[Ohio-Communities-of-Faith] Amazing facts devotion

[Shelly Duffy]

HOW COULD JESUS HAVE BEEN IN THE TOMB FOR “THREE DAYS AND THREE NIGHTS”?, PT. 1
May 11, 2021 

Average reading time is about 4 and a half minutes


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This is a frequently asked question in connection with this familiar text. Because of a simple misunderstanding, this particular passage in Matthew has managed to cause confusion, frustration, and even division among laypersons, clergy, and scholars alike. I will actually take a few days to cover this popular “three days and three nights” conundrum regarding the story of Jonah. 

Jesus says that the Son of Man will “be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth”—meaning in the tomb. We’ll assume, as commonly believed, that Jesus died Friday and rose Sunday. Noting this, no matter how you cut it, Jesus was not in the tomb for three nights—even though Scripture distinctly states “three nights.” 

Many people feel that the Bible just can’t be trusted because of this supposed discrepancy. And others attempt to accommodate the “three nights” verse by adopting the belief that Jesus died on Wednesday or Thursday. Still others reason that Jesus did not mean three literal nights. 

Church history reveals a similar “right time, wrong place” misinterpretation of Scripture. William Miller, a godly Baptist preacher in the 1800s, believed and taught that Jesus would return in 1844. He wrongly interpreted Daniel 8:14, thinking that the sanctuary to be cleansed was the earth. Miller had the right time for this event, but the wrong event! Fortunately, Bible students dug deeper into the Scriptures to clear up this misunderstanding. 

Frankly, it’s very sad to see Christians expend so much energy struggling to explain something that the Bible clearly explains itself! The problem is not in “the three days and three nights” at all. The problem springs from our misunderstanding of the phrase “in the heart of the earth.” I’ll first address this issue and then explain what “heart of the earth” means. 



KEY BIBLE TEXTS 
"For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth."
Matthew 12:40


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Shelley Duffy