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Third, Jesus' resurrection is more significant than any other because He prophesied numerous times that He would rise from the dead, even foretelling the exact day on which it would occur. Jesus told some scribes and Pharisees on one occasion, "For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth" (Matthew 12:40, emp. added). Matthew, Mark, and Luke all recorded how Jesus "began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day" (Matthew 16:21, emp. added; cf. Mark 8:31-32; Luke 9:22). While Jesus and His disciples were in Galilee, Jesus reminded them, saying, "The Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men, and they will kill Him, and the third day He will be raised up" (Matthew 17:22-23, emp. added).
Just before His triumphal entry into Jerusalem, Jesus again reminded His disciples, saying, "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death, and deliver Him to the Gentiles to mock and to scourge and to crucify. And the third day He will rise again" (Matthew 20:18-19, emp. added). Jesus' prophecies concerning His resurrection and the specific day on which it would occur were so widely known that, after Jesus' death, His enemies requested that Pilate place a guard at the tomb, saying, "Sir, we remember, while He was still alive, how that deceiver said, 'After three days I will rise.' Therefore command that the tomb be made secure until the third day..." (Matthew 27:63-64, emp. added). They knew exactly what Jesus had said He would do, and they did everything in their power to stop it.
Where are the prophecies from the widow's son of Zarephath? Did he prophesy of his resurrection prior to his death? Or what about the son of the Shunammite woman that Elisha raised from the dead? Where are his personal prophecies? Truly, no one who rose from the dead except Jesus prophesied about his or her own resurrection. And certainly no one ever prophesied about the exact day on which he or she would rise from the dead, save Jesus. This prior knowledge and prophecy makes His resurrection a significant event. He overcame death, just as He predicted. He did exactly what he said He was going to do, on the exact day He said He would do it.4
There are many statements of Jesus concerning his being raised from the dead on the third day, most of them were spoken to his disciples. However, the one that is most important is Matthew 12:40, because of the circumstances of its utterance and to whom it was spoken.
One thing must be pointed out concerning the relationship between the saying found in Matt. 12:40 and the others. All the other sayings are rather vague in comparison to the Matt. 12:40 text. It is the most specific utterance concerning the issue of a third day resurrection.
There is a principle in Biblical interpretation, called USUS LOQUENDI, meaning use of words.
When a writer has treated a given subject in different parts of his writings, or when different writers have treated the same subject, it is both justice to the writers, and important in interpretation, to collate and compare all that is written. THE OBSCURE OR DOUBTFUL PASSAGES ARE TO BE EXPLAINED BY WHAT IS PLAIN AND SIMPLE.1 (emphasis mine)
Since it is apparent that the Matthew 12:40 text is the plainest, simplest, and most to the point, it is the main text dealt with. What makes this passage of utmost import, is that it is the only one spoken in response to a demand for authentication of the Messiahship of Jesus.
And so, let us go to Matthew 12:40, and understand the scenario and why this passage is so vital to this issue.
Then certain of the scribes and of the pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee. But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonah: for as Jonah was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Ninevah shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it; because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, a greater than Jonah is here. The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and , behold, a greater than Solomon is here. [Matt. 12:38-42]
What caused the scribes and Pharisees to demand a sign? Let's back up, and see.
There was a man brought to Jesus, who was possessed of a spirit, that caused him to be both blind and unable to speak. So Jesus healed him. But then, the people who saw this healing begin to say, "Is this not the Son of David". The people began to see and speak of Jesus as the Messiah of Israel. This scared the socks off the leaders of Israel. See, the rabbis divided time into three ages; the primitive (patriarchal), the Law, and the Messianic. They were the guardians and shepherds of Israel in the age of the Law. Their authority however, would cease when Messiah came, for He would establish Messianic Law. Besides their personal reasons, there were also obvious political ramifications to the heralding of a Messiah, a King in Israel. A king who was not sanctioned by Rome. So when they heard the people speaking of Jesus as the Messiah, something had to be done.
They could not deny that a miracle had been done. That was evident for all to see. But what they could do was cast doubt upon the authority by which it was performed. They claimed that Jesus operated by the power of Ba'al zebub. Jesus responds, How can Satan cast out Satan. His kingdom could not stand if he worked against himself like that.
They could not withstand the wisdom of the 'greater than Solomon', so they moved to Plan B. Demand a sign. They were not asking for a miracle, of those there had been plenty. They wanted a vindicating sign from God on behalf of Jesus, to validate in the eyes of all Israel, that his claim of Messiah was true. This is the type of sign they were asking for.
Remember back in Numbers 16, when God opened the earth, swallowing up Korah and his house, and fire devoured his buddies? All this was done to validate to Israel, that Moses and Aaron were God's true appointed leaders. This is the type of sign that these guys were looking for. Something so unmistakably God, there would be no doubt. Of course, these scribes and Pharisees, were counting on the fact that God would vindicate them as the true leaders of Israel, and not Jesus.
Jesus tells them that it is 'an evil and adulterous generation' that seeks a sign of vindication, instead of believing the fulfilled prophecies. However, Jesus accommodates them with one sign, and ONLY ONE SIGN, the sign of Jonah, the prophet. The main emphasis of this sign of Jonah, was the time element. Just as Jonah was three days and nights in the belly of the whale, so the Son of man, Jesus, would be three days and nights in the heart of the earth. Jesus is telling them, that the vindicating sign they are looking for, is this. After his death, he would stay in the'heart of the earth', or the grave (She'ol), for three days and three nights. After that period, he would come out ALIVE. He is telling them the precise time that he will be resurrected from the dead.
This time period of three days was important for another prophetic reason. In Psalm 16:10, it states, "Thou shalt not suffer thine Holy One (Messiah) to see corruption". It was a common belief among the Jews, that after death, the corruption of the body began to occur after three days. So by stating his resurrection would take place on the third day, he is telling the leaders that he will not 'see corruption', as the psalmist had predicted.
It is obvious that these men understood Jesus to mean a literal three days and nights. After the death of Jesus, members of the great council went to Pilate, saying,
Sir, we remember that that deceiver said, while he was yet alive, After three days I will rise again. Command therefore, that the sepulchre be made sure until the third day, lest his disciples come by night, and steal him away, and say unto the people, He is risen from the dead: so the last error shall be worse than the first. [Matt. 27:63-64]
Why such a specific time? Because that is what Jesus said, and that is how they understood him.
For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
The phrases 'for as' and 'so' are translations of hos-per and hou-tos respectively. Hos-per is a combination of hos, an adverb of comparison, and per, an enclitic particle. Hos is used to compare one thought with another and is usually translated, like as, even as, in the same manner as. Per, when added to a word, strengthens its meaning, “showing that the idea of the word to which it is annexed must be taken in its fullest extent”.2
Concerning hou-tos it is said that, "by virtue of its native demonstrative force it refers to what precede; in the manner spoken of, in the way described, in the way it was done, in this manner, in such manner."3 Hence, it completes the comparison made in the first part. The truth or reality of the second, is dependent upon the truth of the first. An excellent illustration of this is found in John 5:26. "For as (hosper) the Father hath life in himself; so (houtos) hath he given to the Son to have life in himself".
Here, the same comparative construction is used as that in Matt. 12:40. The truth or reality is first stated that the Father has life in himself. Is this doubtful or not to be taken literally? Certainly not! Then the same truth is affirmed in the second portion, that it is given to the Son to have life in himself. The Son has life in himself, to the degree and in the same reality that the Father has life in himself. There is no getting around either truth.
The use of this construction reveals how Jesus understood the meaning of Jonah’s three days and nights in the whale’s belly. He understood it as three days and three nights, a literal 72 hour period. If Jesus had said, “. . .so shall the Son of man be about, somewhere in the vicinity of three days in the heart of the earth”, then it could possibly mean what tradition says it does.
But Jesus is comparing the reality and manner of one situation, with the reality and manner of another. He is stating: in the same way Jonah was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly, so also shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The comparison he is making in this context, is the duration of time. This is most likely why, commentaries on Jonah will point out that his time in the whale’s belly is not to be taken literally.5 Because if Jonah’s time is understood literally, then it demands that Jesus’ time in the tomb also be taken in the same way. And if this position is taken, then the whole apple cart is upset, and nobody wants to be the one to clean up the mess.
