A Convergent Study
I first presented this argument in 2013, most notably in the International SBL in St. Andrews, but in the meantime, Michael W. Andrews (2018) has independently written and published a study of Matt 12:40 that strikingly converges with mine.
Andrews examines Jesus’ reference to “three days and three nights in the heart of the earth” against the background of a “close reading” of Jonah 2. The time Jonah spent in the belly of the great fish is analogous to the period Jesus spent in the heart of the earth. Andrews describes the “sign of Jonah” as suffering rather than rescue. The three days and three nights interval in the heart of the earth “preceded and included” Jesus’ death and burial. In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus sunk to the depths of sorrow and despair with the same degree of agony expressed in the prayer of Jonah while in the belly of the sea monster. Jesus’ descent into death actually began in Gethsemane. In Gethsemane is where “the three days and three nights” commenced (pp.105, 108, 116, 118).
Andrews and I are in agreement that the “sign of Jonah” was not the resurrection, but the suffering of Jesus. We are furthermore in agreement that this suffering includes the death and burial of Jesus, but commenced before the crucifixion. For Andrews, the entering of Jesus into “the heart of the earth” is his descent into death orSheol, but he departs from other scholars by making Jesus’ ordeal in Gethsemane the time when his descent into Sheol begins.
While I interpret “the heart of the earth” topologically , Andrews interprets the phrase psychologically . While “three days and three nights” commences for me with Jesus at the last supper in the Upper Room, for Andrews it commences with Jesus in Gethsemane. In either case, the interval begins on Thursday within the boundaries of Jerusalem. There are a number of other differences between Andrews and me in regard to our interpretations, but they seem rather insignificant in light of our essential agreement that Matt 12:40 refers to a time period that precedes yet includes Jesus’ burial in the tomb.