Jesus did many miracles. He healed many people, including the demon possessed. He used a boy’s lunch to feed a crowd that included 5,000 men. He calmed a storm. And He raised Jarius’s daughter back to life.
But then some Jewish religious leaders asked Jesus to show them another miraculous sign to prove that He was the promised Messiah! They disregarded all His other miracles. They were skeptical. The request was an excuse for their unbelief. They probably wanted a spectacular “sign from heaven” (Mt. 16:1; Lk. 11:16). But they weren’t looking for proof from Jesus, they were looking for proof against Him, so they could get Him killed. It was a test, not just a request (Mt. 16:1; Mk. 8:11; Lk, 11:16).
How did Jesus respond? Firstly, He said that they were wicked and unfaithful to their God. Then He said that the only sign He would give them was “the sign of the prophet Jonah” (Mt. 12:38-42; 16:4; Lk. 11:29-32).
To understand this, you need to know about the Old Testament prophet Jonah from the northern kingdom of Israel who lived in the 8th century BC. God told Jonah to go to the Assyrian capital of Nineveh to announce that they will be punished for their wickedness. Jonah disobeyed God and sailed away from Ninevah. But God intercepted him at sea. Jonah was thrown overboard and swallowed by a great fish. In the belly of the fish, Jonah repented, and the fish spate him back on dry ground. When Jonah delivered the message in Nineveh, the Assyrians repented, and God did not bring judgment upon them.
The “sign of Jonah” is the resurrection of Jesus from the dead – Jesus said, “For as Jonah was in the belly of the great fish for three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man [Jesus] be in the heart of the earth [the grave] for three days and three nights” (Mt. 12:40NLT). What happened to Jonah was like the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. Jonah appeared as if he had died and been raised up in order to save Israel from future destruction by the Assyrians.
You might know that Jesus was probably not in the grave for 72 hours (24×3). It was probably no more than 38 hours (assuming burial at 3pm on Friday and resurrection at 5am on Sunday). This is explained by the fact that “Three days and three nights” was a common Jewish saying for any part of three days. We do the same thing – there is a 2-day church leadership retreat in May, but it doesn’t go for 48 hours!
So, this part of the story of Jonah was a pattern prophecy that was only apparent when it was explained by Jesus. This kind of prophecy is usually only evident in hindsight.
Instead of a miraculous sign in the sky, the Jews received a miracle in history. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the main proof and evidence, that Jesus is the Messiah, the Christ (Rom. 1:4). It was the ultimate sign (or miracle) – no other signs or miracles are needed. God planned the death and resurrection of Jesus for the salvation of people like us. In this way, Jesus took the death penalty that we deserve.
Prayer
Father God, we thank you for the many patterns in the Old Testament that Jesus fulfilled. As Jonah was sent to warn the Ninevites of God’s judgment, Jesus was sent to warn us of the need to accept the salvation available through His death and resurrection.
We recognise the importance of the resurrection as the final and ultimate miracle in the Lord’s earthly ministry. This confirmed that His death was difference to all other deaths. And we thank you for the promise of our future resurrection to be with Him forever.
We thank you for His sacrificial death that enabled our sin to be forgiven. And we thank you for His resurrection back to life which was a great victory over death, sin and Satan. As those who have trusted in this good news about Jesus, we offer thanks and praise for all that you have done through Jesus. Amen.
G Hawke
