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Even if it wasn't exactly 72 hours, Friday/Sunday isn't enough time.

The Hebrew way of reckoning time is not the same as what we are used to (thus my question about "72 hours" in the Bible).

The phrase "three days and three nights" can mean any portion a period of time that covers a three day period.

When you hear "three days and three nights" don't think "3 pm on Wednesday until 3 pm on Saturday". That's a modern, Western view of time.

First of all, in the Hebrew culture, time doesn't start with zero, it starts with 1. So you have day 1, day 2, and day 3. Any part of day 1 is "one day". Any part of day 1 and day 2 is "two days". And so on.

Look at an example in Scripture:

"So when he had eaten, his strength came back to him; for he had eaten no bread nor drunk water for three days and three nights." (1 Sam. 30:12)

Now look at the next verse:

"Then David said to him, 'To whom do you belong, and where are you from?' And he said, 'I am a young man from Egypt, servant of an Amalekite; and my master left me behind, because three days ago I fell sick.'"

Note how "three days ago" corresponds to "three days and three nights". If a literal 72 hours period were in view, we would think of this time period as "four days ago", not three.

Jesus uses similar language in Luke 13:32,33:

"And He said to them, "Go, tell that fox, 'Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I shall be perfected.' Nevertheless I must journey today, tomorrow, and the day following; for it cannot be that a prophet should perish outside of Jerusalem."

Using the same language as Jesus, it is quite reasonable to speak of the days of His crucifixion as being "today" (Friday), "tomorrow" (Saturday/sabbath), "and the third day" (Sunday).

All these passages and other help us to understand the historical and cultural setting from which these phrases arise.

If the scourging, Herod, crucifixion, etc. happened on Friday, and Jesus died late Friday then was resurrected very early Sunday (this is your unchangeable position, btw), then He wasn't wasn't Jesus. You just can't shoehorn all the stuff that happened into Friday, have the ladies rest on just one Sabbath, and then have a Sunday morning resurrection. It doesn't add up and it isn't enough time to fulfill the Jonas prophesy.

That's all I got, btw. Quiver empty. I don't care which day Jesus was resurrected. The fact that He was resurrected 3 days and 3 nights after He was crucified is plenty for me.

Joh 20:29 Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.

"So when he had eaten, his strength came back to him; for he had eaten no bread nor drunk water for three days and three nights." (1 Sam. 30:12)
"Then David said to him, 'To whom do you belong, and where are you from?' And he said, 'I am a young man from Egypt, servant of an Amalekite; and my master left me behind, because three days ago I fell sick.'"
Note how "three days ago" corresponds to "three days and three nights". If a literal 72 hours period were in view, we would think of this time period as "four days ago", not three.

The problem with using this as proof is that the "days ago" is how many days ago he fell sick, and "three days and three nights" is how long ago he didn't eat or drink. The two things are not neccesarily related. You're drawing the conclusion that the two events (not eating, and being sick) must match up. You're assuming that he didn't eat anything or drink on the first day or night that he was sick.

But let's get to the meat of the matter:

Mat 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.

Compare with:

Jon 1:17 And the LORD appointed a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the stomach of the fish three days and three nights.

Scripturally, Jesus HAD to be in the grave the same amount of time that Jonah was in the fish or else he was not the messiah.

So let's look at it the opposite way...how long was Jonah IN the fish? As far as I can tell, it has always been understood to be literally three days and three nights. Not parts of days and nights to equal 3, but a literal three days and three nights.

However, you are espousing the position that no, Jonah was NOT actually in the fish for three days and three nights, but was in the fish for something less than three days and three nights and that this too, is an idiom. In fact, your position is that this idiom is applied TWICE, once in the new testament and once in the old testament, to designate a time period that IS KNOWN.

Let me repeat this is bold: Your position is that this idiom is applied TWICE, once in the new testament and once in the old testament, to designate a time period that IS KNOWN.

In other words, instead of just putting down the actual number of days and nights that Jonah was in the fish AND Jesus was in the earth, God had to generalize and confuse the issue by inspiring a non-specific idiom to be used. Is that credible?

Now from some preliminary research I've done, the understanding of the story of Jonah is that it's a literal three days and three nights that Jonah was in the fish and that this has been the understanding for milleniums. I've emailed the question to a rabbi to ask if what the traditional jewish understanding was of the time frame that Jonah spent in the fish. I'll share that info when it comes.

Why 72 hours? Because Jesus Christ affirms that a day is 12 hours:

Joh 11:9 Jesus answered, "Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world.

Since a day is 12 hours, then a night is also 12 hours.