Matthew 12:40. For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. Jonah 1:17; Luke 11:30. If you try counting 72 hours it is not going to happen. We have to rightly divided the scriptures! As Jonah was in the whale's belly, Jesus was going to die and raise the third day!
In other words, if we try to count three days and three nights as Jesus said, we cannot? Then He wasn't the Messiah...
Mat 12:39 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.
Mat 12:40 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.
In John 2:18,19 Jesus said to the Jews, destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. Jesus spoke of his body, not the building Verse 21.
You missed this part...
Luk 24:46 Then He said to them, "Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day,
Mar 8:31 And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed,
and after three days rise again.
So You quoted John 2:18-19 which says IN three days. Now add Luke 24:46 which says ON the third day and Mar 8:31 which says AFTER three days. There is only one possible time span that satisfies all three scriptures. Right at the end of 72 hours. That is in three days, on the third day and after three days.
You can't just decide to count it any way you want to. You must count what the scripture says.
Matt 27:62-64 The next day that followed Jesus death and the day of preparation was the Sabbath. Note: it was "even" when Joseph begged for the body of Jesus. Verse 59, Mary Magdalene, and the other Mary was there too Verse 61. On the Sabbath Pilate command that the tomb be made secure until the third day, Verse 62. The first day would be the death of Jesus and the Preparation day for the Sabbath. The second day would be the Sabbath and third day would be the first day of the week. No way getting around this!!
That would not be true even if you didn't factor in Luke 24:46 and Mar 8:31. The scripture does not say He would be dead for three days and three nights, it says He would be in the tomb for three days and three nights.
Mark 15:42-44 And now when the even was come, because it was the preparation, that is, the day before the sabbath, Joseph of Arimathaea, an honourable counsellor, which also waited for the kingdom of God, came, and went in boldly unto Pilate, and craved the body of Jesus. And Pilate marvelled if he were already dead: and calling unto him the centurion, he asked him whether he had been any while dead (been dead for a while). This means that it was Friday, the day Jesus died, and the following day was the Sabbath.
No, the next day was not the weekly Sabbath...
Joh 19:31 Therefore, because it was the Preparation Day, that the bodies should not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (
for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away.
The First Day of Unleavend Bread and it was on a Thursday, April 26, 31AD.
Joseph, took the body of Jesus down from the cross. Luke 23:50-53.
Luke 23:54-56 And that day was the preparation, and the sabbath drew on. And the women also, which came with him from Galilee, followed after, and beheld the sepulchre, and how his body was laid. And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the sabbath day according to the commandment.
Ex.20:10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:
Those Jews were not worried about keeping the sabbath, remember they went to Pilate and Pilate command that the tomb be made secure until the third day, Someone worked on the Sabbath and on into the first day of the week.
They were worried about keeping the First Day of Unleavened Bread. This is what happens when one does not read the scripture but rather just blindly believes what he has been told by "experts".
We all know what an expert is don't we? Ex means former and a spurt is a drip.
Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome "Had" (all ready) bought sweet spices they were going to go into the tomb and anoint Jesus. Mark 16:1 And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him. And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun.
As sure as Jonah was in the belly of the whale, Jesus was raised from the dead the third day, which it the first day of the week!
Luk 23:54 That day was the Preparation, and the Sabbath drew near.
Which Sabbath? We already saw in John 19:31 that this was not the weekly Sabbath but a high day, the First Day of Unleavened Bread.
Luk 23:55 And the women who had come with Him from Galilee followed after, and they observed the tomb and how His body was laid.
Ok, now let's pick this up in Mark's account...
Mar 15:47 And Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses observed where He was laid.
Mar 16:1 Now when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, that they might come and anoint Him.
They bought their spices after the Sabbath was past. They did not buy them before the Sabbath.
Luk 23:56 Then they returned and prepared spices and fragrant oils. And they rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment.
So, they bought their spices AFTER the Sabbath (the high day - The First Day of Unleavened Bread) then they prepared them and rested according to the Commandment. What Commandment?
Exo 20:8 "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
Exo 20:9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work,
Exo 20:10 but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates.
They rested according to the fourth Commandment. There were two Sabbaths that week.
Now please show me how you count three days twelve hours and three nights of twelve hours each from Firday sunset to before dawn on Sunday morning?