The Sign of the Resurrection
In Matthew 12, Jesus had several confrontations with the Pharisees. In the first encounter, the Pharisees see Jesus and his disciples walking through the grainfields, picking and eating some heads of grain (vv. 1-8). It was the Sabbath, so they confronted Jesus and asked Him why His disciples did what was against the Law on the Sabbath. Jesus responded by telling them that He, the Son of Man, is the Lord of the Sabbath. Undoubtedly, the Pharisees didn’t like His response.
Leaving there, Jesus went into the synagogue and found a man with a shriveled hand (vv. 9-14). The Pharisees, again, looking for a reason to charge Him with a crime, asked Jesus if it was lawful to heal on the Sabbath. Jesus responds by telling them that it is always lawful to do good on the Sabbath and proceeded to heal the man’s hand. The Pharisees were so angry with Jesus that after He healed the man, they went out and plotted to kill Him. Jesus, being aware of their plot, left that place followed by a large crowd. Jesus had compassion on them and healed all of the people who were sick.
Later, Jesus healed a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute (v. 22). After Jesus had just performed this miracle, some Pharisees went to Jesus and asked Him to show them a sign, miraculous proof that he was indeed the Messiah (v. 38). The Pharisees remained unconvinced of Jesus' claim about Himself. They had seen sign after sign yet demanded another sign. They were so hard-hearted that even after witnessing this miracle, the Pharisees claimed that Jesus used satanic power to perform these miracles!
Shocking, isn’t it? They had seen everything they needed to see to know that Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of God, but they still weren’t satisfied. Ironically, this is an amazing apologetic . . . that Jesus’ biggest opponents would acknowledge that a miracle had taken at all, proves that Jesus did perform this miracle . . . and many others! The religious leaders didn’t try to discount this miracle but instead blasphemously called Jesus’ miracle evil.
Jesus’ response is straightforward and intriguing; straightforward in that He clearly denied their request for another sign. “. . . there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas:” (v. 30b). Jesus unequivocally stated that they weren’t going to see any more signs except the sign of Jonas (Jonah).
But His answer is also intriguing. Jesus calls them an evil and adulterous generation because they wanted to see a sign. It’s easy to see why Christ called them evil. But why did He call them adulterous? Perhaps Jesus called them adulterous because of their spiritual betrayal. The Pharisees were given everything they needed to believe, yet they were still seeking fulfillment elsewhere, namely in witnessing more signs and miracles!
So what is the sign of Jonas that Jesus spoke about? The sign of Jonah was a metaphor for Jesus’ future crucifixion, burial, and resurrection. To fully appreciate Jesus’ answer, we need to look back at the story of Jonah.
God commanded the prophet Jonah to go to the wicked city of Ninevah and warn the people that God was going to destroy them if they did not repent. Jonah didn’t want to go to Ninevah, so he ran away. He boarded a ship bound for Tarshish. God sent a violent storm that caused the crew to fear for their lives, and they threw Jonah overboard. He was swallowed by a huge fish, where he remained for three days and three nights. After three days, the Lord caused the fish to vomit Jonah out onto dry land.
Jesus paralleled the Pharisees with the people of Ninevah. The people of Ninevah were evil, but they repented of their wickedness after hearing Jonah’s cry for repentance. The stiff-necked Pharisees, on the other hand, refused to repent, even though they had been given “. . . .[someone] greater than Jonas . . .”
But what is the significance of the “. . . three days and three nights . . .”? Verse 40 tells us. “For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.”
The “sign of Jonah” was Jesus’ greatest miracle of all. Christ’s resurrection from the dead was God’s most definitive and miraculous sign that Jesus really was Israel’s long-awaited Messiah and confirmed Jesus’ claim that He was the Son of God!
Leaving there, Jesus went into the synagogue and found a man with a shriveled hand (vv. 9-14). The Pharisees, again, looking for a reason to charge Him with a crime, asked Jesus if it was lawful to heal on the Sabbath. Jesus responds by telling them that it is always lawful to do good on the Sabbath and proceeded to heal the man’s hand. The Pharisees were so angry with Jesus that after He healed the man, they went out and plotted to kill Him. Jesus, being aware of their plot, left that place followed by a large crowd. Jesus had compassion on them and healed all of the people who were sick.
Later, Jesus healed a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute (v. 22). After Jesus had just performed this miracle, some Pharisees went to Jesus and asked Him to show them a sign, miraculous proof that he was indeed the Messiah (v. 38). The Pharisees remained unconvinced of Jesus' claim about Himself. They had seen sign after sign yet demanded another sign. They were so hard-hearted that even after witnessing this miracle, the Pharisees claimed that Jesus used satanic power to perform these miracles!
Shocking, isn’t it? They had seen everything they needed to see to know that Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of God, but they still weren’t satisfied. Ironically, this is an amazing apologetic . . . that Jesus’ biggest opponents would acknowledge that a miracle had taken at all, proves that Jesus did perform this miracle . . . and many others! The religious leaders didn’t try to discount this miracle but instead blasphemously called Jesus’ miracle evil.
Jesus’ response is straightforward and intriguing; straightforward in that He clearly denied their request for another sign. “. . . there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas:” (v. 30b). Jesus unequivocally stated that they weren’t going to see any more signs except the sign of Jonas (Jonah).
But His answer is also intriguing. Jesus calls them an evil and adulterous generation because they wanted to see a sign. It’s easy to see why Christ called them evil. But why did He call them adulterous? Perhaps Jesus called them adulterous because of their spiritual betrayal. The Pharisees were given everything they needed to believe, yet they were still seeking fulfillment elsewhere, namely in witnessing more signs and miracles!
So what is the sign of Jonas that Jesus spoke about? The sign of Jonah was a metaphor for Jesus’ future crucifixion, burial, and resurrection. To fully appreciate Jesus’ answer, we need to look back at the story of Jonah.
God commanded the prophet Jonah to go to the wicked city of Ninevah and warn the people that God was going to destroy them if they did not repent. Jonah didn’t want to go to Ninevah, so he ran away. He boarded a ship bound for Tarshish. God sent a violent storm that caused the crew to fear for their lives, and they threw Jonah overboard. He was swallowed by a huge fish, where he remained for three days and three nights. After three days, the Lord caused the fish to vomit Jonah out onto dry land.
Jesus paralleled the Pharisees with the people of Ninevah. The people of Ninevah were evil, but they repented of their wickedness after hearing Jonah’s cry for repentance. The stiff-necked Pharisees, on the other hand, refused to repent, even though they had been given “. . . .[someone] greater than Jonas . . .”
But what is the significance of the “. . . three days and three nights . . .”? Verse 40 tells us. “For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.”
The “sign of Jonah” was Jesus’ greatest miracle of all. Christ’s resurrection from the dead was God’s most definitive and miraculous sign that Jesus really was Israel’s long-awaited Messiah and confirmed Jesus’ claim that He was the Son of God!
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