The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 2) — Page 288
CH. 4 AN-NISA' shall the son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth" (Matt. 12:40). Now it is an accepted fact that Jonah had entered the whale's belly alive and had come out alive; so, according to his own prophecy, Jesus was to enter the heart of the earth, (i. e. his tomb) alive and was to come out of it alive. (2) The trying magistrate (Pilate) believed Jesus to be innocent and, being sympathetic, was anxious to save his life (Matt. 27:17, 18; Mark 15:9, 10, 14; Luke 23:4, 14, 15, 20,22; John 18:38, 39); and he must have secretly tried to save him or at least connived at the attempt of others to do so. (3) Pilate's wife had seen a vision concerning the innocence of Jesus: "When he (Pilate) was set down on the judgement seat, his wife sent unto him, saying, 'Have thou nothing to do with that just man, for I have suffered many things this day in a dream because of him"" (Matt. 27:19). This message must certainly have influenced Pilate, and his wife must have also done her best to save Jesus. (4) Pilate held the killing of Jesus in such horror that he actually washed his hands with water, saying that he was innocent of the blood of that just man (Matt. 27:24). (5) Pilate did all he could to help Jesus; and the soldiers in charge also treated Jesus with kindness, apparently under Pilate's directions. The following are some of the special favours shown to Jesus: (a) Every malefactor carried his own cross but another man was made to carry that 728 PT. 6 of Jesus (Matt. 27:32; Mark 15:21); (b) Jesus was given wine or vinegar mingled with myrrh. This was intended to render him less sensible to pain. The two thieves who were crucified with him were not given this drink. When after sometime the effects of the drink were wearing off and Jesus cried with pain, the drink was administered again to render him unconscious of pain (Matt. 27:34, 48; Mark 15:23, 36; John 19:29, 30). of (6) The unconsciousness which followed the administration vinegar was mistaken for death (John 19:30). (7) Jesus remained on the cross for only about three hours (John 19:14. cf. Matt. 27:46) and according to Mark only for six hours (Mark 15:25, 33), and either of these periods was by no means sufficient to kill a young man like Jesus on the cross. (8) When Joseph of Arimathaea Pilate "marvelled if he were already came and craved the body of Jesus, dead", and calling to him the centurion asked him whether he had been any while dead (Mark, 15:44). (9) The soldiers did not break the legs of Jesus, but the legs of the two malefactors who had been crucified with him were broken (John 19:32, 33). (10) Jesus was not buried in the earth with the two malefactors but was laid separately in a spacious sepulchre hewn out of a rock and situated in a garden which was private property (Mark 15:46; John 19:41, 42). (11) The Jews themselves were not sure that Jesus was dead; for they