It can never be known what day of the week was the 15th of Nisan until the overriding question of WHAT YEAR is fixed. So shall the Son of man be three days and three nights. So shall the Son of man be three days, &c. — His resurrection, connected with the diurnal revolution, would be an astronomical sign. Regarding the truth of the Jonah narrative, it appears absolutely incredible that Christ, one of the Godhead, would have made a mere folk tale the principal prophecy and sign of his resurrection from the dead. The One Who was to take the throne of Heaven would first of all be locked in the body of the earth for three days and three nights, before, like Jonah had, He came forth in triumph. And they asked him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath day? In the other passages “the sign of the prophet Jonas” appears with a vague mysteriousness, unexplained. The area into which Christ then entered had a heavy Gentile population. The latter part of the dilemma contained in Matthew 12:27-28, is confirmed by Matthew 12:29; the former by Matthew 12:30, with this meaning, your sons are not against Me, nor do they scatter abroad; therefore they are with Me, and gather with Me. Nothing is said about his being "preserved alive". More recent connotations, indicating feeble mental powers, are not implied. Mary was never set forth as a female deity by Christ. See Jonah 1:17. the heart of the earth = in the earth: i.e. Test drive it and tell us about your experience. m The harvest is n the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. It continues the narrative about Jesus' ministry in Galilee Text. ‘Three days and three nights.’ To the Jews part of a day could be described as ‘a day and a night’ equally to a full day because they did not reckon scientifically. (Matthew 12:1) Torrey said, "There is absolutely nothing in favor of Friday crucifixion, but everything in Scripture is perfectly harmonized by Wednesday crucifixion. THAT comes after death. The Lord was dead, therefore Jonah must have been. The traditional view that Christ was crucified on Friday and raised on Sunday draws its principal support from Matthew's word that Christ should be raised "the third day" (Matthew 16:21). (2) "For, as touching those who were once enlightened, and tasted the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then fall away, it is impossible to renew them" (Hebrews 6:4-6). In the book of Jonah is related also how God "prepared" a gourd (Jonah 4:6), a worm (Jonah 4:7), and a sultry east wind (Jonah 4:8)! "Sleep" in this place is a euphemistic expression for death. Alas, such is a true description of the spiritual condition of many. This is fitly recorded with the first of Christ’s miracles, 1. We here register a protest against those expositors who are so wise above their Saviour in casting a reflection of doubt upon this astounding incident from the Old Testament. Speech is one of the greatest endowments of humanity; and the greater the gift, the greater the sin of perverting it to unworthy purposes. But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet. Christ offered his own blood within the holiest place of all for the sins of all men (Hebrews 9:14). 2 Samuel 18:14. Seven different sins against the Holy Spirit may be noted in these references: (1) lusting against (Galatians 5:16);(2) resisting (Acts 7:51), (3) grieving (Ephesians 4:30); (4) lying to (Acts 5:3); (5) insulting (Hebrews 10:24); (6) blaspheming against (Mark 3:29); and (7) quenching (1 Thessalonians 5:19). In a word, the whole affair was miraculous, and as such, is taken out of the category of difficulties.”. "Profaning" the sabbath does not refer to any actual profanation, but means that their actions, if performed otherwise than in temple service, would have profaned it. John 19:14)—If Jesus was crucified on Friday, how could He have been in the grave three days and nights?. Christ's stress on that exception called attention to an analogy between himself and the temple. There is an unpardonable transgression, and here is an example of it, "blasphemy against the Spirit." No other means of redemption was given. Thus Jesus death, burial and resurrection would be the promised sign. - Isaiah 42:1ff. on StudyLight.org All you want is something to titillate your curiosity, satisfy your lust for miracles. But he said unto them, Have ye not read what David did, when he was hungry, and they that were with him; how he entered into the house of God, and ate the showbread which it was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them that were with him, but only for the priests? [BIBLEDRB]Matthew 12:40[/BIBLEDRB] I’ve had an ongoing discussion with my (fallen away) Uncle for several years. The ends of the earth, according to Barnes, referred to "the most distant parts of the habitable world then known. From these and countless other implications in the Scriptures, it may be positively concluded that Satan does not share control of the universe with God. Whales may therefore have been common in the Mediterranean. Note that what David and his companions did on that occasion was UNLAWFUL, nor does Jesus say that they were blameless in so doing. But make no mistake. It is implicit, however, in the very nature of all sin that ANY SIN, persisted in, can result in quenching the sacred fire within the soul and issue at last in eternal death. That is why the warning came at that moment, when the evil heart and purpose of the Pharisees had become so evident to Christ. But if ye had known what this meaneth, I desire mercy and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless. Hatred and blind rage will always try to destroy that which cannot be removed by more conventional means. Christ had the right to set aside all of those; and, in the final analysis, his disciples needed no permission except Christ's to do whatever he permitted. Nor is the day of death to be viewed as the day of judgment. If the miracles of your disciples are acceptable, surely mine, the Christ's, should also be acceptable. Jesus said, “You’re looking for proof, but you’re looking for the wrong kind. The "swept and garnished" period (in next verse) referred to the lack of any meaningful change in the character of the people, and the relatively innocuous neglect of Christ during the early part of his ministry. (5) That the Holy Spirit in one's heart can be "quenched" is evident from the admonition, "Quench not the Spirit" (1 Thessalonians 5:19). For as Jonas was "three days and three nights in the whale's belly" (Jonah 1:17), So shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here. Although there is no hint that they were aware of it, Mary and his brothers were interfering with his work; and Christ refused to see them, at least until the business at hand was completed. The restlessness of the demon showed the anxious and unrelenting hostility of the forces of evil and their determination against Christ. The expression "in the heart of the earth," suggested by the expression of Jonah with respect to the sea (Jonah 2:3, in Septuagint), means simply the grave, but this considered as the most emphatic expression of real and total entombment. The only proof you’re going to get is what looks like the absence of proof: Jonah-evidence. See Exodus 15:8. Jonah had been to them a very sign from God. (3) God's specific permission was necessary in the satanic harassment of the patriarch Job (Job 1:12). How much then is a man of more value than a sheep! Mark's mention of the Herodians in their conference shows the grounds upon which the Pharisees would attempt his legal murder; that is, by accusing him of sedition. Then he saith, I will return into my house whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished. Apart from these words, "three days" might mean any portion of a day. The evil spirit cast out of a man is ever lurking and seeking an opportunity to return with seven companions worse than himself, and to take over and plunge the soul in greater wickedness than ever. and Holtzmann in H.C. Likewise, if and when that occurs it will prove Jesus to have been a true prophet at the time he spoke this to the Jews. He did no such thing. What state is worse than being unsaved? The bruised reed and dimly-lighted lamp are symbols of weakness and feebleness of faith, applicable in this place, no doubt, to the general spiritual condition of the Gentiles, but also a pledge that Christ does not despise the faith of any of his children, however weak and ready to perish. Significantly, he healed them all. Problem: Christ rose on Sunday (Matt. And charged them that they should not make him known. (6) Concerning apostates, "The last state is become worse with them than the first" (2 Peter 2:20,21), indicating a condition worse than being lost, and which is fulfilled only by being lost without possibility of recovery. His first sign is typical of Scripture, it is something that will happen in the future (compare Exodus 3:12; Isaiah 7:14). In ventre Ceti, Greek: tou ketous. In this, Christ turned their own arguments against them. Christ again made a statement fixing a gulf between himself and all ordinary men. This proclamation of his own authority took the whole matter out of the context of their law, and their interpretations, and their opinions, and even out of the Law of Moses. (1-2) The Pharisees condemn the disciples of Jesus for supposedly harvesting grain on the Sabbath. How commendable was the repentance of the men of Nineveh! Matthew 12:40 • Matthew 12:40 NIV • Matthew 12:40 NLT • Matthew 12:40 ESV • Matthew 12:40 NASB • Matthew 12:40 KJV • Matthew 12:40 Commentaries • Matthew 12:40 Bible Apps • Matthew 12:40 Biblia Paralela • Matthew 12:40 Chinese Bible • Matthew 12:40 French Bible • Matthew 12:40 German Bible Interlinear Bible Bible Hub Christ here referred to the widespread practice of some of the disciples (sons) of the Pharisees of casting out demons, or pretending to do so, which practice the Pharisees openly accepted, and upon which they based claims of divine approval of both themselves and their doctrines. But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. Jerusalem was the modern Nineveh; a living parallel to Jonah, greater than Jonah himself, was predicting its destruction; and the three night-and-days suggested that without repentance Jerusalem might meet the destruction that Nineveh, by repentance, escaped. See App-144and App-156. An overwhelming number of scholars hold the conviction that the expression is a Hebrew idiom referring to any part of three days and nights which included an entire day, the two nights on either side of it, and portions of the other two days. Although the primary application of the "swept and garnished" condition must be to Israel's lack of the fruits of repentance, it is also proper for the Christian teacher to base a warning to all Christians upon these words. It even convinced Paul. Matthew 12:39-40 MSG. It does, however, require faith. And one said unto him, Behold thy mother and thy brethren stand without, seeking to speak to thee. They would not have waited another two days until the body had putrefied. Matthew 12:40. Dummelow's paraphrase on this passage brings the meaning into sharp focus: Ye offspring of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? As our Lord was not buried in the ground, but enclosed in a tomb of rock, some have understood by the phrase, the place of departed spirits, to which our Lord at his death descended. Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath.”. But the Pharisees, when they saw it, said unto him, Behold, thy disciples do that which it is not lawful to do upon the sabbath. Matthew 12:40. This place has been cited as proof that Christians should keep the sabbath day, but the opposite is taught. Characteristic of Matthew are the numerous appeals to the writings of the prophets of the Old Testament. “Three days and three nights”: Quoted from (Jonah 1:17). See Jonah 1:17. A bruised reed shall he not break, And smoking flax shall he not quench, Till he send forth judgment to victory. The evil works of the Pharisees proceeded from inner corruption. This sea would of course be forsaken. He did not lay claim to any "excusable violations," but he claimed strict and wholehearted compliance with the law, the whole law. (1) "There is a sin unto death; not concerning this do I say that he should make request" (1 John 5:16). [10] R. A. Bertram, A Homiletic Encyclopedia (New York and London: Funk and Wagnalls Company, thirteenth edition), Item 2690, p. 458. One's words can justify when they confess Christ, or teach the truth, or serve to make peace, bestow a blessing, or give encouragement; but on the other hand, when words condemn, cast a reflection, subvert the truth, utter profanity, vulgarity, hatred, or malice, or any one of a million other evil things - then such words bring the condemnation of those who speak them. Then saith he to the man, Stretch forth thy hand. Matthew 12:40 - for just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster , so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. And then, to go forward and formulate a law authorizing in prescribed circumstances the breaking of God's laws, is to forget that Jesus said, "Whosoever, therefore, shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:19). Matthew 12 12 1 At that time Jesus went on the sabbath day through the corn; and his disciples were an hungred, and began to pluck the ears of corn, and to eat. If the mother of Jesus in this passage was his literal mother, then there is no reason to suppose that his brothers were not his literal brothers. (6) He sowed tares in the wheat, but could do so only "while men slept" (Matthew 13:25). Digression 7 Matthew 10:16-39 And The Last Days Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Digression 8 Unclean Spirits in Mt. At that season, Jesus went on the sabbath day through the grain fields; and his disciples were hungry and began to pluck ears to eat. In spite of those vile charges having been initiated in deceit and malice on the part of their progenitors, the widening river of sin carried those slanders far from their source; and thus it is found that Celsus repeated them, with embellishments of his own, more than a century later, in 170 A.D., as did also the later Jewish Talmudists. As one example, Solomon offered at the dedication of the temple "twenty-two thousand oxen, and a hundred twenty thousand sheep" (2 Chronicles 7:5). Warning: devout souls will not be troubled by this question; for, if it had been necessary to know the day of the week, the Lord would have revealed it. Jonah's case was analogous to this, as being a signal judgment of God; reversed in three days; and followed by a glorious mission to the Gentiles. The contrast in attitude between the Pharisees and the multitudes showed that Christ was getting his message over to the majority of the people in spite of the bitter opposition of the leaders. I came not to destroy but to fulfill" (Matthew 5:17). The first was that Jonah spent three days and three nights in the insides of a large fish (citing Jonah 1:17 to Jonah 2:1), figuratively in the very depths of the grave (Jonah 2:2; Jonah 2:6). The men of Nineveh shall stand up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, a greater than Jonah is here. Flax was the material of which such wicks were made. Matthew 12:43-45. It does not necessarily follow that this use of the history as a prophetic symbol of the Resurrection requires us to accept it in the very letter of its details. More Scriptures than the traditional view victory was, and here is to begin here is an of. Jesus referred to that occasion as `` an eternal sin is the twelfth Chapter the! Behold thy mother and thy brethren stand without, seeking to speak to.... Look at Matthew 12:40 and the precept and the enemy who sowed them is the Chapter! 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