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Jesus and Jonah and the Resurrection - Matt 20:17-19
Jesus and Jonah and the Resurrection - Matt 20:17-19
Matthew 20:17-19 17 As Jesus was about to go up to Jerusalem, He took the twelve disciples aside by themselves, and on the way He said to them,
18 "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem; and the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn Him to death,
19 and will hand Him over to the Gentiles to mock and scourge and crucify Him, and on the third day He will be raised up."
Trying to find a specific foretelling of Jesus being dead for 3 days doesn’t give us much consensus among bible students. Hence, most people see such as referring to the story of Jonah (compare Matt. 12:38-40 and Jonah 1:17).
AFTER three days: Matt. 27:63; Mark 8:31; Luke 2:46;
ON the third day: Matt. 16:21; 17:23; 20:19; Luke 9:22; Acts 10:40; 1 Cor. 15:4
‘THREE days and three nights’ – Matt. 12:40
I believe that J. W. McGarvey understood this correctly by noting simply that such language includes any part of a day as a day. Thus the ‘after’ and ‘on’ and ‘three days and three nights’ refer to the same period of time. (cp. ‘Jesus and Jonah’ which is still being published)
Whether it was to be understood literally according to OUR figures of speech or not, the important thing to me is that either way it was long enough time to ascertain that Jesus was dead! After all the abuse heaped upon his body, and without any medical attention, He was entombed (buried).
Even more important to me is the fact that Jesus foretold both His DEATH and HIS RESURRECTION. Not just once, but 4 times in Matthew (16:21; 17:22-23; 20:17-19; and 26:2).
THEN IT HAPPENED! Yet, when it happened the apostles did not comprehend such an event! Jesus then appears and instructs them AFTER the resurrection. This then becomes the very fundamental aspect of the gospel according to 1 Cor. 15:1-4. With such, Paul would affirm that Jesus was declared with power to be the Son of God by the resurrection from the dead (Rom. 15:3-4).
With the resurrection the ‘religion of Christianity’ establishes itself as different from all others religions. All of the ramifications of sacrifice, atonement, redemption become fact. Such was seen further in both the participation in the Lord’s supper and the death/burial/resurrection of baptism. Jesus is risen and is now Lord of Lords and Kings of Kings. Let us serve Him faithfully.
Hugh DeLong
