“Estimated Time Of Arrival”

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

In Matthew 12:40, Jesus said to the Pharisees, "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." Yet, when I study my New Testament and Jesus' final week on this earth and His death and resurrection, what I hear and am told is that He died on Friday, was in the tomb Friday night, all day Saturday, Saturday night, and then rose on Sunday, the first day of the week.  That adds up to a half day, one night, a whole day, one night, and another partial day… not three days and three nights.  Can you clarify the inconsistency?  What am I not seeing?

Sincerely,
Puzzled

Dear Puzzled,

Jesus was technically buried for only one full day (Saturday) and part of two other days (Friday and Sunday), but when talking in common language, we would say that He was buried three days – because we round numbers when speaking about time.  In fact, the habit of counting part of a day as a full day is found throughout the Scriptures as a common way of talking.  Here are some examples:

1. Esther said that she would fast for three days and nights before approaching the king… but she went to see the king on the third day (Esther 4:15-17, Esther 5:1).
2. A sick and famished Egyptian said that he had gone without food for three days and three nights… but it was the third day when he told his story to David (1 Sam 30:12-13).
3. Joseph kept his brothers in prison for three days (Gen 42:17), but he also let them out on day three (Gen 42:18).
4. The Jews were camped against Syria for seven days before attacking, but the Scriptures say they attacked on the seventh day (1 Kgs 20:29).

Each of those examples points out that when Jesus was speaking about being in the heart of the earth for three days and nights, He was talking in a way that made sense to every Jew.  He wasn’t being technical about the length of His burial (it didn’t have to be literally 72 hours, 0 minutes, and 0 seconds), but He was rounding up for clarity… just like we do today.

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