How Long Was Jesus Buried?
Jesus repeatedly prophesied during His mortal ministry that He would be killed and rise again on the third day. He compared His coming burial to Jonah's three days in the great fish, declaring that the Son of Man would be “three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” He plainly taught His disciples that He would be slain and raised the third day, though they did not fully understand at the time (Matthew 12:40; 16:21; 17:23; 20:19; Mark 8:31; Luke 9:22).
After His crucifixion, even His enemies remembered His prophecy that He would rise “after three days,” prompting them to secure the tomb. On the morning of the Resurrection, angels testified that He had risen as He said, and the apostles later bore record that He was buried and “rose again the third day according to the scriptures,” affirming the fulfillment of His own words (Matthew 27:63-64; Luke 24:6-7; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4).
The Book of Mormon confirms and expands this testimony, prophesying that after Christ was laid in a sepulchre for three days He would rise from the dead. Samuel the Lamanite foretold three days of darkness as a sign of His death, and the Nephite record testifies that this darkness covered the land for that exact period, corresponding to the time His body lay in the tomb in Jerusalem (2 Nephi 25:13; Mosiah 3:10; Alma 7:12; Helaman 14:20; 3 Nephi 8:23; 9:18).
Modern revelation in the Doctrine and Covenants reaffirms the same foundational witness: that Jesus Christ was crucified, died, and rose again the third day. The Pearl of Great Price sustains the prophetic testimony of His death and Resurrection, harmonizing with the broader scriptural witness that His rising on the third day was central to God’s redemptive plan (Doctrine and Covenants 20:23; 76:41; Moses 7:55; Joseph Smith—Matthew 1:21).
Jesus said he would be, "three days and three nights in the grave" (Matt 12:40) and that this would be a sign. Three days and three nights is 72 hours. Three days and three nights is not the same as a sliver of one day, another full day, and a sliver of a third day. Same holds true for the nights. How do we reconcile three days if he was buried right at the beginning of the Sabbath?
The Two Sabbaths
A Jewish "High Sabbath" or "Annual Sabbath" refers to a festival holy day that carries Sabbath-level restrictions, even when it does not fall on the regular weekly Sabbath. The key distinction is that the weekly Sabbath occurs every seventh day, while High Sabbaths occur on specific calendar dates connected to major festivals.
John refers to the day after the crucifixion as a 'High Day' - or one of these Sabbaths
High Sabbath Days
Leviticus 23 repeatedly says certain feast days are to be a "holy convocation" in which "ye shall do no servile work." This language appears for:
- The first and seventh days of Unleavened Bread
- The Feast of Weeks
- The Feast of Trumpets
- The Day of Atonement
- The first and eighth days of Tabernacles
Required Observances
High Sabbaths include:
- A sacred assembly or holy convocation
- Special sacrifices in Temple times
- Prayer and worship
- Cessation from ordinary labor
The Day of Atonement stands apart. It is both a High Sabbath and a fast day, described as a "Sabbath of rest" requiring complete cessation of work and self-affliction (fasting) (Leviticus 23:27-32). It is treated with the strictness of the weekly Sabbath, or greater.
Timing and Overlap
Because High Sabbaths are date-based rather than weekday-based, they can fall on any day of the week.
When a High Sabbath falls adjacent to or on a weekly Sabbath, the restrictions stack. This can create consecutive days of Sabbath-level observance or multiple Sabbaths in one week.
Matthew 28:1 suggests there were two Sabbaths. The actual word in Greek is "Sabbaths". It should read, "Now after the Sabbaths..."
This is particularly relevant in discussions of Passover week in the New Testament period. John 19:31 notes that the Sabbath following Jesus' crucifixion "was an high day," indicating it was not merely the weekly Sabbath but also the first day of Unleavened Bread. That explains heightened concern about bodies remaining on crosses.
Between the Sabbaths
The first Sabbath was Nisan 15. When was the second? We can find clues to this by reading carefully the accounts of the women who bought and prepared spices for Jesus' burial. The first thing to note is that the women followed after Joseph and Nicodemus and "beheld the sepulchre and how his body was laid" (Luke 23:55). Joseph and Nicodemus did their best, but you know how the unwritten part of this story worked itself out - the women decided the job needed to be done correctly. Therefore they determined to buy spices, prepare ointments, and return to the tomb.
When the women left the tomb, they would have observed the Passover Seder that evening and not done any work until after sundown the next day, which would then be the sixteenth of Nisan. On that day, they would have gone to purchase spices, and done the work required to prepare them, which was likely the full day - we know they did not return to the tomb that day because the first person to return to it was Mary, who arrived just before dawn. The next day, the seventeenth, was the weekly Sabbath. Luke writes of their preparation, "they returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the sabbath day according to the commandment".
Luke says the women prepared anointing spices and oils BEFORE the Sabbath. Mark says the women purchased the spices AFTER the Sabbath (Mark 16:1). Are both possible? Did the women purchase and prepare spices and oils before or after the Sabbath? The answer is yes. The first Sabbath is the 15th of Nisan, the High Sabbath and the second one is the 17th of Nisan, or the weekly Sabbath.
The Crucifixion happened on Wednesday. The first Passover in Egypt happened on a Wednesday as well. Thursday was the High Sabbath, the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Friday was the preparation day. Saturday was the weekly Sabbath.
Timeline for the Burial
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| Wednesday, Nisan 14 | Right before end of day Jesus is buried (about 6pm) |
| Thursday, Nisan 15 | A High Day or annual Sabbath. No work done. Night 1 and Day 1 complete |
| Friday, Nisan 16 | The women buy and prepare spices, but rest for the upcoming Sabbath. Night 2 and Day 2 complete. |
| Saturday, Nisan 17 | A weekly Sabbath starts at sunset. No work done. Night 3 and Day 3 complete |
| Sunday, Nisan 18 | Starts at sundown. Mary arrives at the tomb in the dark before dawn. Jesus is already gone. |