I. The Time Line That Appears in the Three Feast Days and the Gospels.
Scripture confirms for us that Jesus died on Friday afternoon and rose again early Sunday morning. This equates to one full day and parts of two days, one full night and part of another night.
A. Matthew 26:17
“Now on the first day of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus
and asked, ‘Where do You want us to prepare for You to eat the
Passover?’”
The day is Passover. This was a day of unleavened bread but is not to be confused with the Feast of Unleavened Bread which would begin the next day. Still, this is called the “first day of Unleavened Bread.” This is the time Jesus takes the Passover meal with His disciples.
- The Passover was to be observed each year on the 14th of Abib. Exodus 12:6
“You shall keep it (the Passover lamb) until the fourteenth day of the
same month, then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel is
to kill it at twilight.”
The Passover lamb was to be eaten on the 14th day of the first month in the evening.
- Immediately following the Passover, on the 15th of Abib came the Feast of Unleavened Bread.
Exodus 12:15-18
“Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, but on the first day you shall remove leaven from your houses; for whoever eats anything leavened from the first day until the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel. ‘On the first day you shall have a holy assembly, and another holy assembly on the seventh day; no work at all shall be done on them, except what must be eaten by every person, that alone may be prepared by you. You shall also observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for on this very day I brought your hosts out of the land of Egypt; therefore, you shall observe this day throughout your generations as a permanent ordinance. In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at evening, you shall eat unleavened bread, until the twenty-first day of the month at evening.”
The day after the Passover was to be a Sabbath, a holy day, and the beginning of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. The disciples called the Passover the first day of Unleavened bread because unleavened bread was eaten on that day as well. The eating of unleavened bread would continue through the 21st day of Abib which was 8 days in all. Thus, the Passover and the feast of unleavened bread were linked.
- Luke 22:7-9,
“Then came the first day of Unleavened Bread on which the Passover
lamb had to be sacrificed. And Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, ‘Go
and prepare the Passover for us, so that we may eat it.’”
This preparation happened on the actual day of Passover. Jesus had the last supper sometime after the beginning of the 14th day of Abib rather than at the end of the Day as the Law required.
- That same night Jesus was in the Garden with his disciples. He was later taken to Annas,
“Having arrested Him, they led Him away and brought Him to the house
of the high priest.” Luke 22:54.
- He was then taken before the Sanhedrin where he was questioned and abused.
“When it was day, (the same day) the Council of elders of the people
assembled, both chief priests and scribes, and they led Him away to
their council chamber,” Luke 22:66.
- In the morning of the same day, they took him to Pilate. Luke 23:1-2 says,
“Then the whole body of them got up and brought Him before Pilate.”
John provides us with an important piece of the puzzle in John 18:28,
“Then they led Jesus from Caiaphas into the Praetorium, and it was
early; and they themselves did not enter into the Praetorium so that
they would not be defiled but might eat the Passover.”
The priest did not want to defile themselves because they wanted to eat the Passover on that day. Christ had already eaten the Passover at the beginning of the day. Matthew 26:20 says that Jesus sat down with the 12 at evening which was some time after sunset. Now this is important. The Jewish day went from sunset to sunset. So, that evening Jesus spent with his disciples was the beginning of the 14th day of Abib – Passover. Jesus and his disciples were eating the Passover on the right day but they were eating it at the beginning of the day rather that at the end of the day as the Law stipulated because by the end of the Passover day Jesus would already be dead.
- The Passover lamb was killed between the two evenings, Exodus 12:6 says.
“You shall keep it (the Passover lamb) until the fourteenth day of the same month, then the whole assembly of the congregation of
Israel is to kill it at twilight.”
According to Ellicott and others, the word translated ‘at twilight’ actually means between the two evenings. This would seem to agree with the traditional time of the offering of the Passover lamb which was at 3pm or the 9th hour of the day. This is important. Remember, Jesus had eaten the last supper after sunset which was early at the beginning of that day. He was with Pilate the morning after the last supper on the day of Passover which the priests were going to observe in the evening.
- Pilate offered to release Jesus because of a standing Passover tradition.
“Now it was the day of preparation for the Passover; it was about the
sixth hour” (noon), John 19:14-16.
It is preparation time because the Passover would be sacrificed in the temple in about 3 hours. They then took him away to be crucified. Luke tells us that darkness fell from the moment they led him away to be crucified until the ninth hour when he died, Luke 23:44.
“It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness fell over the whole
land until the ninth hour.”
This was the very hour when the Passover lamb was being sacrificed in the temple.
- God expresses His satisfaction over the event.
Luke 23:44-46 says,
“...and darkness fell over the whole land until the ninth hour,
because the sun was obscured; and the veil of the temple was torn in
two. And Jesus, crying out with a loud voice, said, ‘Father, into Your
hands I commit My spirit.’ Having said this, He breathed His last.”
So, Jesus died at the 9th hour – 3PM. This is the exact time the temple veil was torn declaring the fulfillment of everything under the sacrificial system.
II. The Burial and Resurrection
Jesus died at the 9th hour which means only 3 hours remained until the end of Passover and the beginning of the weekly Sabbath. The body of Jesus had to be properly prepared and in the tomb before the end of the Passover.
A. The burial
The ladies had gotten all the necessary spices during this three-hour period either from the market or were using leftover spices from those provided by Nicodemus. John 19:39 tells us that
“Nicodemus, who had first come to Him by night, also came, bringing a
mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds weight.”
The women had been to the tomb to see where Jesus was to be buried and still had time to return home to finish preparing additional spices before the Sabbath arrived. Luke 23:56 confirms that,
“Then they returned and prepared spices and perfumes. And on the
Sabbath, they rested according to the commandment.”
B. The resurrection - Luke 24:1 says,
“But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the
tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared.”
It is now Sunday, the first day of the week, and Jesus had risen early in the morning perhaps around sunrise. Luke’s account shows that Jesus had the last supper sometime after sunset with his disciples. He was then crucified the same day. He was then buried on that same day and then the weekly Sabbath immediately followed. Jesus spent the entire Sabbath day in the tomb. On the very next day following the Sabbath, which was the first day of the week, Jesus rose from the dead. We know this is accurate because of how the Old Testament organized the events of the three consecutive feast days.
III. The Three Feast Days, 17-25
A. Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread, Number 28:16-25
“Then on the fourteenth day of the first month shall be the Lord’s
Passover. On the fifteenth day of this month shall be a feast,
unleavened bread shall be eaten for seven days. On the first day shall
be a holy convocation; you shall do no laborious work. You shall
present an offering by fire, a burnt offering to the Lord: two bulls
and one ram and seven male lambs one year old, having them without
defect. For their grain offering, you shall offer fine flour mixed
with oil: three-tenths of an ephah for a bull and two-tenths for the
ram. A tenth of an ephah you shall offer for each of the seven lambs;
and one male goat for a sin offering to make atonement for you. You
shall present these besides the burnt offering of the morning, which
is for a continual burnt offering. After this manner you shall present
daily, for seven days, the food of the offering by fire, of a soothing
aroma to the Lord; it shall be presented with its drink offering in
addition to the continual burnt offering. On the seventh day you shall
have a holy convocation; you shall do no laborious work.”
The Passover was a one-day observance which fell on the 14th day of Abib. Numbers 28 is a much more detailed description of the Passover described in Leviticus 23. In Exodus 12:15, Israel was told they were to continue to eat unleavened bread for seven days following the Passover.
B. The Feast of Weeks and the offering of the First-fruits, 26-31
“Also, on the day of the first fruits, when you present a new grain
offering to the Lord in your Feast of Weeks, you shall have a holy
convocation; you shall do no laborious work. You shall offer a burnt
offering for a soothing aroma to the Lord: two young bulls, one ram,
seven male lambs one year old; and their grain offering, fine flour
mixed with oil: three-tenths of an ephah for each bull, two-tenths for
the one ram, a tenth for each of the seven lambs; also, one male goat
to make atonement for you. Besides the continual burnt offering and
its grain offering, you shall present them with their drink offerings.
They shall be without defect.”
The Feast of Weeks was to be observed on the 16th and 17th of Abib, Exodus 34:25-26 and Leviticus 23:10-14. It began on the second day of the Feast of Weeks and required the same catalogue of sacrifices as the new moon and the feast of unleavened bread. This was not a holy convocation day. There was no restriction on servile work. This was the beginning of the barley harvest and the first of that harvest was being waved before the Lord, Leviticus 23:10-11.
Here is a point many people miss. In 1 Corinthians 15:20 Paul tells us,
“But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of
those who are asleep.”
Being the first-fruit defines the first produce of the harvest. Jesus became the first, the προς τον τυπον – the one for the pattern. He is the prototype of a new society of those who by faith, become sons of God, Romans 8:29. These sons of God are those of whom John says in John 1:12-13,
“are born not of flesh, nor of the will of man, but of the will of
God.”
Jesus became the forerunner, the older brother, the first-fruit among the sons of God through his resurrection.
So, we have the Passover on the 14th, the Feast of Unleavened Bread on the 15th, and then the offering of the First-fruits on the 16th which was on the day after the Sabbath. Jesus followed this exact pattern. He died on the day of Passover. The next day was a high weekly Sabbath and Jesus was resting in the tomb. The next day after the Sabbath was the offering of first-fruits and Jesus rose on that day after the Sabbath. This tells us that the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread – a special Sabbath and the weekly Sabbath fell on the same day that year. That is why John says in John 19:31
“Then the Jews, because it was the day of preparation, so that the
bodies would not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath
was a high day), asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and
that they might be taken away.”
On Passover, on the 14th of Abib, the lamb of God was slain.
The following day, the 15th of Abib, was the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, a holy convocation, a day of rest. Jesus was resting in the tomb.
On the following day, the 16th of Abib, was the beginning of the Feast of Weeks with the waving of the first-fruits. Jesus is raised on this day as the first-fruit.
The sequence of these feasts proves beyond any doubt that Jesus died on Friday and rose early Sunday morning. The argument that there had to be three literal days and nights (72 hours) in the grave simply does not fit the prophetic time line of these three feast days, nor does it fit the timeline presented in the Gospels. According to the sequence of the three feast days, there could not be a 72-hour period between the Sabbath of Unleavened Bread and the day of First-fruits. These were consecutive days. The argument that there had to literally be three days and nights in the grave between the Day of Unleavened Bread and the offering of the First-fruit simply cannot fit the typology of the feast days. Jesus died on Friday around 3pm. He was in the grave from sometime just before sunset Friday until sunrise Sunday morning. By the Jewish reckoning of time, this can constitute three days, but there is no way it can constitute three nights, I don’t care how one may try to manipulate it. Since the timeline presented to us in the Gospels and in the three feast days demonstrate that Jesus did not literally spend three days and three nights in the tomb, this means the phrase “in the heart of the earth” must have a meaning that cannot be derived from the grammatical structure of the statement or from the Lexical use of words. If it cannot be understood as literal then it has to be something else.
IV. What is the Meaning of “in the heart of the earth?”
How are we to understand the words of Jesus in Matthew 12:40,
“For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the
great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in
the heart of the earth?”
Mark 8:31 says,
“And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many
things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the
scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again”
In Matthew 17:22-23 Jesus gives definition to his use of “in the heart of the earth” in chapter 12.
“And while they were gathering together in Galilee, Jesus said to
them, ‘The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men;
and they will kill Him, and He will be raised on the third day.’ And
they were deeply grieved.”
The text tells us under no uncertain terms that Jesus rose on the first day of the week. In Matthew 12, Jesus uses the term “in the heart of the earth.” He does not say “in the tomb” or “in the grave.” He does not use the term for grave or tomb. He uses the word 'ges' which means earth, ground, or world, but is also used very often to refer to the human collective. This is how it is used in Matthew 10:15
“Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for the land (ge)
of Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city.”
Jesus was not talking about the land; he was talking about its
inhabitants.
Revelation 13:3 says
“And I saw one of his heads as if it had been mortally wounded, and
his deadly wound was healed. And all the world (ge) marveled and
followed the beast.”
It was not the globe of the planet that marveled. He is talking about its inhabitants.
As the Greek Scholar John Bengel explained, “Heart of the earth” is an idiom. An idiom is
“an expression in the usage of a language that is peculiar to itself
either in having a meaning that cannot be derived from the conjoined
meanings of its elements or in its grammatically atypical use of
words.” (Merriam-Webster)
Jesus himself provides the meaning of the idiom. Jesus was talking about his time of suffering which began Friday with his arrest in the garden and ended when he rose on Sunday morning. In other words, Jesus was three days and three nights in the hands of men. This is precisely how Jesus explains this experience in Luke 24:7,
“…that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men
and be crucified and on the third day rise.”
In the heart of the earth is the same thing as “into the hands of men.” From the time Jesus was arrested at about 2AM Friday morning to the time he rose from the tomb sometime Sunday morning was indeed three days and three nights. But even this does not equal 72 hours. This is still only two full days and one partial day, two full nights and one partial night.
Jesus himself provides the meaning of the idiom. Jesus was talking about his time of suffering which began Friday with his arrest in the garden and ended when he rose on Sunday morning. In other words, Jesus was three days and three nights in the hands of men. This is precisely how Jesus explains this experience in Luke 24:7,
“…that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men
and be crucified and on the third day rise.”
In the heart of the earth is the same thing as “into the hands of men.” From the time Jesus was arrested at about 2AM Friday morning to the time he rose from the tomb sometime Sunday morning was indeed three days and three nights. But even this does not equal 72 hours. This is still only two full days and one partial day, two full nights and one partial night.
