Three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. That’s what Jesus said. What day was Jesus crucified?
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Friday.
I used to think it had to be a Wednesday death because of the sign of Jonah, 3 days and 3 nights in the heart of the earth. But the Gospels call the crucifixion day Preparation, and that word is still the normal Greek word for Friday. Luke also says the Sabbath was beginning, so they rushed his body into the tomb before sunset… I still think the heart of the earth saying works fine with a Friday death.
I leaned toward Wednesday myself for a while, since Friday to Sunday morning doesn’t give you three full nights. Then I noticed Luke 24:21, where the disciples say ‘today is the third day’ on Sunday, and first-century Jews counted any part of a day as a whole day.
So, Friday.
Friday. His death counted as day one, Sunday as the third, and “3 days and three nights” reads like an idiom to me, the same way Esther goes to the king “on the third day” after a fast lasting “3 days, night or day”.
The inclusive counting point is what settled it for me too, since Luke 24:21 only really works if Friday counts as the first day.
The fast is ‘three days, night or day’ and it still ends with action ‘on the third day’, so Friday is day one and Sunday is day three.
There’s also 1 Samuel 30:12-13. Do you read that the same way, without needing a full 72 hours?
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Yes, 1 Samuel 30:12-13 can be read that way. The Egyptian says he had gone without food or water for three days and 3 nights, then describes being left behind 3 days earlier. It makes a strict 72-hour reading of Jesus’ words seem less necessary to me (more on that here).