You claim that Biblical scholars try to twist the facts to make their idea fit and now you’re doing the same thing.” Tomorrow we’ll look at the calendar to determine precisely what day of the week Jesus was crucified.

In God’s service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2020 Will Krause. All rights reserved