For instance, in the Lord’s Prayer we pray, “Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven.” Does this mean we’re praying for God’s will to be done in the tomb as it is in heaven? No, of course not. The phrase “in the earth” appears 66 times in the King James Bible, but none of these refers to the grave. Since the term “heart of the earth” is found only in Matthew 12, and nowhere else in Scripture, we need to find similar verses to reference. This allows the Bible-the inspired Word-to interpret itself. Whenever we attempt to gather the meaning of a passage in Scripture, we must compare it with other similar or related passages. The problem springs from our misunderstanding of the phrase “in the heart of the earth.” 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 really mean three literal nights.įrankly, 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. Many people I’ve met felt that the Bible just could not be trusted because of this supposed discrepancy. Noting this, no matter how you cut it, Jesus was not in the tomb for three nights-even though Scripture distinctly states “three nights.” We’ll assume, as commonly believed, that Jesus died Friday and rose Sunday. Jesus says that the Son of Man will “be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth”-meaning in the tomb. By dealing with the popular “three days and nights” conundrum regarding the story of Jonah, we’ll be able to peacefully come to a logical conclusion. "For 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."īecause of a simple misunderstanding, this particular passage in Matthew has managed to cause confusion, frustration, and even division among laypersons, clergy, and scholars alike. The controversy surrounding this issues stems from a Bible verse, found in Matthew 12:40: However, I do believe the Bible gives us very important clues about the day of the week that Jesus died.Īnd once again, no matter what you believe on this issue, if you disagree with me or anyone else, do so respectfully and with a Christian spirit. ![]() I want to be clear that I don't believe what you think about this issue affects your salvation. ![]() Pastor Doug: I have received a lot of questions about the specific weekday on which Jesus died and have realized that it can be a controversial subject. I've heard that Jesus did not die on a Friday.
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