(Matthew 12:40)…..“For as Jonah 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.” Jesus called this the sign of the prophet Jonah (Jonah 1:1-2:10). The heart of the earth simply means under the ground. Three days and three nights means, literally, three of our days and three of our nights. Christ said He would be in the grave as long as Jonah was in the belly of the whale. As Jonah was brought from the belly of the whale, Christ was brought up from the grave. That was Jesus’ message to these scribes and Pharisees. He was saying…….”If you want proof that you should believe in me, here it is, I will rise from the dead on the third day, and yet they tried their best to keep this from happening (Matthew 27:62-65) (Matthew 28:5-6) (1 Corinthians 15:1-4)
What did the Lord’s resurrection accomplish?
- It fulfilled His Scripture – (Luke 24:45-46)
- It brought about the forgiveness of sin – (1 Corinthians 15:13-17)
- It makes those who are dead alive – (1 Corinthians 15:20-22)
- Freed us from sins power – (Romans 6:1-9)
- It justified the one who has faith in Him – (Romans 4:19-25) (Romans 8:31-35)
When God rescued Jonah from the grave (whale) it was a sign to the people of Ninevah that Jonah’s message of repentance was from God . And what was the result? They believed, through Jonah, that God was going to destroy them because of their sin (Jonah 3:1-4). They were only given 40 days to repent, and they did (Jonah 3:5-10). Now the men of Nineveh will rise at the judgment and condemn their generation, because they did not believe God, because they did not repent of their sins, and they had been given years to do so.
Now someone greater than Jonah was in their presence. You see Jonah was a reluctant prophet who became angry when God relented of the destruction to come upon Nineveh (Jonah 4:1-3). But Jesus is a compassionate prophet who lamented over His people Israel (Matthew 23:37-38).