Three Days: The Mystery Beyond the Cross

Three Days! That’s the time between Jesus’ death and His Resurrection. In those three days, He accomplished more than He had in three years of ministry on Earth. Even more astounding is that this mystery relates to each of us in our personal journeys beyond the cross.

Looking Beyond the Cross

Before His journey to the cross, Jesus told His Disciples how long He would be dead. They did not “hear” Him. Jesus said to them, “Let these words sink down into your ears!” (Luke 9:44)

For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. (Matthew 12:40)

Like the Disciples, we sometimes do not “hear” a message immediately. So, we receive instructions from our dreams, not necessarily through our minds, but always with our spirits.

On that final night, after the Last Supper, Jesus prayed for His Disciples. He said He had completed the Work His Father had given Him (John 17:4).  As such, Jesus negotiated the contract for the rest of His journey to the cross at Gethsemane. There He poured out His Soul and declared, “Father, not as I will, but as You will.”

Subsequently, Jesus endured ridicule, physical agony, and He despised the shame of the cross. While He lay down His life for the sins of the whole world, He fixed His eyes on the future. Faith requires that we also focus beyond our own cross.

^“[We look] unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

Where was Jesus for Three Days?

The body of Christ readily accepts and celebrates the Resurrection. However, Jesus’ Disciples initially found it difficult to believe Jesus’ Empty Tomb.

(Aren’t we the same when God fulfills a long-awaited promise? We often incredulously declare, “I can’t believe it!”)

Between His death and Resurrection, Jesus’ work continued. He went to Hades, the destination of the wicked, but also to Paradise (Abraham’s Bosom), where the righteous await redemption (Acts 2:31, Luke 23:43).

Jesus encountered both Death and Hell in His post-crucifixion work, and these may be more than a lifeless state and place. Some Scriptures describe them as spiritual entities.

Jesus Went Down and then Up

Hell, created for fallen angels, is in the direction of “down.” Before Jesus brought deliverance, death stood between us and the Light, casting its “shadow.”

After Jesus finished His “down” work, He ascended.

The Mystery of Three Days

Jesus preached the Gospel to the living in three years but to the dead in three days. Considering that there were more in His dead audience (since the beginning of time) than those living in Israel during His day, it seems that Jesus entered a timeless dimension.

Timelessness occurs in the spirit realm and dreams. For example, a dream can seem to last days on end while only eight minutes of chronological time elapse on the clock. Perhaps you, too, have experienced this. Our dreams allow us to see the past, present, and future and even experience déjà vu. Granted, there is a razor-thin veil between Earth and other dimensions.  

An uncanny link exists between the mystery of Three Days and the seven loaves and the fish! Specifically, Jesus provided food for four thousand people who tarried with Him for three days in a barren place (Mark 8:1-9, NKJV). In short, God assures His provision and victory as we tarry with Him (keeping His Word in our hearts and obeying Him) for “Three Days” in every wilderness season. Our part is to “let” the mind of Christ be ours (Philippians 2:5-9) and to focus beyond the cross for our “Three Days” (in a timeless dimension).

The Sum of One Verse

A few years ago, I had a dream which contained an audible riddle.

“Spend time in 3:16.”

I assumed this meant I should study John 3:16. However, after a series of revelations, I discovered that “time” was a clue for “Tim-othy.” 1 Timothy 3:16 says:  

 And without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness:

God was manifested in the flesh,
Justified in the Spirit,
Seen by angels,
Preached among the Gentiles,
Believed on in the world,
Received up in glory.

The spirit world recognized Jesus before His revelation to humanity. The same is true for us. As Jesus is, so are we in this world (1 John 4:17). We came from our Father in Heaven (Ecclesiastes 12:7) and will return to Him at an appointed time. Between these “timed” events, 1 Timothy 3:16 nicely sums up our life in Christ – predestined, justified, and glorified (Romans 8:30).

“Invisible realities” know about us long before we even learn about our true identity and calling. In addition to this, we become known (believed on in the world) when we obediently perform our God-assigned work.

Indeed, the mystery of godliness is great!

Just as Jesus performed His most outstanding work in Three Days of hiddenness after the cross, we, too, achieve our most significant work in obscurity. Regardless of how long our “wilderness season” lasts, we can be assured that we will re-emerge victoriously at the perfect time just as He. This is the mystery of Three Days!

Father, thank you for Lord Jesus and the victory over death that He secured for us. In our darkest seasons, help us to “hear” your words and to “see” the fulfillment of promises that lie ahead—just beyond the cross. Amen!

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