Matthew 12:40
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for as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the whale; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. (ASV)
Pro
JW:
"for as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the whale; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth."
Compare to:
"59 And Joseph took the body, and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth,
60 and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock: and he rolled a great stone to the door of the tomb, and departed.
61 And Mary Magdalene was there, and the other Mary, sitting over against the sepulchre.
62 Now on the morrow, which is [the day] after the Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees were gathered together unto Pilate,
63 saying, Sir, we remember that that deceiver said while he was yet alive, After three days I rise again."
JW:
"Now on the morrow, which is [the day] after the Preparation" indicates that Jesus supposedly died on the "Preparation" day or our Friday. The day after the Preparation day would be our Saturday. Note that "the chief priests and the Pharisees" having a meeting with Pilate on the Sabbath is unlikely.
"1 Now late on the sabbath day, as it began to dawn toward the first [day] of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre.
2 And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled away the stone, and sat upon it.
3 His appearance was as lightning, and his raiment white as snow:
4 and for fear of him the watchers did quake, and became as dead men.
5 And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye; for I know that ye seek Jesus, who hath been crucified.
6 He is not here; for he is risen, even as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay."
JW:
"Now late on the sabbath day, as it began to dawn toward the first [day] of the week". Giving "Matthew" the benefit of the doubt to maximize the possible time period here, this would be the morning of the day after Sabbath or our Sunday morning.
So regarding "Matthew's" Jesus predicting he would be vacationing for 3 days and 3 nights, the 3 days could be considered met by thinking of the days as we do, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. However, there appears to be no way to consider the 3 nights part as met as the only nights here Jesus was MIA were Friday and Saturday night or 2 nights.
--JoeWallack 08:47, 15 Feb 2007 (CST)
Con
Neutral
Movement Of Con Argument To Neutral
"The case against contradiction in Mt 12:40 is most carefully argued by Cambridge historian Harold W. Hoehner in his work Chronological Aspects of the Life of Christ (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1981), pp. 71-74. Jewish idiomatic usage is the usual explanation used by those who feel an error in this passage is unprovable; such usage can be seen in a variety of Old Testament passages, e.g. 1 Sam 30:12-13 etc. (cf. Hoehner). It would be strange if Matthew suddenly changed his mind after repeatedly using the phrase "the third day" regarding the resurrection (not "the fourth day") to affirm a fourth day resurrection in Mt 12:40 (that Matthew does imply a fourth day resurrection in this passage must be presumed by anyone arguing a contradiction here). This underscores the probability that the amply attested idiomatic usage is in view here. See the much more extensive argument by Hoehner, op cit."
--JoeWallack 08:31, 14 Feb 2007 (CST)
Reason For Move
JW:
As will be demonstrated here by Pro, there is a clear Contradiction in "Matthew" between the prophecy above of 3 days and 3 nights and the time interval per the subsequent Narrative. The attempted Defense is that "Matthew's" 3 days and 3 nights use is an idiom, which was an accepted literary convention of the time, and therefore not limited to the literal time period. The Defense must give at least one example here supporting this assertion and not merely refer to supposed examples to achieve Con status.
--JoeWallack 08:41, 14 Feb 2007 (CST)
