The Sign of Jonah: When Did Jesus Resurrect from the Dead?

by Jerry TeetsApril 22, 2010 at 2:44am

Jesus’ body was in the tomb; His soul/spirit went to the “paradise” side of sheol/hades. He then removed all the righteous dead from paradise and took them with Him to heaven. Unfortunately, in many translations of the Bible, translators are not consistent, or correct, in how they translate the Hebrew and Greek words for “sheol,” “hades,” and “hell.” Got Questions.org

However the language of the Bible says Jesus intended to descend bodily into Sheol/Hades. Look at Matthew 12:40.

For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish.. Matthew12:40

 We need to look at what Jonah experienced;

Jonah toss into the Sea

Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard, and the raging sea grew calm.

Jonah in the Sea

Before Jonah was swallowed by the fish he floundered in the sea.

You hurled me into the deep, into the very heart of the seas, and the currents swirled about me; all your waves and breakers swept over me. The engulfing waters threatened me, the deep surrounded me; seaweed was wrapped around my head.

Jonah in the Fish

But the LORD provided a great fish to swallow Jonah

Jonah is swallowed by the fish.

While he is still alive, from inside the fish, Jonah prayed to the LORD his God.  "In my distress I called to the LORD, and he answered me.

 In this condition Jonah prayed.

I said, 'I have been banished from your sight; yet I will look again toward your holy temple.'

Jonah knew he was dying.

"When my life was ebbing away, 

Yet he clung to the hope of being resurrected because he expected to look at the Temple in Jerusalem after this.

I remembered you, LORD, and my prayer rose to you, to your holy temple.

 
Jonah in Sheol

After Jonah died his prayer continued in Sheol.

From the depths of the Sheol I called for help.

To the roots of the mountains I sank down; the earth beneath barred me in forever.

Jonah remembers the experience of sinking down beneath they earth to the roots of the mountain. Jonah's soul and spirit went to the comfort side of Sheol and he expected to be there "forever." But God was preparing His servant to be a type of Jesus' death, burial and resurrection.

 
Jonah Resurrected

But you brought my life up from the pit (shachath), O LORD my God.Job 33:28, 30, Isaiah 38:17 

Then Jonah remembers when the LORD resurrecting him from the dead.

"Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs.But I, with a song of thanksgiving, will sacrifice to you. What I have vowed I will make good. Salvation comes from the LORD ."

Jonah makes a vow to offer to the Lord.

Jonah is Vomited Out

And the LORD commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.

Jonah was inside the fish three days and three nights.

Now look at what Jesus says;

So the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. Matthew 12:40

Notice the difference in this second sentence. Do not miss the precision of Jesus' word. In regard to Jonah's body He said it was "in the belly of a huge fish." But in regards to His body He said; "in the heart of the earth." Notice where Jesus did not say "in the tomb." Jesus intends after His resurrection to go in the heart of the earth. Jesus is emphatic about this because He said "the Son of Man will be....in the heart of the earth." Nothing in Jesus' words is symbolic, indefinite, or allegorical. He said He "the Son of Man will be....in the heart of the earth."

How long does Jesus intend to stay "in the heart of the earth?"

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

AS Jonah...SO the Son of Man. Three days and three nights are mentioned twice. 72 hours, three twenty fours hour days with three periods of of night time in between. In my study of the Bible...any time God has His author repeat a revelation more than once...He intend for us to pay attention. 

I know Jesus' resurrected that night after His burial because the scriptures say;

The tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. They came out of the tombs, and after Jesus' resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many people.

The tombs were broke open at 3 pm and after Jesus' resurrection after 6 pm at sunset "the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life they went into the holy city and appeared to many people." 

This is before His tomb was sealed, this was before the two Sabbaths had passed. 

The prophecy of David begins to be fulfilled;

You will not abandon me (David's sould and spirit) to the Sheol, nor will you let your Holy One (Jesus) see decay. Psalm 16:10

Peter commenting on this prophecy said;

"Brothers, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb (the place where his body is buried) is here to this day. But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne. Seeing what was ahead, he spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that he (David's soul and spirit) was not abandoned to Sheol/Hades, nor did his (Jesus' physical, material) body see decay.

Why?

God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact.

Jesus had to be raised within hours of His death to present to advance stages of decay to His body.

Once death occurs, human decomposition takes place in stages. The process of tissue breakdown may take from several days up to years. The fresh stage of decomposition occurs during the first few days following the death. There are no physical signs of decomposition during this time. However, homeostasis of the body has ceased, allowing cellular and soft tissue changes to occur because of the process of autolysis, the destruction of cells and organs due to an aseptic chemical process. At this point, the body enters algor mortis, the cooling of the body's temperature to that of its surroundings. When the body’s cells reach the final stage of autolysis, an anaerobic environment is created, that is, an environment wherein oxygen is not present. This allows the body’s normal bacteria to break down the remaining carbohydrates, proteins, and lipids. The products from the breakdown create acids, gases, and other products which cause volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and putrefactive effects. VOCs are produced during the early stages of human decomposition.[1] Wikipedia.org

Jesus immortal soul and spirit that He sent to His Father (Luke 23:46) returns to His body.

He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit. 1 Peter 3:18

The Spirit made Jesus' dead body to be alive.

Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father 

Through the glory of God the Father Jesus was raised from the dead.

I will raise it again in three days. 

Jesus raised His body.

Father, Son and Holy Spirit were involved in Jesus' resurrection as they were at His birth and at His baptism.

After Jesus is resurrected He descends to "the heart of the earth."

He also descended to the lower, earthly regions. Ephesians 4:9

 

...through whom (through His body made alive by the Spirit) also he (Jesus) went. 1 Peter 3:19

No revelation is given on what Jesus did for three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. What is revealed is that first;

Jesus preached (made a proclamation) to the spirits in prison. 1 Peter 3:19

 In all probability, this was preaching in the proclamation of God's message, but it was not evangelism the proclamation of good news. Jesus probably preached a message of judgment and final condemnation in light of His finished work on the cross to these disobedient spirits.

i. In doing this, there was a completion in Jesus' triumph over evil, even the evil occurring before the flood.

 

ii. The Bible says that even those under the earth must acknowledge Jesus' ultimate Lordship. Here Jesus was announcing that fact: that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth (Philippians 2:10). --David Guzik

God has not revealed what Jesus proclaim to the wicked dead on the other side of the gulf. It is could be as simple as what He said on the cross "It is Finished!" or it was some message of judgment.

Second Jesus gather the souls and spirits of Old Testament saints like David as He foretold in Psalms 16:10. God did not abandon him an the Old Testament saints to stay in Sheol/Hades. Jesus made the way to Heaven by His own blood. Jesus ascends with these captives to heaven in fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy;

"When he ascended on high, he led captives in his train and gave gifts to men." [Psalm 68:18] He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe. Ephesians 4:8 & 10

The tomb was opened to let witness in to see that Jesus had risen from the dead just as He said He would. 

In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. After his suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God.  Acts 1:1-3

 

Thus Jesus fulfilled the type from Jonah and gave Israel the sign that He was God's anointed Prophet, Priest and King.