The Sign of Jonah

Christ displayed many signs and wonders, but the only sign given whose sole purpose was just to be "a sign" in itself and nothing else, was the sign of Jonah.

Mat 12:38 Then certain of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee.

Mat 12:39 But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet:

Mat 12:40 for as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the whale; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

Mat 12:41 The men of Nineveh shall stand up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, a greater than Jonah is here.

Mat 12:42 The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, a greater than Solomon is here.

This sign was to establish proof of Christ's declaration that he was the Messiah.

Here are the 3 main points to the sign

1) 3 days

2) 3 nights

3) in the heart of the earth



There is a 4th implied in this sign, that he would be resurrected. (otherwise points 1 and 2 make no sense)



The sign is SO SIMPLE, yet no one in traditional Christianity believes Christ did what he said.Traditional Christianity states he died Friday, was buried just before sunset Friday evening, and was resurrected Sunday morning. It does not require a degree in mathematics to count....all you have in this time frame is 2 nights and 1 day.



On this basis (if this is in fact what happened, it isn't) you SHOULD REJECT JESUS AS MESSIAH.



So the question is : Did Jesus fulfill the Sign of Jonah or not?

First go back and recalculate. A day in the life of a Jew isn't like a day for us. Their day exists from sundown of one day, to sundown of the next.

They had to have him off the cross by evening, because that started Passover. Under Jewish law, he was dead on a Thursday, though in our eyes it looks like it was Friday.

This is a fact.

reply to post by SirPaulMuaddib

The sign is SO SIMPLE, yet no one in traditional Christianity believes Christ did what he said.Traditional Christianity states he died Friday, was buried just before sunset Friday evening, and was resurrected Sunday morning.

Traditional?
Maybe you mean Catholic.
They developed their own calender and force everyone to accept it.
That does not make it true.
Plenty of people have always held that Jesus was crucified on Thursday.
There were two days of the feast of bread, before Passover.
That gave the Jews to eat whatever leavened bread was around before the houses were cleared of it.
The unleavened bread was used on passover.
Jesus was upset in the Garden of Gethsemane because he would not live to celebrate the passover with his disciples.
Passover was Friday and he would die on Thursday.
At the last supper, they were eating ordinary leavened bread.
So if he was crucified on Thursday, that gives Thursday night, Friday night, and Saturday night.

reply to post by Myrtales Instinct


I think Jesus died pretty early in the day.
He was captured the night before and was examined over night.
He was sentenced in the morning.
When he died, it became dark in the middle of the day.
So, that counts as a day, or probably inclusive of a 12 hour daytime period.
The calculations of days works out the way you say, as far as telling the day of the week.
Jesus was talking in more specific terms when he says three days and three nights.
It does not necessarily mean an entire 12 hour period, but it describes something happening within that period.
So he was dead in the 12 hours of daylight on Thursday.

reply to post by jmdewey60


He did. They refer to it as the ninth hour, which would be around 3 in the afternoon. Twilight started passover and they all had to be off their crosses. He was dead Thursday, Friday, & Saturday and rose on Sunday, according to Jewish tradition.

If people want to get all technical, they can consider the following verse from the OT.

Hosea 6: 2-3

After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will restore us, that we may live in his presence. Let us acknowledge the LORD; let us press on to acknowledge him. As surely as the sun rises, he will appear; he will come to us like the winter rains, like the spring rains that water the earth.

This also explains why Jesus told Mary M. not to hold on to him, yet a few days later invited Thomas to touch him.

He's still the one!

Jesus was upset in the Garden of Gethsemane because he would not live to celebrate the passover with his disciples.
Passover was Friday and he would die on Thursday.
At the last supper, they were eating ordinary leavened bread.

What? I'm sorry, no. None of this is in the NT.

Jesus was distressed, because he knew he was going to be torn to pieces with a whip.

How Christ observed the Passover..

There were two feasts:

1) Passover (sometimes Passover day is referred to as the First Day of Unleavened Bread or the Preparation Day)

2) Feast of Unleavened Bread

What is confusing is that these two separate feasts are sometimes "lumped together" and referred to as either Passover, or Passover season, or The Feast of Unleavened Bread.

The Passover that Christ kept was the day BEFORE THE SABBATH. What most don't understand is that THIS SABBATH was a high Sabbath. Not the weekly Sabbath, hence the confusion. It was not on Friday, but another day.

Joh 19:31 The Jews therefore, because it was the Preparation, that the bodies should not remain on the cross upon the Sabbath (for the day of that Sabbath was a high day), asked of Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away.

A high Sabbath is one of the Annual Sabbaths not a weekly Sabbath.



Here is a quick timeline / review of what happened

Note passover is observed shortly after the EVENING of the day before..

1) the sun has set on TUESDAY afternoon.

2) Passover begins / Christ observes Passover with disciples.

3) He and disciples go to Mount of Olives

4) Christ goes to Garden to pray

5) later that night Christ is betrayed and taken away

6) Trial

7) Christ is crucified and dies between 3pm - 6pm on WEDNESDAY

8) Christ is buried shortly before or on Wednesday at sunset.

[continued in next post]






[edit on 2-8-2008 by SirPaulMuaddib]

1) the sun has set on TUESDAY afternoon.

Mat 26:19 And the disciples did as Jesus appointed them; and they made ready the passover.

Mat 26:20 Now when even was come, he was sitting at meat with the twelve disciples;

2) Passover begins / Christ observes Passover with disciples.

Mat 26:26 And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and brake it; and he gave to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body.

Mat 26:27 And he took a cup, and gave thanks, and gave to them, saying, Drink ye all of it;

Mat 26:31 Then saith Jesus unto them, All ye shall be offended in me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad.

Notice....the betrayal..etc..occurs over THAT NIGHT. (Tues night into Weds morning)

34 Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, That this night, before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice.

3) He and disciples go to Mount of Olives

Mat 26:30 ... they went out unto the mount of Olives.

4) Christ goes to Garden to pray

Mat 26:36 Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto his disciples, Sit ye here, while I go yonder and pray.

Christ prays for a total of 3 HOURS.

Mat 26:40 .... What, could ye not watch(pray) with me one hour?

Mat 26:44 And he left them again, and went away, and prayed a third time, saying again the same words.

5) later that night Christ is betrayed and taken away

Mat 26:50 And Jesus said unto him, Friend, do that for which thou art come. Then they came and laid hands on Jesus, and took him.

6) Trial







7) Christ is crucified during Passover day, and dies between 3pm - 6pm on WEDNESDAY

Luk 23:44 And it was now about the sixth hour, and a darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour,

Sixth hour = 3pm

Ninth hour = 6pm





8) Christ is buried shortly before or on Wednesday at sunset.

Mark 15:42-46 (ASV)

42 And when even was now come, because it was the Preparation, that is, the day before the Sabbath (remember this Sabbath is not a weekly Sabbath but a High Sabbath see John 19:31), 43 there came Joseph of Arimathaea, a councillor of honorable estate, who also himself was looking for the kingdom of God; and he boldly went in unto Pilate, and asked for the body of Jesus. 44 And Pilate marvelled if he were already dead: and calling unto him the centurion, he asked him whether he had been any while dead. 45 And when he learned it of the centurion, he granted the corpse to Joseph. 46 And he bought a linen cloth, and taking him down, wound him in the linen cloth, and laid him in a tomb which had been hewn out of a rock; and he rolled a stone against the door of the tomb.

[edit on 2-8-2008 by SirPaulMuaddib]

Now let us count the nights and days....

1) (12hrs) wednesday night / (12hrs) thursday daytime

2) (12hrs) thursday night / (12hrs) friday daytime

3) (12hrs) friday night / (12hrs) saturday daytime

Christ is in the "heart of the earth", in the grave for 3 days and 3 nights, for a total of 72 hours. IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE SIGN OF JONAH.

so AFTER the 3 nights and 3 days, you calculate that the resurrection DID NOT take place Sunday MORNING (I'll discuss this later), but right on sunset that Saturday EVENING.


Why is this so confusing? Why can't people accept that Christ did it, exactly the way He said He would??

Just to clarify (as it was alluded to)

The Jewish reckons time this way: from evening to evening.

That is from sunset of "the day before" to sunset of that day.

So that Tuesday evening (AFTER the sun has set), to Wednesday evening (when the sun has set), would be considered by Jews as the 4TH DAY of the week.


This distinction is important because we are told in Daniel, that the Messiah would be cut off in THE MIDST of the week, or mid-week, which would be on the 4th day of the week.

Dan 9:27 And he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week. And in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the offering to cease