How is Jesus like Jonah?
The warning Jesus gave to the scribes and Pharisees.
After the scribes and Pharisees asked to see a sign from Jesus, He gave them an interesting answer.
An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 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 12:39-41)
They had already accused Jesus of receiving His power from the devil - so they weren’t genuinely interested in seeing a sign from the Lord.
Jesus says, “You want a sign? Think about Jonah.”
Jonah was in the belly of the great fish three days and nights (Jonah 1:17). Jesus used that example to point to His own burial for only three days and nights.
The implication is - just as Jonah didn’t remain in the belly of the fish, so Jesus wouldn’t remain in “the belly” of the earth. He would be coming out of the tomb. That’s all the sign they needed.
But Jesus warns them - Nineveh would condemn the generation of Jesus’ day because they repented when Jonah came preaching (Jonah 3:6-10). The scribes and Pharisees would refuse to repent when Jesus rose from the dead - even though they knew it was true (Matthew 28:11-15).
To refuse to repent at the preaching of one greater than Jonah was the height of foolishness. Nineveh would have been destroyed had they not repented - what would happen to those who refuse the preaching of the risen Savior - the Gospel?
…when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power (2 Thessalonians 1:7-9)
Just as Nineveh listened to the preaching of Jonah and repented of their sins to avoid God’s judgment, we ought to listen to the preaching of Jesus and repent of our sins to be spared from the wrath of God.
Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead." (Acts 17:30-31)
For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. (Romans 5:6-9)
Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ." Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?" Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. (Acts 2:36-38)