Suffering and the Sign of Jonah
If “the heart of the earth” refers to Jerusalem and its environs there
is no problem then with Jesus spending three days and three nights
there. In Matthean and Markan tradition, Jesus actually first arrived in
Jerusalem at least five days before he was crucified (Matt 21:10; Mark
11:11; Cf. Luke 19:45). He eventually left the city to stay in Bethany
(Matt 21:17; Mark 11:11). He then returned to Jerusalem a second time in
that week (Matt 21:18; Mark 11:12,15, 27), and then left again to stay
in Bethany (Matt 26:6; Mark 14:3). Jesus then returned to Jerusalem athird time in that week (Matt 26:20; Mark 14:17), but this time
he did not return to Bethany. He travelled to the Mount of Olives and
the field of Gethsemane (Matt 26:30, 36; Mark 14:32), but this was still
considered within the boundaries of Jerusalem especially for the
Passover (Jeremias, 1969, pp. 60-62). This third coming of Jesus to
Jerusalem in the same week will therefore culminate in his arrest,
trial, crucifixion, and burial (Matt 26:50, 57; 27:2, 28-29, 35, 59-60
par.). The third arrival of Jesus in Jerusalem in the same week
therefore marks the beginning of a discrete and uniqueperiod of time in that he does not leave the city before being
crucified. Thursday was the day that Jesus arrived in Jerusalem for the
third and last time that week (Matt 26:2, 17, 20; Mark 14:1,12).
The interval “three days and three nights in the heart of earth”
therefore refers only to a discrete and unique period of time in which
Jesus’s body was located in Jerusalem prior to his resurrection. That
period of time was from Thursday evening to Sunday morning. It included
burial in the tomb, but only for part of that time.
Why is this final discrete and unique period compared to Jonah’s time in
the belly of the great fish? Obviously because it was a time of
suffering. Jesus’ suffering began in Jerusalem with the last supper on
Thursday evening. The last supper may be characterized only as an
occasion for emotional suffering, but it was suffering nevertheless. How
easy could it have been to announce, “one of you will betray me” (Matt
26:21; Mark 14:18; cf. Luke 22:21)? His suffering intensifies through
the time in Gethsemane (Matt 26:38; Mark 14:34; cf. Luke 22:42), and
then, of course, through his arrest, scourging, and crucifixion (Matt
27:27-31; Mark 15:17-20; Luke 23:33; John 19:1-16 ). Even though it
would make sense that Jesus’ death and burial marked the end of his
suffering, his death and burial could still be considered part of the
suffering. After all, he was waiting to be resurrected. On the other
hand, there is Christian tradition that nevertheless depicts the period
of Jesus’ death and burial as also a time of suffering (Luke 24:26; Acts
2:24; Phil 3:10; Heb 2:9).
Moreover, it was the suffering of Jesus that was witnessed by an
“evil and adulterous generation.” Therefore, it was not the
resurrection of Jesus, but his suffering that constituted the sign
of Jonah . It is true that the last supper and his agony in Gethsemane
occurred before Jesus was “betrayed into the hands of sinners” (Matt
26:46), that is to say before the stage where his suffering becomes a
public spectacle. However, it was never required that unbelievers
witness every moment of Jesus suffering for it to be a “sign.”
Further still, it is precisely because the suffering of Jesus was
witnessed by an “evil and adulterous” generation that it also
becomes a witness to that generation. In other words, the
suffering of Jesus performed the role of Jonah’s preaching to the people
of Nineveh. It should have moved “this evil and adulterous generation”
to repentance; but it did not. Matthew is joined by Luke in expressing
this irony (Luke 11:32; cf. Matt 12:41).
In Jonah 2:3 MT, the prophet cries out “from the belly ofSheol ” (מבטן שׂאול; LXX: ἐκ κοιλίας ᾅδου; “the belly of
Hades”). This phrase is parallel to Jonah’s “heart of the seas.” It
is likely that this parallel is echoed in the Matthean phrase, “heart
of the earth.” Matthew draws a parallel between “the belly of the
great fish” and “the heart of the earth” in 12:40. From a Matthean
perspective, “Sheol, ” or “the belly of Sheol” would
still be a metaphorical reference to Jerusalem, not to the tomb of Jesus
alone, nor primarily to the underworld. Even in Jonah, “Sheol ”
refers not primarily to the underworld, but to the great fish, the place
of Jonah’s suffering. In Matthew, Jerusalem would be
“Sheol ” for Jesus because it was the place of his suffering,
especially from Thursday to Sunday. One may object to an implied
parallel between Jerusalem and Jonah’s great fish in Matthew’s thought
because Jerusalem was stationary and the great fish was mobile. Again,
such an objection would miss the point of metaphor.