Question:
Could you please clarify Matthew 12:40, “three days and three nights,” in relation to Matthew 28:1-7, Luke 23:56, 24:1-2, and Mark 16?
Answer:
To clarify the various questions that arise from this topic, we need to allocate more space than we currently have. We want to direct our correspondent and readers to our blog post titled “ON WHAT DAY WAS CHRIST CRUCIFIED?”. That post provides a comprehensive and detailed explanation of Matthew 12:40, addressing the following questions: On what day was Christ crucified? With what definiteness are we to understand the term “three days and three nights”? Do they mean seventy-two hours? When do these days begin? On what day did Christ arise? What bearing has the time upon the Sabbath question?
We believe that a study of this issue will reveal that the expression “three days and three nights” was a common Jewish term referring to parts of three days. The terms “day and night” were simply common expressions for a day, meaning that “three days and three nights” could refer to parts of three days—that is, the entirety of the middle day and parts of the first and last days. The text does not state that it refers to a strict seventy-two hours or to the entirety of three days; rather, it suggests that just as Jonah was in the whale, so the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth. But how do we know Jonah was in the whale for that length of time? The Old Testament provides repeated examples of the term “day” being used to indicate part of a day.
Furthermore, how do we know that “the heart of the earth” refers to the grave? Why couldn’t “the heart of the earth” refer to the powerful forces controlling the earth—the Roman power and Satan through that Roman power? When our Lord was handed over to those who came to arrest Him, He stated, “This is your hour, and the power of darkness” (Luke 22:53). That period began when God allowed Him to be seized. According to the biblical method of calculating time, this event occurred on Thursday night, marking the beginning of Friday. Thus, the three days would encompass most of Friday, all of Sabbath, and part of Sunday. In Luke 24:21, two disciples tell Jesus, “Yea, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things came to pass,” which clearly indicates the closing day as Sunday.
Christ rose on the first day of the week. Mark 16:9 states, “Now when He was risen early on the first day of the week.” Rotherham’s Emphatic Translation reads, “And rising early on the first of the week.” Murdock’s Syriac Translation states, “And in the morning of the first day of the week, He arose.” Therefore, Jesus rose on the first day of the week.
Matthew 27:66 should be directly connected to the first verse of Chapter 28. In Greek, there are no paragraphs or chapter divisions, making it one continuous narrative. If read as such, it states: “So they went and made the sepulcher secure, sealing the stone with the guard being with them, late on the Sabbath day. Now as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulcher.” Greenfield suggests this in his Greek New Testament. This reading creates perfect harmony.
Despite their respect for the Sabbath, the Pharisees were so anxious that they were willing to break the Sabbath to ensure the tomb was secure. This occurred on the Sabbath day. The action that took place late on the Sabbath was the sealing of the stone by the Jews, with the guard accompanying them. As dawn approached the first day of the week, the others arrived at the sepulcher. This sequence is in complete agreement with both Mark and Luke.
