Matthew 12:39-40 (RSVCE)
39 But Jesus answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign; but no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40 For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the whale, so will the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
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There will be two sets of questions here that should be proven by the Scriptures, not for History sake, but for the martyrs of Christ who believed that Jesus Himself is the true Messiah and for the sake of the Christians in all nations who believe in Him, and not only for the believers but also for those who are in darkness to see the Light, He is the Savior, and for those who seek the truth and have the humility to realign themselves being corrected with their misconceptions; and most of all, for the Glory of GOD, through the Holy Spirit of GOD who led me to write this.
First, Did Jesus descended in the heart of the earth? Let the Bible answer:
In Ephesians 4:8-10, St. Paul stated, “Therefore it is said, “When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men.” (In saying, “He ascended,” what does it mean but
that he had also descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is he who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.)””
In Acts 2:24, St. Peter affirmed, “But God raised him up, having loosed the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it.” and in verse 31 and 32 it was written, “he (David) foresaw and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses.”
This two verses are enough to prove that Jesus when He died did descended in the heart of the earth. And after His resurrection, He manifested Himself being around here on earth, He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve apostles then to more than five hundred brothers and sisters before He ascended to Heaven (1 Cor. 15:5-6).
The second question would be; Did He spent three days and three nights there?
If we base on the tradition observed every Lenten Season, then we will be confused because the death of Jesus is believed to be at the ninth hour, three o’clock in the afternoon on Friday based on Matthew 27:45-49, and the resurrection happened on Sunday early in the morning while it is dark based on John 20:1-20. These calculations of events though referred to the aforementioned verses, doesn’t serve all the truth in our Gospel today. Doing the easy computation, basing on night alone, that would only be two nights, not three. Is Jesus wrong and we are right? Certainly not! If we insist on this passed on belief, then we still have no Messiah.
Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6). There’s no lie in Him. This was the only sign Jesus had given, and it should be precise because it is His Word. He vested His whole identity that He is the Messiah in this sign, nothing else and nobody else. When He said three days and three nights, it should be exactly three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. This is the only sign and should be viable, nothing should be clearer than this.
Jesus mentioned many times in many occasions that He will rise AFTER three days, Mark 8:31, 9:3, 10:34. The chief priest noted this very well, and having accused that Jesus is impostor, they asked Pilate to command the tomb to be made secure UNTIL the third day; because they are afraid that His disciples may go and steal him away, and tell the people, ‘He has been raised from the dead,…”(Matthew 27:62-65). But finish reading this Eternal News, His words will be proven by the Scripture to be true and the interpretation that Friday is the death of Christ, was an assumption.
First, Jesus knew that there are twelve hours in a daytime. John 11:9-10 says, “Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours in the day? If any one walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. But if any one walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.” Jesus clearly meant that a day of light is twelve hours, and He certainly knew that after twelve hours daylight, there is evening and the morning which come after each daylight. It is also important to note that when GOD created all things, it is under Daylight. After HE is done, it said, “So the evening and the morning were the second day…the third day…etc. (Gen 1:8,13,19, 23 31). GOD did not created anything in Genesis in darkness except when HE first created the Light and then it said “So the evening and the morning were the first day. (Gen 1:5). Take note that when the evening and morning came, that is called first, or second, or third, and “so on” day.
When did Jesus was raised?
In John 20:1 we read, “Now on the first day of the week Mary Mag′dalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb”. We agree that the first day here is Sunday, because John knew that seventh day is Sabbath. Jesus had risen before she came. “While it is dark” means the morning was not yet (or maybe morning but very early), therefore, Jesus Resurrection should be in the period on Saturday evening and Sunday morning, the third day. That should be the case base on Genesis 1. It is also important to mention that in the human point of view of Cleopas, that first day which is Sunday, is the third day too (Luke 24:21). We should take note that Jesus many times mentioned that He would rise ON the third day (Mat.16:21, Luke 9:22).
Now, when did really Jesus died?
Counting back, Jesus then have his last breathed on the day before “three evenings and three mornings” prior to resurrection, and that would be Thursday shortly after the ninth hour (Luke 23:46), the Day of Preparation. Here’s the proof: Luke 23:54 affirmed, “Jesus died in the Day of Preparation, when sabbath was drawing near”. There’s now the assumption that it was Friday because sabbath here was interpreted as Saturday, but sabbath here is described as “high day” (John 19:31). What is a high day? A high day is a very special sabbath. In Leviticus 23, there were many appointed festivals of the LORD which were proclaimed as Holy Convocations. One of these is the Passover, which falls on the fourteenth day of the first month. The other one is the day of Atonement celebrated on the tenth of the seventh month (the first month for Israel; a memorial of Passover in Exodus 12). God said in Leviticus 23:32, “It shall be to you a sabbath of solemn rest,”. Now the sabbath in Luke 23:54 is not Sabbath or Saturday, but the day of Holy Convocation, a high day which shall be considered a sabbath of solemn rest, where laborious work like burial is prohibited. This high day that is considered a very special sabbath could fall on any day of the week, though remain the fourteenth day of the first month as in the case of Passover. In the New Testament, Jesus died just after the day of the Unleavened Bread, the Last Supper where He broke the bread, their Passover meal (Luke 22:7-16). It is now more clearly that they were celebrating the Passover week, drawing to a high day, a day of Holy Convocation. It make sense why Jesus was called our Passover Lamb in 1 Corinthians 5:7 (NLT) because He died in the Passover week celebration. That high day therefore falls on Friday, a sabbath of solemn rest. In conclusion, Jesus died Thursday, the ninth hour, then three evenings and three mornings have passed in Genesis 1 manner of counting, (which consisted three nights and three days), and He rose on the third day, that is after Saturday evening, which is in Sunday very early morning.
What’s the Eternal News? Jesus is the Messiah, His sign is valid and we cannot twist that truth that has been revealed to us today. We must realign ourselves and be guided by Jesus Word, the truth which promise us our Salvation. The truth comes from His Word and nothing can nullify it. That’s why, no one can boast that they have the truth and are faithful, if they do not study, learn, receive, and believe the Word and be guided by the Advocate, the Holy Spirit who reveals the secret of GOD (1Cor. 2:10). To GOD Almighty be all the Glory in Jesus Christ Name, AMEN.
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