Was Jesus In The Tomb 3 Days & 3 Nights Like He Prophesied?

There’s a common question among Christians when they read the Gospel accounts of Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection: How can the Bible say Jesus was in the tomb for three days and three nights when He died Friday afternoon and rose Sunday morning?

Have you ever wondered this? If your answer is yes, you’re not alone! And it’s not wrong to ask questions about the Bible. God actually welcomes it so we can better know Him and understand how perfect and accurate His Word truly is (James 1:5-8).

So, let’s dive in. The root of this question comes from a few facts in the Bible that can be confusing at first glance:

1. Jesus died around the “ninth hour” on Friday, which is about 3 p.m. (Mark 15:34-37), and He rose again early Sunday morning (Mark 16, John 20, Luke 24).

2. Jesus prophesied in Mark 12:40 saying that, “For as Jonah was in the belly of the great fish for three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights.“

Since Jesus died Friday afternoon and rose early Sunday morning, why did He say He would be in the tomb three days and three nights? That timing doesn’t seem to add up, but a deeper dive gives us the context we need.

The question about Jesus’ length of stay in the tomb is understandable, particularly for our current Western culture. Why? Because we count days differently than Jesus and first century Jewish culture. To us, days start at 12 a.m. and end at 11:59 p.m., constituting a full day. Jesus would have been in the tomb 72 hours for His prophesy to align with our time standards. However, the authors of the New Testament, who resided in a different time and culture, counted time differently. For them, sundown marked the end of a day and the start of another. They also counted part of a day as one whole day.

With this new context in mind, we can add up Jesus’ days in the tomb like this:

Day & night 1, Friday: Jesus died at 3 p.m. and was placed in the tomb shortly after. This is where it gets tricky for us: New Testament writers counted Friday as one day and one night because Jesus died before sundown.

Day & night 2, Saturday: As soon as the sun went down on Friday, Saturday night began, making night two. Day two started when the sun came up Saturday morning.

Day & night 3, Sunday: Sunday night began when the sun set on Saturday, making night three. Day three began as the sun rose. Jesus exited the tomb not long after the sun started rising.

When we look at Jesus’ act of salvation and its timing through the cultural context it was originally written in, we realize that He truly was in the tomb three days and three nights. Jesus’ prophesy from Mark 12:40, like all of His other words, came true.

The beautiful thing about walking with Jesus is that we can ask hard questions, receive answers from Him, and gain an even deeper understanding of how trustworthy He is – right down to every detail. We pray this explanation helped clear up any questions and provide a greater appreciation for what Jesus did for you!