One of the things the Council of Nicaea did was to affirm the Canon as complete. The information of the Bible must be viewed with an eye toward multiple books supporting one another (therefore majority "wins"). This means that singular claims (verses) are taken as truth, but not for specificity. The translation from which one works has to refer back to the original Greek, in order to ensure accuracy. Since I'm not an expert in Greek, I cannot comment on the translation quality.

However, I did search (www.)biblegateway(.com), which has several versions of translations - ranging from the King James Version (KJV) to Wycliff (and beyond). The New King James Version (NKJV) answers a search (temple, three, days) with the following citations: Matt 26; Matt 27; Mark 14; Mark 15; and John 2.

The majority state either "in" or "within" three days - none of these making comment on the number of "nights".

Searching again (son, three, days) we come up with: Matt 12; Matt 27; and Mark 8.

Only Matt 12 refers to the "nights", when Jesus is quoted as comparing His trial to Jonah's. With the idea of majority consistency in mind, it is questionable to cite the *unique* reference as the definitive concept.

Therefore, I'd say that Jesus enjoyed the Passover with His disciples (going into the evening after sunset) and making His arrest on the Friday - first day. His trial, condemnation, and death occurred on that day. He was removed from the cross and buried before the Hebrew Sabbath (begins at sunset). The Sabbath He remains in the grave, through the sunset of that day - second day. In the morning of the next day the women followers find the tomb empty - third day.

In my opinion and belief, the majority citations are not referring to three 24-hour periods (end-to-end). They are referring to a "span over three days". The third day was the day after Hebrew Sabbath - Sunday.

Matt 27:57-63; Mark 15:42-46; Luke 23:50-56; John 19:38-42;
Upon reading those passages you will noticed that after the death of Christ since it was preparation day that ended before sunset they took and wrapped the body of Christ then laid to the tomb then they rested because sabbath day (A HIGH DAY - annual sabbath) begun on sunset til next day sunset. After sabbath day Mary Magdalene group bought spices then they rested because A WEEKLY SABBATH is approaching. Therefore they had rested twice and two sabbaths had been observed.

MATTHEW 12:39 But he answered and said to them, "An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will 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 great fish, so will the Son of Man be THREE DAYS and THREE NIGHTS in the heart of the earth. (NKJV)

JESUS CHRIST himself said this literally speaking not symbolically that referred to 24 hours per day.

Jesus died on Wednesday 3pm as one night
On Thursday as one day and one night
On Friday as another one day and one night
On Saturday as one day =>>> 3 days and 3 nights
Therefore the Resurrection Day of Christ was on Saturday evening which still under the Sabbath Day because Christ is the Lord of the Sabbath.

Matt 28:1 And the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre. (KJV)
Mark 16:1-2 And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him. And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising sun. (KJV)
Luke 24:1 Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them. (KJV)
John 20:1 The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, WHEN IT WAS YET DARK, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre. (KJV)

By comparison those passages Christ was resurrected on the weekly sabbath day. John 20:1 speaks itself that it was yet dark when they came with the spices they bought but they found an empty tomb and angels spoke unto them.

That's not really what he said, but the Hellenist guy who wrote the gospel attributed to Matthew in Mat. 12:40. If you wanna struggle to find out the meaning of this hoax, you are in big trouble. Look at this:

The Hoax of the Three Days and Three Nights

On the third day or in three days, simply means after a short period of time. (Hosea 6:2)

Night or day for three days, as we have in the request of Esther to fast for her, means three days or three nights whether one follows the tradition to fast by day or by night. Those terms were used here because it was in the Diaspora where most Persians followed the tradition to fast by night. So, Esther's maids who were not Jewish, would share Esther's pain by showing their solidarity with their night fast. (Esther 4:16)

The case of Jonah dispenses all explanation because it happened during a vision. Therefore metaphorical language. That could be the entire three days and three nights, since everything is possible in a vision or dream. (Jonah 2:1)

Now, for the three days and three nights we are talking about, for Jesus to spend in the tomb, according to Matthew 12:40, the writer must have had a very poor insight about parables or metaphorical language to draw his prophecy in the terms of Jonah's allegory. If he had used the language of Esther or Hosea, he could have saved his prophecy from being a hoax, but now he must account for the whole three days and three nights or parts thereof.

We don't even need another gospel writer to contradict the one of Matthew. This contradicts himself as he declares that the next day, the one following the Day of Preparation, the chief Priests asked Pilate for a guard of soldiers to watch the tomb area for three days. (Mat. 27:62-64) The Jewish Preparation Day is always Friday, and the following day is the Sabbath.

Then, after that Sabbath, as the first day was dawning, the women went to see the sepulcher, there was an earthquake, an "angel" came down from Heaven, removed the stone, and the tomb was empty. Someone had cheated the angel by raising Jesus from there long before the "angel" could at least be an eyewitness to the resurrection.

Based on the Jewish method that a whole day or night can be accounted for any part of the day or night, we can consider the first day for those minutes that took Joseph of Arimathea to get Jesus into the tomb before sunset. The first night from sunset to sundawn of Saturday, the second day from sundawn Saturday to sunset that Saturday, and the second night from sunset that Saturday to the sundawn of the first day. It was still dark when the women arrived at the tomb to find it empty. Therefore we are missing a whole day and a whole night to save Matthew 12:40 from becoming a prophetical hoax and a classical contradiction in the NT.

Any volunteers to solve this puzzle?

Ben

Ben007Masada wrote: "Therefore we are missing a whole day and a whole night to save Matthew 12:40 from becoming a prophetical hoax and a classical contradiction in the NT."

Could it be that one of the periodic (longer interval than annually) festivals and holy days appeared at the time of Jesus' trial and execution (i.e. an event of a double Sabbath)?

This would mean that a compound Sabbath (coming on the Thursday evening prior to the weekly Sabbath) provided the required time. Jesus and His disciples:
(1) celebrated the Last Supper (Passover) on Tuesday evening, Jesus being arrested and shuttled between Herod Antipas and Pontius Pilate from Tuesday night (inquisition) and on Wednesday
(2) then crucified (3rd hour) and died (9th hour), taken from the cross and laid in the tomb before the beginning of Thursday Sabbath,
(3) laid in the ground Friday and Saturday, and rising on Sunday having met the three days and three nights.

He died on Wednesday (9th hour). He was in the tomb Thursday (9th hour), Friday (9th hour), and Saturday (9th hour) - completing the Sabbath and requirements, AND having met ritual sacrificial offerings Hebrew law mandated (Wednesday morning and evening, prior to Sabbath).

This unusual convergence of Hebrew holy days only happens once in several hundreds of years, and occurred exactly when it was required. Is it possible this could fulfill Jesus' claims and the prophetic predictions of Isaiah and others?

There was no event of a double Sabbath. That Sabbath was a solemn Sabbath for the fact that the Passover had fallen on the Sabbath day. (John 19:31) According to Matthew 27:62, the next day following the Day of Preparation was the weekly Sabbath. Only the sixth day of the week is, according to Judaism, called "The Day of Preparation." Jesus was Jewish, wasn't he? Therefore, it must go according to his Faith, which was Judaism. Therefore, your attempt above to solve this contradiction has ended up by making it worse.

Jesus was crucified on the sixth day, laid in his walk-in tomb a few minutes before the Sabbath started, and at the end of that Sabbath, the tomb was empty. I see no way out of this one. I am sorry.
Ben