Jesus said he would be in the bosom of the earth for three days and three nights (Matthew 12,40:XNUMX). Isn't that a contradiction to a crucifixion on Friday?

Three days and nights is 72 hours, and that's hard to fit between Friday evening and Sunday morning. Some believe Jesus died on Wednesday. The Thursday that followed was the Sabbath of Unleavened Bread. He was then resurrected two days later on the afternoon of the weekly Sabbath. However, some facts speak against this idea:

1. Resurrection on the third day

Jesus himself says in several places that he would be resurrected on the third day; the angels at the tomb, Peter and Paul confirm this. A total of 15 verses say that Jesus rose on the third day. Nowhere is it found that Jesus lay in the tomb for three nights. (Matthew 16,21:17,23; 20,19:27,63.64; 8,31:9,31; 10,34:9,22; Mark 18,33:24,7.21.46; 10,40:1; 15,4:XNUMX; Luke XNUMX:XNUMX; XNUMX:XNUMX; XNUMX:XNUMX; Acts XNUMX:XNUMX ; XNUMX Corinthians XNUMX:XNUMX).

The text in Luke 24,21:20 is probably the clearest, where the disciples at Emmaus say: "By all these things, today is the third day since these things happened." Since what happened? Since "he was condemned to death and crucified" (verse XNUMX). So those were the events of the first day (Friday), before the second day (Sabbath), and the third day (Sunday).

2. Three days and three nights?

If the phrase "three days and three nights" were to be taken literally, Jesus would have died just before the dawn of the first day and would have risen 72 hours later when the third night was over. However, since he died shortly before nightfall, he should at least have spoken the other way around, that is, "three nights and three days," to speak mathematically correctly.

Most people therefore understand the phrase "three days and three nights" as a general term for three calendar days that have started. Just as when we say "eight days" we mean a week and the French mean "fifteen days" means a fortnight.

3. Jesus' Sabbath rest

Had Jesus been resurrected on the Sabbath, he would not have made us aware of the close connection between creation and salvation. However, since he was laid in the grave shortly before the start of the Sabbath and raised again shortly after the end of the Sabbath, he rested after the work of redemption completed on Golgotha ​​as he had done four thousand years earlier together with his father after the completed creation. As a result, the Sabbath is no longer just a day of remembrance for creation, but also for redemption.

Luke 23,56:20,1 makes it clear that immediately after the burial the women went home to prepare the spices and ointments. "On the Sabbath they rested according to the law," only to go back to the tomb before dawn, "while it was still dark," with the "spices which they had prepared" (John 24,1:XNUMX; Luke XNUMX, XNUMX). Why should they have waited longer than the end of the Sabbath and a little longer until the light conditions would allow them to do the anointing work in the tomb? With a Wednesday crucifixion and a Thursday festival Sabbath, Friday morning would have come into question.

4. Jesus, the weave

According to 1 Corinthians 15,23:19,31, Jesus was the "firstfruits" of the resurrection. The sheaf of firstfruits was offered as a sheaf of waves at the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Pesach) the day after the first feast Sabbath. Since the Sabbath when Jesus rested was also a great feast Sabbath (John XNUMX:XNUMX), the wave sheaf was offered in the temple on Sunday, the day Jesus rose from the dead. If the feast Sabbath had been on Thursday, the sheaf of weaving would have been offered on Friday.

5. In the womb of the earth

Even if one wants to take three days and three nights literally, one has to ask whether the term "in the bosom of the earth" really means the grave. Adventist pioneers saw it as the time when Jesus was in the power of evil men and devils. Jonah too had been in the grip of a living power for three days and three nights when he was in the belly of the fish.

During the night from Thursday to Friday Jesus was arrested. On Sunday morning he only drove up to his father after the conversation with Maria Magdalena. Only then did he let the disciples touch him again (John 20,17:23,39; Luke XNUMX:XNUMX). This would include three nights and three days in this period.

(cf. James White, The Present Truth, December 1849; Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, April 7, 1851; Uriah Smith, Day of the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Christ, 8-12; Ellet Wagoner, The Present Truth, March 27, 1902)

6. The formulation of the basic Greek text

Luke 24,1:16,9 literally says in Greek that the women came very early to the grave “on one of the Sabbaths” (τη μια των σαββατων = tē mia tōn sabbatōn). Mark XNUMX:XNUMX says »on the first of the Sabbath« (πρωτη σαββατου = prōtē sabbatu). But why does almost all Bible translations say "on the first day of the week"?

This has grammatical reasons: σαββατων/ σαββατου is neuter. Therefore the feminine words μια (one) and πρωτη (first) cannot refer directly to it. That's why you shouldn't translate "on a Sabbath." But if you know that σαββατων/σαββατου can also mean »of the week«, the grammar makes sense again: »On [day] one of the week«, »on the first [day] of the week«. For ημερα (hemera/day) is feminine in Greek.

Luke 18,12:XNUMX shows that the word σαββατον can actually mean week. It says that the Pharisees fast δις του σαββατου [dis tu sabbatu], i.e. twice on the Sabbath? No, the Jews were forbidden to fast on the Sabbath except on the Day of Atonement. Rather, the Pharisees fasted twice a week, on Mondays and Thursdays.

7. The Spirit of Prophecy confirms the Bible

Seventh-day Adventists believe the Spirit of Prophecy was manifested in the writings of Ellen White. I would like to cite two examples that reinforce what has been said so far:

'On the sixth day of the week they had seen their master die; on the first day of the next week they found themselves robbed of his body.« (Desire of Ages, 794)

"It was God's plan that Jesus' ministry should be completed on a Friday and that he should rest in the grave on the Sabbath, as the father and son rested after completing their work of creation." (Manuscript release 3, 425.3)