3 days and 3 nights...

[LutheranChick]

Gee, I don't usually start threads... I just pop in and give my opinion! I was lurking around in GT and they were talking about Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection in regards to the # of days it was (what day he died, and rose). And it got me wondering. This is in reference to this verse:

Matthew 12:40 For just 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.

I know that Jesus was crucified on Friday, and rose on Sunday. I understand that is 3 days- because they weren't talking about 3 24-hour days. But how do you get 3 nights out of that? I'm just curious...

 

[filosofer]

Any part of a day is considered a full day. He died in the afternoon on Friday, before 6 PM, so that is day 1. Day 2 starts at 6 PM Friday to 6 PM Saturday. Day 3 begins at 6 PM Saturday.

 

[LutheranChick]

I understand the 3 days- or am I missing something? The part I don't get is the part that says 3 nights. No matter how you look at it there were only 2 nights. Day 1 doesn't have a night, becuase he was crucified on Friday, during the day. Then day 2 starts at 6 pm on Friday, so there's a night, and day 3 starts Saturday at 6 pm so there is the 2nd night. So why is the verse worded as 3 days and 3 nights?

Are you saying that since any part of a day is considered a full day, that it counts as a night too, even if there wasn't one?

 

[Notnil]

Yeah your right ,any portion of a day is considered a full day to ancient greek speaking persons and the night thing can be explained. saying 'three days and three nights' to an anchient greek speaking person at the time was considered a colloquial phrase, which translated to a person in jesus' time as 'any part of three days and three nights'. see the phrase ' --- days and --- nights' was merely a saying to indicate a number of days, it was to indicate that it was consecutive. so this prophesy is misunderstood mostly because it is inclusive reconing (including any part of 3 days or a number of days) and colloquial phraseology (using misunderstood figurative phrases).

 

[Joshua G.]

Thanks Notnil.

To add...
What's intreresting is the significance behind Christ rising on Sunday.

1) He was asleep in the tomb on Saturday (the Sabbath when God rested after creation)
2) He DID indeed rise on Sunday as Notnil explained so well which is significant because that is not the seventh day (the sabbath) but the EIGHT day. In Judaism, 7 was the number of the law, but eight was the number of fullfillment (this is symbolism is also found in the marriage at Cana) whcih Christ came to do. It is also the eighth day of the 7-day week which is impossible or rather OUTSIDE of time (outside of our limited nature).

So, not only does this common argument made by Seventh Day Adventists (the sad irony of their name is all the more apparent now) not hold water as Notnil so well explained, but when you look at the great significance of Christ rising on Sunday, the eighth day, it becomes all the more apparent that this is not just coincidence.

If you look at early Christian writings, you will find references to the eighth day.

I've come into contact with pamphlet passers who tried to convince me that worshipping on sunday was evil ploy by Rome and that the secret documents were uncovered by the founder of their group in the Vatican that uncovered this terrible action in the past (imagine that! lol). We then got to speaking about the Trinity and the guy told me that there Church was not so stringent on that. In the end, he agreed that this was a problem. I then said to him: You are so hung up on when you worship together, shouldn't you be more hung up on WHOM you are worshipping?

He agreed with me and then went back to silly Vatican conspiracy and promised to send me this amazing book. I gave him my address. I never got it.

Joshua

 

[TheCosmicGospel]

I think more amazing is that Jesus links His physical resurrection, the single most important event in history, to a fishy tale. To begin to believe that a big fish swallowed Jonah, three days and three nights is only a poetical expression for a brief period of time.