Pastor Doug: No. When Jesus said the prince of this world comes, He was speaking of the devil. When Jesus said as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish or the whale, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth,
He wasn't talking about the tomb or vault. He was talking about the heart of the earth meaning the clutches of the world.
You see, every time the mob tried to destroy Jesus or stone Jesus or throw Him off a cliff through His whole Ministry, He was untouchable. He walked right through their midst, He disappeared, He became invisible they never were able to harm Him in any way because He was under His Father's protection. But in the Garden of Gethsemane Thursday night when He said quite specifically, 'Now is the hour of darkness...' then the mob came. They tied Him up, they beat Him, and He began suffering for the sins of the world.
See He didn't start suffering for the sins of the world when He was on the Cross and the nails pierced His flesh. The suffering began in the Garden of Gethsemane, where He was taken from place to place and beaten and mobbed. He went from Pilate to Herod and back to Pilate again. He went from Caiaphas to Anna and back to Caiaphas and - He was just drug all over the place during that period - and being mocked and whipped and thorns on His head and, He was suffering for the sins of the world. He was a captive to the devil the same way Jonah went wherever the whale went. See Jonah was a captive to the whale. He was in that dark, hopeless environment for three days and three nights the same way that Jesus was in the clutches of the world, the clutches of the lost world, for three days and three nights.
Caller: Ohh.
Pastor Doug: When He prayed the third time, 'Not my will Thy will be done', and He said to His disciples you can sleep on because now is the hour of darkness - He made it very clear - this is the starting point. The mob came. He told Peter put away your sword this is why I came into the world. From Thursday night, Friday night, Saturday night He was taking the penalty for our sins, which is punishment and death, not just death - punishment and death. And He suffered and He died, starting Thursday night, Friday night, Saturday. So that's the crux of that misunderstanding. It has nothing to do with the tomb.
Explain how Jesus was in the tomb 3 days & 3 nights. (Audio) | Bible Question Archive | Amazing Facts