Controversy surrounds the number of days from Jesus' death until His resurrection, and whether we should accept His statement in Matthew 12:40 literally or not. The Bible is not clear on this issue; therefore, it is not likely to be resolved this side of glory. Nevertheless, this is an effort to suggest another possible solution to this controversy.

  • As we look at what Jesus said in Matthew 12:40,

"For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth."

  • and, what He says in Matthew 16:21,

"From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life. "

  • Possibly, Matthew may be talking about two separate things:
  • Something was going to take three days and three nights in the heart of the earth;

and,

  • On the third day, Christ would be raised to life.
  • We can conclude that:
  • There is no question that Matthew knew the difference between "days" and "nights" since he uses both in the texts above.
  • Our assumption (perhaps incorrect) here is that Matthew meant a full seventy-two hour period, and that the first-century Jews thought about time in the same way that we do.
  • In fact, they did not.
  • Any part of a day or night could be counted as a full day or a full night.
  • Christ died late on day one of three.
  • We see in Luke 24:21 evidence for to support this view.

Luke 24:21

"…but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place."

  • What about the nights?
  • Could Jesus have been referring to something beyond His resurrection when He said, "three days and three nights in the heart of the earth"?

OPTION I.

  • Most commentators don't look for another meaning and hold a view similar to the one below regarding the meaning of "three days and three nights:"

"This was the second public announcement of His resurrection three days after His death. (For the first, see Jhn 2:19 ). Jonah's case was analogous to this, as being a signal judgment of God; reversed in three days; and followed by a glorious mission to the Gentiles. The expression "in the heart of the earth," suggested by the expression of Jonah with respect to the sea ( Jon 2:3 , in the Septuagint), means simply the grave, but this considered as the most emphatic expression of real and total entombment. The period during which He was to lie in the grave is here expressed in round numbers, according to the Jewish way of speaking, which was to regard any part of a day, however small, included within a period of days, as a full day. (See 1Sa 30:12, 13 Est 4:16 5:1 Mat 27:63, 64 , &c.)." 1

  • There may be another approach to this seeming dilemma.

Questions:

  • Was Jesus referring to more than just His resurrection?
  • If Jesus literally meant three days and three nights (or a portion of the third night), then it would be useful to look at what happened on the third night.
  • Could "in the center of the earth" mean something else?
  • Was there more than one ascension?
  • Just as Jonah was spit out of the mouth of the fish (out of the grave) before he could minister to the Gentiles at Ninevah, Jesus also was raised from the dead (out of the literal grave), but then what?
  • We should look at the account of Jesus and Mary Magdalene (after His resurrection) on the third day for some possible answers

John 20:17-26

Jesus said, "Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, 'I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.' "

  • After being raised from the dead, Jesus was to return to His Father.
  • No one could hold on to Him or touch Him until He had returned to His Father.
  • Could this be what Jesus was talking about would take three days and nights?
  • Scholars conclude that Christ ascended to the right hand of the Father after 40 days on earth.
  • There is no indication that anyone touched Jesus on the third day
  • The first time we are aware that someone was allowed to touch Jesus was when He returned 8 days later and told Thomas:

John 20:27

"…Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe."

OPTION II

  • Could Christ have returned to His Father more than once? Could the first of two times have taken place between the third day and 8 days later--specifically the third night?
  • Well, to see if there is merit to this thesis, we might want to find out what happened on the third night?
  • From Luke 24:13ff, we know that Jesus was on the road to Emmaus on the afternoon of the third day with two disciples.
  • We also know that He stayed with these two disciples to eat when it was evening:

Luke 24:29-31

"29 But they urged Him strongly, "Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over." So He went in to stay with them."

evening = opsios,op'-see-os; from Greek 3796 (opse); late; feminine (as noun) afternoon (early eve) or nightfall (later eve) :- even (-ing, [-tide]).

" 30 When He was at the table with them, He took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. 31 Then their eyes were opened and they recognized Him, and He disappeared from their sight.

  • Next, what happened?

Luke 24:33

"They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together."

  • It must have taken some time to return to Jerusalem from where they had been. Therefore, it is logical to deduce that by the time they reached the other disciples it was night (the third night).

John 20:19

"On the evening of that first day of the week[the night of the third day], when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!"

  • From the sequence of events in Mark 16, if we accept the proposal that there was a first ascension, then it appears that all of the events could have taken place on the third day and night.

Mark 16:9-20

When Jesus rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had driven seven demons. 10 She went and told those who had been with him and who were mourning and weeping. 11 When they heard that Jesus was alive and that she had seen him, they did not believe it.

12] Afterward Jesus appeared in a different form to two of them while they were walking in the country. [afternoon on the third day]13 These returned and reported it to the rest; but they did not believe them either.

14Later[on the night of the third day] Jesus appeared to the Eleven as they were eating; he rebuked them for their lack of faith and their stubborn refusal to believe those who had seen him after he had risen.

15 He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. 16Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18 they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well."

19After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, [on the night of the third day] he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God. 20 Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it.

CONCLUSION:

  • From His death until His first ascension and seating at the right hand of God, not resurrection alone, was literally a portion of three days and three nights.
  • Sequence over three days and nights :
  • Death (first day)
  • Burial (first day/night)
  • Resurrection (third day)
  • Ascension (third night)
  • Ascension (after 40 days)
  • If this is what Jesus meant was going to take three days and three nights, then "in the center of the earth" could have meaning in the context of being on the earth and away from His rightful place at the right hand of God.

ENDNOTE

1 Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset and David Brown
Commentary Critical and Explanatory
on the Whole Bible (1871)