The Passion: Three Days in the Heart of the Earth
Study The Word
Matthew 12:39–40
But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: 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.
When the religious leaders came to Jesus demanding a sign, demanding proof, demanding evidence of who He was, Jesus gave them only one sign. He didn’t perform a miracle for them on the spot. He didn’t do something spectacular to satisfy their curiosity. He pointed them to a prophecy. He pointed them to the prophet Jonah. He said, “There shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas.” This is incredible!
Out of all the signs He could have given them, out of all the miracles He had already done, Jesus chose the sign of Jonah as the ultimate proof of who He was. Why? Because the sign of Jonah pointed to the burial, His descension and His resurrection — the most important events in human history. What kind of a person do you have to be to make such a public announcement?
I love Jesus! He said, this is the sign, now here is what I’m going to do: “I’m going to die, and then after I die, I’m going to go to hell – the heart of the earth – where all the dead reside, Satan and the cohorts of hell reside and on the third day I’m going to come back alive from there.” And then He said, “The men of Nineveh… they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and, behold, a greater than Jonah is here. (Matthew 12:41) Haha! Listen, nobody spoke like Jesus! He said “a greater than Jonah is here!” Why? Because Jonah came out of the belly of the fish and that was impressive, but he too died but couldn’t come out from the heart of the earth, but I am. Not only that, I am going to bring him out with me! Ayaaa! And that will be your sign.
σημεῖον semeion sign – a sign, a mark, a token, a miracle that points to a greater spiritual reality
Now think about this: Jonah chapter 1 verse 17 says, “Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.” And Jesus said, “For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the belly of the fish; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” Keeping in mind that what Jonah went through was prophetic regarding the burial of Jesus Christ and also that He would also descend to hell – at the heart of the earth! He didn’t say He was going to be crucified and as soon as He is crucified He would immediately go to be “in paradise” or in heaven, no. He revealed here that He was first going to go to a location that Paul would refer to as “under the earth”. (Philippians 2:10) This is the location that is used to describe where the dead, and all the demonic entities reside. That is the location where the scriptures point to be where hell is.
So Jesus revealed that He was going to go under the earth for three days and three nights. The belly of the great fish was a foreshadow of the belly of the earth. The three days and three nights were a prophetic timeline of how long Jesus would be buried. And just as the fish vomited out Jonah upon the dry land after three days, so Jesus would come out of the grave after three days from the heart of the earth, Hallelujah!
καρδία kardia heart – the heart, the center, the innermost part; used of the heart of the earth, the deepest depths
And here’s what makes this even more powerful: Jesus chose this as the only sign He would give to that generation. What was hidden in the sign? What was the key? Jonah was in the belly of the fish for 3 days and 3 nights and he came out. So the sign regarding Jonah was the coming out of the belly of the earth after the third day – which is the sign that points to Jesus’s resurrection and also His conquest of Satan and all the cohorts of hell. So the resurrection is the sign, the resurrection is the proof. The resurrection is the evidence. Hence if someone asks you, “How do you know that Jesus is who He says He is?” — the answer is the resurrection. He died. He was buried for three days and three nights He came back from the dead alive.
And not just that, it is imperative that you disclose where He was coming back from the dead from. Not that He just rose, no. But that He died and went to heart of the earth where hell, the devil, and all demons reside and He came back out from there!
Listen, nobody had ever come back from there until Jesus went! Whoooo-Hoooo!!!!! And Matthew 27:52-53 proves to us that this is where Jesus went as soon as He died, because the bible says He came back from there with some folks – the old testament saints. The bible says “52 And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, 53 And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.”
That is significant to the sign that Jesus gave. That is the sign of Jonah. That is the sign that Jesus Himself said would be given to the world. And it was fulfilled.
So we go about everywhere preaching the resurrection of Jesus Christ! He is risen! Hallelujah! But it doesn’t end there, He came back from the place where the dead, the devil and all the cohorts of hell reside. That’s where He rose from the dead from, victorious of Satan and all the cohorts of hell!
דג dag fish – a fish, a great fish; used prophetically as a type of the grave that swallows and then releases
And what was happening during those three days and three nights in the heart of the earth? Jesus was not idle. Jesus was not resting in some kind of sleep. As we’re going to see, Jesus descended. He went to Sheol. He went into the belly of the earth. And what He accomplished there during those three days and three nights changed everything — for Abraham, for the saints of old, for Satan, and for you and me. The sign of Jonah is not just about the burial. It’s about what happened during the burial and what happened when He came out. Glory to God! Jonah came out of the belly of the fish and preached to Nineveh and the whole city repented. Jesus came out of the heart of the earth and gave us the gospel that is turning the whole world to God! Haha! That is the sign of the prophet Jonah!
Pray The Word
Heavenly Father, I thank You for the sign of the prophet Jonah — that just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the fish, so Jesus was three days and three nights in the heart of the earth, and He came out victorious. I thank You that the resurrection of Jesus Christ is the ultimate sign and the ultimate proof of the gospel, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Speak The Word
The sign of Jonah is fulfilled in my Savior! Jesus was three days and three nights in the heart of the earth, and He came out in resurrection power! This is the sign that proves all things. My faith is not built on feelings or opinions but on the prophesied, fulfilled, and confirmed resurrection of Jesus Christ. He is alive, and because He lives, I live also, in the name of Jesus Christ!