#matthew 12:40

[thebeautyofscripture]

For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

Matthew 12:40

[freebiblestudies]

Lesser-Known Bible Prophecies Lesson 06: The Heart of the Earth

So far we have only studied prophecies in the Old Testament. Today we look at prophecy in the New Testament.  We are going to examine a prophecy Jesus gave about himself.

Let’s read together Matthew 12:38-42.

“But He answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.  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.”

When the Pharisees asked Jesus for a sign of His divinity, Jesus pointed to the story of Jonah.  Jesus told them Jonah’s time in the belly of the great fish foreshadowed what would happen to Jesus Himself.

Let’s read together Hosea 6:2; Acts 10:39-40; and 1 Corinthians 15:4.

Perhaps Jesus was talking about His impending death and resurrection.  Let’s construct a timeline of Jesus’ crucifixion:

Thursday evening - Jesus has the Passover meal with His disciples

Matthew 26:17-20; Mark 14:16-18

Thursday evening - prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane

Matthew 25:36-46; Mark 14:32-42; Luke 22:39-46

Thursday evening - betrayal and arrest

Matthew 25:47-48; Mark 14:43-44; John 18:2-5, 12

Thursday evening - trial by the Sanhedrin

Matthew 25:57-59; Mark 14:53, 55-56; Luke 22:66-71; John 18:12-14

Friday early morning - Jesus taken to Pilate

Matthew 27: 1-3, 11-14; Mark 15:1-5; Luke 23:1-5; John 18:28-29

Friday morning - Jesus sent to Herod

Luke 23:6-12

Friday morning - Jesus sent back to Pilate and sentenced to crucifixion

Luke 23:13-25: John 19:15-16

Friday the third hour (9am) - Jesus is crucified

Mark 15:25-26**

Friday the sixth to the ninth hour (12-3pm) - darkness covered the land

(Matthew 27:45, Mark 15:33, Luke 23:44-45)

Friday the ninth hour (3pm) - Jesus dies on the cross

Matthew 27:46-50; Mark 15:34-38; 

Friday evening - Jesus was buried in a tomb owned by Joseph of Arimathea

Mark 15:42-45; Luke 23:50-54

Saturday - Jesus in the tomb 

Luke 23:56

Sunday early morning - Jesus resurrected

Matthew 28:1-6; Mark 16:1-6; Luke 24:1-3; 36-43; John 20:1, 11, 16-18

**What about John 19:14?  That verse states Pilate made his decision at the sixth hour. It is probable that John used Roman reckoning of time in his account, which would make the sixth hour 6am.

According to the Bible, Jesus was crucified on a Friday morning around 9am.  He was on the cross for six hours and died Friday afternoon at 3pm.  Jesus was buried in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea Friday evening just before the beginning of the Sabbath.  Jesus was resurrected early Sunday morning.

Some people have claimed that this timeline conflicts with prophecy.  They argued that according to this timeline, Jesus was only in the tomb for a day and a half.  Some have offered that Jesus was crucified on a Thursday, while a few people have even proposed that Jesus was crucified on Wednesday.

The problem is that a Wednesday or Thursday crucifixion conflicts with too many Bible verses. The rebuttal to objections to a Friday crucifixion is that the Jews reckoned time differently than we do today.  The argument is that the Jews had an inclusive reckoning of time, with a part of a day still being counted as a day. So, Friday afternoon, all Saturday, and Sunday morning would count as three days according to this type of reckoning of time.

Let’s read together Isaiah 53:4-5; Isaiah 59:2; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Galatians 3:13; and 1 Peter 2:24.

What if Jesus’ statement in Matthew 12:40 wasn’t referring to His physical death?  The Bible tells us that Jesus became a curse for our sake and bore the sins of humanity when He died on the cross.  What if God the Father placed the sins of humanity on Jesus on Thursday night in the Garden of Gethsemane?  

Let’s read together Matthew 27:46 and Luke 22:41-44.

Jesus was not sweating drops of blood because He was afraid of death.  He was beginning to feel the separation from God as He began to bear the sins of humanity. When Jesus cried out on the cross about being forsaken by the Father, perhaps He was feeling the full effect of the separation.  

Jonah was alone in the darkness of the belly of the whale for three days and three nights, seemingly separated from God. Likewise, Jesus was alone, separated from God because of sin. Jesus died the second death for us on the cross.

Friend, do you believe Jesus died for our sins and was resurrected in glory?

[jesusislovej]

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