How long was Jesus was in the grave?
Conventional teaching says that Jesus died and was buried on a Friday and rose from the grave on Sunday. Sounds familiar, but can we account for every situation that scripture says occurred during the time Jesus was in the grave from Friday evening to Sunday morning? Let’s proceed by identifying every passage we can find that relates to this time period and see how they fit on a timeline.
Key considerations
- identify both literal and figurative passages.
- Apply our understanding of Jewish feast days.
- Account for every activity that took place.
- The Jewish day starts at sundown
- The Roman day starts at midnight
Listed below are the passages from both the Old testament and the New Testament that provide details about the events that took place. I will be referencing these events as facts in the case. Later when I present the timeline you will see references to these facts.
Fact #1
God Defines A Day
Genesis 1 3 Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. 4 And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day.
Fact #2
Jewish Feast Days
Leviticus 23 4 ‘These are the feasts of the Lord, holy convocations which you shall proclaim at their appointed times. 5 On the fourteenth day of the first month at twilight is the Lord’s Passover.
Fact #3
Middle Of The Week
Daniel 9 26 “And after the sixty-two weeks
Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself;
And the people of the prince who is to come
Shall destroy the city and the sanctuary.
The end of it shall be with a flood,
And till the end of the war desolations are determined.
27 Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week;
But in the middle of the week
He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering.
And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate,
Even until the consummation, which is determined,
Is poured out on the desolate.
Commentary
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers(27) And he shall confirm.—The subject of the sentence is ambiguous. Theod. makes it to be “one week.” LXX. “the covenant;” others take it to be the Antichristian prince spoken of in the last verse, an opinion which derives some support from Daniel 7:25. According to this interpretation, the covenant refers to the agreement which the prince makes with the large number of persons who become apostates. But (1) the word “covenant” does not apply to any such agreement, but rather to a covenant with God, and (2) in Daniel 9:26 it is the people of the prince, and not the prince, which is the subject of the sentence. It is therefore more appropriate to take Messiah as the subject. During the last closing week of the long period mentioned, Messiah, though cut off, shall confirm God’s covenant (comp. Daniel 11:22; Daniel 11:28; Daniel 11:30; Daniel 11:32) with many, that is, with those who receive Him.
Fact #4
Built the Temple In 3 Days
Matthew 27: 39 And those who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads 40 and saying, “You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, save Yourself! If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross.”
Fact #5
The Feast Of Unleavened Bread
Leviticus 23 6 And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the Lord; seven days you must eat unleavened bread. 7 On the first day you shall have a holy convocation; you shall do no [a]customary work on it. 8 But you shall offer an offering made by fire to the Lord for seven days. The seventh day shall be a holy convocation; you shall do no customary work on it.’ ”
Fact #6
Preparation Day
Luke 23: 44 Now it was about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. 45 Then the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was torn in two. 46 And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, “Father, ‘into Your hands I commit My spirit.’ ” Having said this, He breathed His last.
Fact #7
Preparation Day
Matthew 27: 45 Now from the sixth hour until the ninth hour there was darkness over all the land. 46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”
Fact #8
Preparation Day
John 19: 28 After this, Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, “I thirst!” 29 Now a vessel full of sour wine was sitting there; and they filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on hyssop, and put it to His mouth. 30 So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.
Fact #9
Preparation Day
Luke 23: 47 So when the centurion saw what had happened, he glorified God, saying, “Certainly this was a righteous Man!”
48 And the whole crowd who came together to that sight, seeing what had been done, beat their breasts and returned. 49 But all His acquaintances, and the women who followed Him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things.
Fact #10
Preparation Day
John 19: 31 Therefore, because it was the Preparation Day, that the bodies should not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. 32 Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and of the other who was crucified with Him. 33 But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs.
Fact #11
Preparation Day
Luke 23: 50 Now behold, there was a man named Joseph, a council member, a good and just man. 51 He had not consented to their decision and deed. He was from Arimathea, a city of the Jews, who himself was also waiting for the kingdom of God. 52 This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. 53 Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a tomb that was hewn out of the rock, where no one had ever lain before. 54 That day was the Preparation, and the Sabbath drew near.
Fact #12
Preparation Day
John 19 39 And Nicodemus, who at first came to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds. 40 Then they took the body of Jesus, and bound it in strips of linen with the spices, as the custom of the Jews is to bury.
Fact #13
Women At The Grave
Luke 23: 55 And the women who had come with Him from Galilee followed after, and they observed the tomb and how His body was laid.
Fact #14
Jesus Buried In Joseph’s Tomb
Mark 15: 42 Now when evening had come, because it was the Preparation Day, that is, the day before the Sabbath, 43 Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent council member, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, coming and taking courage, went in to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.
Fact #15
Joseph asks Pilate for the body
Matthew 27 57 Now when evening had come, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who himself had also become a disciple of Jesus. 58 This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.
Fact #16
Jesus Buried In Joseph’s Tomb
Mark 15: 44 Pilate marveled that He was already dead; and summoning the centurion, he asked him if He had been dead for some time. 45 So when he found out from the centurion, he granted the body to Joseph.
Fact #17
Pilate gives Joseph the body
Matthew 27 59 When Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, 60 and laid it in his new tomb which he had hewn out of the rock; and he rolled a large stone against the door of the tomb, and departed. 61 And Mary Magdalene was there, and the other Mary, sitting opposite the tomb.
Fact #18
Jesus Buried In Joseph’s Tomb
Mark 15: . 46 Then he bought fine linen, took Him down, and wrapped Him in the linen. And he laid Him in a tomb which had been hewn out of the rock, and rolled a stone against the door of the tomb. 47 And Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses observed where He was laid.
Fact #19
Jews Secure The Tomb
Matthew 27 62 On the next day, which followed the Day of Preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees gathered together to Pilate, 63 saying, “Sir, we remember, while He was still alive, how that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise.’ 64 Therefore command that the tomb be made secure until the third day, lest His disciples come by night and steal Him away, and say to the people, ‘He has risen from the dead.’ So the last deception will be worse than the first.”
Fact #20
Burial Spices
Luke 23: 56 Then they returned and prepared spices and fragrant oils. And they rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment.
Fact #21
Women Buy Spices
Mark 16:1 Now when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, that they might come and anoint Him.
Fact #22
Women Bring Spices To Grave
2 Very early in the morning, on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen.
Fact #23
The Empty Grave
Luke 24: Now on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they, and certain other women with them, came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared. 2 But they found the stone rolled away from the tomb. 3 Then they went in and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.
Fact #24
Jesus Is Risen
Matthew 28: Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. 2 And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it.
Fact #25
Rise The Third Day
Luke 24: 6 He is not here, but is risen! Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, 7 saying, ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.’
Fact #26
Road To Emmaus
Luke 24: 13 Now behold, two of them were traveling that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was seven miles from Jerusalem. 14 And they talked together of all these things which had happened. 15 So it was, while they conversed and reasoned, that Jesus Himself drew near and went with them.
Fact #28
Jesus Reveals Himself
Luke 24: 30 Now it came to pass, as He sat at the table with them, that He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. 31 Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him; and He vanished from their sight
Fact #27
Third Day
Luke 24: 21 But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, today is the third day since these things happened.
Fact #29
Rise The Third Day
Luke 24: 46 Then He said to them, “Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, 47 and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
Lessons Learned From God’s Word
So far in this study I have have attempted to identify verses from scripture that relate to the time period related to the final week of Jesus’ life. In addition to these verses I have included verses that provide historical background for this week as well. Now, using this information I have provided a time-line that shows the events in the order that they occur. Let’s examine the evidence in order to understand what Jesus teaches when He says that He will rise in three days.
God’s Words Are Important.
God gives us the definition of a day. Starting in Genesis, God tells us that the night and the day are the first day. One of the principles of biblical hermeneutics is the rule of first mention. According to this rule, the first occurrence of a term in the bible carries the most weight. Combining the fact that God gave the original meaning and that God was the one who used the exact word when he made the statement, indicates the intended meaning of the word.
A second rule of hermeneutics is God’s use of repetition. When God uses the same words to describe an event, He is placing emphasis on the concept He is teaching. As we can see by examining the scripture references in this study, God repeats the phrase “three days and three nights” many times.
Resurrection Timeline
Commentary
Given the body of evidence provided in the gospels, can we honestly say that Jesus was buried on Friday and rose from the grave on Sunday?
First, the facts show that the events needed to occur before Jesus’ body was laid in the grave. These events occurred on Preparation Day according to Luke’s, Mark’s and John’s accounts.
Second, they show the progression of events that happened while Jesus’s body was in the grave. This is the period of time that Jesus called “three days and three nights in the grave”. It’s during this period of time that the women bought and prepared the spices.
Third, after the sabbath passed, the women rose early and went to the grave to anoint Jesus’s body with the spices they prepared.
Finally, the facts conclude with Jesus’ resurrection on the first day of the week.
For those who say that Jesus was crucified on Friday, please consider all the events that took place as recorded in the gospels. Wednesday allows for both the completion of each event as well as giving us three full days and three full nights in the grave.