Answer
In Matthew 12:40, Jesus says, “For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth” (ESV). The Greek word translated as “heart” refers to the “core” of something, including inanimate objects. Following His crucifixion, Jesus, the Son of Man, will spend three days and three nights in the heart, or core, of the earth. To appreciate the significance of this unique expression, we must review the context of Matthew 12:33–40.
In Matthew 12:33–37, Jesus addresses and challenges the Pharisees to consider the condition of their hearts. To this end, He uses a metaphor about trees and the fruit they produce. A good tree produces good fruit, but a corrupt tree produces bad fruit. Jesus knew that the Pharisees were evil and corrupt because they had spoken evil things about Him (see Matthew 12:22–31). On judgment day, the Pharisees will answer for “every careless word they speak” (verse 36, ESV).
Next, the scribes and Pharisees request a sign: “Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you” (Matthew 12:38, ESV). Jesus had already performed many signs and miracles in their sight, but they refused to believe in Him as the promised Messiah. So, Jesus says, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah” (verse 39, ESV). Here, the word adulterous refers to unfaithfulness to God. The scribes and Pharisees were unfaithful because they honored God were their lips, but their hearts were far from Him (Matthew 15:8). This was abundantly clear by their request for a sign.
When Jesus says, “no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah” (Matthew 12:39), He is not denying other signs and miracles that He had performed. He is saying, rather, that the most important sign is the one He has yet to perform; that is, His death, burial, and resurrection. Jesus then points to Jonah, who “was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish” (Matthew 12:40, ESV; see Jonah 2:1–10). Jonah was swallowed by the great fish because of disobedience to God (Jonah 1:1–3), but Jesus was perfectly “obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:8, ESV). Following His crucifixion, Jesus was in “the heart of the earth,” that is, in the grave or the “heart of the earth” (Matthew 12:40, ESV).
Just as God delivered Jonah from the “belly of the great fish” (Matthew 12:40), He also delivered His Son from the grave: “You will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption” (Psalm 16:10, ESV). In both instances, the words of Jonah ring loud and clear, “Salvation is of the Lord!” (Jonah 2:9, ESV).
Jonah in the belly of the great fish and Jesus in the heart of the earth—both men seemed like goners. No one comes back from such trauma; survival is not to be expected. But God had a different plan. Three days after Jonah was swallowed and given up for dead, here he comes again, on dry land and declaring the good news of salvation to the Assyrian city of Nineveh. Three days after Jesus was buried in “the heart of the earth,” truly dead, here He comes again, alive and well and declaring the good news of salvation to the whole world. We can’t ignore the sign of Jonah.
The heart of the Pharisees was set on a sign from Jesus, but Jesus’ heart was set on His death, burial, and resurrection. In effect, Jesus was saying, “You are worried about the wrong things. Instead of seeking a sign from Me, you should examine yourselves to see the impurity in your heart. And the only way to receive a new heart, a heart that is acceptable to God, is to believe in My death, burial, and resurrection.” Indeed, this is the core message of the gospel.
