Q&A: Three Days and Three Nights

Question: I know we have Good Friday when Jesus was crucified and then Easter Sunday when Jesus arose. But the Bible says He was in His grave three days and three nights. So How can you have three days and three nights between Friday and Sunday morning? The math just does not work out. 

The answer is in understanding exactly what Jesus said, and the timeline as it would have been understood in the first century when it occurred.

First, Jesus did not say He would be in the “heart of the earth” three 24 hour days and three 24 hour nights. He only said three days and three nights. Second, and most importantly, the Jews considered any part of a day as a full day. Therefore, when Jesus was crucified Friday morning and died at three o’clock that afternoon, that counted as a day. He was in His tomb Friday night. So now we have one day and one night. He was in His tomb Saturday and Saturday night. Now we have day two and night two. He was in His grave Sunday morning when He arose. Now we have day three.

We are then told by Paul that after Jesus arose from His grave, at some point, He descended back down into Sheol or the Land of the Dead and freed all the righteous spirits held there (Ephesians 4:8-9). He must have descended after sunset on Sunday but before He met with His disciples at dinner where He first revealed Himself to them. This would make the third night Jesus was down in the earth with the dead. Thus, just as He had prophesied, He was, “… three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” (Matthew 12:40) 

To read an expanded version with more details concerning this event, Please see, “Jesus Goes to Hell and Back For Mankind”.