Matthew 12:40: In the Belly of Hell (2)

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 (NASB)

Jonah is such a rich type of the Lord Jesus Christ that I believe that it will take a week or so to flesh it out. Before heading into the “belly of the whale,” I thought I’d take a moment to survey some of the current theological thinking on the sign of Jonah just to break the ice. Below I include several quotes, followed by my own notes and observations.

The Theologians

Matthew 12:40 which says that Christ will be three days and nights “in the heart of the earth,” simply refers to the fact that he was in the grave between his death and resurrection (cf. LXX Ps. 45[46]:2 with Jonah 2:3. (Wayne Grudem, He Did Not Descend Into Hell, Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society (March 1991) at 107)

In past posts, we’ve dealt with Grudem’s treatment of “grave” and “hades” as synonymous terms. In the Not Abandoned in Hell series, we demonstrated that “grave” and “hades” cannot be deemed synonymous terms in the New Testament. We also showed in Where’d He Get Those Keys that, while Grudem teaches that “under the earth” means just physical grave, it is plain error as Philippians is clear that there are beings in that “under the earth” world who will bow and confess Jesus as Lord. For the quote above, if there is a connection between Jonah 2:3’s “For you have cast me … into the heart of the seas” with Psalm 46:2’s “though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea,” I certainly don’t see it.

It is evident that those listening were not confused about Christ’s allusion to Jonah. It was plain to them that He predicted when He would arise: “On the next day, which followed the Day of Preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees gathered together to Pilate, saying, ‘Sir, we remember, while He was still alive, how that deceiver said, “after three days I will rise.” Therefore command that the tomb be made secure until the third day, lest His disciples come by night and steal Him away, and say to the people, “He has risen from the dead.” So the last deception will be worse than the first’” (Matthew 27:62-64). Even the Pharisees understood that Jesus Christ’s statement was focused on timing! (David C. Grabbe, The Berean (Church of the Great God)).

The first thought that comes to mind about Mr. Grabbe’s quote is that I am not inclined to base my theology on anything that the Pharisees did or believed. Not only did they crucify Jesus, but they also said that he cast out demons by the power of Beelzebub. He said that they were of their father, the devil. Personally, I’d rather get my Bible interpretations from someone else.

Grabbe ties Matthew 27:62-64 directly (and exclusively) to Jonah, but there are several other scriptures where it is recorded that Jesus said he was going to rise on the third day, e.g., Matthew 16:21; Luke 9:22; Luke 13:32, etc. In light of these other scriptures, it is difficult to imagine that Jonah had to endure the “belly of hell” for three days and nights just to give Jesus a platform to establish the three day period.

There will come a time when a clue and more than a clue, is provided: the son of man will be three days and three nights ‘in the heart of the earth.’ This is an odd way of saying, ‘he will be buried’; Jesus says it like this because it ties in his future fate with the strange fate of the prophet Jonah. (N.T. Wright, Matthew for Everyone (Westminster: John Knox Press 2004) at 150).

Jonah emerged from the sea-monster after three days and three nights; the son of man will do the same from the heart of the earth, in other words, the grave. (N.T. Wright, The Resurrection of the Son of God (Minneapolis: Fortress Press 2003) at 433).

Tom Wright’s treatment of the sign of Jonah is much like Grudem’s and Grabbe’s. Wright’s comments exhibit the kind of befuddlement that is inherent in a theology that does not recognize Jesus’s descent into hell (hades). Jesus, who in all other scriptures is in command of his mission and his own senses, appears to momentarily suffer some sort of Jack Sparrow tick - saying odd phrases and tying them to strange fates - right in the middle of his “adulterous generation” discourse. In this Jonah series, we’ll see that Jesus did (or had) nothing of the sort.

The Not-Ready-For-Prime-Time Theologians (bloggers on christianblogs)

Jonah in the belly of the fish is a type of Christ dying on the cross and arose after the third day. I believe Jonah was in the belly of the fish and he thought he was going to die. If I was in the fishs’ [sic] belly, I would think I was in a pit.” (Shira 9639 on 5/3/07)

Rebecca D - I actually get a quite funny picture of when Jesus rose from the dead. Satan and all his demons must have nearly fainted. And they were looking at Jesus holding the keys of Hell and Death. What a sight that must have been. (Helen 5378 on 10/2/06)

Helen I have heard that too. I believe that when Jesus took his last breath, Satan and his demons were doing a victory dance until Jesus showed up to let them know that he is alive and is back, and he (satan) lost the battle for man’s soul. (Rebecca D on 10/1/06)

Rebecca D - What false teachers say is that Jesus went into hell itself and fought with the devil (something like that) until God said “enough”. That is what I am referring to. Jesus did not go into hell. He may have gone into Hades or Sheol, but not hell. (Helen 5378 on 9/29/06)

. . .

Rickey - Jesus did not go to hell. I get sick of this being said because it is propounded by false teachers. (Helen 5378 on 9/18/06).

This “conversation” comes up third on a Google search for “Jonah hell belly.” I’ve included it here to demonstrate how the lack of proper teaching on things such as the sign of Jonah, hades, and types of Christ in the Old Testament creates so much confusion. Strong faith not only possesses an endearing love for the Lord, but also an intelligent grasp on the foundational facts of redemption.

To the belly of the whale.

[Note: In the Not Abandoned in Hell series, we dealt with the fact that “hell” is actually “hades” in the Greek. Since “hell” is such an Americanism (AC/DC didn’t sing, “I’m On the Highway to Hades”), I use “hell” in my posts, but only as a reference to the hades that we see in Luke 16. Scripturally, hell is not the final abode for the ungodly. That is the lake of fire or “gehenna.”]