Matthew 12:40Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

When he indulged in the allure of the flesh, he was struck by the divine essence, thus taming the serpent, as Job prophesied: ‘Will you catch the serpent unaware?’ (Job 40:20). Let us listen to the prophet who reveals the plans of the very heart of the earth as it sought to conquer the Lord's flesh. What does Isaiah say in reproof? But you said in your heart, I will ascend to heaven, I will elevate my throne above the stars of heaven, and I will be like the Most High (Isaiah 14:13-14). This was the wicked intention of the evil heart. And regarding the thoughts of the heinous Assyrian, let us refer again to Isaiah's words: I will empower my hand and the wisdom of my mind… I will break the bounds of the tongues, I will capture their strength, I will shake the inhabited cities, and make the earth my nest, gathering it all as one who collects abandoned eggs: no one shall escape or challenge me (Isaiah 10:13-14). With this ambition, he welcomed Him who took on humanity and descended into the earth. Instead of achieving what he had hoped for, the prophecy clearly reveals his fate, describing his ruin: ‘How the day has fallen from heaven... He who is crushed upon the earth, to whom decay is laid as a covering, whose garment is one of worms’ (Isaiah 14:11-12), alongside other declarations of his destruction, all of which can be studied in Scripture. Nonetheless, I must return to the essence of my message. True Wisdom came to the great heart of the earth to vanquish the evil mind within it and illuminate the darkness, that mortal things may be swallowed up in life, and that evil may be rendered void upon the defeat of the final enemy, which is death (1 Cor. 15:26). This is what was accomplished during the three days. Is grace not slow? Is such goodness not achieved over a long period? Do you wish to understand the might of the power that has performed so much in such a short span? Consider all past generations from the first appearance of evil until its eradication: how many men in each lineage, and how countless the thousands? It is impossible to count the multitude within whom evil perpetuated itself, as the corrupt wealth of malice divided among them, leading each to grow in that fertile evil which expanded through generations, ultimately encompassing all human nature, as the prophet states: ‘All have turned aside; together they have become corrupt’ (Ps. 13:3). There was nothing that did not serve as an instrument of evil. Therefore, He who annihilated in three days such a collection of evil, accumulated since the dawn of creation for the fulfillment of our salvation through the death of the Lord, has He not offered you a small glimpse of His tremendous power? Is it not greater than all the miracles recounted in sacred scripture? Just as the miracle of Samson stands out, not only overcoming but easily killing a lion with his bare hands as if it were a joke, so also does the Lord's effortless destruction of such evil serve as the strongest affirmation of His supreme power. No torrents from limitless waters cascading down from on high, nor abysses overflowing and engulfing the earth, hiding all in the depths, creating submerged mountains, nor flames akin to those at Sodom, cleansing by fire the corrupt, nor any such occurrences, but rather the simple, incomprehensible arrival of Life and the Light to those dwelling in darkness and death’s shadow has led to the complete eradication of darkness and death. Is there anything more that needs to be added? Evil emerged from the serpent; through the serpent, the woman was deceived; and through her, the man fell; thus, evil came into being through three. Why do I recall this? From the structure of evil, we may surmise a corresponding order of good. I identify three vessels of evil: the first, where evil originated; the second, to which it transferred; and the third, through which it proliferated. Therefore, as evil has spread through these three vessels—demonic nature, the female gender, and the universal bond of husbands—the affliction is correspondingly eradicated in three days; one day is designated for the healing of each type afflicted by evil: on one day, husbands are liberated from the malady; on the second, the female gender is restored; and on the final day, the ultimate enemy—death—is vanquished along with its allies: the beginnings, authorities, and powers of the opposing primordial forces of evil. Do not be astonished that the creation of good is paced by intervals of time. For even in the initial creation of the world, Divine power was not too weak to accomplish everything in an instant; however, it chose a period of time in creating. Just as on the first day, a portion of creation was completed, and on the second day, another, culminating in an ordered completion, with God establishing all creation over certain days—so here, by the ineffable design of His wisdom, in three days evil is cast out of all beings—from men, from women, and from the kind of serpents, from whom the first received the essence of evil’s nature. We only ponder the duration of these days; whether this is an accurate understanding or not, we shall leave to the judgment of those who listen, for what we present is not a decree but an exploration and an inquiry. Should you seek to understand the specific duration of these days of suffering, which approaches the precise measure of time, if you account from the ninth hour of Friday when the Lord surrendered His spirit to the Father, you will find clarity in awaiting further insight. What insight? Direct your gaze upon the grandeur of Divine power, and you will discern what you seek. Recall the Lord's affirmation that He has dominion over all, asserting His power not as necessitated by nature, but by sovereign authority to separate soul from body. He states, ‘No man takes my life from me, but I lay it down of myself: I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it back up again’ (John 10:18). Once this is firmly grasped, what I seek becomes evident. For He who reigns over all with sovereign authority does not rely on betrayal's anguish, nor the treachery of the Jews, nor the unlawful decisions of Pilate to initiate the common salvation of humanity; rather, through His act of creation, He prepares for them a path of sacred operation that is beyond human comprehension and observation—offering and sacrificing Himself as the Priest and Lamb of God, bearing away the sin of the world. When does this occur? When He offers His sacrificial body for food, demonstrating that the sacrifice of the Lamb is complete. The sacrificial body would not be fit for consumption while still alive. Thus, when the Lord gave His disciples His body to eat and His blood to drink, by the sovereign authority of the House-builder of the sacrament, His body had already been sacrificed in a manner unimaginable and unseen, and the soul was in the place where the power of the House-builder, united with the divine nature, had conveyed it; it traversed that land in the depths of the earth. Therefore, he who calculates the time from the moment the sacrifice was offered to God by the High Priest, who inexpressibly and invisibly offered Himself as the Lamb for the universal sin, will not err in the truth. It was in the evening when this holy body was consumed. This evening was followed by the night preceding Friday. Then—the day of Friday, subdivided by this introductory night, becomes one night and two days. For if God designated darkness as night (Genesis 1:5), and for three hours darkness enveloped the universe, this darkness constitutes the night, newly dividing the day, marking two segments: the first from dawn to the sixth hour, and the second from the ninth hour until evening. Thus, prior, there existed two days and two nights. Following that, the night before the Sabbath and the Sabbath itself yields three nights. Finally, when we examine the resurrection's timing, we will uncover the truth behind the narrative. When did the resurrection occur? On Sabbath evening, as Matthew reports (Matthew 28:1). Here lies the very hour of the resurrection at the sound of the angel. Here is the boundary of the Lord's time in the heart of the earth. For when evening fell, initiating the first Sabbath night, an earthquake occurred; then the angel, radiant in splendor, rolled away the stone from the tomb. The women, who had risen just before dawn, while daylight was beginning to break, thereby catching the glow of the rising sun, proclaimed that the Resurrection had already occurred. They were informed of the miracle, but the hour remained concealed from them. The angel told them that the Lord had risen, but did not specify a time. However, Matthew stands out among all the evangelists as the only one to accurately note that the hour of resurrection occurred on Sabbath evening. If this is the case, then, according to our reckoning, the time is marked as we count from the evening before Sabbath, integrating the night that divided Friday into two days and a night. It was fitting for Him who governs the very age through His power to ensure that His acts did not conform to predetermined time constraints but that the measures of time be redefined according to necessity. In this manner, the divine power performs a significant feat in the brevity of time, so that the measures of time condense in alignment with exceptional deeds. Therefore, the time was not less than three days and as many nights, as this count is mandated by a mysterious and ineffable reason, and divine power, while accommodating the customary intervals of days and nights, met no barrier in accomplishing its swift action. For He, who had the authority to lay down His life and take it back up again at will, as the Creator of the ages, possessed the power not to conform to time but to configure time in accordance with His works.

As Jonah emerged from the sea to proclaim to the Ninevites, leading to their conversion and survival, so too did the Lord, upon His resurrection from the grave, send His disciples to the Gentiles, granting them a full and abundant life. Thus, the three days of descent and ascent signify both His death and that of the Gentiles.

Three days and three nights: see Matthew 28:1. Or it may refer to the period from when He broke His Body to give to the disciples until His being counted among the dead, akin to Adam, who, after eating from the tree, lived for many years though he was marked as dead due to disobedience, for God had commanded, ‘In the day that thou eatest, thou shalt die’ (cf. Gen. 2:17). Similarly, ‘Four hundred years shall thy seed be in Egypt’ (cf. Gen. 15:13)—the years counted from the moment the word was spoken. The same applies to the Lord. Alternatively, the sixth day (Friday) can be viewed as two days, with the Sabbath being one. After providing His body for consumption in the sacrament of His death, He entered into their womb, as He would later enter into the earth. Unlike Adam, who did not bless at the moment of his disobedience when he took the fruit, ‘the Lord blessed and broke’ (cf. Matt. 26:26). Thus, as sin entered the world (cf. Rom. 5:12), the condemnation originating from Adam's transgression of God's command was erased. Or one can count the three days from the descent to the ascent (from burial to resurrection), specifically Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

It was fitting that the death of the Creator should invoke mourning from all of creation. Thus, the Prophet states, "The sun shall set at noon, and the light of the day shall fade on the earth" (Am. 8:9), and again, "It shall not be light in the day, ... neither day nor night, and at evening it shall be light" (Zech. 14:6-7). During this period of darkness, the holy and divine soul of the Lord was separated from His sacred and life-giving body, resting in the depths of the earth, which counts as one night. Following this darkness, the Creator restored daylight, and the sun resumed its normal brightness, as the Prophet indicated that there would be light before evening. This sequence includes the night before the Sabbath, the Sabbath itself, the night preceding the singular Sabbath, and ultimately the glorious day of the holy Resurrection—a day when the uncreated light emerged from the tomb as a bridegroom, shining in the splendor of the resurrection. The conclusion of the Sabbath, referred to by the Evangelist as "the Sabbath evening" (Matthew 28:1), marks the start of the singular Sabbath. Thus, there is a clear account of three days and three nights.

After the ninth hour, light returned, indicating it was day. This is followed by the night of His death, and then the Sabbath, which marks another day. The night before the Lord’s Day and its dawn are significant, as noted by the Evangelist: "We are meeting in one Sabbath" (Matthew 28:1). If you are curious about a third explanation, it is this: On the fifth day, the Lord surrendered His spirit, marking one day; He remained in the tomb throughout the Sabbath, and into the Sabbath night. However, when the Lord’s Day dawned, He arose, which constitutes another day, as a part can signify the whole. It is customary for us to remember the departed. Regardless of the hour someone passes away, we observe their remembrance on the following day. This, I believe, addresses your inquiry. If those who argue demand a strict count of three days and nights, one can respond thus: if a king, upon hearing pleas from prisoners in mines or dungeons, pledges to release them after three days, his promise remains true even if he grants their freedom a bit earlier, affirming the sincerity of his word. The Lord, who rose from the dead before the anticipated time, rightfully deserves the worship of all.

I find it astounding that some question, “Why did Christ rise before the full three days?” If they suggest He did not rise at all, why concern themselves with the timing? However, if He indeed rose sooner than expected, this serves as evidence of the validity of His words. Having done what was once deemed insurmountable by human frailty, it is unlikely He would falter in doing what was within reach. In fact, a delayed resurrection would hint at weakness, while His early resurrection reflects the greatness of His power. Christ dismantled the dark reign of Hellenistic gods, shattered idols, obliterated profane altars stained with blood, rendered the devil powerless, sent demons fleeing, subdued wild nations, brought calamity upon the Jews, and elevated His followers to heavenly heights. For these reasons, we worship His divine and invincible strength, rather than quibble over time. The significance of His actions far exceeds such trivial details. Nevertheless, given the richness of truth, let us address their scrutiny directly: if a debtor pledges to repay a loan in three days yet fulfills this promise before the deadline, should he be branded a liar, or should we marvel at his honesty? I align with the latter viewpoint, and it is likely they do as well. Hence, if Christ announced that He would rise on the third day but did so earlier to manifest His power, dismay the guards, and silence the Jews, what is unreasonable about that? An early resurrection does not invite accusation; rather, a postponed one would evoke suspicion. The resurrection needed to occur while the guards were at the tomb; if it happened after the designated duration and their departure, it would raise doubts. If Christ did not rise, how then did the apostles perform miracles in His name? What makes their testimonies suspect when they faced numerous dangers and death, corroborating the truth with not just ink, but their own blood? For precision's sake, let me clarify: Christ said He would rise on the third day. We account for the fifth day, the Sabbath until sunset, and on the Sabbath's completion, He rose, having embraced the entirety of the previous days and fulfilling the entirety. He asserted, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up" (John 2:19). The Prophet foretold, "He will revive us after two days; on the third day we will rise and live in His sight" (Hosea 6:3). If they reference the phrase "three days and three nights" (Matthew 12:39), I respond that, through their connection to Him, He fulfilled the promise. A full 24-hour period constitutes one day, and if a person is born or dies close to the beginning or end of that period, it is still recognized as part of that day. For instance, if one is born just before sunset, that day is counted as their birth date; conversely, if born after sunset, it falls on the next day. Therefore, even when the time difference is minimal, it is universally acknowledged that the first individual completed the preceding day while the second began a new one. Consequently, should the accuracy of the hours be verified, why do those who vigorously insist that Truth cannot embody truth put themselves through such futile agony?

At the moment of the Lord’s resurrection, another earthquake occurred; a radiant angel descended from heaven to proclaim the resurrection, instilling fear in the guards assigned to secure the tomb by those seeking a sign from above (Matthew 28:2-4). The guards reported the resurrection to the Jewish authorities. In response to the divine sign, they reacted with contempt and hostility, as they had toward His previous miracles. They bribed the guards, colluding to shroud the miracle of God in a cloak of falsehood (Matthew 28:11-15).

Observe how precisely the Savior articulates even His hidden prophecy: He does not merely say, 'In the earth,' but 'In the heart of the earth,' clearly indicating His time in the tomb, ensuring that no one would view His death as merely a fleeting vision. To further affirm this, He designates a duration of three days, dispelling any doubts about His death. The account of the prophet Jonah serves as a foreshadowing of the Savior. The ship, tossed by the waves, symbolizes humanity before the coming of the Redeemer, on the brink of destruction due to futile errors and harmful vices; the abyss of eternal death was poised to consume the sinners. Yet, just as Jonah offered himself to death to rescue his shipmates, so the Lord Jesus Christ, the good shepherd, sacrificed His life for His flock. The fearsome creature devours the prophet, and the storm calms; in the same way, death and the tomb engulf the Lord Jesus, satisfying divine justice through His sacrifice. Jonah prayed from within the belly of the whale, and the Lord prayed for those who crucified Him, entrusting His spirit to the Father. Jonah spent three days and three nights inside the whale; while His time was not fully three days and not entirely three nights, the Lord remained shrouded in death's shadow for a portion of this period. The Author of life abbreviated this time, seemingly eager to disclose the joy of salvation to the world, treating part of a day as a full day, and counting the period from the sixth hour to the ninth hour—when darkness fell—as part of the night. And just as Jonah emerged, miraculously preserved from the whale's belly, the Lord rose triumphant from the grave. As Jonah’s miracle prompted the Ninevites to repent, the resurrection of Christ is intended to guide all humanity toward authentic faith and salvation. The key distinction is that, while the Ninevites accepted the sign of Jonah and repented, the scribes and Pharisees rejected the truth of Christ’s resurrection, thereby bringing upon themselves their own judgment.

"Three days and three nights": from the Gospel narratives detailing the Lord's death, burial, and resurrection, it is evident that He was entombed for one full day (Saturday) and two nights (from Friday evening to Saturday and from Saturday to Sunday). This should not be interpreted as an error in the chronology, but rather it aligns with Jewish conventions for measuring time. Otherwise, the Jewish leaders, particularly the Pharisees, would have seized the opportunity to challenge Christ regarding the accuracy of His statements, as they were aware of His prophecy concerning His resurrection. The Jewish custom typically counted any part of a day as a complete day when referencing the duration of an event. Instances of this method can be found in 1 Samuel 30:12, Genesis 42:17-18, and 2 Chronicles 10:5-13. Furthermore, in the story of Esther, mentioning days in a similar manner illustrates this principle.

As noted by Theophilus, "He did not explicitly declare (the Savior) that He would rise again, knowing they would mock Him; instead, He alluded to it subtly so that they might recognize His foreknowledge. Their understanding of His predictions is clear from their remarks to Pilate: 'That deceiver said, while He was still alive, “After three days I will rise again.”' Notice how precisely the Savior articulates even the veiled nature of His prophecy. He does not merely say, 'in the earth,' but rather 'in the heart of the earth,' clearly indicating His presence in the grave and ensuring no one imagines His death to be a mere illusion."