Jesus was raised on the third day

JESUS WAS RAISED ON THE THIRD DAY
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
1 Corinthians 15:4 4that he was buried, that he
was raised on the third day according to the
Scriptures,
Acts 10:40 God raised Him up on the third day
and caused Him to be seen--
By Andreas Köstenberger
Did Jesus Rise onthe Third Day?
In my Answers Magazine article and in my book (co-writtenwith Justin
Taylor) The Final Days of Jesus, I have implicitly assumed that Jesus was
crucified on Friday (though our main argument was that Jesus died most
likely in AD 33 rather than in AD 30). I’m hardly the only one who believes
that Jesus died on a Friday (“Good” Friday), but some have taken issue with
the factthat such a belief stands in apparent conflict with Jesus’statementin
the GospelofMatthew that “just as Jonahwas three days and three nights in
the belly of the great fish, so will the Sonof Man be three days and three
nights in the heart of the earth” (Matt 12:40, ESV).

On the face of it, I can certainly appreciate that those who employ a very
literal hermeneutic are troubled by this passage,for if Jesus was crucifiedon
a Friday, he was in the tomb at bestthree days and two nights, which would
conflict with Jesus’ownaffirmation in Matthew. As we will see, and is so
often the case, hermeneutics is criticalwhen tackling this apparent
contradiction. In dealing with this question, we come to a fork in the road. Are
we going to: (1) start with a word-for-word reading of Matthew 12:40 and, on
the basis of a high view of Scripture (inerrancy) try to make the rest of
Scripture conform to a literal “three days and three nights” interpretation? or
(2) investigate whether there is a way to understand Jesus’statementthat
does not involve him in actual conflict with the belief, abundantly attested
elsewhere in the New Testament(as we shall see shortly) that Jesus in fact
died on a Friday and was subsequently raised“on the third day”?
Of course, the day Jesus died is not nearly as important as the fact that he, the
God-man, did die for our sins on the cross. All sides canagree on that. So this
is not so much a theologicalquestionas it is a hermeneuticaland exegetical
issue. My preference in the above scenario is (2), so I’m going to proceed
accordingly, though you’ll getto the same place (or at leastyou should, in my
view) regardless ofwhere you start.
Before we do so, let me make one more point, related to tradition. When I
point out to people that I’m hardly the only one who believes Jesus died on a
Friday, the response is regularly, “Well, tradition doesn’t make you right. In
fact, tradition canbe wrong!” Well, yes, I know. That’s why I departed from
Roman Catholicismand moved to an evangelicalfaith (so it seems a bit odd
for me now to defend tradition). Nevertheless, there are often goodreasons for
a certain tradition, and in this case atleast, I submit the reasonfor the “Good
Friday” tradition is rooted in the very Gospels themselves who attestto the
fact that Jesus was crucifiedon a Friday.
Regarding the Gospelevidence, we can observe at leasttwo things. First, the
Gospels uniformly attest to the factthat Jesus was crucifiedand subsequently
rose “on the third day” (e.g., Luke 24:7; see also Luke 24:21 where the two
disciples on the road to Emmaus tell Jesus that this is “now the third day since
these things happened”; this later became part of the gospelmessage,as we

can see in passagessuchas 1 Cor 15:4 and later still in the Apostles’Creed).
The Gospels nowhere sayJesus was crucifiedand rose “on the fourth day” or
“on the fifth day”; it’s always on the third day. By inclusive reckoning, this
means Friday is the first day, the day Jesus was crucified; Saturday, the day
he was in the tomb, is the secondday; and Sunday, the day he rose, is the
third day (other scenarios canbe posited, but none of them are convincing).
Jesus rose onthe third day, just like he predicted numerous times. Second, the
Gospels sayJesus was hurriedly buried in a new tomb when Sabbath was
about to begin (i.e., Friday late afternoon); then, on the Sabbath, the only
thing that happened was that the Jewishleaders askedPilate to secure the
tomb, to which he agreed;and next, on the break of dawn on Sunday
morning, the women went to the tomb to finish the job they startedon Friday
late afternoonin attending to Jesus’dead body.
Now those who try to fit the Gospelaccounts ofJesus’death, burial, and
resurrection“on the third day” into a “three days and three nights” scheme, it
seems to me, must invariably argue that Jesus in fact rose on the fourth or
fifth day. If he died on Wednesday, as some suggest, Wednesdaywas the first
day, Thursday the second, Friday the third, Saturday the fourth, and Sunday
the fifth. If on Thursday, Jesus would have risen on day #4 (explanations to
avoid this seemstrained). Either scenario is in conflict with the uniform
scriptural testimony that Jesus died, was buried, and rose on the third day.
These proposals also do not work well (to say the least)with the Gospel
sequence ofthe final events in Jesus’ life surrounding the crucifixion, burial,
and resurrection, as we lay out in The Final Days of Jesus.
For this reason, it is perhaps better to see if there is a legitimate way to
accountfor Jesus’statement, recordedin Matthew 12:40, that “just as Jonah
was three days and three nights in the belly of the greatfish, so will the Son of
Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” How can “three
days and three nights” mean “three days and two nights”? Well, the answeris
not nearly as impossible as those employing a very literal, word-for-word
hermeneutic in the interpretation of this verse might suggest(and let me say
that literal interpretation is certainly one I generallyadvocate, exceptfor
caseswhere we’re dealing with an idiom in Scripture). The reasonfor this is
that, in Semitic idiom, any portion of a 24-hour period of time could be called

“a day and a night” (i.e., “a day and a night” = 1 day). With Jewishdays
beginning and ending at dusk, that gives us about 3 hours on “Friday,” 24
hours on “Saturday,” and up to almost12 hours on “Sunday” – three days, or,
in Semitic idiom, “three days and three nights.” (For supporting evidence, see
the respective commentaries onMatthew’s Gospel.)
I know that’s different from the way we communicate in English, but that’s
what happens when translating from one language into another: we have to
acceptthat people in other languages, culture, and times communicate
differently, and sometimes idioms don’t come across perfectly
straightforwardly to speakers ofother languages. Those who are open to the
presence ofidioms and other literary devices suchas these will readily
recognize that this resolves the difficulty, while those who adhere to a very
literal interpretive approach most likely will not.
In the end, my preference is to find a satisfactoryexplanation for the “three
days and three nights” reference in Matthew 12:40 such as the one presented
above rather than to revision the entirety of the Gospelevidence regarding the
day of Jesus’death. I realize that some very learned arguments have been
made for a Wednesdayor Thursday crucifixion, though none of them that are
convincing to me (or many others). Mercifully, as mentioned, our salvation
does not reston our ability to fit Matthew 12:40 into the Gospelchronologyof
Jesus’death. At the same time, I submit that there is a satisfactoryway to
resolve the apparent difficulty, which provides an excellent case study
attesting to the fact that not every apparent contradictionis in factan actual
contradiction. This, too, is something on which all of us who hold to a high
view of Scripture should be able to agree.
Filed Under: Apologetics, BiblicalInterpretation, Blog, New Testament
TaggedWith: Apologetics, Gospels, Jesus, Resurrection
Comments
Doug Rumminger says
May 14, 2014 at4:17 pm

This seems like a goodexplanation. Recognizing idioms is obviously vital to
understanding any literature. “the morning of the third day” is pretty clear,
but I still have a question–does the day of the Crucifixion have to be the first
day?
By that I mean, if I say on Friday, “Three days from now I will do
something,” I mean I’ll do it on Monday: Saturday is tomorrow–one day from
now, Sunday is two days from now, and Monday is the third day. I might
apply this reasoning to the statement by the disciples on the road to Emmaus
that “this is the third day since these things happened.” the progressionis the
day after, then the secondday since they happened, then the third day.
Since Josephof Arimathea retrieved Jesus’s body in the evening, could it be
that the “three days and three nights” clock starts with the first night–that is,
Thursday? That way, Sunday morning is still the morning of the third day,
since the count starts with Thursday night, then Friday, Friday night, then
Saturday, Saturday night, then ResurrectionDay.
Admittedly, I’m coming at this with an English understanding, but does the
Hebrew, Aramaic, and/or Greek make this understanding invalid?
Thanks for the explanation.
Andreas Köstenbergersays
May 17, 2014 at9:12 pm
These are the types of proposals that I had in mind when I saidin my post
that other scenarios have beenproposed but I don’t find them convincing.
When Genesis 1 says God createdon the first day, there is no day zero. “On
the third day” includes days 1, 2, and 3. In the presentscenario, the day Jesus
was crucified and buried (Thursday after sundown until Friday sundown) is
not day zero but day 1. Then, according to the Gospelnarratives, Jesus is in
the tomb one full day, not two, and then rises on day 3. To only start counting
the day after the crucifixion and burial (Jesus was buried prior to sundown) is
arbitrary and unwarranted.

As we read in the TheologicalDictionaryof the New Testament, vol. 2, pp.
949–50, “difficulties always arise in the reckoning of days according to Jewish
usage. Thus ‘in Halachic [sic; ancientJewish]statements part of a day is
reckonedas a whole day’ (Strack-Billerbeck1.649:‘part of a day counts as a
whole day,’ e.g. b.Nazir 5b; Pes. 4.2)and already in the first century A.D. we
read: ‘A day and a night constitute a full day, and part of a day counts as a
whole day’ (j. Shab. 12a, 15, 17;it is in this light that we should understand
Mt. 12:40).” The Gospels reflecta Jewishoutlook, and resurrectionon the
third day involves counting the day on which Jesus died and was buried as the
first day.
Jim Meyersays
May 20, 2014 at5:23 pm
Dr. Kostenberger:
I apologize. But when I’m challengedby a “churched” non-believer to explain
how Jesus allegedlydied on Friday and rose againon Sunday and yet Jesus
proclaimed he’d be buried for 3 days and 3 nights (Matt 12:40)… well I am
not comfortable suggesting thatthe answerrests in Jesus casually
prophesying in muddled, Jewishlinguistics about the most important event in
human history.
Jesus arrives in Bethany on Friday the 8th and a supper is held in His honor
at the home of Lazarus that evening, Saturday, the 9th (John 12). Sunday the
10th Jesus rides into Jerusalem(Zech 9:9, Ex 12:3). At the start 14th day of
the month, Thursday, Jesus eats with His disciples. Before Thursdayis over
He is crucified. He is quickly buried before the specialSabbath, Friday the
15th, that always follows Passover(Lev 23:7, Jn 19:31 NIV). Saturday is the
weeklySabbath. Sunday, Jesus rises from the dead! He also fulfills the feastof
First Fruits (Lev 23:11, Rom 8:29).
Thank you,
Jim Meyer
Andreas Köstenbergersays

May 21, 2014 at9:54 pm
Jim: There is nothing “muddled” about Jesus’“Jewishlinguistics.” Rather,
he demonstrably employs a common Jewishidiom according to which “a day
and a night” is a day whether or not it is a full day. A churched non-believer
may be more open to engage withsomeone who is conversantwith ancient
linguistic conventions rather than one whom he might suspectof concocting a
convenient harmonization that solves one “problem” by creating another.
Jan Bragdonsays
August 1, 2014 at 7:28 pm
The gospelaccounts allclearlystate that Jesus had the Passovermealwith his
disciples on the eve before Passover(which was Friday–as you said yourself in
the Answers article). That Friday was a (great)highSabbath [John 19:31](not
the regularSaturday Sabbath). Therefore, Jesuswas in the grave 3 nights and
3 days total. He rose on the third morning (counting Friday, Saturday,
Sunday mornings.
What is the Gospel:Christ Was Raisedon the Third Day
by Wes | Aug 7, 2019 |Theology
Sadly, many of us have accepteda version of the Gospelwhich emphasizes
spiritual things over physical things. Somewhere along the line, Christians
started following in the footsteps ofGreek philosophers like Plato, accepting
the idea that our physical bodies are a relatively unimportant part of human
existence. Therefore,we seemto think the Gospelis about being freed from
our bodily existence. However, if we pay careful attention, we will see that the
resurrectionof Jesus single-handedly destroys that myth.
God Raisedthe Messiah

The resurrectionof Jesus proves God keeps his promises. Through the
prophets, God promised that he would raise Israelfrom the dead (e.g. Ezekiel
37). There may have been an element of metaphor in his promises, but how
else could men like Abraham, Isaac, andJacobexperience the blessings God
had promised to them unless God literally and bodily raisedthem from the
dead? Many Jews in the first century believed on the Last Day, God would do
exactly that, raise his people, Israel, from the dead.
Jesus claimedto be the embodiment of Israel. He lived his life not only as a
faithful Israelite, but as a faithful representative of Israel. The life he lived, he
lived for his whole people. And the death he died, he offeredon behalf of his
whole people.
So, when God raised Jesus from the dead, God was keeping his promises to
Israel. He was raising his faithful people from the dead, beginning with the
one who was completelyfaithful, the one who offeredhimself as an atoning
sacrifice. If God had abandoned the faithful King of Israelto decayin the
grave, God would not be the keeperof promises. But God did raise him up
and proved himself again to be a keeperof promises.
On the Third Day…In Accordance with the Scriptures
As I said in the first post of this series, whenPaul says the Messiah’s storyis
“in accordancewiththe Scriptures,” he doesn’t mean in accordance withthe
New Testament, nor does he mean he had found some proof-texts in the Old
Testament. I believe Paul means the Messiahbeing raised on the third day is
perfectly in line with the themes and patterns running all the way through the
Hebrew Scriptures.
The Messiah’s resurrectionis accordancewith:
Jeremiahbeing raisedup out of the cistern
Daniel being raisedup from the lion’s den
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego being raisedup from the fiery furnace
Josephbeing raisedup from the pit

Jonahbeing raisedup from the depths of the sea (on the third day)
These stories from Scripture aren’t predictions, or even necessarily
foreshadows,they are simply illustrations of God’s character. Goddelivers his
people from death. Godkeeps his promises. God will not abandon his faithful
people to the grave. God rescues those who put their faith in him.
But also considerpassageslike Isaiah53 or Psalm 22. Passages like these,
when read contextually, drive home the fact that the resurrectionof the
Messiahis exactly the sort of thing God should be expected to do. In Psalm 22,
the psalmist believes (like all of Israelat times) that he has been forsaken by
God. However, neither the psalmist, nor the people of Israel, nor Jesus have
been forsakenby God. The psalm says by rescuing the one who felt forsaken,
God drew the world to himself (vs. 27-28):
“All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord, and all the
families of the nationsshallworship before you. Forkingship belongs to the
Lord, and he rules over the nations.”
God will establishhis kingship overall the nations of the earth by rescuing the
one who feels forsaken. So, by raising up the Messiah, Godhas done exactly
the sortof thing he had promised to do from the beginning.
He Appeared to Many
There were apparently people in Corinth who thought the idea of a coming
resurrectionwas foolish. Some of the people in the church were saying,
“There is no resurrectionof the dead.” Paul’s primary point in 1 Corinthians
15 was to refute that idea and prove not only that the dead would be raised,
but that the resurrectionof the dead had already begun with Jesus. (We will
talk more about that idea next week.)
In order to prove his point, Paul emphasized how many people saw Jesus after
he had been raised from the dead (vs. 5-8):
He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve
He appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time (most of whom
were still alive when Paul wrote 1 Corinthians)

He appeared to James, then to all the apostles
He appeared also to [Paul].
Paul understood something we all need to understand, Christianity stands or
falls on one thing: the resurrectionof Jesus. If Jesus has been raised from the
dead, Christianity is true and everyone should be a followerof Jesus. If Jesus
has not been raised from the dead, Christianity is a hoax and no one should be
a followerof Jesus.
The resurrectionof Jesus is our apologetic. Christianity does not stand or fall
on the historicity of the seven days of creation, the Flood, or the Red Sea
crossing. I’m not saying those things events didn’t happen, but they are not
the linchpin of our faith. The event on which our entire faith stands or falls is
the resurrectionof Jesus.
The bodily resurrectionof Jesus invites scrutiny and examination. The
apostles did not simply claim the Messiah’sspirit had appearedto them after
his death. They did not claim to have had a vision or a dream that Jesus was
living on in a spirit-form. They claimed(in fact, hundreds of people claimed)
that Jesus’deadbody came back to life, walkedout of the tomb, and that they
saw him, touched him, had meals with him, and that he continued to reign–in
resurrectedbodily form–from heaven.
Think about it: If the apostles had been making up this story, why would they
say Jesus had been bodily raised from the dead? Why wouldn’t they simply
say he had been raisedfrom the dead in a spirit form, but his body was in the
grave? The only logicalexplanation is, they saidit because it was the truth;
and it is the one truth on which all of the others hang.
I love you and God loves you,
Wes McAdams
Question:"What was the significance of Jesus being dead for three days?"

Answer: There are severalreasons it is significantJesus was dead for three
days before His resurrection. First, resurrectionafter three days of death
proved to Jesus’opponents that He truly rose from the dead. Why? According
to Jewishtradition, a person’s soul/spirit remained with his/her dead body for
three days. After three days, the soul/spirit departed. If Jesus’resurrection
had occurredon the same day or even the next day, it would have been easier
for His enemies to argue He had never truly died. Significantly, Jesus waited
severaldays after Lazarus had died before He came to resurrectLazarus so
that no one could deny the miracle (John 11:38–44).
A secondreasonit was important for Jesus to be dead for three days was to
fulfill biblical prophecy. Jesus personallyclaimed He would be dead three
days (Matthew 12:40; 16:21;27:63; John 2:19). Also, some point to Hosea
6:1–3 as a prophecy of the Messiah’s resurrectionafterthree days: “Come, let
us return to the LORD. He has torn us to pieces but he will heal us; he has
injured us but he will bind up our wounds. After two days he will revive us;
on the third day he will restore us, that we may live in his presence. Let us
acknowledge the LORD; let us press on to acknowledgehim. As surely as the
sun rises, he will appear; he will come to us like the winter rains, like the
spring rains that water the earth.” This may also be the passagePaulrefers to
in 1 Corinthians 15:4 that Jesus “was raisedonthe third day according to the
Scriptures.”
The three days were significant in other ways as well. Jesus died on a Friday,
Nisan14, the day when the Passoverlamb was sacrificed. His death represents
the death of a perfect, unblemished sacrifice onour behalf. His resurrection
on the third day took place on the first day of the week, illustrating a new
beginning and new life to all who trust in Him.

So, why was it important for Jesus to be dead for three days before His
resurrection? (1) So the unbelieving Jews couldnot deny that Jesus had truly
been dead. (2) Because three days is what Jesus Himself prophesied. Aside
from these two reasons, the Word of Goddoes not explicitly state the reason
for the necessityof three days betweenJesus’deathand resurrection.
https://www.gotquestions.org/why-three-days.html
On The Third Day
1 Corinthians 15:4 ESV / 11 helpful votes
That he was buried, that he was raisedon the third day in accordancewith
the Scriptures,
Luke 24:21 ESV / 8 helpful votes
But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all
this, it is now the third day since these things happened.
Matthew 12:40 ESV / 8 helpful votes
For just as Jonahwas three days and three nights in the belly of the greatfish,
so will the Sonof Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
Matthew 16:21 ESV / 7 helpful votes
From that time Jesus beganto show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem
and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be
killed, and on the third day be raised.
Acts 10:40 ESV / 6 helpful votes
But God raisedhim on the third day and made him to appear,

Luke 24:7 ESV / 6 helpful votes
That the Sonof Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be
crucified and on the third day rise.”
How is it significant that Jesus rose onthe 3rd day? [closed]
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Christianity teaches that Jesus died on the cross and on the Third day rose
from the dead. His resurectionis significant for all sorts of reasons whichI
don't want to go into in this question. What I'm interested in is why did he rise
THREE days later? Why not 4 days, or 2 days?
The only thing I could find is that Jonahwas in the fish for 3 days, however
this just moves the question to why was Jonahin the fish for 3 days (instead of
2 or 4 or any other number).
Is there any significance to Jesus being dead for three days?
resurrection-of-jesus numerology
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edited Mar 26 '16 at 23:02
curiousdannii
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askedFeb19 '13 at 2:35
Greg
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closedas primarily opinion-based by Lee Woofenden, Nathaniel,
curiousdannii, bruised reed, Mr. Bultitude Mar 27 '16 at 2:42

Many goodquestions generate some degree ofopinion basedon expert
experience, but answers to this question will tend to be almost entirely based
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If this question can be rewordedto fit the rules in the help center, please edit
the question.
I may assume it to be a Biblical numerology. There are common numbers like
3,7,12,40,70. – Mawia Feb19 '13 at 5:04
I recallhearing once that, according to Jewishtradition, the departed spirit
would hang around the body after death, and would not fully "move on" for
three days. By rising on the third day, Jesus demonstratedthat he was not
simply reviving, but truly Coming Back FromThe Dead. Not posting this as
an answerbecause I don't have any references to support it, but if anyone has
any information about this idea, feel free to use it. – MasonWheeler♦ Feb19
'13 at 5:19
@MasonWheelerI have heard something similar - that you weren't
considereddead until the 3rd day, but like you have no evidence to back it up.
– Greg Feb 19 '13 at 5:23
@masonI think you might be on to something there but I think at the time of
Jesus'death it was more common thought among Jews that the body and soul
were one (no sources either). The Sadducees forexample, because they did not
believe in any kind of resurrection. – 3961 Feb19 '13 at 8:58
Not a single answerhad mentioned Hosea 6:2? Wow "2After two days he will
revive us; on the third day he will raise us up, that we may live before him." –
Joshua Mar 28 '16 at 0:23

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The significance lies in that Jesus prophesiedthat He will rise from the dead
on the third day.
Jesus answeredthem, "Destroythis temple, and I will raise it againin three
days." John 2 : 19
But the temple he had spokenof was his body. John 2 : 21
The false witnessesmisquoted Jesus atHis trial, not for the days but on who
will destroy the 'temple'.
But they did not find any, though many false witnesses came forward. Finally
two came forward and declared, "This fellow said, 'I am able to destroy the
temple of God and rebuild it in three days.'" Matthew 26: 60 - 61
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answeredApr 26 '14 at 20:05
Gabriël Wolmarans

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This answeris a pretty simple and straightforwardone. Goodjob. – user9485
Apr 27 '14 at 2:25
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I completely agree that it had to be 3 days because ofthe old testament (I
mentioned Jonahin my question, but could have pickedother passages
including New Testamentpassages),but that just moves my question to why
was it predicted to be 3 days. The question is What is significant about the
number 3? – Greg Apr 27 '14 at 23:38
@Greg, wellI guess one cannotargue that they had to be sure that He was
really dead, because they already did that on the cross whenthey pierced Him
in the side for the water-bloodtest. I'm not sure whether it would be healthy
for one to obsess overthe number 3 as having any more significance than it
already has. The same can be said about why Peterhad denied Jesus 3 times,
or why there was 5/7 loaves and 2/few small fishes. – Gabriël Wolmarans Apr
27 '14 at 23:48
I agree he really was dead on the cross andI also agree we can over-study
numbers in the bible. There are a few things that some of us have heard (to do
with Jewishtradition of not really being dead until 3 days) but no evidence of
it. If the answeris it's 3 because it's 3 then that's ok. – Greg Apr 28 '14 at 2:49

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Numerologyin Scripture us often debated, but the number three is significant.
It is consideredthe number of divine perfection, represented in:
The Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
The three-part nature of man - Body, Soul, Spirit
Past, Present, Future
Time, Space, Matter
Depths, width, height
Solid, liquid, gas
The number three is seenby some as significantall throughout creationand
history. Others remain skeptical.
Specifically, the significance ofthree days applied to the death, burial, and
resurrectionis addressedat
http://www.agapebiblestudy.com/documents/The%20Symbolic%20Significan
ce%20of%20the%20third%20day.htm
In the symbolic language of the Bible, a three day period points to an actof
divine intervention which impacts SalvationHistory. Genesis 22:4 records
that Abraham's journey to Mt. Moriah to offer his sonin sacrifice, as
commanded by Yahweh, was a three day journey. In the Matthew passage
Jesus refers to three days, applying the significance of the three day period to
His resurrectionand man's redemption. In the Gospels Jesus oftenspoke ofa
three day period prophesying His sacrifice and resurrection. (2)
Interestingly, in Judaism, the number three has this significance:

From http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/608781/jewish/On-the-
Meaning-of-Three.htm
The number three symbolizes a harmony that includes and synthesizes two
opposites. The unity symbolized by the number three isn’t accomplishedby
getting rid of number two, the entity that causedthe discord, and reverting to
the unity symbolized by number one. Rather, three merges the two to create a
new entity, one that harmoniously includes both opposites.
That can be takenmany ways applied to Christ's death, burial, and
resurrection. A new harmony betweensinful man and righteous Godmade
possible by Christ's atoning death, for example.
It seems likely (but not conclusive if you discount numerology) that there is a
significance in the choice of three days.
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edited Feb 19 '13 at 12:46
answeredFeb19 '13 at 5:07
David Stratton
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So following that through, Jesus being dead for 3 days is because 3 is divine
perfection? – Greg Feb 19 '13 at 5:18
1
@Greg Yeah, thinking the same thing here. It's perfectto be dead? – 3961 Feb
19 '13 at 8:41
Significant to whom? Only numerologists. A few denominations quickly
attack any talk about numerology as occultic and wrong. 7th day adventists I
have spokento feel this way. They say simply 40 means a generationwhen
talking about years, and similar things. However, they acceptthe 666 for the
number of the beast's name like it is kind of a kids game. Certainletters equal
certain numbers then add them up. I don't quite see the distinction. Now on
three days I thought there was a prophesy in the OT. – 3961 Feb19 '13 at 8:46
1
Also, I'm aware that not everyone buys into numerology. However, I
answeredthis way because if you stray away from numerology, the question
becomes eitherunanswerable, or can be answeredonly with "no, it's not
significant." Forexample, if you take the idea that it's basedon the idea that
after three days someone was "truly dead", it still only pushes the question
back. Why three days to be truly dead? Why not four of five? Numbers had
meaning in Judaism that also carried over into Christianity. – David Stratton
Feb 19 '13 at 12:43
1

Re-reading the question, I can't see how this could be answeredin any way
that doesn't involve numerology. It's asking specificallyaboutthe significance
of three days. Although I admit my first attempt to answerthe question,
before the edits was pretty bad. I certainly didn't follow through and connect
the dots very well. – David Stratton Feb 20 '13 at 0:39
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1
I think there is a much simpler answerto why 3 is an important number and
related to resurrection. First of all the conceptof resurrectionis not a new
one. There are numerous cultures that have had Christ-like gods that have
been born of a virgin, had 12 disciples or followers, died and rose in 3 days.
This is most likely related to an astrologicalunderstanding of the stars and of
course the almighty sun (son?). Ancient cultures recognizedthat the sun
provided life. The sun in its pattern moves southward acrossthe skyuntil
December24 or so. It then stops and appears to reverse its course - signaling
the coming of spring and new life. Visually the shift in the sun lasts three days.
This was knownby ancient cultures for thousands of years and is likely the
bases for the three day resurrectionthat has been consistentin the lore of
many cultures for thousands of years.
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answeredMar25 '16 at 17:18
Kevin
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Welcome!We're glad you are here, but this answerwould be much strongerif
you showed, with sources, thatit doesn'tmerely reflectyour opinion. I hope
you'll take a minute to review how this site is different from others, and better
understand how your answercanbe supported. – NathanielMar 25 '16 at
18:24
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To understand why Jesus rose on the third day, and not the secondor fourth,
one must understand the meaning of Jesus'words in Luke 24: 46 and Paul's
words in 1 Corinthians 15: 4. The third day, or a three day interval, is a
prophetic pattern establishedin the Old Testament, and one example is the
accountof Jonah that Jesus talks about and that you mentioned in your
question. I am currently doing a blog series on this very topic and invite you
to follow. Go to http://gospelanalytix.wordpress.comand subscribe to the
blog. Check out the 4 posts I currently have on this, under the Category"The
Third Day." More posts examining more Old Testamentaccounts are coming.
I do not think a quick and easyanswercan be given in a forum such as this,
but a quick answerwould be the matter is typologicalin nature, not
numerological. Godestablishedmultiple Old Testamenttypes, which found
their fulfillment in Christ's third day resurrection.
Update to original post: In addition to what I said above, Gabriel's response is
also true. Jesus had to rise on the third day because He said He would. But I
think the reasonHe chose that day relates to my comments above, regarding

His words in Luke 24 and the Old Testmanetprophetic types He was
fulfilling. That is the contextfor understanding why Jesus saidthree days, as
opposedto two or four.
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edited Apr 27 '14 at 1:49
answeredApr 26 '14 at 18:54
gospelanalytix
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I have read the answers and the commentaries, very detailed and
comprehensive. I also agree in the plain answerJesus usedJonahas an
example to fulfil a prophetic meaning and event. Thus it still begs the question
WHY (3) days.

It is in the bible, in the order of creationitself. On the third day God (Elohim)
separatedthe waters to create seasand expose the earth. And spoke forth the
grass,herbs andthe trees that they would bring forth fruit and 'SEED'after
'HIS' kind.
Notice the personalpossessive pronoun, not after THEIR kind. Jesus was the
SEED of all life from the beginning all things were made by Him, through
Him and for Him and nothing that was made was made without Him. Thus
He was the SEED that had to fall into the earth and die so that He could
produce SEED after His kind...US.
Do you know how long it takes for a seedto germinate? 72 hours, how
ironic...ornot. God has His way. James 1:18, Of His own will He has begatus
with the word of truth (1 Pet.1:23), that we should be a KIND of firstfruits of
His creations.
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edited Dec 28 '14 at 20:57
Mr. Bultitude
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answeredDec 27 '14 at 23:20
James
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How we are different than other sites. – Affable Geek Dec 28 '14 at 2:47
Does this come from your own mind only, or is there a precedent for this
thinking among other theologians? – Mr. Bultitude Dec 28 '14 at 18:15
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The simplest answerfor the “third day resurrection” is “to fulfill all
righteousness, according to scripture”!
There are at least34 referencesin the New Testamentthat includes “be
fulfilled”, i.e.; Mathew 1:22, 2:15, 2:23, 4:14, 5:18, 8:17, 12:17, 13:35, 21:4,
24:34, 26:54, 26:56, 27:35, Mark 13:4, 14:49, Luke 1:20, 21:22, 21:24, 21:32,
22:16, 24:44, John 12:38, 13:18, 15:25, 17:12, 18:9, 18:32, 19:24, 19:28, 19:36,
Romans 8:4, Revelations 6:11, 17:17 & 20:3!!
There is an overall pattern within all of Scripture that begins in Genesis and
ends in Revelations!In order to establishthe pattern to “be fulfilled”; we will
only use Old Testamentreferences as the primer pointing to the “third day”
question and what is to “be fulfilled” by Jesus The Messiahconcerning His
death, burial and resurrectionfrom The Gospels!

1) Within the Creationaccount;the sun, moon and stars were createdon the
4th day of creationweek, as fore types of; a) The Messiahas The Light of the
world, b) The Church to reflect His Light of Redemption, c) the stars as many
witnesses to His Life; i.e. “The heavens declare His Glory”! And God rested
the seventhday! The 5th & 6th days are fore types of The Church age (note
that Eve was takenfrom Adams side and then God said “very good”)during
the 6th day of creationand then God restedthe 7th day as the initial pattern
for The Sabbath Day. In some Messianic groups it is taught concerning the
7000 yearplan of God, as it is not difficult for a discerning Bible student to
comprehend, hence the PassionWeekPatternis established, from the
beginnings!
2) The sons of Israel, Judah the fourth sonto bring forth The Lion of the tribe
of Judah and Josephthe seventh sonas the suffering servant sold by his
brothers; both as fore types of the person and Ministry of the Appointed King
to come; 1stand 2nd coming! These canalso be placedon a line under the
creationaccountwithin their respective columns days per birth order. From
here we can begin to developa chart, “line upon line, precept upon precept”
from the fore types that are consistentthrough Scripture and required of The
Messiah!Should you desire to proceedwith this type of study; just make nine
columns beginning with zero, leave room for notes and Scripture references
and subsequent numbering through eight! Zero for eternity past and eight for
eternity future. From that array of columns; Bible history and eschatology
can be developed and understood!
3) In the Exodus account, study the calendar days declaredand their
instructions and compare to the path of Jesus during PassionWeek!A) The
lamb brought in on the 10th day (column zero) Ref; Revelations 13:8 “…slain
from the foundations…” (before creationfrom everlasting to everlasting)!The
10th day; both in Exodus and the Triumphal entry were on a weeklySabbath
day introducing The Exodus PassoverandPassionWeek Passover. He had to
borrow a donkey to be “brought in”, to prevent a violation of the Sabbath Day
by others during His Redemptive Work! B) Jesus was examined 4 days
(columns zero thru three)! Ref; Exodus 12:3-5 and Luke 23:14, C) Jesus was
slain on the 14th day of that month (column four). Ref; Exodus 12:6-11, D) As
we follow the trek of days out of Egypt where Israelwas, a) forced to observe

a Sabbath day (column seven, 17th day of that month); with their backs to the
sea, Ref;Exodus 14:1-14 “…encamped…”,(Jesus The Messiah;"keptthe
perfect Sabbath to satisfythe extra-parameters applied by the Pharisees;
physically dead in the tomb on that third day), then, b) Exodus 14:15-20
“…The Angel of God…removed…” (3 days after; the lamb was slain,
breaking the will of Pharaohin Egypt)! Now let’s compare that to Matthew
28:1, ”At the end of the Sabbath…”, (the distinguishing line, column
separatorbetween7 & 8) At the end of that forcedSabbath, coming out of
Egypt, (Israel latter instructed in the wilderness, Ref;Exodus 16; with manna
provisions and in The Law of Moses& 10 Commandments “to be
remembered”, Ref; Exodus 20:8 & Leviticus 23). As the waters were parted
per obedient Moses instruction(a type of Jesus), The Almighty "Removed";
as the fore type of the resurrection, from leading; Israel out of Egypt from
being the pillar of smoke by day and fire by night, to becoming the separating
protection, pillar and cloud, betweenHis people and the Egyptian army! In a
nutshell, God told Moses, “Igotthis!”, c)Then compare;Exodus 14:21-31
“…allthat night…”, (the evening and morning of the 8th column (the evening
and morning of the 18th of that month; sundown Saturday to sunup Sunday)
with Mathew 28:6, “…nothere…”. He was gone before they got there! It took
all night to remove Israelfrom Egypt, some were closerto the parted waters
than others. In synagogues todaythey practice a liturgy called “Havdalah”
which means; to make a difference or distinction, Ref. Acts 20:7-12, “And
upon the first of the week...manylights…eventill break of day…”! Paul, the
apostle to the gentiles, attended Havdalah service at the onsetof The Church
Age! That night service would coincide with the evening and the mourning of
the eighth column!! The early Church maintained Sabbath service and also
celebratedThe Resurrectionon a weeklybasis as Havdalah and as in many
synagoguestoday, Havdalah is consideredas an extensionof The Sabbath
until sunrise the following morning, as did Paul
4) Leviticus 23, the same pattern of, months and days with sacrifices pointing
to the Ultimate Work of Jesus the Messiah, is prescribed as the messageand
sequence pattern that must be “proclaimed in their seasons!” Ref. II Timothy
4:2

5) Deuteronomy 18:15 (KJV) 15 The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a
Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye
shall hearken;
Thus Jesus, The Messiah;fulfilled the path of Moses bringing Israel out of
Egypt and also used Jonahas a fore type and subsequently "fulfilled",
according to Scripture and His Word, grafting in the gentiles, via “grace thru
faith!” “To fulfill all righteousness”, it was required as the patterns presented
in Scripture! Therefore Friday crucifixion does not fit the patterns set forth in
all of Scripture! The patterns from the beginnings is fourth day, (His Coming
into the world, in the Millennial calendarand establishing the pattern for
PassionWeek,onWednesday/ 4th day) and at the end of the Sabbath Day (3
days and three nights in the grave as a parallel fulfilment to Jonah’s event)
not old wives tales, fables, or traditions of men! If Jesus The Messiah;did not
fulfill all righteousness according to scripture, there would be doubts
concerning His legitimacyand completedwork of Redemption!
Should you desire further proof and pattern, an exegeticalstudy of; three
days and three nights, third day, and Sabbath, it can be demonstrated by
Scripture of all that was accomplishedatand thru “The Cross and the
Resurrection”. It is not difficult to assemble 200+ references(depending on
translation and text) pointing to and confirming this short assessmentto the
question presented.
Give a boy a fish and he will hunger again! Teacha boy to fish, and he shall
grow up to become a fisher of men!
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answeredMar26 '16 at 22:57
Alan
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Welcome!We're glad you are here, but this answerwould be much strongerif
you showed, with sources, thatit doesn'tmerely reflectyour own analysis. I
hope you'll take a minute to review how this site is different from others, and
better understand how your answercan be supported. – Nathaniel Mar 26 '16
at 23:53
Please don't add multiple answers to the same question. If you have follow up
or something you'd like to fix in this answer, please editthe content into one
cohesive answer. – CalebMar 27 '16 at 5:15
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Raisedthe Third Day
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Prophecy
"After two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we
shall live in his sight." Hosea 6:2
Fulfillment
"How God anointed Jesus ofNazarethwith the Holy Ghostand with power:
who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressedof the devil;
for Godwas with him. And we are witnessesofall things which he did both in
the land of the Jews, and in Jerusalem;whom they slew and hanged on a tree:
Him God raisedup the third day, and shewedhim openly;" Acts 10:38-40

An earthquake markedthe hour when Christ laid down His life, and another
earthquake witnessedthe moment when He took it up in triumph. He who
had vanquished death and the grave came forth from the tomb with the tread
of a conqueror, amid the reeling of the earth, the flashing of lightning, and the
roaring of thunder.
When He shall come to the earth again, He will shake “notthe earth only, but
also heaven.” “The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be
removed like a cottage.”“The heavens shallbe rolled togetheras a scroll;”
“the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that
are therein shall be burned up.” But “the Lord will be the hope of His people,
and the strength of the children of Israel.” Hebrews 12:26;Isaiah 24:20;34:4;
2 Peter3:10; Joel3:16.
At the death of Jesus the soldiers had beheld the earth wrapped in darkness at
midday; but at the resurrectionthey saw the brightness of the angels
illuminate the night, and heard the inhabitants of heaven singing with great
joy and triumph: Thou hast vanquished Satanand the powers of darkness;
Thou hast swallowedup death in victory!
Christ came forth from the tomb glorified, and the Romanguard beheld Him.
Their eyes were riveted upon the face of Him whom they had so recently
mockedand derided. In this glorified Being they beheld the prisoner whom
they had seenin the judgment hall, the one for whom they had plaited a
crownof thorns. This was the One who had stoodunresisting before Pilate
and Herod, His form laceratedby the cruel scourge. This was He who had
been nailed to the cross, atwhom the priests and rulers, full of self-
satisfaction, hadwaggedtheir heads, saying, “He saved others;Himself He
cannot save.” Matthew 27:42. This was He who had been laid in Joseph’s new
tomb. The decree ofheaven had loosedthe captive. Mountains piled upon

mountains over His sepulcher could not have prevented Him from coming
forth.
Why Did Jesus WaitThree Days to Rise from the Dead?
By Jeremy Myers
74 Comments
Maybe this is a pointless question, but why did Jesus waitthree days to rise
from the dead?
I mean, once He died, He had fully paid the penalty for the sins of all
mankind. Why couldn’t He just resurrect right there, jump down from the
cross, dust himself off, and call it good?
Maybe he needed to be buried in the grave. Fine. But why wait three days for
the resurrection? Why not getwrapped in burial clothes, then rise sometime
during that first night?
Here are some possible reasons, but honestly, I find none of them satisfactory.
To prove He was dead
I suppose some could argue that He had to stay in the tomb for three days to
prove He was dead. There is, after all, the “swoontheory” in which people say
Jesus didn’t really die, but just went unconscious. Isuppose if Jesus
“resurrected” two minutes after dying on the cross, this theory would be
much more plausible. But when Jesus is buried in tomb for three days, this
theory loses allcredibility.

But at the same time, this still doesn’tanswerthe question. If Jesus wantedto
prove He was dead, why not wait sevendays? Or thirty? I suppose these
longerperiods can be disregardedbecause Goddid not want Jesus to see
decay(Ps 16:10;Acts 2:27). But even in three days the body of Jesus would
have started to decay.
To fulfill prophecy
Some say that Jesus had to spend three days in the grave to fulfill prophecy.
Which prophecy? The sign of Jonah, who spent three days in the belly of a
greatfish (cf. Matt 12:39-40). But we must be carefulhere because the story of
Jonahis not really a prophecy. Yes, Jesus prophesiedthat He would be in the
grave for three days, just like Jonah was in the fish for three days, but if Jesus
had never said this, then there would be no such thing as a prophecy about
spending three days in the grave.
So this answerjust kicks the question back a little further: Why three days?
Why couldn’t Jesus have connectedHis death with the creationof the world,
and said a prophecy about how “Justas the world was createdin six days, and
on the sixth day, Adam was raisedfrom the dust of the ground, so also, after
six days the Son of Man also will rise from the dust”? Jesus couldhave taken
any number of stories and accounts in the Bible and turned them into a
prophecy about how long He would be in the tomb. Why did He pick the story
of Jonah? What is specialabout three days?
To increase faith
Another possible explanation is that Jesus wantedto increase the faith of His
followers. Bynot resurrecting right away, they had to question why they had
followedHim, and whether He was truly the Messiah. Theyhad to work
through the despairof losing Him, and the questions of what would have
happened if they had not followedHim, or if they had defended Him better, or
if they had simply been duped.
By waiting three days, Jesus allowedthem time to work through some of these
issues and questions. But again, this begs the question. If three days does this,

why not seven, or twelve, or forty, all of which are also significant biblical
numbers.
Could not rise during the Sabbath
It could be arguedthat resurrectionis work, and so Jesus could not rise on the
Sabbath, but had to wait until the Sabbath was over. This argument actually
has some merit. But Jesus was always doing things on the Sabbath that other
Jewishpeople frowned upon, including healing on the Sabbath. So it seems He
could have been raised on the Sabbath also.
Acting as our High Priest
Maybe Jesus was busy “doing stuff” in paradise, hell, and heaven. You know,
High Priestly stuff like sprinkling blood on the altar in heaven, defeating sin,
death, and the devil, preaching to spirits in prison, that sortof thing (Hebrews
9; 1 Pet 3:19).
I suppose this is possible. It just doesn’t really explain why these things took
three days.
It doesn’t matter
Maybe it doesn’tmatter. Maybe it was all just random. Maybe Jesus pickeda
number out of the air, and selectedJonahas a way of making a prophecy
about it to prove that He could predict the future, which would then prove
that He was a prophet of God when the prophecy came true. But the number
of days in the grave is irrelevant. It just happens to be what Jesus chose.
I just struggle with this because the biblical authors seemto place such an
emphasis on three days in the grave.
But in the end, I have no answer. But that’s okay, because …
The important thing is that Jesus rose
We canall agree here. Maybe questioning why Jesus spent three days in the
grave is a pointless question which only theologians ask. The important thing
is that Jesus rose from the dead, and for this, we canpraise and thank God for
all eternity.

It is difficult to know why Jesus spentthree days in the grave. But the
important thing is that He rose again!
Theologians like to ask these sorts of questions about Scripture, theology, and
Jesus, but in the end, what it all comes down to is believing what God has
done for us in Jesus Christ, even if we do not understand all the details.
Why was Resurrectionon “the Third Day”? Two Insights
April 1, 2018
Every year during Holy Week, Christians scratchtheir heads over questions
about Jesus’being raised“on the third day.” We look at our calendars and
see that Sunday comes only two days after Friday.
A lot of folks have proposedschemes to make the timing make more sense.
These create problems, however, with reading the gospelaccounts andwith
what is known from Jewishpractice of the SecondTemple Period.
One neglectedcultural detail suggests a simpler answerto this issue.
Throughout the Bible, Jews countedtime this way:
– Today
– Tomorrow
– Third day
What they call the “third day” we would call “the day after tomorrow.” It
sounds surprising, but here are a couple examples:
When you offer a sacrifice ofpeace offerings to the Lord, you shall offer it so
that you may be accepted. It shall be eatenthe same day you offer it or on the

day after, and anything left over until the third day shall be burned up with
fire. (Leviticus 19:5-6)
The Lord said to Moses,“Go to the people and consecratethem today and
tomorrow, and let them wash their garments and be ready for the third day.”
(Exodus 19:10-11)
The idea is not to count 24-hour time spans but to name successive days,
including the day of an announcement, which was understood as the “first
day.” Seenin this light, if Jesus died and was buried on Friday, it would be
completely logicalthat Sunday would be seenas the “third day.”
Of course this does not solve all issues between the Gospelaccounts,which
need to be addressedelsewhere. Butit accords with what they report about
his being laid in the tomb right before the Sabbath (Mark 15:42, Luke 23:54)
(1). It also affirms the tradition of observing “GoodFriday” as the day of
Jesus’death, rather than “GoodThursday” or “GoodWednesday.”
Why was the “Third Day” so Significant?
Understanding how the Jews counteddays helps solve one mystery for our
logical, Greek-thinking brains. But another insight comes from looking at
Jesus’words about “the third day” more Hebraically. This is actually far
more important.
In severalplaces we hear Jesus talk about his death, but then how he’d be
raisedon “the third day.” He makes this prediction over and over. Jewish
scholarPinchas Lapide thinks that he did so because ofa prophetic promise
that Hosea had made centuries earlier:
Come, let us return to the Lord;
for he has torn us, that he may heal us;
he has struck us down, and he will bind us up.
After two days he will revive us;

on the third day he will raise us up,
that we may live before him. (Hosea 6:1-2)
Hosea had rebuked the people of Israelfor their sins, and they knew they
were suffering from God’s punishment. But then the prophet invited them to
return to the Lord, issuing a gracious promise that God’s forgiveness would
sooncome. Todaymight be a terrible day of his anger, but tomorrow would
be better, and in not too long, life would seemingly begin again. What
wonderful assurancethat even when God was angry, he desires to forgive.
When the rabbis lookedback on the Scriptures in light of Hosea’s words, they
noticed severalplaces where the “third day” was when redemption came.
The rabbis were not being woodenly literalistic in counting up days. They
were not developing codes and prediction schemes. Theywere saying that
scripturally, God’s forgiveness and redemption comes on “the third day.”
Lapide writes that in Jewishthought,
“On the third day” has nothing to do with the date or the counting of time but
contains for ears which are educated biblically a clearreference to God’s
mercy and grace which is revealedafter two days of affliction and death by
way of redemption.(2)
It made perfect sense to Jesus’first Jewishfollowers thatChrist would be
raisedto life “on the third day.”
~~~~~

For more about this motif of “the third day,” see p 214-216in Reading the
Bible with Rabbi Jesus (Tverberg, Baker,2018). It is part of a larger section
called“Reading about the Messiah”(p 178-250)whichdiscussesthe
distinctively Jewish, Hebraic way of reading the Bible that Jesus usedto
communicate his Messianic identity. Some of his boldest claims float right
past us because we don’t know how he read his Scriptures, our Old
Testament.
(1) There is a question about John 19:14, but the “Dayof Preparation” was a
standard reference to Friday in many first-century Jewishdocuments. Besides
Matt. 27:62;Mark 15:42 and Luke 23:54, you also find it in Josephus Ant.
16.6.2 §§163-64, Didache 8:1 and elsewhere. PersonallyI agree with the NIV
that John 19:14 is likely a reference to the Friday of Passoverweek. Thenall
four gospels agreeonthe dating of Jesus’death.
(2) Genesis Rabbah56. Pinchas Lapide, The Resurrectionof Jesus:A Jewish
Perspective (Minneapolis, Fortress:1982), 91-93.Regarding Jonahwho was
“three days and three nights” in the fish — in the rabbinic discussionabout
“on the third day he will raise us up,” (Hosea 6:2) the Scripture passagesthat
it sees as connectedinclude either “on the third day” or “afterthree days,”
and they include Jonah, saying that God’s rescue came “on the third day of
Jonah.” (The connectionwas basedon including the words “three” and
“days,” not that an exactquote was made.)
(Images:Raw Pixel, Dion Tavenier)
https://ourrabbijesus.com/articles/resurrection-on-the-third-day/
THE SYMOBLIC SIGNIFICANCE OF THE THIRD DAY
IN SCRIPTURE
• Scripture Study Documents

For as Jonahwas three days and three nights in the belly of the whale, so will
the Sonof man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
Matthew 12:40 (Catholic RSV translation)
The Scribes and Pharisees askedJesus fora "sign" which would validate his
claim that His authority to teach the people came from God and that He was
indeed the Messiah. In response to their request, Jesus told them: An evil and
adulterous generationseeksfora sign; but no sign shall be given to it except
the signof the prophet Jonah. 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 (Matthew 12:39-40). The problem with Jesus'statement
is that Jesus was in the "heartof the earth" for three days as the ancients
counted (with Friday counting as day #1), but not three days and three nights
from Friday to dawn Sunday morning.(1) Was Jesus speaking literally or was
He speaking symbolically?
In Scripture the number three is one of the so called "perfectnumbers." The
other "perfectnumbers" are seven, ten, and twelve. In Scripture the number
three signifies completeness orperfectionand points to what is solid, real, and
substantial. As a number which indicates completeness, the number three
always identifies some important event in SalvationHistory.
In the Old Testament:
It is the first of the four so calledperfect numbers: 3 (divine perfection), 7
(spiritual perfection), 10 (ordinal perfection), and 12 (governmental
perfection).
The earth was separatedfrom the waters on the 3rd day.
There are 3 Patriarchs:Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob/Israel.
The 3 verses ofthe Priestly Blessing in which the Tetragrammaton, YHWH,
God's holy covenant name, appears 3 times (Numbers 6:24-26).
3 times the Seraphim cry "Holy, Holy, Holy" (Isaiah 6:3 and Revelation4:8).

After the GreatFloodmankind descendedfrom the 3 sons of Noah: Shem,
Ham, and Japheth.
3 "men" announced to Abraham that his barren wife would bear a son
(Genesis 18:14).
Abraham was commanded to sacrifice his son after a 3-day journey to Mt.
Moriah (Genesis 22:1-4).
Baby Moses was hidden by his mother for 3 months (Exodus 2:1), and the
adult Moses requests ofPharaohthat he let Mosestake his people on a 3 day
journey into the wilderness to offer sacrifice to their God(Exodus 3:18).
There were 3 divisions of the desert Tabernacle and later the Temple in
Jerusalem:the Outer Court, the Holy Place, and the Holy of Holies (Exodus
27:9; 26:1-30, 35-37;31-34;38:9-20;21-31;40:1-33;1 Kings 6:1-37).
The Theophany at Sinai was on the 3rd day after the people arrived.
God is mentioned 3 times in the Shema (the first professionof faith in
Deuteronomy 6:4) and 3 times in the blessing in Numbers 23:24.
There are 3 attributes of God mentioned in Exodus 33:18-19:hen, rachum,
and hesed(gracious, compassionate/merciful, and loving kindness).
Of the 7 Holy Feasts ofthe Sinai Covenant, 3 are pilgrim feasts in which every
man 13 years or older must present himself before God at the Temple in
Jerusalem(Exodus 23:14-17;34:18-23;Deuteronomy 16:5-17;2 Chronicles
8:13).
Jonahspent 3 days in the belly of the greatfish (Jonah 1:17); Jonah took a 3
day journey acrossthe city of Nineveh (Jonah3:3)
In the New Testament:
Jesus'ministry covered3 Passovers(John2:14, 6:4; 12:1).
Mary stayed with Elizabeth about 3 months (Luke 1:56).
Jesus was missing for 3 days when He was twelve years old (Luke 2:46).

Jesus took 3 men, Peter, James and John, up on the Mt. of Transfiguration
(Matthew 17:1; Mark 2; Luke 9:28).
Jesus prophesizedthat He would arise from the dead on the 3rd day (Matthew
16:21:17:23; 20:19;Mark 8:31; 9:31; 10:34;Luke 9:22; 18:33).
Saul was blinded for 3 days (Acts 9:9).
There are 3 theologicalvirtues: faith, hope, and charity (1 Corinthians 13:13).
The heavenly Jerusalemhas 3 gates on eachof its four sides (Revelation
21:13)
Christians saw 3 as symbolic of the Trinity, the triune nature of God: Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19-20).
3 is also recognizedas the number of the Holy Spirit.
In the symbolic language of the Bible, a three day period points to an actof
divine intervention which impacts SalvationHistory. Genesis 22:4 records
that Abraham's journey to Mt. Moriah to offer his sonin sacrifice, as
commanded by Yahweh, was a three day journey. In the Matthew passage
Jesus refers to three days, applying the significance of the three day period to
His resurrectionand man's redemption. In the Gospels Jesus oftenspoke ofa
three day period prophesying His sacrifice and resurrection. (2)
Examining other casesin Scripture where three days are significant in God's
plan of salvationis helpful in understanding Jesus'reference to three days in
Matthew 12:40, where He compared His prophesized "release fromthe earth"
to Jonah's experience of imprisonment and release fromthe greatfish. For
example, in Genesis chapter22, in the significantevent which the Jews callthe
Akeidah, the "binding of Isaac,"Yahwehtells Abraham to take his son Isaac
to the land of Moriah where he is to offer his son in sacrifice (Genesis 22:1-4):
It happened some time later that Godput Abraham to the test. 'Abraham,
Abraham!' he called. 'Here I am,' he replied. God said, 'Take your son, your
only son, your beloved Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah, where you are to
offer him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains which I shall point out

to you.' Early the next morning Abraham saddled his donkey and took with
him two of his servants and his sonIsaac. He chopped wood for the burnt
offering and startedon his journey to the place which Gods had indicated to
him. On the third day Abraham lookedup and saw the place in the distance.
It is On the third day that Abraham arrived and saw the place in the distance.
Instead of permitting the sacrifice of Isaac, Godintervenes and commands
Abraham to sacrifice a ram in the place of his son. Isaac is redeemed, and he
who was as goodas dead was raised up and restoredto his father on the third
day. The "three days" imagery in this event prefigures the sacrifice and
resurrectionof Isaac's descendantJesus the Messiah.
Sometimes this symbolic expressionfor divine intervention and restoration
after a time of trial is expressedas "on the third day" and at other times as
"afterthree days." It was after the third day that the Pharaoh's cupbearer
was restoredto his former position as Josephhad prophesized in Genesis
40:12-23. Another reference to restorationon the third day is found in Hosea
6:1-2 where Yahweh tells His prophet a time will come when His covenant
people will acknowledgetheir sins and seek redemption and restoration, as
they cry out Come, let us return to the LORD; for he has torn, that he may
heal us; he has stricken, and he will bind us up. After two days he will revive
us; on the third day he will raise us up, that we may live before him.
While the prophetic reference to "the third day" in Joseph's prophecy in
Genesis 40:12-23may have been literal as wellas symbolic, the prophet Hosea
promised a third day restorationthat is understood by the Old Testament
faithful to be symbolic of God's plan of salvation and redemption. The Hosea
passagewas notconcernedwith a literal three day period but with a short
period of intense trial followed by God's divine intervention to bring about the
restorationof God's people in God's owntime. Jesus'reference to the three
days and three nights in Matthew 12:40 is a reference in biblical language to
the promise of divine intervention in God's plan of salvation, linking Jonah's
mission to the lostsouls of Nineveh and Jesus'mission to the lostsheep of
Israel.
Saint Paul wrote about the significant "third day" event of the Resurrection
in 1 Corinthians 15:3-8, and the witnesses who testifiedto it. Paul testified

that the timing of the resurrectionevent was not according to man's time but
"according to the Scriptures": ForI delivered to you as of first importance
which I also received, that Christ died for our sins and in accordancewith the
scriptures, that he was buried, then he was raisedon the third day in
accordancewith the scriptures, and that he appearedto Cephas, then to the
twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time,
most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Thenhe
appearedto James, then to all the apostles. Lastofall, as to one untimely
born, he appearedalso to me. When Paul writes that the "timing" of the
event of the Resurrectionwas "in accordancewith the Scriptures," it is the
Old TestamentScriptures to which he is referring. Paul also makes the
symbolic "third day" reference in the language ofthe Scriptures, linking it to
God's intervention at the climactic moment of man's promised restorationof
fellowship with Godas promised to the Prophet Hosea in Hosea 6:1-2. It is
the ResurrectionofJesus Christ which occurred, as Paul writes, "onthe third
day," an event which occurredliterally but at the same time was full of
symbolic significance, and through which all who believe will also be raisedup
to eternal life.
Footnotes:
When referring to His three days in the grave in the literal sense, Jesusis
counting as the ancients counted without the conceptof a zero-place value,
with Friday being day #1, Saturday day #2, and Sunday day #3.
Jesus referredto three days in reference to His crucifixion and resurrectionin
Matt 12:40; 17:22-23;20:19;Mk 9:31; 10:34; Lk 9:22; 13:32-33;24:46
(teaching after His resurrection); and Jn 2:19. In these passagesJesusis
speaking ofthe three day period both literally and symbolically.
Michal Hunt, Copyright © 2008 Agape Bible Study. Permissions All Rights
Reserved.
THE BIBLE CONSISTENT3

Was Christ's ResurrectionPredicted?
Anonymous
(Investigator120, 2008 May)
The New Testament(NT)claims Jesus rose from the dead on the third day
and that the Old Testament(OT) predicted it:
For I handed on to you as of first importance…that Christ died for our sins in
accordancewith the scriptures, and that he was raisedon the third day in
accordancewith the scriptures… (I Corinthians 15:3-4)
Apparently, however, the OT nowhere predicts a third-day resurrection.
Atheists challenge:"I defy anyone to find any OT passagethat prophesies a
Messiah's resurrectiononthe third day."
Christian apologists cite Psalm16:8-11:
8 I keepthe LORD always before me;
because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.
9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my soul rejoices;
my body [flesh] also rests secure.
10 For you do not give me up to Sheol,
or let your faithful one see the Pit [or "corruption."].
11 You show me the path of life.
in your presence there is fullness of joy;
in your right hand are pleasures forevermore. (New RSV)

MostBibles have "corruption" in 16:10 rather than "the Pit" but both are
correctsubjectto context. And "body" in 16:9 is usually translated"flesh".
(Wigram, 5th edition)
The NT quotes 16:8-11 and applies it to Jesus'resurrection. (Acts 2:24-31;
13:34-37)However, Psalm16 does not mention Jesus orthree days. It's a
"Psalmof David" and seeminglyabout David.
Critics declare:"Only someone desperate to find a resurrectionprophecy
believes Psalm16 predicts a Messiah'sresurrection."
NOT OBVIOUS
That a Messiahwould die and rise was not obvious to 1st century Jews. It
needed explaining:
Then he [Jesus]openedtheir minds to understand the scriptures, and he said
to them, "Thus it is written, that the Messiahis to suffer and to rise from the
dead on the third day… (Luke 24:45-46)
Peter's explanation of Psalm16, applying it to Jesus, was likewisenew to his
Jewishaudience. (Acts 2:22-37),
WORLD RULER WHO BRINGS PEACE
"All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the LORD;and all the
families of the nations shall worship before him." (Psalm 22:27)
The Old Testamentpredicts the coming of a world ruler, descendedfrom
David, through whom Godbrings world peace:

For a child has been born for us, a son given to us; authority rests upon his
shoulders; and he is named Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting
Father, Prince of Peace.His authority shall grow continually, and there shall
be endless peace for the throne of David and his kingdom. (Isaiah 9:6-7)
See, my servant shall prosper; he shall be exaltedand lifted up, and shall be
very high… so shall he startle many nations; kings shall shut their mouths
because ofhim… (Isaiah52:13, 15)
But you, O Bethlehem…from you shall come forth for me one who is to rule
Israel, whose origin is from of old, from ancientdays… And they shall live
secure, for now he shall be greatto the ends of the earth; and he shall be the
one of peace. (Micah5:1-5)
And I saw one like a human being coming with the clouds of heaven… To him
was given dominion and glory and kingship that all peoples, nations, and
languages shouldserve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that
shall not pass away, and his kingship is one that shall never be destroyed.
(Daniel 7:13-14)
Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter Jerusalem!Lo,
your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he, humble and riding
on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey… And he shall command peace to
the nations; his dominion shall be from sea to sea, and from the River to the
ends of the earth. (Zechariah9:9-10)
How many different people can rule the world in peace? One persononly.
Becauseafterworld peace is accomplishedit cannot be done by another, since
we're talking about one world, one earth.
Therefore the preceding Scriptures refer to one individual. This accepted, let
us uncover more OT predictions about Him.

Isaiah52 & 53 says that the "servant" will be "cut off", that is killed, and yet
"prolong his days":
For he was cut off from the land of the living strickenfor the transgressionof
my people. They made his grave with the wickedand his tomb with the rich…
(53:8-9)
When you make his life an offering for sin, he shall see his offspring, and shall
prolong his days; through him the will of the LORD shall prosper. (53:10)
To die, be entombed and then live implies resurrection. No "third day"
mentioned – but let's go on.
Daniel 9:24-27 predicts 70 weeksor490 days – usually interpreted as 490
years.
At 69 weeks– or 483 years – comes "the time of an anointed prince." (9:25)
"Anointed" means "Christ" or "Messiah". In ancient Israelkings and chief
priests were appointed to office in a ceremonythat involved pouring olive oil
onto their head. This was called"anointing", and the person was "anointed"
or "messiah". "Messiah" translatedinto Greek became "Christ".
Ancient Israel, therefore, produced many "messiahs". Since the world ruler
continues the "throne of David" (Isaiah 9:6-7) he too would be a "messiah".
After the 69 weeks (483 years):"…ananointed one will be cut off and shall
have nothing." (Daniel 9:26)
Messiah"cutoff and have nothing" again means to be killed.
After that: "He shall make a strong covenantwith many for one week…"
(Daniel 9:27)
The identity of this "He" who makes a covenant that lasts through the 70th
week is disputed. If "He" refers back to Messiahwho dies "after69 weeks"
then it implies his resurrectionout of death.

PSALM 16:9-11
The wording of Psalm 16:1-8 fits David and other Godly people.
Verses 9-11, however, fit only one person:
9 Therefore my heart is glad; and my soul rejoices;and my body [flesh] rests
secure.
10 For you do not give me up to Sheol, or let your faithful one see the Pit
[corruption].
11 You show me the path of life…in your right hand are pleasures evermore."
Verse 9 implies death. A "body" or "flesh" rests in Sheol (the grave) but is
not left in – not "given up to" – Sheol. The flesh or body then enters "the
path of life…evermore".
Verses 10 to 11 therefore imply resurrection, which is how the NT interprets
them. But still no "third day".
PARALLEL LIVES
Psalm72 is "Of Solomon" and anticipates worldwide prosperity and peace:
May he live while the sun endures, and as long as the moon throughout all
generations. (v. 7)
May he have dominion from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the
earth. (v. 8)
May all kings fall down before him, all nations serve him (v. 11)
Blessedbe his glorious name forever; may his glory fill the whole earth. (v. 19)
Observe that Verse 8 is the same as Zechariah 9:10. Why did Zechariah
repeatthe words about Solomoncenturies after Solomon's death?

Evidently the grandiose language aboutSolomonin Psalm72 was prophetic of
someone future. That's why Zechariahquoted it centuries after Solomon and
applied it to someone future.
We have then a case ofparallel lives or parallel situations – an OT person
(Solomon) is prophetic of the future world ruler.
King David similarly is prophetic of a future, greater, "David". We see this
because afterDavid's death the OT has predictions about David! See Ezekiel
34:23-24;37:24-28;Hosea 3:5.
With David and Solomon as precedents, we could expectother exemplary OT
Israelites to also parallelthe future world ruler, at leastin some ways. Some
faceddeath, or were physically stressedfor three days, and then saved:
Isaac facedbeing sacrificedbut was reprieved the third day. (Genesis 22:1-12)
Josephimprisoned his brothers for three days in Egypt, then offered them
life. (Genesis 42:17-18)
Two Israelite spies fleeing Jericho hid for three days. (Joshua 2:15-22)
David hid for three days without food while waiting for Jonathan. (I Samuel
20:5)
When King Hezekiahgotsick Isaiah announced he would die, but then
predicted recovery in three days. (II Kings 20:1-6)
Queen Estherfasted three days before intervening to save the Jews. (Esther
4:16)
Jonahwas inside the fish "three days and three nights". (Jonah1:17)
Given that the future world ruler would die and rise, such parallel situations
suggestthat his death involves three days.
THE THIRD DAY

RecallPsalm16:10, "Foryou do not…let your faithful one see the Pit
[corruption]". The same Hebrew word is used of Jonah's three days in the
fish's belly: "You brought up my life from the Pit [corruption]." (Jonah2:6)
From this connectionancient readers could have concludedthat the implied
resurrectionof Psalm 16:10 involves three days.
Recallalso the "suffering servant" (Isaiah52 & 53)who is "led to the
slaughter" but lives again and "makes many righteous" and by whom "we
are healed":
But he was wounded for our transgressions, crushedfor our iniquities;
Upon him was the punishment that made us whole, and by his bruises we are
healed. (53:5)
A generationbefore Isaiah, the prophet Hosea wrote that Israelwas full of
lies, murder, thievery, adultery and bloodshed. (Hosea 4:1-3) and would be
destroyed. But in "the latter days" they would "seek the LORD their God,
and David their king". (3:4-5) Israel's "healing" would involve a three-day
period:
Come let us return to the LORD; for it is he who has torn down, and he who
will heal us… After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will raise us
up, that we may live before him. (Hosea 6:1-2)
Adding Hosea's predictionto Isaiah's suggests thatIsrael is "healed" by
means of the "slaughtered" servantrestoredto life "onthe third day".
THUS IT IS WRITTEN
No single OT verse predicts a Messiah'sresurrectionon the third day. But
multiple verses comparedwith open mind imply it:

Then he [Jesus]openedtheir minds to understand the scriptures, and he said
to them, "Thus it is written, that the Messiahis to suffer and to rise from the
dead on the third day… (Luke 24:45-46)
REFERENCES:
New RSV Reference Bible, 1973,Zondervan, USA.
Wigram, G. V. nd Englishman's Hebrew and Chaldee Concordance ofthe Old
Testament, Fifth Edition. Entries: Anoint 768;Corruption 1252;Cut off 618;
Flesh278;Heal 1187;Messiah769;Soul 829.
REWRITING HISTORY
(Investigator121, 2008 July)
In Matthew 12:39-40 (KJV, RSV), Jesus gave a sign after the Pharisees had
questioned him: "An evil and adulterous generationseekethafter a sign; and
there shall be none given it, but the sign of the prophet Jonah. Foras Jonah
was three days and three nights in the belly of the whale, so shall the Son of
man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth."
This is 72 hours and was to be the only sign (miracle) that would identify the
Messiah. (This contradicts Mark 8:11-13 which states no sign to be given.) But
how do you get 3 days and 3 nights betweensunseton Friday and sunrise on
Sunday i.e. only one day and two nights or 36 hours, for the Resurrectionto
occur?

Even the secondnight is doubtful as John 20:1-2 claims Jesus had departed
the grave some time before sunrise on Sunday ("while it was still dark").
Christians are aware of the problem so the authors of the GoodNews Bible
altered the text by deleting the second"three" from Matthew 12:39-40 to now
read the true Messiahwould be "three days and nights in the grave." (GNB)
Hence one day and two nights = three days and nights. Cunning infallibility.
But anyone who believes the Virgin Birth and the Resurrectionon that
evidence in the Bible is technically certifiable. Who can believe Matthew
27:50-53 and Matthew 28:2?
But if the Bible authors made mistakes, whydidn't God send angels to correct
the mistakes?Godobviously has the powerto send angels, anytime. God sent
an angel to tell Josephhe had got it wrong about Mary's adultery, since it was
the Holy Spirit who gother pregnant. (Matthew 1:20)
<>DeanDowling.
THREE DAYS AND THREE NIGHTS?
Anonymous
(Investigator122, 2008 September)
DeanDowling (#121)asks whetherJesus rising from the dead the "third day"
contradicts the words "three days and three nights"?
Here are the Bible's verses on Christ's resurrection:

He answered, "A wickedand adulterous generationasks fora miraculous
sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as
Jonahwas three days and three nights in the belly of the huge fish, so the Son
of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth."
(Matthew 12:39-40)
From that time on Jesus beganto explain to his disciples that he must go to
Jerusalemand suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and
teachers ofthe law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised
to life. (Matthew 16:21)
When they came togetherin Galilee, he said to them, "The Son of Man is
going to be betrayed into the hands of men. They will kill him, and on the
third day he will be raised to life. (Matthew 17:22-23)
Now as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside
and said to them, "We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be
betrayed to the chief priests and the teachers ofthe law. They will condemn
him to death and will turn him overto the Gentiles to be mockedand flogged
and crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life. (Matthew 20:17-19)
The next day, the one after Preparation Day, the chief priests and the
Pharisees wentto Pilate. "Sir," they said, "We remember that while he was
still alive that deceiversaid, ‘After three days I will rise again.'So give the
orders for the tomb to be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his
disciples may come and stealthe body and tell the people that he has been
raisedfrom the dead. This lastdeception will be worse than the first.
(Matthew 27:62-64)
"killed and after three days rise again." (Mark 8:31)
"and after three days he will rise again." (Mark 9:31
"Three days later he will rise."(Mark 10:34)
"crucified, and on the third day be raised again." (Luke 24:7)
"it is the third day since all this took place." (Luke 24:21)

He told them, "This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from
the dead on the third day…" (Luke 24:46)
Jesus saidto them, "Destroythis temple, and I will raise it againin three
days." (John 2:19-22)
"Godraised him on the third day and allowedhim to appear." (Acts 10:40)
"he was raisedon the third day…" (I Corinthians 15:4)
The "signof Jonah" (Matthew 12:39-40)is further mentioned in Matthew
16:4 and Luke 11:29-30 but without the words "three days and three nights in
the heart of the earth".
POSSIBLE ANSWERS
FourteenBible verses mention "the third day" or "three days" – but only one
verse adds "three nights", Matthew 12:40 quoted above.
The explanatory note in The Macarthur Study Bible (1997)says:
This sort of expressionwas a common wayof underscoring the prophetic
significance ofa period of time… "Three days and three nights" was an
emphatic way of saying "three days," and by Jewishreckoning this would be
an apt way of expressing a period of time that include parts of 3 days. Thus, if
Christ was crucifiedon a Friday, and his resurrection occurredon the first
day of the week, by Hebrew reckoning this would qualify as 3 days and 3
nights. All sorts of elaborate schemes have beendevised to suggestthat Christ
might have died on a Wednesdayor Thursday, just to accommodate the
extreme literal meaning of these words. But the original meaning would not
have required that sort of woodeninterpretation. (p. 1415)
Specifying "three nights" was, therefore, a figure of speechto emphasize that
Jesus'death extended to three days.

Another explanation is that "three days and three nights" counts Friday night
twice because in the year of the Crucifixion the Sabbath coincided with the
Passover(John 19:31)and both commencedFriday night. This assumes
Jonah's "three days and three nights" (1:17) likewise included a combined
Sabbath/Passover.
A third possibility is that Matthew 12:40 – "in the heart of the earth" – may
not refer solelyto Jesus'time in the tomb. The words may include the
previous night – his betrayal, isolationfrom his disciples, pre-judgment, and
secrettrial.
In conclusionthe "three days" were Friday afternoon, all of Saturday, and
early Sunday morning. For the "three nights" we have three possible
explanations.
http://users.adam.com.au/bstett/BBibleConsistent120.htm
Question:"Who resurrectedJesus?"
Answer: In Acts 2:24, Petersays that “Godraised[Jesus]from the dead” (see
also Romans 8:11 and 2 Corinthians 4:14). Romans 1:4 (and possibly 1 Peter
3:18) seems to saythat the Spirit raisedJesus from the dead (Romans 8:11
clearly says that God will resurrectbelievers “through His Spirit”). And in
John 2:19 Jesus predicts that He will raise Himself from the dead (see also
John 10:18). So who exactlyresurrectedJesus from the dead? Was it the
Father, the Son, or the Spirit?
The basic answeris that “Godhas raised. . . Jesus to life” (Acts 2:32). The
Father is God, and the Fatherraised His Son to life on the third day after the
crucifixion (Romans 6:4; 2 Corinthians 13:4). The Spirit is also God, and the

Spirit had a part in raising Jesus from the dead. The Son is also God, and the
Son, too, was responsible for His ownresurrection.
How can a dead man resurrecthimself? Jesus was more than a man who died;
He was the eternalSon of God incarnate. Wickedmen could kill His body, but
they could not change His eternal nature or diminish His divine power. In
John 10:17–18 Jesus says something that no mere mortal could ever say: “I
lay down my life—only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay
it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to
take it up again.” No one else in the history of the world has ever had the
authority both to lay down his life and raise it up again.
Furthermore, Jesus said, “I am the resurrectionand the life” (John 11:25). He
did not say, “MyFather is the resurrection.” He claimed to be the
resurrectionHimself; life resides with Jesus, and He has absolute authority
over life and death (Revelation1:18). Jesus is God. He could say He would
raise up His body on the third day because He, being God, has powerover
death.
Who resurrectedJesus from the dead? God did, and by that we mean all three
Persons ofthe Trinity were involved. All three Persons ofthe Trinity
participated in creation(1 Corinthians 8:6; Genesis 1:1–2). All three are
involved in salvation (John 3:6, 16). And all three are responsible for the
resurrectionof Christ Jesus.
https://www.gotquestions.org/who-resurrected-Jesus.html
JOHN MACARTHUR

AND THE THIRD DAY HE ROSE AGAIN FROM THE DEAD
Dr. W. A. Criswell
Hosea 6:1-2
3-29-59 8:15 a.m.
You are sharing with us the services ofthe First Baptist Church in Dallas.
This is the pastorbringing the early morning message entitledAnd the Third
Day He Rose Again From the DeadAccording to the Scriptures. And the
messageis of a little different turn. Actually it is the testimony of the Word of
God to the resurrectionof our Lord from the dead. You can easilyfollow the
messagethis morning, if you would like to, in your Bible. In the Book of
Hosea – Daniel, Hosea – in the Book ofHosea, the sixth chapter, Hosea 6:
Come, and let us return unto the Lord: for He hath torn, and He will heal us;
He hath smitten, and He will bind us up. After two days will He revive us: in
the third day He will raise us up, and we shall live in His sight.
[Hosea 6:1-2]
Our Lord and Saviorbrooded over the Holy Scriptures of God. He found in
them the way markedin which He was to walk. He found in them the
strength by which He did His work. He found in them the weaponby which
He faced the greatenemy Satan. In eachone of the temptations, our Lord
answeredthe tempter with the word, "It is written" [Matthew 4:3-10]. The
Holy Scriptures were the texts by which He taught His disciples. How else can
the Scriptures be fulfilled?

If anyone could have done without the Word of God, our Saviorcould have.
But He found the strength of His life, He found the devotion of His way, He
found the holy revelationof God written on the pages of the Holy Book.
The life of God in human flesh, the Word of God in human speechare
indivisibly connected. According to the Scriptures Christ died, and according
to the Scriptures Christ was raisedfrom the dead [1 Corinthians 15:1-4].
It is thus with the Holy Scriptures of God as the blessedLord Jesus read and
pondered in the Book of Hosea. So many times does He quote from this book.
And as the words entered into His soul, they became a part of the great
dedication and consecrationofHis life.
And one tremendous instance of the use of the words of the prophet to ring
through all of His own days and life and ministry is this passagein the sixth
chapter of Hosea. "And the third day He will raise us up." And as He applied
that Scripture to Himself, He personalizedit. "And the third day,and the
third day I will rise from the dead" [Luke 9:22]: That was so much on the lips
of our Lord, "And the third day I will rise from the dead," until His enemies
knew of it. And when He was buried, and His friends had forsakenHim, and
His disciples had fled, His enemies had heard Him repeatit so many times
until they went to the governorand said, "We remember how that deceiver
said, ‘And the third day He will rise again’" [Matthew 27:63]. And in their
consternationand terror for what might happen, they askedfor a guard to
sealthe tomb and to see to it that by the authority of the Roman government,
and by the powerof the Roman legionnaire, that Christ was to staydead.
But my point is, the words of the Scripture that the Lord used that became so
part of His life, and this in Hosea is one: "And the third day, and the third
day, be raisedup from the dead" [Hosea 6:2]. It was in the assurance ofthe
Holy Scriptures of God and the holy promises read in the Book that our Lord
facedall of those tragedies oflife that inevitably were prophesied for Him. He
has in His heart a greatassurance ofa greatvictory, and it came from His
brooding over the Word of God. It came from the writings of the prophets.
In the eighteenth chapterof the Book of Luke, for example, beginning at the
thirty-first verse:

Then Jesus took unto Him the Twelve, and said unto them, Behold, we go up
to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the
Son of Man shall be accomplished.
For He shall be delivered unto the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and
spitefully entreated, and spit on:
And they shall scourge Him, and put Him to death: and the third day He shall
rise again.
And they understood none of these things: and this saying was hid from them,
neither knew they the things which were spoken.
[Luke 18:31-34]
But He was just repeating what was written on the pages ofthe Holy Book.
And the reasonour Lord facedall of the sorrow and tragedy of the week of
His passionwith such triumph and such victory is to be found in the words of
the holy prophets, "And the third day He shall rise again" [Hosea 6:2].
He did not face the cross as a stoic, "I will endure the bitter anguish, it will
soonbe passed. I will drink of the bitter cup, it is but for a moment." That
would have been a brave, courageous thing to do. But it would actually have
been a submission to defeat and to despair. But the Lord facedthe week of
His passionand the day of His cross with a greatand a wonderful assurance,
"The third day I shall rise again!" [Luke 9:22].
All through the ministry of our Savior, those words were on His lips. As He
beganHis life’s work in the temple in Jerusalem, He said, "Destroythis
temple, and in three days I will raise it up" [John 2:19]. They thought He was
speaking ofthe temple of Herod. John said He was speaking ofthe temple of
His body [John 2:21]. But they remembered it, "Destroythis temple, and on
the third day I will raise it up."

And when He was nailed to the cross, theyflung into His teeth that word they
so well remembered, "Thou that destroyestthe temple and raiseth it up in
three days, save Thyself and us" [Mark 15:29-30]. We cannothelp but feel in
our hearts, "Lord, acceptthe challenge. Come downfrom the cross and
strike terrified conviction in the hearts of these who blaspheme and taunt
Thee!"
But no, it will be according to the Word of God: not a heroic Man in
superhuman strength tearing Himself from the woodand coming down from
the cross, a hero before the world; but it will be according to the Word of God
– a limp, lifeless, helpless corpse takendownfrom the cross, wrapped,
swathedin a winding sheet, laid in a tomb [John 19:38-42]. Buton the third
day according to the Scriptures, but on the third day breaking the bonds and
the bar of death and standing forth to live before God and before men, our
Lord, and King, and Savior, and God, according to the Scriptures [1
Corinthians 15:1-4].
It was thus that the greatresurrection of our Lord was verified by the Word
of God. One of the most astounding developments you can find in the life of
Christ is how the Lord and the apostles turned to the Word of Godfor
verification that He should live, that He should be raised, that He would be
resurrected;and they did it when the Lord Himself stood there alive before
them.
You would think the very presence ofthe Lord was proof enough that He
would rise from the dead, but the greatproof of our Lord that He was raised
from the dead was not His very presence – though He did eatbefore them and
shared with them in the meal – but the greatsublime affirmation that He was
to be raisedand that He did live in their sight was that the prophets had said
so, that it was written in the Word of God. The testimony of Godwas higher
than that of men. And the foresightof the prophets was surer than the actual
eyesightof Simon Peterand the apostle John and the rest of the apostles.
For example, in the twenty-fourth chapter of the Book ofLuke, when the
Lord appears before them, and He says, "Handle Me, and see that it is I
Myself: for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, such as you see Me have." And

He showedthem His hands and His feet. And when they still didn’t believe
and wondered, He said, "Have you here any meat? And they gave Him a piece
of a broiled fish and of an honeycomb. And He did eat before them," the
resurrectedLord [Luke 24:36-43]. And He saidunto them, not, "Here I am
alive. Believe. Handle Me and see and believe. This is conclusive and final. I
am alive. Look and see!" No! He said unto them:
These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all
things must be fulfilled, which were written in the Law of Moses, and in the
Prophets, and in the Psalms concerning Me.
Then opened He their understanding, that they might understand the
Scriptures.
And He said unto them, Thus it is written, that He should die, and that the
third day He should be raised from the dead.
[Luke 24:44-46]
The greatproof of the living Lord was not the eyesightof Simon, it was not
the eyesightof John, it was not the presence ofthe Lord Himself; for a man’s
eyesightmight be deceived, and a man’s touch might mislead, and the voice of
the risen Lord might be an illusion. But the Word, and the testimony, and the
affirmation, and the prophecy of Godwas sure and does stand forever!
[Isaiah 40:8].
It is an amazing thing in this chapter when our Lord chides His apostles for
their lack of unbelief. Then He stands there before them alive, and that He is
raisedfrom the dead. He says unto them, "O, foolishones, anoetos, O, one’s
not knowing" – you have it translated "O fools" – "O ones not understanding;
O ones not knowing, O foolishones, and slow of heart to believe" [Luke
24:25]. What? "O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe." Notwhat the
women said who were early at the sepulcher; not what the angel saidwho
announced that, "He was not here; He is risen from the dead" [Luke 24:6].

Not what Peterand John said who went into the sepulchre and saw all of the
linen clothes arrangedjust so [John 20:3-7]. "O foolish ones, and slow of
heart to believe." Notthe testimony of these who had seenHim:
O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken.
Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to have entered into His
glory?
And beginning at Moses andall the Prophets, He expounded unto them in all
the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.
[Luke 24:25-27]
The greatwitness, the greattestimony to the resurrection of our Lord is not
the signof Him alive! It is rather the testimony of the Holy Scriptures of God
who spake in the Prophets that He should rise againthe third day! [Hosea
6:2].
That’s the most amazing thing I think I’ve ever found in the Word of God!
Why, it is an astonishing thing. It is an amazing thing. It is a wonderful thing
that the witness of the prophets should be surer than the eyesightof the
apostles. And when the apostles preached, that’s the way they preached,
"Beginning at Moses andall the Prophets, He expounded unto them in all the
Scriptures the things concerning Himself" [Luke 24:27]. In the Law of Moses,
in the Prophets, and in the Psalms, He opened their understanding that they
might understand the Scriptures [Luke 24:44-45].
Now look how they did it. I have an opportunity to take the preaching of the
apostles;I just take one instance. In the life of Simon Peteras he wrote a
personaltestimony of the transfiguration, the glorificationof our Lord, he
says:

For we have not followedcunningly devised fables, when we made known
unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus, but we were eyewitnesses
of His majesty. For He receivedfrom God the Fatherhonor and glory, when
there came such a voice to Him from the Excellent Glory, This is My beloved
Son, in whom I am wellpleased. And this voice, which came from heavenwe
heard, when we were with Him in the holy mount. But we have also a more
sure word of prophecy!
[2 Peter1:16-19]
Why, what an astounding way to preach! Simon Petersays:
We were there and saw Him transfigured. We were there and heard God’s
voice saying, This is My Son beloved, in whom I am wellpleased. And we
have not followedcunningly devised fables when we make known unto you
these greatfacts of Christ –
but, he says –
Though I stoodthere and heard Him and though I stoodthere and saw Him
and though the voice of God the Fatherreverberated through the heavens
declaring Him to be the Son of God, we have a more sure word!
[2 Peter1:16-19]
What could be more sure than for a man to see with his eyes and hear with his
ears and handle with his hands? Simon Petersays the more sure word is that
of the prophecies:
Whereunto ye do wellthat ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark
place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: Knowing this
first –

this above all, this verse –
That no prophecy of the Scripture is of any private interpretation.
That is it is sealed, enigmatic for the astute and those who ferret out the deep
things of God? No!
For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man –
these secretpeople who know things just revealedto themselves, no –
But holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost."
[2 Peter1:19-21]
It is an open prophecy and any man canread it; it’s an open Book. Readit
for yourself, the more sure word of prophecy: that Jesus was raisedfrom the
dead is history, but the foresightof the prophet was far before the historical
event itself. History was early at the sepulcher to bear witness to the fact that
He is raisedfrom the dead. But the prophet did outrun the historian, and
hundreds and hundreds of years before stoodthere in adoration and wonder
at the sepulcherand said, "And the third day He shall rise from the dead."
Ah, what a thing! What a thing God hath written large here in His Book.
Surer than the announcement of the angels, "He is not here; He is risen."
Surer than the announcement of the apostles, "We have seenHim, He is
alive!" Surer than the testimony and the eyesightof the witnesseswho looked
upon Him is the foresightof the prophet who stoodup to say, "And the third
day He shall be raisedfrom the dead."
What a Book I hold in my hands! Now I have said all that to try to say this:
our assurance ofimmortality and our assurance ofresurrectionlies in the
Word and in the promise, in the immutable unchanging Word of God.

Jesus was raised on the third day

Jesus was raised on the third day

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