Matthew 12:38-45
The Sign of Jonah
38Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, "Teacher, we want to see a miraculous sign from you."
39He answered, "A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 41The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now one greater than Jonah is here. 42The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon's wisdom, and now one greater than Solomon is here.
43"When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. 44Then it says, 'I will return to the house I left.' When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. 45Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this wicked generation."
Matthew 16:1-4
The Demand for a Sign
1The Pharisees and Sadducees came to Jesus and tested him by asking him to show them a sign from heaven.
2He replied, "When evening comes, you say, 'It will be fair weather, for the sky is red,' 3and in the morning, 'Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast.' You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times. 4A wicked and adulterous generation looks for a miraculous sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah." Jesus then left them and went away.
When we think we need a miracle to believe that Jesus is our Savior, He tells us that only one sign will be given to us...That sign is the sign of Jonah...Jonah was inside the belly of the big fish for three days and three nights...The Son of Man was in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights...And this Great Sign is a miracle, a Great Miracle...And this miracle saves us from our own sins...
Jesus told this to the non-believing Pharisees, when they wanted to see a sign...When we want to see a miracle to believe, or our faith dips and we have trouble seeing God, we must remember this...The only sign we need is that Jesus died and three days later God resurrected Him on the third day...He has overcame all the terrible things in this life...He overcame evil, disease, suffering, pain, and death...This must remember this sign when we struggle with our faith...
This is the only sign we need to know He is divine...His resurrection is the most important fact in the history of man...