Even Pope Benedict XVI wrestles with the latter question in his new book, Jesus: Holy Week , about Christ's last days. Peter gives a little bit of specific information about what happened in those three days between Jesus’ death and resurrection. The Resurrection occurred by dawn on Sunday. Jesus’ body was in the tomb, of course, but His spirit, having departed at His death (Matthew 27:50), was elsewhere for those three days. So we can take this period of time to be at least 72 hours by counting 12 hours in each day (John 11:9), and 12 hours in each night. And do Hebrew Scriptures prophesy that timetable? — Three days and Three Nights.” Jewish Burial Practices Perhaps the most significant reason for Christ being in the tomb for three days is that according to the Talmud (c. eight century), the Jewish burial practices tried to ensure that the dead were truly dead. Thus he was in the tomb less than nine hours Friday (by the modern reckoning), twenty-four hours Saturday, and less than six hours Sunday–at any rate, far less than the seventy-two hours that comprise three full days and nights. What Did Jesus (Yeshua) do for those three days and nights that He was in the grave? 1) Jesus was alive while he was dead in the grave 3 days and 3 nights (72 hours). But if Jesus died at 3 p.m. Friday and vacated his tomb by dawn Sunday morning -- about 40 hours later -- how does that make three days? Each time the question of Jesus’ whereabouts during those three days in the tomb comes up, I think about what he gave instead so that we could break free ourselves. Jewish mysticism teaches that a deceased person’s spirit remains around the body for up to three days after death before departing. The Zohar states: “For seven days the nefesh goes to and from his house to his grave from his grave to his house, mourning for the body…and it grieves to behold the sadness in the house.” Also 4-days was the total time Lazarus had been dead, but Jesus only "delayed" in going to Bethany 2-days. . Jesus broke free from the bondage of the sins that were placed upon his shoulders. . You can read more about Jesus and the 3 days … – Revelation Lad Mar 3 '19 at 20:16 12:40 For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. However, Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead after the fourth day in the grave was truly a miracle. The Greek is scriptural proof that Jesus was literally three days and three nights in the grave. I Peter 3:19. The Kabbalists speak of Hibbut Ha-Kever, a three to seven-day process of separating the nefesh portion of the soul from the body. He went to the tomb shortly after He arrived. The expression ‘in the heart of the earth,’ suggested by the expression of Jonah with respect to the sea [see: Jonah 2:3, YLT] . Christ died around three in the afternoon on Friday and was entombed shortly thereafter. (See Psalm 164:4 Psalm 6:5; Ecc 9:5,6,10) 2) That Peter even knew or consciously thought about the book of 1Enoch while writing 1Peter & 2 Peter. Matt. There’s some dispute on this, but the majority of scholars agree that Jesus died on a Friday—“the Day of Preparation.” This means that He was not in the tomb for 72 hours, no matter how you slice it.The only full day He spent behind the stone was Saturday—the Sabbath—the day on which God commanded the people of Israel to rest, just as He had rested after His work in Genesis 2. So I think you are asking why did Jesus delay (for 2-days) in order to arrive at the tomb after 4-days.