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NASB | Matthew 12:40 for just as JONAH WAS THREE DAYS AND THREE NIGHTS IN THE BELLY OF THE SEA MONSTER, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Matthew 12:40 for just as JONAH WAS THREE DAYS AND THREE NIGHTS IN THE BELLY OF THE SEA MONSTER, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. [Jon 1:17] |
Subject: 3 days and 3 nights as a Hebrew idiom |
Bible Note: I realize how late in this forum I am posting, but to try to work backwards from the "three days and three nights" to arrive at a Thursday Crucifixion is in error with the mountain of evidence of Friday Crucifixion/Sunday Resurrection (Scripture, as well as early church fathers writings). I agree with the Jewsish idiom to account for the three days (as Matthew uses elsewhere - cf. 16:21, 17:23, etc), but Matt 12:39 is very specific. It is also interesting to note that in almost every case that Christ refers to the "third day" or "three days" in reference to His resurrection, He also includes His sufferings, betrayal, etc (MT 16:21, 17:22, 20:18, LK 24:6, LK 24:21-45). For that reason, we must examine what occurred on the evening before the Crucifixion as well as what exactly Jesus meant to his audience in the "heart of the earth" statement. I submit that Jesus was referring to His sufferings, the beginnings of His separation from the Father as he took sin upon Himself (Isaiah 53:4-5). We can look on that period, in our 21st century colored glasses and see that Christ, in Spirit, was in Hades yet this was not the case for the Pharisees that Jesus was talking to. When examining the phrase "heart (center) of the earth (world)" we have to consider that Jesus, in His sufferings (as well as His Crucifixion), was separated from the Father, in "the heart of the earth." This may not be the case, but it is certainly a situation worth considering and worthy in reviewing the awe-full sufferings of our Lord. It is also worthy to note that in the context, Jesus is showing that One greater than these (temple 12:6; prophets 12:39; kings 12:40 - the sum of Judaism) is here. The "sign" they were looking for was a direct revelation from God, not a mere miracle as would be the case with the healing of the shriveled hand they had just witnessed or the "more" miraculous rising of Lazarus to come (FOUR days). This "sign" was that the Messiah would not only be dead and raised from life but that He alone would or could take on Himself our sins. In Christ, Don |