Like Jonah, Like Jesus

May 22nd, 2025
by Lance Waldie

Mathew 12:40 “Just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.”

If the words of Jesus in Matthew 12:40 are taken at face value, then He would have been in the grave for 72 hours after His crucifixion. That means, as some have espoused, that Jesus could not have died on a Friday and been resurrected on Sunday morning as is traditionally believed. The time between a Friday afternoon death and an early Sunday morning resurrection is only about half that time. This is why some have advocated that Jesus actually died on Wednesday, some saying it was Thursday. Yet the Gospels appear to say unequivocally that Jesus died on a Friday sometime around 3:00 p.m. and was resurrected early on Sunday morning (Mark 16:2; Luke 24:1; John 20:1). This equals three days but not three nights. Against the notion that Jesus was killed on Wednesday or Thursday are the numerous passages that say Jesus would be raised on the third day after His death. Consider the following:

Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, suffer many things from the elders… and be raised up on the third day (Matt. 16:21).
…and they will kill Him, and He will be raised on the third day (Matt. 17:23).

…and will hand Him over to the Gentiles to mock and scourge and crucify Him, and on the third day He will be raised up (Matt. 20:19).
Therefore, give orders for the grave to be made secure until the third day (Matt. 27:64).
The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed and be raised up on the third day (Luke 9:22).
they will kill Him; and on the third day He will rise again (Luke 18:33).
saying that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again (Luke 24:7).
But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, it is the third day since these things happened (Luke 24:21).
Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day (Luke 24:46).
Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up (John 2:19).
God raised Him up on the third day and granted that He become visible (Acts 10:40).
…and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures (1 Cor. 15:4).

All passages, therefore, except Matthew 12:40, teach that it was going to be the third day after His death when Jesus would rise from the grave. That means that if Jesus died on a Wednesday and arose on Sunday, He would have risen on the fifth day. That does not fit with the teachings of the Gospels. And if He died on a Thursday, then He would have risen on the fourth day. That too does not fit with the teaching in the Gospels.

It is certain that Jesus died on a Friday, for the Gospels say that He died “on the day of preparation, that is, the day before the Sabbath” (Mark 15:42; cf. Matt. 27:62; Luke 23:54), namely Saturday. John says, “for that Sabbath was a high day” (19:31) because it fell on the day of the “preparation for the Passover” (John 19:14), later confirming that this was Friday since they could not leave the bodies of the dead overnight into the Sabbath, that is, Saturday.

Food for Thought
The analogy of Scripture—comparing Scripture with Scripture—is clear: Jesus died on a Friday (the day before the preparation of the Sabbath which is Saturday) and rose on Sunday (the first day of the week). Where does that leave us in the interpretation of Matthew 12:40? It seems evident that Jesus was not speaking of three 24 hour days and nights in that passage where He predicts His own death. Even the Jewish Talmud states that the Jews regarded any part of a day as a full day. The conclusion is that Friday, Saturday, and Sunday are the three days, and each day includes a night. Jesus thus died on Friday and was raised on the third day—Sunday. Let us now celebrate the death of Jesus because He died for us to save us from our sins. And let us celebrate His resurrection since He is not dead but alive! His resurrection guarantees our resurrection, for He is the first-fruits of those who rise from the dead (1 Cor. 15:20), that is, He is a representation of the many who will also rise from the dead to live eternally with Him—a great harvest of souls who placed their faith in the risen Lord Jesus Christ!