The New Testament states that Jesus rose from the dead "on the third day" (1 Corinthians 15:4). But why did Jesus wait three days to rise from the dead?

Jesus Didn't "Wait" to Rise From the Dead; He Waited For God to Raise Him

The first thing to remember in regard to Jesus' resurrection was that He didn't raise Himself.

"When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He and that I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught Me" (John 8:28). And if Jesus was "really dead" (and He was), He couldn't just say, "Okay, time to wake up!"

It was the Father's will for Jesus to be crucified, and the Father raised Him from the dead – at exactly the time the Father had planned.

"Three Days"

Scripture counts days differently than modern people generally do. If something happened on Monday, that would be "day one," Tuesday would be "day two," and so on. So when the scripture says that Jesus rose "on the third day," it means that He died on "day one," was in the grave on "day two," and rose again on "the third day."

The imagery of "three days" is very common in scripture, both the Old and New Testaments. For example, in Genesis 22, Abraham and Isaac set off toward Moriah in response to God's call for Abraham to sacrifice Isaac.

"On the third day, Abraham raised his eyes and saw the place from a distance. Then Abraham said to his young men, 'Stay here with the donkey, and I and the boy will go over there; and we will worship and return to you" (Genesis 22:4-5). That story looked forward to the day when God would sacrifice His Son, and "bring Him back" on the third day.

In Exodus 19, as God prepared to descend to meet with His people, He told Moses, "Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow, and have them wash their garments; and have them ready for the third day, for on the third day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people" (Exodus 19:10-11).

Old Testament Prophecies Foretelling Jesus' Resurrection on the Third Day

People in Jesus' day recognized Hosea chapter 6 as a prophecy of the coming Messiah.

"Come, let's return to the Lord. For He has torn us, but He will heal us; He has wounded us, but He will bandage us. He will revive us after two days; He will raise us up on the third day, that we may live before Him" (Hosea 6:1-2). In the Old Testament prophets, the coming Messiah was seen as a representative of the nation of Israel (see Isaiah's "Servant Songs" for another example). Hosea's prophecy that God would "raise us up on the third day" understandably came to be seen as relating to the Messiah's death and resurrection.

The story of Jonah is one of the most recognized Old Testament passages about Jesus' death and resurrection.

"So they picked Jonah up and hurled him into the sea, and the sea stopped its raging…And the Lord designated a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the stomach of the fish for three days and three nights" (Jonah 1:15, 17).

Jesus applied this passage to Himself in Matthew 12:40: "For just as Jonah was in the stomach of the sea monster for three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights."

New Testament Statements by Jesus

In addition to the passage from Matthew just referenced, Jesus predicted that He would rise after three days several times in the Gospels:

1. "And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise from the dead" (Mark 8:31).

2. "For He was teaching His disciples and telling them, 'The Son of Man is to be handed over to me, and they will kill Him; and when He has been killed, He will rise three days later" (Mark 9:31).

3. "And they will mock Him and spit on Him, and flog Him and kill Him; and three days later He will rise from the dead" (Mark 10:34).

4. "Now He took the twelve aside and said to them, 'Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all the things that have been written through the prophets about the Son of Man will be accomplished. For He will be handed over to the Gentiles, and will be ridiculed, and abused, and spit upon, and after they have flogged Him, they will kill Him; and on the third day He will rise'" (Luke 18:31-33).

5. "Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and He said to them, 'So it is written that the Christ would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day…'" (Luke 24:45-46).

6. "Jesus answered them, 'Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up'" (John 2:19).

Clearly, Jesus both understood and told His disciples that He would be crucified and then rise again on the third day.

Other New Testament References

The two great voices of the early Church – Peter and Paul – both recognized that Jesus' death and resurrection "on the third day" was according to God's purpose and had been revealed in the Old Testament. In Acts 10:40, Peter told Cornelius and those assembled at his house that "God raised Him up on the third day and granted that He be revealed." And in 1 Corinthians 15, the passage mentioned at the beginning of this article, Paul passed along the information that he had received: "That Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures…" (1 Corinthians 15:3-4).

"According to the Scriptures"

In the passage just quoted, Paul says that Jesus was raised "on the third day according to the Scriptures." However, He does not quote any specific Old Testament passage to support his statement. In fact, Bible scholars generally agree that no Old Testament prophecy specifically states that the Messiah would be crucified and then raised on the third day. How can this be reconciled?

The fact is that people of Jesus' day interpreted scriptures much more broadly than people do today. As noted above, Jesus identified the story of Jonah as a prophecy of the Messiah's coming death and resurrection on the third day. The story of Jonah makes no direct prophecy about the Messiah, but Jesus interpreted it as such a prophecy.

As also seen, Hosea 6 looks forward to God "raising His people up" on the third day. Hosea didn't mention "the Messiah; the connection comes from the Messiah's identification with the people of Israel. This identification is also found in the comments of the high priest to the Sanhedrin in John 11:50: "Nor are you taking into account that it is in your best interest that one man die for the people, and that the whole nation not perish instead."

Why Did Jesus Wait 3 Days to Rise From the Dead?

Scripture clearly states that Jesus' death and resurrection – and everything else about Jesus' life and ministry – was in fulfillment of the Old Testament scriptures. Modern readers look for specific references that exactly correlate to what took place; ancient readers were more concerned with the overall message of scripture. God chose the nation of Israel to be His special possession, to tell the nations about Him. He later told them, through scripture, that He would send His Son – His Servant – to both lead His people and to represent them.

And, as the writer of Hebrews explains: "He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God" (Hebrews 10:12). Jesus represented us as the sacrifice for our sins, and God raised Him – "on the third day" – to demonstrate that Jesus has defeated both sin and death, for all time!