THE SIGN OF THE PROPHET JONAH Matthew 16

THE SIGN OF THE PROPHET JONAH

Matthew 16: 1 -4 1 Then the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and testing Him asked that He would show them a sign from heaven. 2 He answered and said to them, “When it is evening you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red’; 3 and in the morning, ‘It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening. ’ Hypocrites! You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times. 4 A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. ” And He left them and departed.

Luke 11: 29 -30 29 And while the crowds were thickly gathered together, He began to say, “This is an evil generation. It seeks a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah the prophet. 30 For as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so also the Son of Man will be to this generation.

The comparison and contrast between Jesus and Jonah JONAH JESUS CHRIST 1. WERE SENT FAR FROM HOME TO PREACH Jonah 1: 2 John 6: 38 “For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me”. “Arise, go to Nineveh that great city, and cry against it, for their wickedness has come up before Me”. Luke 19: 10 - for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.

The comparison and contrast between Jesus and Jonah JONAH JESUS CHRIST 2. HATED HIS AUDIENCE 2. LOVED HIS AUDIENCE Jonah 1: 3 But Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. He went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid the fare, and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. Ephesians 3: 14 -19 14 For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, 16 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man,

The comparison and contrast between Jesus and Jonah JONAH JESUS CHRIST 2. HATED HIS AUDIENCE 2. LOVED HIS AUDIENCE Ephesians 3: 17 -19 17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— 19 to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

The comparison and contrast between Jesus and Jonah JONAH JESUS CHRIST Ephesians 5: 2 - 2 And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma. Romans 8: 38 -39 38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. John 13: 34 - A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.

The comparison and contrast between Jesus and Jonah JONAH JESUS CHRIST 3. WAS SACRIFICED BECAUSE THE SEA WAS RAGING 3. WAS SACRIFICED BECAUSE THE HEATHEN WERE RAGING Jonah 1: 4 -13 • Jonah was tossed overboard because he was the cause of the tempest. • As soon as he was tossed overboard, the sea quieted down and the ship and its crew was saved. Peter prayed in Acts 4: 25 -28 25 who by the mouth of Your servant David have said: ‘Why did the nations rage, And the people plot vain things? 26 The kings of the earth took their stand, And the rulers were gathered together Against the LORD and against His Christ. ’

Acts 4: 25 -28 27 “For truly against Your holy Servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together 28 to do whatever Your hand Your purpose determined before to be done. John 15: 18 “If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you”.

The comparison and contrast between Jesus and Jonah JONAH JESUS CHRIST 4. VOLUNTARILY SACRIFICED HIMSELF FOR THE LIVES OF THE SAILORS 4. VOLUNTARILY SACRIFICED HIMSELF FOR THE SINS OF THE WORLD Jonah 1: 12 And he said to them, “Pick me up and throw me into the sea; then the sea will become calm for you. For I know that this great tempest is because of me. ” 17 “Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down John 10: 17 -18 My life that I may take it again. 18 No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father. ”

2 Corinthians 5: 14 “For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; ” Galatians 2: 20 “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no long I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and delivered himself up for me”.

The comparison and contrast between Jesus and Jonah JONAH JESUS CHRIST 5. WAS SENT TO DEATH BY THOSE RELUCTANT TO BEAR HIS BLOOD 5. WAS SENT TO DEATH BY THOSE EAGER TO BEAR HIS BLOOD Jonah 1: 14 Matthew 27: 22 ; 25 22 Pilate said to them, “What then shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ? ” They all said to him, “Let Him be crucified!” 25 And all the people answered and said, “His blood be on us and on our children. ” Therefore they cried out to the LORD and said, “We pray, O LORD, please do not let us perish for this man’s life, and do not charge us with innocent blood; for You, O LORD, have done as it pleased You. ”

The comparison and contrast between Jesus and Jonah JONAH JESUS CHRIST 6. CLAIMED TO BE IN SHEOL/HADES 6. WENT TO SHEOL/HADES Jonah 2: 1 -2 Ephesians 4: 8 -10 8 Therefore He says: “When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, And gave gifts to men. ” 9 (Now this, “He ascended”—what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth? Then Jonah prayed to the LORD his God from the fish’s belly. 2 And he said: “I cried out to the LORD because of my affliction, And He answered me. “Out of the belly of Sheol I cried, And You heard my voice.

The comparison and contrast between Jesus and Jonah JONAH JESUS CHRIST 7. PREACHED REPENTANCE Jonah 3: 1 -4 Mark 1: 14 -15 “And after John had been taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel’. ” Luke 13: 3 “unless you repent, you will die in your sins. Matthew 12: 41 - The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here

Matthew 3: 8 Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, Colossians 3: 8 -10 8 But now yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, 10 and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him,

2 Peter 3: 9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. 2 Corinthians 7: 10 Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.

The comparison and contrast between Jesus and Jonah JONAH JESUS CHRIST 8. WAS RECEIVED BY STRANGERS Jonah 3: 5 So the people of Nineveh believed God, proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest to the least of them. 8. WAS REJECTED BY HIS OWN PEOPLE John 1: 10 -11 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. 11 He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. Matthew 13: 53 -58 Jesus Rejected at Nazareth

The comparison and contrast between Jesus and Jonah JONAH JESUS CHRIST 9. WAS DISPLEASED BY THE GOOD RESPONSE TO HIS PREACHING 9. IS FILLED WITH PLEASURE BY THE SAME Jonah 4: 1 -2 John 1: 10 -11 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. 11 He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. 1 But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he became angry. 2 So he prayed to the LORD, and said, “Ah, LORD, was not this what I said when I was still in my country? Therefore I fled previously to Tarshish; for I know that You are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, One who relents from doing harm. Matthew 13: 53 -58 Jesus Rejected at Nazareth

The comparison and contrast between Jesus and Jonah JONAH JESUS CHRIST 10. WAS SELFISHLY SORROWFUL 10. IS SELFLESSLY SORROWFUL Jonah 4: 1 -2 John 19: 41 -44 1 But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he became angry. 2 So he prayed to the Lord, and said, “Ah, Lord, was not this what I said when I was still in my country? Therefore I fled previously to Tarshish; for I know that You are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, One who relents from doing harm. Jesus wept over Jerusalem because He knew what sort of people were there. There are spiritually blinded. Matthew 9: 36 But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd.

CONCLUSION: So, what was the sign of the Prophet Jonah? The most obvious reference is the three days and nights in the belly of the great fish which represents sheol. It’s not just an old story of a person swallowed by a big fish but it’s a picture where Jesus conquered death.

1 Corinthians 15: 55 -57 55 “O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory? ” 56 The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus is Alive and He is alive forever.

THE PROMISED OF GOD: John 14: 1 -3 1“Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. 2 In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.