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Matthew 12:40  (King James Version)
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<< Matthew 12:39   Matthew 12:41 >>


Matthew 12:38-40

The seventh day of the week—the Sabbath—was set apart at creation as being blessed, sanctified, and holy (Genesis 2:3; Exodus 20:11). It was given to Israel prior to the Old Covenant (Exodus 16), and confirmed within a separate perpetual covenant (Exodus 31:12-17). It was observed by God's people throughout biblical history, and transgressed by the disobedient. Jesus kept the seventh-day Sabbath, as did the apostles and early church after His death. Prophecies show that it will continue to be kept when He returns to establish His Kingdom on earth.

In the face of the Bible's consistent teaching, though, Protestant theologians justify their breaking of the fourth commandment and their worship on the first day of the week by saying that they are honoring the day of Christ's resurrection. They offer this reason despite there being absolutely no indication that God intended such a change, nor is there any explanation from an apostle, prophet, or other messenger after the fact to reveal such a doctrinal deviation—one that would have lit an unthinkable doctrinal firestorm in the first century.

Their inadequate reasoning contains more holes. While the day and time of Christ's resurrection are critical to our salvation, they are central for a different reason than the one given by the theologians. By Jesus' own testimony, the true significance of the day and time of His resurrection is that it proves that He was who He claimed to be: the Son of Man, the Messiah. The sign He gave of His Messiahship is that He would be in the grave three days and three nights (that is, 72 hours), and then God would resurrect Him.

Therefore, the timing of His resurrection has nothing to do with establishing which day God set apart and made holy, and everything to do with whether He was and is the Messiah. The day and time of His resurrection either prove or disprove His Messiahship—in Christ's words, the holiness of the day is nowhere in view. Followers of Christ should be keen, then, on understanding how long He was in the grave and when He was resurrected, for if the Father did not resurrect Jesus when He foretold, we have no Savior.

Now we arrive at a poignant irony: The same theologians that justify Sunday-observance (on the basis of Christ's resurrection) also claim that He died on a Friday afternoon and was resurrected on a Sunday morning—that is, that Jesus did not fulfill the sign of Jonah! Notice He did not foretell "parts of three days" or even just "three days" but "three days and three nights." It is simply not possible to fit three days and three nights between a Friday afternoon and a Sunday morning. These theologians have a couple of serious problems on their hands and heads, not only in attempting to change times and laws (see Daniel 7:25), but also by invalidating the very sign Jesus gave to prove who He was!

Reconciling the correct timing of Jesus's burial and resurrection takes some deeper study, but it is not difficult. We know that He was killed on the day of Passover and that His body was put into the grave before sunset (compare Mark 15:42; Luke 23:54; John 19:14). His burial needed to take place before sunset because that marked the end of the day of Passover (a preparation day) and the beginning of a Sabbath. That Sabbath was not a weekly Sabbath, though, but rather an annual one, the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. John confirms this by recording that "that Sabbath was a high day" (John 19:31).

This means there are two Sabbaths involved in the timing—an annual Sabbath (the first day of Unleavened Bread) and a weekly Sabbath. Jesus suffered crucifixion on the preparation day for an annual Sabbath rather than the weekly Sabbath, thus He did not die on a Friday, as is commonly believed. In the year of His crucifixion, Passover was on a Wednesday. His body was put into the grave late Wednesday afternoon before the high-day Sabbath began. He was in the grave three days and three nights (Wednesday night through Saturday; 72 hours), and He arose on Sabbath afternoon just before sunset.

As After Three Days explains, Sabbath afternoon is the only time when Jesus could have been resurrected after being killed on Passover afternoon and lying in the grave three days and three nights. Yet, His resurrection on the Sabbath is not what makes it holy and set apart. Rather, He was resurrected by God on the day that was already holy and set apart. So, the day of Christ's resurrection does not establish the day of worship—yet even if it did, it would still be on the seventh day!

Whether by assumed church authority or by carelessly handling the Word of God, Sunday-keeping is a tradition of men rather than an ordinance of God. Jesus says, "If you love Me, keep My commandments" (John 14:15), including the ten He gave at Mount Sinai. The apostle John concurs: "By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome" (I John 5:2-3). Yet, church leaders for centuries, like the Pharisees before them, have led millions into error by making "the commandment of God of no effect by [their] tradition" (Matthew 15:6).

Jesus' resurrection made no change in the day of worship; men took it upon themselves to change it without respect to God's Word. In the near future, however, when Christ returns, all who claim Him as King will once again hallow the Sabbath (Isaiah 66:22-23; Ezekiel 44:24; 45:17; 46:3).

David C. Grabbe
Did Christ's Resurrection Change the Day of Worship? (Part One)



Matthew 12:22-50

The well-known parables in Matthew 13 are given in response to the circumstances and events in Matthew 12. The initiating event was a confrontation that began with Jesus healing a demon-possessed blind-mute (verse 22). He established His authority as the One who had power and dominion. Everything that transpires from this point sets the stage for the subsequent parables, and this context is critical for grasping why Jesus spoke these parables. After the miraculous healing, many wondered if He might be the Son of David (verse 23), the One who would restore the Kingdom. However, the Pharisees, in their usual defiance, attributed the healing to the power of Satan (verse 24).

Jesus responds that, if exorcism manifested Satan's power, then the Pharisees must admit that their “sons” (disciples) were likewise in league with the Devil, for they were doing the same thing (verse 27). But if God's Spirit had performed the exorcism, then the Kingdom of God—the dominion of God—had come upon them (verse 28). He could rob the demon of its possession only if He bound it first, showing that He had authority over the spirit realm (verse 29). There is no neutrality; a person is aligned either with God's dominion or with Satan (verse 30).

He continues His unwelcome correction by contrasting Himself with them. After warning about blaspheming the Holy Spirit (verses 31-32), Jesus draws on the principle of examining fruit to determine whether a tree is good or bad (verse 33). He calls His opponents a “brood of vipers,” saying that their blasphemy proved the evil within (verses 34-37).

Since the people expected a conquering king to come and restore the Kingdom to its former glory, Jesus' assertion that the authority of heaven was working through Him challenged the current leadership. The scribes and Pharisees ask Him for a sign—some proof of His claim—prompting Christ's words about the sign of Jonah (verses 38-42). His answer focuses on the timing of His death and resurrection, which only the Most High could bring to pass. It also includes the example of a major Gentile city that repented at the preaching of Jonah, while the current “Kingdom of God” would not repent at the preaching of One greater. He also refers to the “queen of the South” (Sheba) who came to hear the wisdom of the man sitting on the Lord's throne, yet He was greater than Solomon—not only in wisdom, but also because Solomon's throne belonged to Him!

Jesus follows this with another lesson, warning that unless something positive replaces the evil that is cast out, the former evil—and worse—will return (verses 43-45). He foretells that this would happen “with this wicked generation” (verse 45). All the repentance, baptisms, healings, and exorcisms that had been taking place would do no good if the people did not make their lives inhospitable to the evil influences.

In verses 46-50, Jesus teaches that flesh-and-blood family is of less importance than the spiritual Family, which He defines as those who do the Father's will (or those “who hear the word of God and do it”; Luke 8:21). The matters of parentage and family relations came up frequently during Christ's ministry (for example, John 8:39-59) because the Jews felt secure in their position before God because of their physical descent from Abraham. Though not obvious, His clarification of “family” in spiritual terms appears throughout the parables of Matthew 13, as Jesus contrasts Abraham's physical descendants with his spiritual ones.

David C. Grabbe
God's Kingdom in the Parables (Part One): Sower and Seed



Matthew 12:38-40

To Catholics and many Protestants, Good Friday is a semi-holy day commemorating the day Jesus died nearly two thousand years ago. These same people celebrate Easter Sunday two days later, rejoicing that Jesus rose from the dead. What has always been confusing is how normally reasonable people can observe these days that are so woefully contradictory to the biblical accounts of Christ's death and resurrection. And this is without getting into the obvious pagan fertility symbols of bunnies and eggs that have nothing whatsoever to do with the awesome significance of the death, burial, and resurrection of mankind's Savior.

Probably the most glaring contradiction involves Jesus' own statements, made several ways at several times, that define the period of His burial as 72 hours - no more, no less. For instance, He gave only one sign of His Messiahship: that He would be "in the heart of the earth" three days and three nights (Matthew 12:38-40). Three days and three nights are six periods of twelve hours each (see Jesus' own definition of a "day" in John 11:9-10), equaling 72 hours.

In other places, Jesus says "in three days" (John 2:19-21), "the third day" (Mark 9:31; Luke 9:22; etc.), and "after three days" (Mark 8:31; see Matthew 27:63). When we put these different phrases together, we are boxed in to 72 hours exactly: One second after 72 hours would not be "in three days," and one second before 72 hours would not be "after three days." Thus, He must have lain in the tomb for exactly 72 hours - three days and three nights to the second - just as He said He would, proving He is our Savior.

Now, let us assume He rose on Sunday at dawn. If we go back exactly 72 hours, we come to Thursday at daybreak, not Friday. The Bible, however, says that Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus put Jesus into the tomb as the sun was setting (Mark 15:42-46; John 19:39-41; see also Matthew 27:57; Luke 23:54). There is no way to get exactly 72 hours between a sunset and a sunrise - no matter how one might try to fudge the numbers!

So, we can see that a Sunday morning resurrection cannot be true! If He was buried at sunset, He must have risen from the grave at sunset to fulfill the sign. The Gospel accounts do not record the time of His resurrection; they only tell us when His followers - the women who came early to the tomb, as well as Peter and John just a little while later - first knew He had indeed been resurrected. Early Sunday morning was when they came and found the tomb empty. In fact, He had been gone for about twelve hours by that point!

The Seventy Weeks Prophecy in Daniel 9:27 tells us which day the crucifixion occurred: "Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; but in the middle of the week He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. . . ." Many prophecy buffs have tried to make this sound as if it speaks of the end-time Beast, but only Christ Himself fits these clues. Jesus brought the New Covenant during His ministry, and His death put an end to the sacrificial system by His "once for all" offering of Himself for our sins (Hebrews 9:23-28). As this prophecy shows, His crucifixion occurred in the middle of the week - a Wednesday.

This fits the timing perfectly. Put into the grave late on Wednesday, as the sun was setting, He remained in the tomb for exactly 72 hours, rising at sundown as Saturday, the seventh-day Sabbath, ended. This is the only scenario that fits the biblical record.

Richard T. Ritenbaugh
What Makes This a 'Good' Friday?



Matthew 12:40

Some try to say that the phrase "in the heart of the earth" in Matthew 12:40 does not mean buried in a grave or tomb. Those who support this theory say that heart implies "middle of" or "midst of," and earth should really be translated as "country" or "world." Thus, the argument runs, Jesus is actually saying that He would be three days and nights in Jerusalem, since it was the center of the nations according to Ezekiel 5:5: "This is Jerusalem; I have set her in the midst of the nations and the countries all around her." Supporters do not say how Jesus' being in Jerusalem for this amount of time can act as a sign of His Messiahship.

However, this argument holds no water. First, the Greek is literally translated here, as it is from a Hebrew idiom found in Jonah 2:2-3, the place to which Jesus referred in giving His sign. In that place, "heart of the sea" parallels "into the deep," which Jonah in the previous verse calls "the belly of Sheol," which is the pit where the dead are laid or the grave. So, heart of the earth means "underground," just as heart of the seas means "underwater." "In the heart of the earth," then, was a Hebrew metaphor signifying being dead and buried.

Second, the similar sign Jesus gave in John 2:19, "Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up," is explained plainly in verse 21: "But He was speaking of the temple of His body." Though they use different metaphors, the two signs are the same: Being in the heart of the earth is the result of having the temple of His body destroyed. Ergo, Jesus was not talking of His travel plans in Jerusalem but of His death, burial, and resurrection.

Indeed, the Scripture cannot be broken (John 10:35), as much as men try to cram their traditional beliefs into it. Would that they read the Bible for what it says rather than what they want it to say!

Richard T. Ritenbaugh
In the Heart of the Earth



Matthew 12:38-40

If Jesus rose from His tomb Sunday morning after being interred Friday evening, we have no Savior! Jesus gave only one sign of His Messiahship: "...so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth."

Why did the Pharisees ask Him for a sign? The answer appears in the section immediately preceding their request. Jesus had been preaching that "a tree is known by its fruit" (verse 33), so naturally, these Jews asked for a sign from Jesus to prove He was the Messiah! They wanted to see what fruit He would produce!

Jesus swiftly rebuked them because they had completely missed the point (verses 41-42). To satisfy their curiosity, they wanted to see a miracle, but the fruit Jesus meant was repentance, good works, and spiritual growth. He would make them wait to see the fruits of His ministry.

Thus He says, paraphrasing, "The only sign that will absolutely prove the truth of My message is one that I will have no control over. I will be exactly three days and three nights in the grave. I will be dead. I will not be able to resurrect Myself. So if God the Father resurrects Me after exactly three days and three nights, it will be proved beyond doubt that I am the Messiah."

He gave the same sign in other places to different audiences, each time using similar wording. In John 2:19-21, He says, "'Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.' . . . But He was speaking of the temple of His body."

To His disciples, He says, "The Son of Man is being delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill Him. And after He is killed, He will rise the third day" (Mark 9:31; 10:33-34; Matthew 17:22-23; 20:18-19; Luke 9:22).

Richard T. Ritenbaugh
'After Three Days'



Matthew 12:38-40

Did the day of Jesus' resurrection cause a change in the day of worship?

The Saturday/Sunday resurrection issue has been a focal point of debate in many circles because of the impact that it could have on the correct day of worship. But to begin here is to begin with an assumption at best, and a conclusion at worst. Where in the Bible is there any indication given that Jesus Christ's death would change the day of worship? Does our God change things on a whim—especially something as foundational as the day on which He meets with His people?

James 1:17 says that in God there is no variation, no shadow of turning. God does not change—His fundamental character and approach to things is constant (Malachi 3:6)! Hebrews 13:8-9 says that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and immediately after this the author says, "Do not be carried about with various and strange doctrines." God's changelessness is a major defense we have against false doctrine! Once He establishes something, is He going to change it out of hand? Could we trust a God that is so undependable and unpredictable?

The high regard that God gives to the seventh-day Sabbath is evident throughout the Old Testament. Time and again, ancient Israel went into captivity because of their sins of Sabbath-breaking and idolatry (e.g., Ezekiel 20). No indication is ever given that the Sabbath is temporary, to be changed, or that God really does not care one way or the other. In fact, the prophecies of the Old Testament show that the Sabbath will be kept after God restores all things by establishing His Kingdom on earth (Isaiah 66:22-23; Ezekiel 44:24; 45:17; 46:3).

The gospel writers also do not give any hint or suggestion that the sanctification that God gave to the Sabbath would somehow be switched to the first day of the week. Jesus Christ gives no indication whatever that the day of worship would change upon His death or resurrection. God made only one day each week holy (Genesis 2:3; Exodus 20:11), and the Bible gives no record of His even thinking about changing it. In addition, He does not give man the authority to "choose" which day each week is holy. Consider how often Jesus and the Pharisees argued over the Sabbath. Yet, not once did they contend over which day should be kept holy; in every instance, the issue was on how to keep the day that had already been firmly established as holy. Not only did Christ keep the Sabbath and teach others on the Sabbath, but after His death the apostles also kept it.

So we have the seventh-day Sabbath strongly established in the Old Testament (and even practiced in Exodus 16 before the proposal of the Old Covenant in Exodus 20). We have the example of Christ's keeping the Sabbath, without any indication that His ministry or His death would change it. And we have the New Testament church continuing to keep it after His death. How do the date and timing of His resurrection play into this? It does not! The sole purpose of Christ foretelling how long He would be in the grave is to prove that He was the Messiah—not to change which day is holy.

Jesus gave only one sign that He was the Messiah, sent by God—He would be in the grave three days and three nights (72 hours), and then would be resurrected by God, something which He could not control Himself. So the question of whether or not He was in the grave three days and three nights has nothing to do with which day God set apart and made holy, and everything to do with whether Jesus Christ was the Messiah!

The "sign of Jonah" is not a sign of preaching or bringing a message, as some allege. Certainly Jonah did that, just as Christ did. But that selective and erroneous interpretation conveniently overlooks the plain meaning of Jesus' words.

The "sign of Jonah" is mentioned three times in the gospels:

1) "And while the crowds were thickly gathered together, He began to say, 'This is an evil generation. It seeks a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah the prophet. For as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so also the Son of Man will be to this generation'" (Luke 11:29-30).

Notice that He does not specify what the sign is here, but only alludes to a comparison with Jonah. He says that there is a sign, but does not say what it was.

2) "Then the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and testing Him, asked that He would show them a sign from heaven. . . . 'A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.' And He left them and departed" (Matthew 16:1, 4).

Again, there is no elaboration here, but this is actually the second time it is mentioned in the book of Matthew. The first occurrence demonstrates plainly what the sign of Jonah was, and so here Christ is merely repeating His answer from Matthew 12:38-40:

3) "Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, 'Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.' 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. 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'" (Matthew 12:38-40; see Jonah 1:17).

Both the account in Luke 11 and the one in Matthew 12 also mention Nineveh, and even Jonah's preaching. It is plain in both instances that they are mentioned to contrast the righteousness of previous generations with the righteousness of the current generation, particularly the Pharisees. To read into these scriptures that the "Sign of Jonah" is merely preaching is to horribly twist the Word of God—especially when Matthew 12:40 states categorically that, "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."

Those listening were certainly not confused about Christ's allusion to Jonah. It was plain to them that He predicted when He would arise: "On the next day, which followed the Day of Preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees gathered together to Pilate, saying, 'Sir, we remember, while He was still alive, how that deceiver said, "After three days I will rise." Therefore command that the tomb be made secure until the third day, lest His disciples come by night and steal Him away, and say to the people, "He has risen from the dead." So the last deception will be worse than the first'" (Matthew 27:62-64). Even the Pharisees understood that Jesus Christ's statement was focused on the timing of the resurrection!

In other verses, Jesus says He would rise "the third day" (Matthew 16:21; Mark 10:34; Luke 24:7). There is no contradiction between this expression and the term "three days and three nights." Both expressions are used interchangeably in the scriptures. In Genesis, for example, we read that "God divided the light from the darkness. And God called the light day, and the darkness He called night. And the evening [darkness] and the morning [light] were the first day . . . and the evening [darkness] and the morning [light] were the second day . . . and the evening [now three periods of night] and the morning [now three periods of light] were the third day" (Genesis 1:4-13). Here the term "the third day" is shown to include three days and three nights.

Whether or not Jesus fulfilled the sign of Jonah by being in the grave three days and three nights (which cannot fit between late Friday and early Sunday) is of great importance in verifying that He was and is our Messiah. But it has nothing to do with which day of the week is holy.

David C. Grabbe



Matthew 12:40

Some try to say that the phrase "in the heart of the earth" in Matthew 12:40 does not mean buried in a grave or tomb. Those who support this theory say that heart implies "middle of" or "midst of," and earth should really be translated as "country" or "world." Thus, the argument runs, Jesus is actually saying that He would be three days and nights in Jerusalem, since it was the center of the nations according to Ezekiel 5:5: "This is Jerusalem; I have set her in the midst of the nations and the countries all around her." Supporters do not say how Jesus' being in Jerusalem for this amount of time can act as a sign of His Messiahship.

However, this argument holds no water. First, the Greek is literally translated here, as it is from a Hebrew idiom found in Jonah 2:2-3, the place to which Jesus referred in giving His sign. In that place, "heart of the sea" parallels "into the deep," which Jonah in the previous verse calls "the belly of Sheol," which is the pit where the dead are laid or the grave. So, heart of the earth means "underground," just as heart of the seas means "underwater." "In the heart of the earth," then, was a Hebrew metaphor signifying being dead and buried.

Second, the similar sign Jesus gave in John 2:19, "Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up," is explained plainly in verse 21: "But He was speaking of the temple of His body." Though they use different metaphors, the two signs are the same: Being in the heart of the earth is the result of having the temple of His body destroyed. Ergo, Jesus was not talking of His travel plans in Jerusalem but of His death, burial, and resurrection.

Indeed, the Scripture cannot be broken (John 10:35), as much as men try to cram their traditional beliefs into it. Would that they read the Bible for what it says rather than what they want it to say!

Richard T. Ritenbaugh
Open Mouth, Reveal Heart




Other Forerunner Commentary entries containing Matthew 12:40:

Leviticus 23:9-14
Deuteronomy 12:29-31
Proverbs 14:12
Isaiah 30:9-11
Jonah 1:1
Matthew 12:38-40
Matthew 12:38-40
Matthew 12:38-40
Matthew 12:38-40
Matthew 12:40
Matthew 12:40
Matthew 16:4
Matthew 16:4
Matthew 16:4
Matthew 16:4
Luke 11:29-30
Luke 11:29-30
Luke 11:29-30
Luke 23:43
Luke 24:21
1 Peter 3:19

 

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