The title may sound like a travel ad for a quick getaway, but it’s actually a teaser for a common thread seen throughout the Bible: 3 days and 3 nights. And no, I don’t want to get into numerology and start dissecting numbers / hidden meanings in the Bible. The 3 days and 3 nights phrase is a tie-in from the Old Testament and New Testament.
First we’ll look at Jonah 1:17 after God told him to go to Nineveh and cry against the city. Jonah boarded a ship headed in the opposite direction and was caught in a storm on the sea.
And the LORD appointed a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the stomach of the fish three days and three nights. (Jonah 1:17 NASB95)
Here we see that Jonah was also in the “depths of Sheol” (Jonah 2:2) and he cried out to the Lord after praying. After 3 days and 3 nights the Lord commanded the fish to spit Jonah onto the dry land.
Second, we’ll look at Matthew 12:40 where Jesus told His disciples that He would be in the earth for 3 days and 3 nights:
for just as JONAH WAS THREE DAYS AND THREE NIGHTS IN THE BELLY OF THE SEA MONSTER, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. (Matthew 12:40 NASB95)
Besides referring to Himself, Jesus referenced Jonah who was under the sea for 3 days and 3 nights. Jonah was apparently dead or somehow alive and protected inside the fish. The disciples would have remembered the story of Jonah when Jesus said this, and therefore they should have been standing at the tomb after 3 days expecting Jesus to be resurrected.
The lesson for us today is to look at similarities throughout the Bible and investigate them. Ask God for knowledge and wisdom. And expect Him to guide and tell you (Jeremiah 33:3).
God is love. So above all else, let love be the beautiful prize for which you run (1 Corinthians 13:13 TPT). Jesus is Lord.