Three days and three nights?

Question from moody radio listener: What day of the week did Jesus die? Dr Michael Vanlaningham rephrased the question: Jesus said that it's going to be three days and three nights in the grave and yet people will say: he was in there part of the day Friday, all Saturday and part of the day Sunday, so we don't really have three full days. Listener: I've always been taught that part of the day in the Jewish calendar counts as a whole day. Answer from Dr Michael Vanlaningham: That's correct. That's good. We get that from and I won't read these verses but I will mention them and if you want to jot these down real quick. We get that idea in 1 Samuel 30: 12-13, 2 Chronicles 10: 5, 12, Ester 4:16, Ester 5:1. In Jewish thinking, apparently, any part of the day was counted as that day and so if Jesus is in the grave let's say Friday night, all day Saturday and part of Sunday morning, any part of those days and their thinking factor is the full day. It's pretty clear that he died on the Friday before the Sabbath of Passover week, that Friday would have started the Passover and there he dies then. Friday, where it's the end of his trial, he get's crucified, give or take around nine o'clock in the morning, passes away on the cross around three on Friday, and on Friday that night starts the Sabbath, the first Sabbath of Passover, Saturday, Sunday. Related scriptural text: 1 Samuel 30 12 And they gave him a piece of a cake of figs, and two clusters of raisins: and when he had eaten, his spirit came again to him: for he had eaten no bread, nor drunk any water, three days and three nights. 13 And David said unto him, To whom belongest thou? and whence art thou? And he said, I am a young man of Egypt, servant to an Amalekite; and my master left me, because three days agone I fell sick. -kjv 2 Chronicles 10 5 And he said unto them, Come again unto me after three days. And the people departed. 12 So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam on the third day, as the king bade, saying, Come again to me on the third day. -kjv Ester 4 16 Go, gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day: I also and my maidens will fast likewise; and so will I go in unto the king, which is not according to the law: and if I perish, I perish. -kjv Ester 5 1Now it came to pass on the third day, that Esther put on her royal apparel, and stood in the inner court of the king's house, over against the king's house: and the king sat upon his royal throne in the royal house, over against the gate of the house. -kjv

Why was it a two day account in Mark and only a one day account in Matthew?

Question from listener on moody radio on February 4, 2018: I have been studying the fig tree that Jesus cursed, normally I study in Mark 11, when he's going on the road with the disciples and it's said that he answered the tree and you get the impression that he's crazy but he did not say anything. But, it's said that there were no leaves and so he answered the tree and said that no man will eat fruit in Mark 11 verse 14, no man eat fruit of hereafter forever and his disciples heard it and coming down on the verse in the evening, they went out, verse 19, they went out of the city, verse 20, in the morning, as they pass by fig tree, they saw it dry up from the roots and Peter called to remembrance, said you cursed the tree. Matthew chapter 21, in verse 19, it says that and when he saw the fig tree on the way, he came to it and found nothing thereon, that leaves only and said onto it, let no fruit grow on you henceforth forever and presently, the fig true withered away. Verse 20 and when the disciple saw it and they marveled saying, how soon is the fig tree withered away and I have never really noticed that version of the story before, can you shed some light on it for me please and tell me when did the tree really dry up? Answer from Dr Michael Vanlaningham: Sure, great question and a of course a lot of more critical scholars say we have a contradiction here, matthew says it happens all in one day and mark indicates that it happened over two days. We are talking about Monday of the last week of Jesus' life, more than likely, the day before it was Palm Sunday. I think as he is going into the city, as both gospel say on, that Monday, he sees the tree and he withers it. Matthew has a compressed account here. Mark has the fuller account. There's not actually a contradiction. What we have is Matthew does not say that this happens the next day,  for whatever reasons that fits his purpose. A little something that you should know about Mark. When Mark has an episode that is parallel by either Matthew or Luke or both, Mark almost always has the longer account, especially with Matthew but sometimes Luke as well. Mark is the shorter gospel. He has fewer episodes in it overall but when he has an episode that either Matthew or Luke also have, he almost always have the longer account. So, he tends to give more detail on those episodes and here is one of those examples where he actually says this actually happens over a two day period. Matthew compresses it. Now, some are going to say, that's a mistake, that's an error. I will disagree and I tell you why. It was very common among ancient history writers, not just our gospel writers, that they would do a lot of that kind of thing. They would  compress accounts. They would sometimes arrange things thematically, whereas another account of exactly the  same thing would have been more straight forward in terms of its chronology. Now, let me give you an example, somebody who would write a biography of my life,  they might put in a single chapter all my education,  high school, college, master's degree, phd. They would put it in the same chapter. Problem is those things are spread out over about a twenty year period. So, that would be a thematic arrangement. We would say it's not inaccurate, it's just how it gets done by this particular writer. So, Mark has certainly the fuller account, which is what Mark usually does. Matthew has a compressed account but I don't think we have a contradiction.

Are we able to see our families and friends?

Referenced Text: Hebrews 12   1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,  -kjv Question from moody radio listener on openline Jan 27, 2018: The scripture reference is Hebrews 12:1 and my question is when we all die and go to heaven, are we able to look down on our family and friends and  see how they are doing, where it talks about a great cloud of witnesses, are we that great cloud of witnesses? Answer from Dr Michael Rydelnik: Well, we have to read that in context. The context tells me no.  When you read Hebrews 12, it says therefore since we all also have such a large cloud of witnesses surrounding us but where is the surrounding us? It's in Hebrews 11. When we think of witnesses, we think of people watching us but what do a witness do in a court?  He testifies or she testifies. In Hebrews 11, it gives the history of people who testify to the value of faith. And it starts right there in the beginning with Abel, offering to God in verse 4 a better sacrifice and goes all the way through with Noah and Abraham and Sarah and so on and so on and finally it's almost near the end of the chapter and the writer of Hebrews says, what more can I say time is too short for me to tell of Gideon, Barack , Samson, Jephtah, David, Samuel, Prophets and goes on and even talks about events that happened in the inter-testamental  period between the old and the new. And he says all these were proved through faith and then he says in 12 he makes his application to his audience, therefore since we all have a large crowd, a group of witnesses, that's all the people in Hebrews 11, who testify of the value of faith, they surround us, then what we have to do is to lay aside incumbrance, every weight that so easily ensnares us and run the race with endurance. The idea there is let's take the testimony of all those who have lived by faith and say we too will live by faith with endurance. Now, the question then comes what do people who have gone before us to the Lord, can they see what's going on here? There's nothing in the bible that says so.  They will be comforted, They will see us again, great reunion, it's going to be wonderful. But, they are not watching us because when we get to glory, we don't become like little gods. God is omniscient, so he could see, they are in a whole different dimension and they are with the Lord. Because God is omniscient, he knows what we are doing but they are not God, so they are not omniscient. They can only see what they are in, which is in the presence of the Lord and that's certainly satisfying to them. And so don't stress about someone we love not being able to see us, they are completely satisfied.