In Matthew 12:40 we read, "For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth."

If He was crucified on Friday, and rose on the first day of the week, He was only two nights in the grave. How is this to be understood?

In reply_all through Scripture we have foreshadows of our Lord’s resurrection. The case of Jonah mentioned in the immediate context is but one example of the use of the term, "three days," "the third day," etc. Of course, it is not the question of so many hours, but the spiritual significance and connection that is important. The Jewish method of computing time was this:today, tomorrow, the third day. So in Luke 13:32:"Behold, I cast out devils, and I do cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I shall be perfected." So the expression, "three days and three nights," is simply another way of saying our Lord was to be raised on the third day.

It is literally true, if we count as the Jews did (which we must do to explain it aright) each fraction of a day as a full day; that is, a day and a night. Thus the evening and the morning in Genesis chapter one made a full day. So here the Lord was to be three days in the tomb. It can be counted as follows:part of Friday, called the first day and night (really but the afternoon of Friday); Friday night and Saturday, the second day and night (this one complete); third, Saturday night and the early dawn of the Lord’s Day, the third day and night. Of course in our phraseology this would not be done, but it was well understood by those to whom our Lord spoke, and was the usage of Scripture.

The reason for His rising on the third day is beautiful and simple. The first day saw the deed done, the second bore witness to its reality, and the third, the day of manifestation, showed all the power of God.