The Only Sign.
How long was Jesus in the tomb? And does it really matter? We can find the answer to these two questions in Mat 12:38-40:
Mat 12:38 Then certain of the scribes and Pharisees answered, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.”
(39) But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, but no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet.”
(40) For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the whale, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
The first question is answered in verse 40. Jesus declares He will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. Or in the tomb. The second question is answered in the previous verse. Here Jesus tells His doubters He would give them only one sign. The sign of Jonah. In Luk 11:29, it again recorded Jesus as giving the crowd only one sign.
The sign of Jonah.
Luk 11:29 When the multitudes were gathering together to him, he began to say, “This is an evil generation. It seeks after a sign. No sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah, the prophet.”
In Jon 1:17, the Old Testament records for us how long Jonah was in the belly of the great fish. Some translations say it was a whale. It really makes no difference. He was in the belly for 72 hours.
Jon 1:17 Yahweh prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
There can be no doubt Jesus fulfilled the sign as He promised, the one and only sign of Jonah. Therefore, if He was not in the tomb for this allotted amount of time, then He is not who He claims to be. But He must be an impostor. We must resolve truthfully such an important issue to answer the two questions above.
Answer The Questions
Let us answer the second question first, as this should be the simplest to answer accurately. The question, does it matter? Well, Jesus has answered that very clearly in Mat 12:39 and again in Luk 11:29. This is the only sign He would give. If He does not fulfil this sign, then He is an impostor. This makes the time frame of His being buried in the tomb of vital importance. If Jesus is to prove He is the “Son of God”, then how long must He be in the tomb? This is the answer to the first question: How long was Jesus in the tomb? Three days and three nights.
By our clocks today, that would be 72 hours. Three nights of about 12 hours each, and three days also of about 12 hours each. Add them up and you get 72 hours. Therefore, Jesus had to be 72 hours in the tomb to prove He is the “Son of God”.
This time period is so important that the writers of the New Testament described this period in several ways.
Mat 12:40 tells us He would be three days and three nights in the tomb.
Mat 12:40 For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the whale, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
Then in Joh 2:19, Jesus used the term “in three days”.
Joh 2:19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”
After Three Days
Next we are told He would be raised after three days.
Mar 8:31 He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.
Then finally, in 1Co 15:4, the term “on the third say” is used.
1Co 15:4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,
From these 4 scriptures, we see the four different ways they described the time frame. First, it is just “three days and three nights”. This is exactly 72 hours. Second comes the term “in three days”. Not over three days. The third example is after three days. Not less than three days. The last term is “on the third day”. Again, exactly three days. These four scriptures, and they are not the only ones, tell us Jesus was exactly a full 72 hours in the tomb? Notice especially 1Co 15:4. On the third day was according to the scriptures.
Therefore, the answers to these two questions are. Jesus was a full 72 hours in the tomb. And does it really matter? This was the only proof Jesus would give the Pharisees. So yes, it matters a great deal if you believe Jesus is the “Son of God”.
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