The Feast of Passover or Pesach is three nights from now. The Christian “Holy Week” begins tomorrow with the celebration of “Palm Sunday”. Though there are similarities and a lot of differences between these two, there is one common question: How can “three days and three nights” fit if the Messiah died on Passover and resurrected two days later? Or, died Friday afternoon and resurrected Sunday morning?

Let’s find out together.

Mattithyahu (Matthew) 12:40 is the verse we have read and heard a lot on how many days the Messiah was supposed to be in the heart of the earth. This verse was commonly understood as “in the graveyard” or “in death”. It does not matter if one observes Christianity’s “Holy Week” or the Biblical Feast of Passover. In the former, the Messiah died Friday and resurrected Sunday morning; and in the latter, the Messiah died the 14^th Day of the 1^st month and resurrected on the 16^th Day.

In both, there is no three days and three nights in the heart of the earth as Mattithyahu (Matthew) 12:40 said.

# Setting the Expectation

For us to be able to understand Mattithyahu (Matthew) 12:40 we first need to establish an agreement: the Bible is the final authority. Simply put, if it is written three days and three nights in the heart of the earth then it is what must have happened.

This is very important for us to understand because this is the key, the sign, that 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤔𐤅𐤏 (Yahushua) or “Jesus” was indeed the Messiah. He must be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. Not one day and two nights; not one day and half a night; not three days and three and half nights. There is no room for any other than three days and three nights.

# What does it mean in the heart of the earth?

Let’s look at Markus (Mark) 8:31-32.

In verse 31, the Messiah explained what must happen, and in verse 32 it was written that the Messiah explained it clearly or plainly. There are no hidden meanings, deeper layer, or any mathematical code to unlock. After he suffer many things, after he was rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, then he will rise after three days.

Markus (Mark) 8:31-32 sealed it. Mattithyahu (Matthew) 12:40 can not be anything other than a literal three days and three nights in the heart of the earth! It was the Messiah himself who explained plainly or openly what in the heart of the earth means before Mattithyahu (Matthew) wrote it!.

# The Sign of Jonah

When Jonah was swallowed by a great fish, he did not party, he did not socialised, he did not start to draw on the belly walls of the fish out of boredom, no, he suffered. He was alive inside the belly of the fish but was suffering. Though it was not written, he was no doubt suffering from the smell, the digestive acid of the fish’s stomach, he probably had wounds too, and his guilt and fear was eating him as well.

Just like Jonah, the Messiah must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chielf priests, and scribes, and be killed for three days and three nights not in the belly of the fish but in the heart of the earth.

Even Lukas (Luke) recorded the Messiah saying the exact same thing. The Messiah must suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day, it can not be any clearer than that. The Messiah’s suffering is counted and him getting killed is but the last phase of the heart of the earth in Mattithyahu (Matthew) 12:40. Then on the third day he became the first to rise from the dead.

# Putting it all together

From these verses, and directly from the Messiah himself, the heart of the earth was referring to from the moment he was betrayed up to when he was killed. The suffering he must endure to be the perfect and final sacrificial lamb to buy our salvation once and for all.

• Nighttime of 13^th is Night 1: Judas betrayed the Messiah at the Garden of Gethsemane.
• Daytime of 14^th is Day 1: “Preparation Day”. Trial, crucifixion, death at the 9^th hour (15:00 or 3:00pm)
• Nighttime of 14^th is Night 2: Passover. Vayiqra (Leviticus) 23:5 - In the fourteenth day of the first month at evening is 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 (YAHUAH)’s passover.
• Daytime of 15^th is Day 2: Sabbath Day and is also the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Vayiqra (Leviticus) 23:6 - And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of unleavened bread unto 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 (YAHUAH): seven days ye must eat unleavened bread.
• Nighttime of 15^th is Night 3
• Daytime of 16^th is Day 3: Resurrection Day

That, my friend, is the simplest and shortest version. I hope you were able to follow and understood it.