![]() ![]() And "the third day” presents even greater problems as we shall notice in a moment.ĭoes this sound terribly confusing? If so, it is only because men have placed their own interpretation upon the meaning of God's Word. "Within three days” could mean anytime less than seventy-two hours, and "three days and three nights” could only mean exactly seventy-two hours to the second. "The third day,” "in three days,” "after three days,” and "three days and three nights” are equivalent terms used in the Bible in reference to the resurrection of Jesus.Įxpressions Cannot Be Literal Now we ask the question: Can all of these expressions be taken in a strictly literal sense and still harmonize with each other? Absolutely not! For example, "after three days' would certainly have to be interpreted as longer than seventy-two hours. There seems to be no controversy regarding this point. Without question all of these various expressions are used to describe the very same event. Ten times it was specified that the resurrection would take place on the "third day.” On five occasions they said, "in” or "within three days.” Twice they used the term, "after three days,” and one time only Jesus spoke of His death as "three days and three nights." In fact, on seventeen separate occasions Jesus or His friends spoke of the timetable involving His death and resurrection. In this way they account for the full seventy-two hours which they believe Christ spent in the tomb.ĭoes this interpretation harmonize with the full Bible record on the subject? Does it fit with the many other inspired accounts of the time element involved? Is there other infor- mation given in the Word of God which will make it clear exactly how the three days and three nights are to be understood?įortunately, we have an abundance of Bible evidence to answer these questions. This conviction has led them to conclude that Christ was crucified on Wednesday afternoon and was resurrected at the same hour late Sabbath afternoon. Today there is a vocal minority of Christians who have made a tremendous issue out of the phrase "three days and three nights.” They insist that Jesus used the expression because He was to be in the grave exactly seventy-two hours, not a second more or second less. ![]() Jesus referred to the preaching of Jonah on two other occasions as a sign to the unbelieving Pharisees. But more than that, the event constituted a sign of Christ's own death, and burial, and resurrection. In the first place, it positively affirms that the Old Testament story of Jonah did actually take place as the Scriptures record it. Now this statement of Jesus is significant in more ways than one. The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here.” Matthew 12:39-41. Here are the exact words Jesus used in describing the experience of the runaway prophet: "An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: For 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. The decisive point for many revolves around the length of time Jonah spent in the stomach of the whale. Strangely enough, the chief issue has nothing at all to do with the oft-challenged fact of a man being swallowed by a sea monster. Three Days and Three Nights Some of the strongest and most controversial opinions have built up around the statement of Jesus concerning Jonah and the whale.
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