Summary:
- Jesus’ “sign of Jonah” was not about a literal bodily resurrection.
- The “three days and three nights” refer to the spiritual death and revival of the body of believers — the Church — not His physical body.
- The tomb was empty early to prevent belief in a physical resurrection.
- The true resurrection was the apostles’ recognition of Jesus as the Suffering Messiah after His rejection.
What Is the Resurrection Parable?
Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to him [Jesus], “Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.” But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign; but no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the whale, so will the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” — Matthew 12:39
What follows is an excerpt from Dr. Leland Jensen’s second Fireside Class, The Proofs for Jesus, in which he explains perfectly the meaning of the parable of the Resurrection.
Dr. Jensen’s Explanation of the Meaning of the Resurrection
(Presented in full, unedited, as part of the prophetic record)
We need to look at the resurrection:
Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to him [Jesus], “Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.” But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign; but no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the whale, so will the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” (Matthew 12:39)
In other words, here the clergy asks Jesus, “If you’re the Messiah, the one we’re waiting for, give us a sign so that we all can believe in you.” Jesus told them that a wicked generation looks for a sign of the type they were seeking, and they would get no such sign, except for the sign that “as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a whale, so will the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.”
Why the “Sign of Jonah” is not a Literal Resurrection
It is a well known fact that Christ was crucified on Friday by sundown, and that his tomb was empty Sunday morning. So the Christians say this refers to Jesus’ death and bodily resurrection, and the “three days and three nights” are Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
But the Christians didn’t get through first or second grade in school if this is the way they calculate. From Friday night to Sunday morning is not three days and three nights. Friday night, all day Saturday, and Saturday night are two nights and a day—only thirty-six hours. Three days and three nights is seventy-two hours.
The Real Reason the Tomb was Empty Early
Christians will tell you that Jesus rose on the third day, but they never say He rose in three days and three nights. The question arises, if this is the sign that Jesus is the Christ why was the tomb empty on Sunday morning in just half the time? Why wasn’t his body in the tomb three days and three nights? There’s a real reason that tomb was empty. The tomb was empty in only half the time so that neither you nor anyone else would ever believe there was a physical resurrection. It did not meet the criteria.
Christians might be able to slosh over these very vital points in order to put forth the theology that His physical body resurrected. But the vital point is that Jesus gave this sign to show that His physical body is not important. In the sixth chapter of John, He says, “The flesh is of no avail. The words that I have spoken, they are spirit and life” (John 6:63 ). And Jesus’ words were dead not on Friday night, but on Thursday night, the night before the crucifixion.
After the Last Supper, Jesus took his disciples up on a mountain and told them, “I’m going to be arrested, and they’re going to crucify me.” The apostle Peter had said when Jesus told them this before, “God forbid, Lord! This shall never happen to you.” And Jesus said to Peter, “Get thee behind me Satan!” (Matthew 16:22-23).
Why did Jesus call Peter Satan? Peter thought, as did the other apostles, that Jesus was the reigning Messiah that would establish the kingdom of God on earth by re-establishing David’s throne in the world, and He would have a horse and an army and conquer the Roman Empire, setting the Jews up in ascendancy over the people of the world. This was the clergy’s concept at the time—the whole world better watch out, they thought, because the Messiah would be their conquering king. And the apostles also wanted Jesus to be the Messiah that would be the conquering king. But as we saw previously, there are two Messiahs—the Suffering Messiah and the Reigning Messiah. So when Peter said, “Not you O Lord,” Jesus told Peter that he was Satan, meaning, “You’ve been with me all this time and you still don’t comprehend who I am (the Suffering Messiah).”
And during the Last Supper, Judas was all fidgety, thinking to himself, “Gee, maybe we’d better turn Jesus in.” Jesus told him, “Judas, go do what you have to do.” So Judas went to have Jesus turned in, for thirty pieces of silver in return, telling the Roman guards the one he kissed on the cheek would be the one they should arrest.
When Jesus called the apostles up on the mountain Thursday, Judas came to Him with some Roman guards and kissed Jesus on the cheek, and Jesus was arrested. Then all the apostles fled, and disbelieved in Jesus, thinking, “How could Jesus be the Reigning Messiah when he’s been arrested?”
Just before this happened, Jesus told the apostles. “Tonight, everyone in the world will disbelieve in me.” Peter said, “O Lord, even if everyone disbelieves I’ll still believe.” Jesus told him, “Peter, before the cock crows you’ll deny me three times.” And this was fulfilled after Jesus’ arrest.
When the Body of Christ Truly Died
What I’m pointing out here is that there were no longer any believers in Jesus Christ that night. Jesus said this would happen. Jesus’ body was the church— this is found in the books of Colossians and Ephesians (Ephesians 1:22-23; Colossians 2:19). It says the body of Christ is the “ecclesiasia”—the believers. The night Jesus was arrested, there weren’t any believers, so the body of Christ was dead.
The body of Christ was dead the day before the body that was of no avail was crucified. And that’s why the tomb of the body that was of no avail was empty. It was empty because it did not contain the body that was going to resurrect.
How the Apostles’ Belief Was Restored
Three days and three nights from the time that Jesus was rejected by His body of believers, the apostles were in the upper chambers. Mary Magdalene had already told them that the tomb was empty, and then she spoke with them, and after she left they discussed this matter. The apostles were in “the upper chambers”, meaning that they were in meditation, in the highest regions of the intellect. In this meditation, Jesus appeared to them—and in their meditation, they recognized that Jesus was the Suffering Messiah. They saw the holes in His hands, in His feet and His side.
They said, “How dumb we are! Jesus didn’t come to establish the throne in the world. He said His kingdom was not of this world. Jesus is the Suffering Messiah, not the Reigning Messiah” They admitted, “We had hoped he was the one to redeem Israel” (Luke 24:21). Thus they all became believers in Him again, and the body of Christ resurrected in three days and three nights!
About the Publisher
Robert Wright is a Knight of Baha’u’llah, knighted personally by Dr. Leland Jensen for pioneering efforts in teaching and raising a Baha’i community in Anchorage, Alaska. A direct disciple of Dr. Jensen — the promised one from the heaven of prophecy — Robert studied under him and now republishes his teachings, preserving their original form and intent.
With allegiance to Baha’u’llah as Prophet, and to Dr. Jensen as High Priest, Robert Wright serves as a Herald of these words, ensuring they are proclaimed, preserved, and understood in the light of prophecy.