Knowing God through His Word … Day by Day

Max A Forsythe comments on The Sign of Jonah:

The world still seeks signs. Of course those of us who claim Jesus Christ as Lord of our lives realize that when He specified that He would be three days and three nights in the earth, he was saying plainly that death’s claim on Him had a limit. His word was a promise that He would break the chains of death and rise in resurrection power on the third day. But more than just history is at stake here. Paul writes these words in his letter to the Corinthians: 1 Corinthians 15: 14 … 22 “And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. … If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men. But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive”.

If we are to have any hope of glory, any hope of salvation, it is in the fulfillment of the sign of Jonah. Three days and three nights in the tomb the sacred reports tells us, but the world still wonders. When I was confronted in Seminary about three full days, all I could mumble was Friday, Saturday and Sunday. But, the accuser pointed out that was only two nights. At that time, it was my faith that God’s word was true and the known character of the accuser, that kept me safe from doubt. Since then, I have read of three possible answers to that unbeliever’s question about Jonah’s sign. But, you know, I would think, that like the Pharisees and leaders of Jesus’ own time, none of these would have been sufficient for my questioner.

I do hope that one of these answers will be sufficient for you. You see, the fulfillment of Jonah’s sign is documented outside of the promise of God’s Word. Much information has been lost to the Church of the exact chronology of the first Holy Week. To really appreciate the sign of Jonah, you must believe that Jesus is the Christ, and that His word is sufficient. There are three possibilities for the actual fulfillment of that sign.

• First, some commentators and the Church at large interpret the Jewish idiom of the first century to allow a portion of a day to represent a whole day. Thus, my response in Seminary of Friday, Saturday and Sunday is the usual understanding.
• Second, some commentators sense that in the jumble of “easter” week chronology, the crucifixion may have actually occurred on Thursday, thus fulfilling exactly the three days and three nights in the tomb.
• Third, there is significant evidence that the Jewish calendar may have inserted a leap year day at Passover time. By this explanation, there would then be two Sabbaths in that first Holy Week. 26 AD, would thus be the most likely year for these events to have happened literally as Matthew points out in 28:1: “After the Sabbaths, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb”. Yes, you heard correctly, in the original Greek there is a plural for Sabbaths. For my mind, this is how the sign of Jonah was exactly fulfilled.

As Paul pointed out in his letter to the Corinthians, if there is to be any hope of glory, any hope of salvation, it is in the fulfillment resurrection. Let there be no doubts amongst you. At least you don’t have to wait three days to know how things are going to work out. Unlike the disciples and followers, we live in the afterwards. We can know, that Yes, He arose, because we have seen two thousand years of witness to that fact. And we also can know that the whole purpose of his death and resurrection was for our salvation. Like Jonah, who was caught in the belly of the fish, we can also find salvation in and through Jesus Christ our Lord and our God. May that salvation be ours today and always.

To read the rest of the article, click here: