Chapter Twelve – Three Days and Three Nights

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Throughout the book, we have alluded to Jesus being in the grave for three full days and three full nights, in contrast to the common Good Friday-Easter Sunday tradition. Now we will thoroughly examine the timing of Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection. By the end of this chapter, you will have no doubt that the commonly held views of how long Jesus was in the grave are simply not biblically accurate.

In Matthew 12:1-50, the Pharisees challenged Jesus to prove with a sign that He was the prophesied Messiah. His answer? “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: 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” (Matt. 12:39-40).

Here it is most plain that Jesus would be in the grave for three days and three nights—in other words, three complete 24-hour days.

How, then, does the “Good Friday-Easter Sunday” tradition fit? Can 72 hours (three days and three nights) fit into a period between late day Friday and early Sunday morning? Why do so few even seem to question this only sign that Christ said He would give that He was the Messiah? Could He have been wrong on this single great proof of who He was and still have been the Messiah?

Since no one directly witnessed His Resurrection, we must examine the only available authority on this great event—the Bible! The apostle Paul said to “Prove all things; hold fast that which is good” (I Thes. 5:21).

While most willingly accept the common traditions of men, true disciples (learners, students) of Jesus want to know what HE says.

The Tremendous Importance of His Sign

Consider what is at stake in Jesus’ statement in Matthew 12:39-40. If He failed His only sign, then He is not our Saviour and nothing He said can be trusted. In effect, if His prophecy of this sign failed, then He must be considered a false prophet. He would be a fraud and should not be followed—and mankind has no saviour!

Do not confuse the resurrection itself with the question of “how long” Jesus would be in the grave before His resurrection took place. The length of time He was to be in the grave was the test of His sign—not the actual resurrection.

While it is embarrassing to watch so-called “Bible experts” try to explain away Christ’s only sign, they really have no choice. If Christ’s sign remains intact, the Good Friday-Easter Sunday tradition would be exposed as groundless—false—and collapse in a heap!

Some Bible commentaries leave one nearly breathless in astonishment when they assert that three days and three nights, in the Greek language, can mean three periods of time—either day or night. Friday night, Saturday daylight and Saturday night are portrayed as these three “periods” of time.

At least some are honest enough to acknowledge that the Friday-Sunday tradition is, in fact, only about half the length of time that Jesus said He would be in the grave.

What Are Days and Nights?

Can we know for certain or must we speculate on the meaning—the definition—of a day or the meaning of a night? Does the Bible leave this definition open to opinion—with one man’s opinion as good as another?

Jonah 1:17 plainly says, “And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.” Most scholars acknowledge that this Hebrew phrase must mean a 72-hour period. Without getting into specifics, there is no room for any “approximations of time” theories in the Hebrew.

Jesus said His time in the grave would be “as Jonah.” The word “as” means there is a comparison. In other words, just like Jonah was in the belly of the whale for three entire days, Jesus was to be in the grave for three entire days. This comparison does not allow one to “negotiate” the meaning of the Greek, as some like to do, since the Hebrew phrase can only mean three full days.

Did Jesus understand the length of a “day” or the length of a “night”?

He did! In John 11:9, He asked, “Are there not twelve hours in the day?”

In several places, the Bible mentions that Jesus rose “the third day.” How long was this? The first half of the creation chapter, Genesis 1:4-13, plainly states that God “divided the light from darkness. And God called the light Day and the darkness He called Night. And the evening [darkness] and the morning [light] were the first day…And the evening [darkness] and the morning [light] were the second day…And the evening [now three periods of darkness called night—three nights] and the morning [now three periods of light called day—three days] were the third day.”

This is the Bible’s definition of the length of time accounted for within the phrases “the third day” and “three days and three nights.” It spanned three periods of darkness and three periods of light. Six times 12 hours equals 72 hours! How clear!

The Source of the Problem

We have now established the exact duration of Christ’s time in the tomb as a 72-hour period. He was there for three days and three nights “as Jonah was.” We will shortly examine four additional scriptures that prove the same thing.

In Mark 7:13, Jesus warns against “making the word of God of none effect through your tradition.” How is it that intelligent, well-educated Bible scholars seem to “know” that Jesus was crucified on Friday and resurrected on Sunday? What is it about Jesus’ clear, straightforward sign that they cannot accept? The answer lies in the comfort of long-held—but clearly false—traditions!

One of the most important rules of Bible study is to gather all of the scriptures on a subject to gain the complete picture. There are other scriptures that prove the 72-hour duration of Christ’s time in the tomb.

John 2:19-21 states, “Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up…But He spoke of the temple of His body.” Clearly, the use of the phrase “in three days” means that Christ’s time in the tomb could not exceed 72 hours—or it would not be within the three-day period.

Conversely, Matthew 27:63 establishes Jesus’ time in the tomb as not less than three days, or 72 hours, for it says, “After three days I will rise again.”

Examining two additional verses in Mark’s gospel account proves the same parameters of John 2:1-25 and Matthew 27:1-66. Notice Mark 8:31: “And He began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.”

A late Friday afternoon entombment means a late Monday afternoon resurrection. It is as simple as counting one, two, three! If this verse stood alone without other scriptures to qualify it, it must be admitted that Christ’s use of the word “after” does not, by itself, limit His time in the tomb to 72 hours. He could still be there longer. He just could not be there one bit less than 72 hours. This much should now be clear.

We are now ready for Mark 9:31: “They shall kill Him; and after that He is killed, He shall rise the third day.” This verse presents another limitation on Christ’s time in the tomb. Consider! This verse, if taken by itself, places His time in the grave between 48 and 72 hours. The phrase “the third day” caps the duration at 72 hours—but it also creates a minimum of 48 hours—or the period would be somewhere in the second day! Again, if this verse is to be taken alone, a Friday afternoon crucifixion requires a resurrection somewhere after late Sunday afternoon and no later than late Monday afternoon.

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