How was Jesus “three days and nights in the heart of the earth”?

Explanation:

The scribes and the Pharisees ask Jesus for a sign and Jesus responds that no sign will be given expect the sign of Jonah (Matthew 12:39). Jesus explains that just as Jonah was in the belly of the fish for three days and nights, so will the Son of Man be three days and nights in the heart of the earth (Matthew 12:40). Matthew uses the conjunctive particle ὥσπερ (just as) to clarify Jesus’ point. How is Jesus in the heart of the earth for three days and nights? In the same way as Jonah was in the belly of the fish. In other words, when the fish swallowed Jonah, Jonah was as good as dead. And yet, after three days and nights God spoke to the fish and caused it to spit Jonah onto the dry land (Jonah 2:10).

Similarly, Jesus was not only as good as dead, but had died when he was crucified. He was laid in a tomb and remained there for three days, with no seeming hope of escape. And yet, after three days God used his power to raise Jesus from the dead so that he left the tomb. So, Jesus’ time in the grave after the crucifixion, parallels Jonah’s time in the belly of the fish.⁴

Counterargument:

It is possible that three days and nights refers to Jesus’ time in the grave, but it could also refer to Jesus’ time in Hades (an option held by the early church).⁵ The tomb of Jesus was on the surface of the earth, but Jesus says that the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth for three days and nights.⁶ Thus, it is more likely that Jesus refers to his descent into Hades than that he would be in the tomb.

Response to counterargument:

When Jesus says that the Son of Man (himself) will be in the heart of the earth for three days and nights, we do not need to press his use of the term heart.⁷ The point here is that Jesus will die and be buried, which in Jesus’ case means placed in a tomb. The fact is, just as there is no literal correlation between the heart of the earth and placement in a tomb, there is no literal correlation between the heart of the earth and Hades.

Explanation:

We want to understand what it means that Jesus was three days and nights in the heart of the earth. We can deduce what this means by the fact that being in the heart of the earth for three days and nights is a sign, like the sign of Jonah. Jonah was in the belly of the fish for three days and nights and as good as dead. Still, God rescued him from the belly of the fish, and this rescue served as a sign to the people of Nineveh.⁸ Jonah would have perished if he had not been a prophet from God, but since God rescued him, this was a sign to the people that he was from God, so they ought to respond appropriately to his preaching.

In the same way, Jesus not only predicts his death in Matthew 12:40 but he also warns the teachers and Pharisees that like Jonah, Jesus’ time in the heart of the earth will serve as a sign. That’s because God will raise Jesus from the dead and vindicate his ministry. Thus, Jesus’ point here is that just as Jonah’s rescue from death served as a sign of Jonah’s authority, so Jesus’ rescue from death will serve as the sign of Jesus' ultimate authority.⁹

Counterargument:

It is not clear that Jesus means to say that just as Jonah’s rescue from death was a sign that Jonah was a prophet from God, so Jesus’ resurrection is a sign that his ministry is vindicated. Rather, we should understand Jesus in light of the fact that signs are a gift of God. The teachers and Pharisees demand a sign from Jesus, but we should not expect a response from God when we make aggressive demands of him. Jesus explains this to the teachers and Pharisees by reminding them that if they want a sign, they have one in the book of Jonah. Thus, it is superfluous for the teachers and Pharisees to ask Jesus for a sign, instead, they should consult the book of the prophet Jonah.¹⁰

Response to counterargument:

The problem with this view is that it overlooks the connection between the sign of Jonah and Jesus himself (Matthew 12:40). Jesus does not just tell the Pharisees to look in the book of Jonah, but he explicitly connects Jonah’s time in the belly of the fish and Jesus’ own future time in the heart of the earth.¹¹ Thus, Jesus has in mind the sign that Jonah was a prophet who spent three days and nights in the fish, and Jesus was a prophet who will spend three days and nights in the heart of the earth.

Possible weaknesses:

It is hard to see what the weakness of this view might be. We know from further in Matthew that the chief priests and Pharisees understood Jesus perfectly well, and asked Pilate to secure Jesus’ tomb because he had said that after three days he would rise (Matthew 12:40).

Explanation:

Jesus says that just as Jonah was in the belly of the fish for three days and three nights, so Jesus will be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights. This statement is emphatic, so we ought to take it literally.¹² At first, we might connect Jesus’ statement with his burial, because to be in the heart of the earth sounds like a burial. The problem is that Jesus was not in the tomb for three days and three nights. Jesus was crucified on a Friday and raised on Sunday—that is only two nights. Of course, Jesus was arrested on Thursday. Thus, we ought to conclude that when Jesus says he would be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth, he means the time from his arrest until his resurrection.¹³

Counterargument:

First, it is not clear what it means that Jesus is emphatic, or why, if Jesus is emphatic, this implies that we ought to take him literally. Sometimes we can see that Jesus is emphatic because he makes a statement that should not be taken literally (Matthew 5:29). Second, it is not clear how being in the heart of the earth could refer to Jesus’ arrest, trial, crucifixion and burial. If we are intent on taking Jesus literally in Matthew 12:40, why are we obliged to take the statement of three days and three nights literally but not the statement about being in the heart of the earth? Finally, in Jewish thought, intervals of time were not pressed for accuracy.¹⁴ In rabbinic tradition, a day and a night make a day, and a part of a day is the same as a whole day.¹⁵

Explanation:

Jesus says that he will be three nights and three days in the heart of the earth. We want to take Jesus literally, so what could he mean by this? We know that Jesus considered his arrest, trial, crucifixion, and burial as one whole event.¹⁶ Jesus was arrested on a Thursday and rose from the dead on a Sunday. Thus, that Jesus was three nights and days in the heart of the earth stretches from the time of Jesus’ arrest to his resurrection.

Counterargument:

First, it is somewhat arbitrary to say that for Jesus, his arrest to his resurrection was one event. Why should we not say that his whole ministry was one event, or that his burial was one event? If the reason is that one wants to take Jesus literally when he says that he will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth, we have a problem. We know that Jesus was arrested on a Thursday evening and rose from the dead on Sunday morning. This means that Jesus was in the heart of the earth for two and a half days at most.

Possible weaknesses:

The problem with this argument is that it overlooks the context. Jesus is comparing his time in the heart of the earth with Jonah’s time in the belly of the fish. That Jonah was as good as dead and then rescued by God was a sign to the Ninevites that Jonah was a prophet of God. In the same way, as Jesus was buried in a tomb and raised from the dead, so Jesus is a sign to the Pharisees that his ministry is the truth.¹⁷