![]() ![]() We are once again reminded that the Bible is truth (John 17:17). Therefore, Jesus’ prophecy in Matthew 12:40 and the facts of His crucifixion, burial, and resurrection are not at odds, but simply reflect the common way of understanding days in the first century.Īs with many other so-called Bible contradictions, a bit of reflection and some understanding of cultural differences help us see that there is no inconsistency at all. on Good Friday counted as one day, His entombment all day Saturday counted as the second day, and His resurrection on Sunday morning counted as the third day. If, for example, a newspaper report describes a certain person doing something for three days, we immediately think of three, twenty-four-hour days.īut once we understand how Jesus and the majority of Jewish people around Him understood days, the seeming contradiction vanishes. Again, most of us do not mark time like this. According to their understanding of days, part of any day counted as a full day. Returning to our earlier discussion on the nature of time, we need to step back and recognize that the Jews of the first century counted days differently than we do today. Skeptics have long seized on this seeming contradiction to discredit the doctrine of biblical inerrancy.Īs with many other so-called Bible contradictions, a bit of reflection and some understanding of cultural differences help us see that there is no inconsistency at all. on Friday and was raised early Sunday morning, how can we square those facts with Jesus’ statement in Matthew 12:40? The Scriptures seem inconsistent here. But there seems to be a difficulty which surfaces when we compare these accounts of Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection and our Lord’s words in Matthew 12:40: “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.” Critics allege that we cannot reconcile Jesus’ words with the Gospel accounts of His death, which place it at the “ninth hour” (Mark 15:34), or 3 p.m. ![]() The Gospels tell us He was crucified on Friday and rose from the grave on Sunday (Mark 15:42–47 16:1 Matt. ![]() 15:4).Īs the texts above indicate, the biblical authors taught that Jesus was in the grave for three days. 27:45), to how long He was in the grave (Luke 9:22 24:7 1 Cor. Time markers abound in its pages, from when Jesus met the terrified disciples on the turbulent sea (Mark 6:48), to the time He was crucified (Matt. In fact, the New Testament is eager for the reader to understand that it is documenting events that occurred in space-time history, as we understand it in an everyday sense. On the other hand, recognizing these differences helps us understand what the authors meant-and did not mean-when they used everyday language to record when an event happened. To be sure, none of these factors undermine the overall divine authorship of the Scriptures. The Bible was written by authors from a variety of backgrounds, in a period and culture far different from ours. Still, we all operate with a pretty straightforward understanding of minutes, hours, days, weeks, and years.īut our way of counting time is not the only way. While his discussion was more abstract than the question at hand, Augustine’s statement reminds us that the concept of time is complex. If I want to explain to an inquirer, I do not know.” 1 He made this observation after a lengthy discussion on the nature of time and eternity. The celebrated church father, Augustine of Hippo, wrote, “What then is time? Provided that no one asks me, I know. ![]()
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