So what's the problem? The most challenging issue for our western minds is that we cannot get three days and three nights (Matt 12:40) from Friday to Sunday. Friday and Saturday nights are two nights, and Saturday is one day. This is only one day and two nights. What about the other two days and one night? It seems that Friday could not possibly be the day Jesus died.

As mentioned before, however, this is only a challenge because of our western thinking, which leads us to conclude that this time frame is 72 hours. In order to demonstrate the use of this idiom in Jewish culture examine the following passages.

"From that time Jesus Christ began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on the third day." (Matthew 16:21)

"'And they will kill Him, and He will be raised on the third day.' And they were deeply grieved." (Matthew 17:23)

"And will deliver Him to the Gentiles to mock and scourge and crucify Him, and on the third day He will be raised up." (Matthew 20:19)

"For He was teaching His disciples and telling them, 'The Son of Man is to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill Him; and when He has been killed, He will rise the third day.'" (Mark 9:31)

"And they will mock Him and spit upon Him, and scourge Him, and kill Him, and on the third day He will rise again." (Mark 10:34)

"The Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on the third day." (Luke 9:22)

"And after they have scourged Him, they will kill Him; and the third day He will rise again." (Luke 18:33)

"You know of Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how He went about doing good, and healing all who were oppressed by the devil; for God was with Him. And we are witnesses of all the things He did both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem. And they also put Him to death by hanging Him on a cross. God raised Him up on the third day, and granted that He should become visible." (Acts 10:38-40)

"For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures." (1 Corinthians 15:3-4)