Question 40 - How many days Lord Christ stayed in the grave?

Matthew 12:40 NKJV - "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 28:1, 6 NKJV - Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. ... "He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.

John 20:1 NKJV - Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb.

[This gives only one night and the part of a right, and one day and part of a day.]

Answer:

                One explanation is that any part of a day is considered as a full day as per Esther 4:16, “Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my attendants will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.” Then, in Esther 5:1 it says, "On the third day Esther put on her royal robes and stood in the inner court of the palace, in front of the king’s hall. The king was sitting on his royal throne in the hall, facing the entrance." We can see that even though the three days and nights had not been completed as per our current standards, Esther went in to see the King on the third day even though she said to fast for three days and nights. We see that "on the third day" is equivalent to "after three days”. So any portion of day is probably considered as one full Day and Night as per Jewish custom.

Similarly, Jesus died on Friday and rose on Sunday early morning is considered as 3 days and nights.

Other explanation is that translations like Telugu Bible say “3 days &nights” instead of “3 days and 3 nights”. Based on this, Jesus died on Friday and the night is the 1^st Night, Saturday all day is 2^nd Day, Saturday Night is the 3^rdNight that implies there are 2 nights and 1 day which is “3 Days and Nights”.

Anyone can notice that all scriptures referenced in the bible about 3 days and nights have similar meaning and are consistent.