PJ HanleyHow Long Was Jesus in the Grave?
A Defence of the Traditional View by PJ Hanley (Repost from Apr 4, 2021)
The traditional view of the death of Jesus maintains that He was crucified on Friday, buried before the Sabbath on Friday evening, and raised on Sunday morning. In recent years this view has been challenged by what is known as the Reconstructed View. Though it has been around for some time, it was made popular in our day by Chuck Missler. This view asserts that Jesus was crucified on Wednesday and still raised on the first day of the week which is Sunday. Others say that He was not crucified on Friday and not raised on Sunday. Instead He is raised on Monday. And of course, as always, we have the throng who say, “it doesn’t matter.” But it matters a great deal. For one thing, it creates enormous confusion. But it also undermines the credibility of Scripture and in this case suggests that Christ did not fulfill the Feast of First Fruits, which occurred on the 16th of Nisan.
Mt 12:40
The Reconstructed View, presented in the chart below, seems to have arisen as an explanation for Jesus’ words regarding the sign of Jonah.
An evil and adulterous generation craves for a sign; and yet no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet; for just as JONAH WAS THREE DAYS AND THREENIGHTS IN THE BELLY OF THE SEA MONSTER, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. Mt 12:40
Since Jesus mentioned three days and three nights, it is assumed that He is categorically stating that He will be precisely seventy-two hours in the grave before He is risen up. This extremely literal interpretation of Jesus’ words may seem necessary to the Twenty First Century English speaking mind, but it is ignoring or dismissing the culture and customs of First Century Judaism. It claims to have no contradictions, but as we shall see it’s exactly the opposite. It breaches one of the cardinal rules of Biblical interpretation, that one cannot build a teaching on a presumed meaning of one verse, while ignoring all the others. Many verses indicate that Jesus was not actually meaning an exact 72 hours. Jesus Himself made this clear in the same gospel of Matthew.
Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men; and they will kill Him, and He will be raised on the third day.” And they were deeply grieved. Mt 17:22
Here Jesus says He will be raised on the third day, not after seventy-two hours which would make it the fourth day. In fact there are so many verses that say Jesus was raised on the third day that it is hard to understand how anyone can argue for a seventy-two-hour internment in the tomb. “On the third day,” simply means anytime on day three and not on day four, which such a precise literal reading of Mt 12:40 would require. Jesus would have to be in the grave for three full and complete days, thus His resurrection would have to occur on the fourth. It is intellectually dishonest to try to force the phrase “on the third day” to mean anything other than sometime on day three. It cannot be made to mean “after three days” as the proponents of this theory are forced to do, since they superimpose mathematical correctness on a passage that is not intended to be understood in that manner. Furthermore, in an attempt to be super literal about the phrase “three days and three nights” they change their strategy to one of figurative interpretation when it comes to the statement “on the third day,” which is in reality more literal and precise since it mentions a specific day on which the event will occur.
Another statement by Jesus confirms that he is not meaning after seventy-two hours is the following:
The Jews then said to Him, “What sign do You show us as your authority for doing these things?” Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” The Jews then said, “It took forty-six years to build this temple, and yet You will raise it up in three days? But He was speaking about the temple of His body.” John 2:18-21
Jesus is here saying that within three days He will be raised, and the Jews reiterrated that meaning. So Jesus said, “three days and three nights,” “on the third day,” and now “in (inside of) three days.” But in other places He said “after three days” He would rise. The Reconstructed view seizes on this as proof of 72 hours in the grave. But if we take that literal interpretation of three days to be correct, then “after three days” means after seventy-two hours – day four and not day three.
Three full days and three full nights = seventy-two hours exactly
“On the third day” = less than seventy-two hours
“After three days = more than seventy-two hours
If the argument is about mathematical accuracy and requires exactly seventy-two hours to fulfill Mt 12:40, then how is it possible that less than seventy-two hours is not acceptable, but more than seventy-two hours is. Indeed the proponents of the Reconstructed View use the phrase repeatedly, “no less than seventy-two hours.” Yet “after three days” is fine.
When we put all this together, it is clear that these phrases have to be speaking about the same amount of time in an approximate sense, since they are used interchangeable, and all mean the same thing. We understand from Scripture and the history of Judaism, that a portion of a day was reckoned as a full day for the purposes of counting time. This is also true for years. If a king were appointed a month before the New Year, that month was considered his first year. The actual number of hours that Jesus was in the tomb is not of such great importance. Rather it must comprise of a portion of three different days and that on the third day He rose from the dead. He had to die and be put in the tomb on the first day and rise on the third day and that is what happened.
Examples of the Hebrew way of reckoning days abound in Scripture. Here are some examples.
Then Esther told them to reply to Mordecai, “Go, assemble all the Jews who are found in Susa, and fast for me; do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my maidens also will fast in the same way. And thus I will go in to the king, which is not according to the law; and if I perish, I perish.” Esther 4:15-16
Now it came about on the third day that Esther put on her royal robes and stood in the inner court of the king’s palace in front of the king’s rooms, and the king was sitting on his royal throne in the throne room, opposite the entrance to the palace. When the king saw Esther the queen standing in the court, she obtained favor in his sight; and the king extended to Esther the golden scepter which was in his hand. So Esther came near and touched the top of the scepter. Then the king said to her, “What is troubling you, Queen Esther? And what is your request? Even to half of the kingdom it shall be given to you.” Esther said, “If it pleases the king, may the king and Haman come this day to the banquet that I have prepared for him.”Then the king said, “Bring Haman quickly that we may do as Esther desires.” So the king and Haman came to the banquet which Esther had prepared. As they drank their wine at the banquet, the king said to Esther, “What is your petition, for it shall be granted to you. Esther 5:1-6
Here we see a similar situation where Esther ordered a fast for three days and nights and yet she perceived the fast to be over on the third day when she went before the king and drank wine with him. It is clear that neither she nor Mordechai or the other Jews understood it to be a seventy-two-hour fast.
Another example of inclusive reckoning of days is in 1 Kings 12
Then they sent and called him, and Jeroboam and all the assembly of Israel came and spoke to Rehoboam, saying, “Your father made our yoke hard; now therefore lighten the hard service of your father and his heavy yoke which he put on us, and we will serve you.” Then he said to them, “Depart for three days, then return to me.” So the people departed…….. Then Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam on the third day as the king had directed, saying, “Return to me on the third day.”
There are many examples of this Hebrew reckoning of days in Scripture. Here is another example from the New Testament.
And it happened that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to call him Zacharias, after his father. Luke 1:59
And when eight days had passed, before His circumcision, His name was then called Jesus, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb.
Obviously, they considered eight days as being completed any moment into the eight day
The Jewish Leaders
Here is another example that three days did not mean exactly seventy-two hours but that a portion of each was sufficient. The Jewish leaders who wanted to make sure that the disciples did not steal the body of Jesus, said the following to Pilate.
Now on the next day, the day after the preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered together with Pilate, and said, “Sir, we remember that when He was still alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I am to rise again.’ Therefore, give orders for the grave to be made secure until the third day, otherwise His disciples may come and steal Him away and say to the people, ‘He has risen from the dead,’ and the last deception will be worse than the first.” Mt 27:62-64
The Jewish Leaders obviously understood Jesus words, in this case “after three days” to mean He would rise on the third day. Thus they asked for the tomb to be secured until the third day and not for exactly seventy-two hours, which would mean it needed to be secure until the fourth day had begun. It’s very clear the New Testament writers did not see three days and nights in the strict sense of three twelve-hour days and three twelve-hour nights. They had a system of reckoning that allowed a portion of a day to be counted as a full day. Thus Jesus died and was buried on Day One and rose on Day Three.
For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 1 Cor 15:3-5
Other Jewish Sources
The Babylonian Talmud (Jewish commentaries) states: “The portion of a day is as the whole of it.”
(Misnah, Third Tractate, “b. Peachim” part 4a)
The Jerusalem Talmud (as it was written in Jerusalem) states: “We have a teaching, ‘A day and a night are an Onah and the portion of an Onah is as the whole of it.’”
Misnah, Tractate, “J. Shabbath” chapter 9, part 3)
It is clear when we examine Scripture itself and the Biblical Jewish history of their observance and customs, we see that they did not relate every reference to a day as strictly a twenty-four-hour period. Likewise we see that the gospel writers and Paul emphasized that Jesus was raised on the third day and not the day after. Thus the events began on Day One and culminated on Day Three and not Day Four or Five. Yet this understanding of Jesus being crucified on Wednesday teaches that Jesus was in the Tomb a portion of Wednesday, all twenty-four hours of Thursday beginning at sundown on Wednesday evening, all twenty-four hours of Friday and Saturday and at least twelve hours of Sunday which began Saturday evening. Thus Jesus would have been in the Tomb as many as 86 hours – closer to a full four days. First of all that clearly contradicts the many verses which say he was or would be raised on the third day. In fact, if His ordeal began on Wednesday, the first day of the week would be the fifth day since His crucifixion. It also suggests that Jesus’ body may be starting to decay which the Scriptures said could not happen.
Incidentally those who argue for Thursday as the day of crucifixion are saying that Jesus rose on the fourth day and are still needing the portion of Sunday to be considered a full day.
The Feast of First Fruits
The Seven Feasts given to Israel by God are prophetically declaring to the nation the plan of Redemption in Messiah. They are celebrated every year and are to be fulfilled by the Messiah Himself. Paul called them the “shadows of the things to come.” The Spring Feasts are Passover, Unleavened Bread and First Fruits. They are recorded in Leviticus 23. Jesus fulfilled the first three during His death burial and resurrection. The fourth is Shavuot (Pentecost) which is partially fulfilled and will be completed with the Fall Feasts when Jesus comes again. This is how the Messiah fulfilled the Spring Feasts
Day 1 – 14th of Nisan – Passover Lamb – Jesus is crucified
Day 2 – 15th of Nisan – Unleavened Bread – Jesus in the Grave (Hidden)
Day 3 – 16th of Nisan – First Fruits – Jesus rose from the Dead
The First Fruit Festival took place on the 16th of Nisan. On this day Jesus rose from the dead as the First Fruits and brought a company of saints with Him which He took to heaven on the same day to wave before the Lord. He told Mary not to touch Him after He rose because He had not ascended, but later on in the day He appeared to them and there is no such prohibition mentioned. In fact, later on in the week we find Thomas putting his hand in His side.
If Jesus died on Passover, then He must be raised on the third day – the 16th of Nisan. Yet the Wednesday crucifixion theory denies this fulfillment, even though it is mentioned in the chart.
The disciples that Jesus met on Sunday afternoon on the way to Emmaus confirm this fact, that Jesus died on Day One and rose on Day Three.
And they said to Him, “Those about Jesus the Nazarene, who proved to be a prophet mighty in deed and word in the sight of God and all the people, and how the chief priests and our rulers handed Him over to be sentenced to death, and crucified Him. But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened. Luke 24:19-21
The Day of Preparation
When evening had already come, because it was the preparation day, that is, the day before the Sabbath, Joseph of Arimathea came, a prominent member of the Council, who himself was waiting for the kingdom of God; and he gathered up courage and went in before Pilate, and asked for the body of Jesus. Mk15:42-43
Chuck Missler states categorically that there is no mention of Friday as the day Jesus was crucified. But this is misleading. Yes, the text does not say Friday, it says the Day of Preparation which everyone knew to be Friday. In Greek the word translated “preparation” is παρασκευή (paraskeuē). It referred to Friday and it is now the modern Greek word for that day.” The Jews did not refer to Friday since that is a pagan term. Missler gets around this by saying that there were two Sabbaths that week, and the Day of Preparation being referred to is the one before Unleavened Bread (15th of Nisan), which was a “High Sabbath.” Those who take this view attempt to reduce the regular Sabbath’s importance and emphasize the 15th of Nisan as the “High Sabbath.” Thus they conclude that the Day of Preparation must be a reference to the day before the special Sabbath of the 15th of Nisan. But none of this is necessary. It is true that there was much preparation needed for the first Sabbath of Unleavened Bread, but this does not dispense with the importance of the weekly Sabbath. Neither does it imply that the Day of Preparation was not Friday on this occasion. If Friday was known as the Day of Preparation, how does that change if there is another preparation day on that week? And why would the gospel writers not explain this, especially Luke who compiled his account for a gentile? They didn’t because there was no need to. On this occasion the Day of Preparation (Friday) was the day before the weekly Sabbath, which on this occasion, was also the 15th of Nisan. This is why John referred to it as a “High Sabbath.”
Now then, since it was the day of preparation, to prevent the bodies from remaining on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews requested of Pilate that their legs be broken, and the bodies be taken away. So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first man, and of the other who was crucified with Him; but after they came to Jesus, when they saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. Jn 19:31-33
The above passage clearly identifies the crucifixion of Jesus as having occurred on the Preparation Day which is stated clearly to be the day before the Sabbath. This is the weekly Sabbath, but in this case since it is also the first Sabbath of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, thus it is referred to as a “High Sabbath.”
Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden was a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. Therefore because of the Jewish day of preparation, since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there. John 19:41-42
This is not a day of preparation but “the Jewish Day of Preparation.” What could be clearer that this reference to the sixth day of every week. Thus the day is Friday when Jesus died, and the first day of the week is Sunday when Jesus rose from the dead.
The Passover Meal
Now on the first day of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Where do You want us to prepare for You to eat the Passover?” And He said, “Go into the city to a certain man, and say to him, ‘The Teacher says, “My time is near; I am to keep the Passover at your house with My disciples.”’” The disciples did as Jesus had directed them; and they prepared the Passover. Mt 26:17-19
Nowthe Passover and Festival of Unleavened Bread were two days away; and the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how to arrest Him covertly and kill Him; for they were saying, “Not during the festival, otherwise there will be a riot of the people.” Mk 14:1-2
In this passage it is said that it was the first day of Unleavened Bread and Jesus and His disciples prepared to eat the Passover together. But we know that it was the 14th of Nisan when He ate Passover and later the next day (still on the 14th) that He died. Why then does it say the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread had come?
The answer to this question is not really very mysterious. The Spring Feasts occurred so close together that they were looked at as one week which was sometimes referred to as Passover and other times as Unleavened Bread. Today the whole festival is referred to as Passover. Therefore when it says that the first day of Unleavened Bread had come, it was referring to the 14th of Nisan which began on Thursday night. It was also the Day of Preparation. The next question that arises is why the disciples were eating the Passover Meal on the 14th prior to the sacrifice of the Lamb which was to take place during the afternoon on Friday. The Passover meal was supposed to be eaten on the next evening, at the beginning of the 15th of Nisan. This is why the Jewish leaders did not want to enter the Praetorium on Friday lest they be ritually defiled and unable to eat the Passover that evening. The answer to this question, which arises regardless of one’s view concerning the amount of time in the grave, seems again to be reasonably simple. Jesus and His disciples said they were celebrating Passover. No one took exception to it or raised a question as to why. This suggests that it was accepted for one to eat the Passover on both evenings. In fact, since the whole week was a time of feasting meals would have likely been eaten every night. Also in the diaspora it became customary to celebrate the Feasts for two days because of the time changes. Whatever the reason, it is clear that they celebrated Passover because the text says so. It is also clear that the on the 15th which began Friday evening, the Passover lamb was eaten.
Contradiction in John?
Now it was the day of preparation for the Passover; it was about the sixth hour. And he said to the Jews, “Look, your King!” So they shouted, “Away with Him, away with Him, crucify Him!” Pilate *said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king except Caesar.” John 19:14-15
The Reconstruction view tries to suggest that in this passage John is indicating that the Preparation was about the special Passover Sabbath and not the regular Sabbath. But as we have already seen both Sabbaths are on the same day. Thus John is not referring to another Preparation Day other than Friday. This is confirmed by the fact that later on in the same chapter he will refer to the Preparation Day twice in reference to the weekly Sabbath which is also a special Sabbath on this occasion.
Now then, since it was the day of preparation, to prevent the bodies from remaining on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews requested of Pilate that their legs be broken, and the bodies be taken away. John 19:31
Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden was a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. Therefore because of the Jewish day of preparation, since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there. John 19:41-42
The Spices
When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, bought spices, so that they might come and anoint Him. Very early on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen. Mk 16:1-2
Another argument often raised is that the women who bought spices did not have time to get them on Sunday morning since it was so early. This is simply not so. Since the Sabbath ends on Saturday evening, it would be very likely that a place would be available to buy them. Anyone who has lived in Israel, especially Jerusalem, in modern times, knows that after Sabbath on Saturday evening everything comes alive. Since that is true today it certainly was true then also. It is thus unlikely that there would have been any difficulty finding these reasonably common items.
The Jericho Journey
Chuck Missler, a man who has gone to be with the Lord and whom I greatly admired, raises an argument concerning what he calls the Jericho Walk. He refers to this verse in John chapter 12.
Therefore, six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. John 12:1
From this he deducts that since Jesus got to Bethany six days before the Passover, it couldn’t be on Friday, otherwise He would be traveling such a journey on the Sabbath – something that was forbidden. Yet again this is not necessary. Whether the Passover here refers to Friday afternoon, or Friday evening, or the beginning of Friday on Thursday evening, is not clear. But in either case there is no issue. The Hebrew way of reckoning again kicks in. If Jesus left on Saturday evening after the Sabbath and arrived on Sunday in Bethany, then Friday would be the sixth day since He arrived in Bethany. The day He left would have been counted and obviously Friday would have been counted as well. It is clear from Marks account that Jesus came from Jericho with a large crowd who were going up to Jerusalem with Him. The trek to Jerusalem is a very serious walk, up steep mountains as much as twenty-five hundred feet or so. We do not know if they travelled after the Sabbath for a time on Saturday evening and then camped, which would make sense. In any event it says Jesus was pushing on ahead and not dilly dallying since He had a schedule to keep. As He approached Bethany, He sent two disciples on ahead to find the colt upon which they put Him and He rode down the Mount of Olives to the Temple sometime on Sunday, likely early afternoon. Then after the rejection in the Temple He and disciples went to the Mount of Olives, where Jesus delivered what we call the Olivet Discourse. After that He and his disciples spend the evening at the home of Lazarus just over the Mount of Olives a mile or two away.
Conclusion
It is not wrong to question and study the traditions that were passed down to us. However we must not be motivated by mistrust or disdain for traditions. Honestly it does seem like some revel in the thought that the generations before us were wrong. Though there is much that was added in the early centuries that must be rejected, a great deal of what was passed on to us is highly reliable and especially the Scriptures themselves. To understand what they said and even more importantly what they meant, we must be very careful to study their cultural customs and norms. We neglect them at our own peril. We must also put all the Scriptures together carefully keeping them in context and not altering or massaging passages, even slightly, to prove something that we have already concluded. While I commend those who search out the Scriptures to see if these things are so, let us not be flippant or dismissive of those who disagree.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried. On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures; he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end. Nicene Creed
- Mt 17:23, 20:18-19, Luke 9:22,18:33, 24:7,24:46, Acts 10:40, 1 Cor 15:8
- Mt 27:63, Mark 8:31, 9:31, 10:34
- Acts 13:35
- Col 2:17
- Mt 27:52-53
- Luke 24:1, 13, 28
- Luke 22:1, 7, Mt 26:17-19
- John 18:28
- 2 Chron 30:21-22
- Mk 10:46,
- Luke 19:28