QUESTION #1
Matthew 12:40 says, “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.” Also, Matthew 28:1 describes how Jesus rose to life on Sunday, the first day of the week. I have always heard that Jesus was crucified on Friday. But if you take Matthew 12:40 literally, does that mean Jesus was crucified on Thursday? RESPONSE Background — Jesus died at 3:00 PM (the “ninth hour” of the day was in reference to the start of the Jewish day at 6:00 a.m.; Matthew 27:45, 50; Mark 15:33-34, 37; Luke 23:44-46) and was interred around 6:00 p.m. (cf. Luke 23:54) on the same day (Matthew 27:57; Mark 15:42), which is called “the day of Preparation, that is, the day before the Sabbath [Saturday]” (Mark 15:42; cf. Matthew 27:62; Luke 23:54; John 19:31 [Deuteronomy 21:22-23], 38, 42). He was clearly resurrected around dawn on the day after the Sabbath, the first day of the week, Sunday (Matthew 28:1-7; Mark 16:1-7; Luke 23:56-24:9; John 20:1-19). Option #1 — Jesus died on Wednesday or Thursday and was raised on Sunday. Option #2 — Jesus died on Friday and was raised on Sunday.
[i] Leon Morris, The Gospel according to Matthew, The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI; Leicester, England: W.B. Eerdmans; Inter-Varsity Press, 1992), pp. 325-326. |
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