A Fishy Tale of a Risen Lord

Text

Matthew 12:38–41 NASB95

Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.” But He answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation craves for a sign; and yet no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet; for just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. “The men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation at the judgment, and will condemn it because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.

The resurrection is the single most important event in the history of Christianity

That Jesus was able to declare victory over sin, the devil and death through the resurrection is why we enjoy the blessings we have in Him

As the bible explains and describes this event, we must keep in mind that it fits into the ONE narritive of Scripture (We have 66 books, two, testaments etc. but its ONE story)

God’s desire to have many sons/God bringing man back to Himself according to His good pleasure

What Jesus lets His disciples know is that if they were paying attention, they would’ve seen this coming in Scripture.

Luke 24:27 “Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures.”

Luke 24:44 “Now He said to them, “These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.”” [read to vs. 46]

What are the Scriptures?

They comprise of three groups of writings: The Law, The Prophets (Former and Latter), The Writings (The Psalms)

Even Paul acknowledged this

1 Corinthians 15:3–4 “For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,”

The resurrection is so crucial that the death and burial of Christ would’ve been futile without it.

The Spirit did not wait until the NT to give you a picture of Jesus

Genesis 3:15 “And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel.””

Ex 12 - The Passover Lamb

Lev 16 - The Day of Atonement

Numbers 21:8 “Then the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a standard; and it shall come about, that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, he will live.””

Deuteronomy 18:15 ““The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your countrymen, you shall listen to him.”

Jesus is saying, they spoke of my resurrection inside here, there are pictrues all over, now we just have to find it.

A Fishy Tale of a Risen Lord

Jesus speaks to some scribes and Pharisees who desired a sign from Him

The backdrop is the testing of Jesus by the Pharisees

They test Him because His disciples eat grain on the Sabbath

They test Him because He healed a man in “their” synagogue on the Sabbath

They test Him because He healled a demon-possessed man (blind and mute) and crowd’s response was “could he be the Son of David”

The Pharisees then accuse Him of casting out demons by the power of Beelzebul

He responds

Your reasoning is wrong

Your theology is wrong

Your heart is wrong

After this, they ask for a sign. . .

A sign was used together with mircales and wonders. They all refer to different aspects of the same thing. The sign, though it referred to the miracle, also gave emphasis to the point or highlight of the miracle.

There is something that is in Jonah that was telling of Jesus

In other words, there are some pictures of Jesus in the prophet Jonah

Picture #1

Jonah 1:2 ““Arise, go to Nineveh the great city and cry against it, for their wickedness has come up before Me.””

God sends a man to a sinful people (But Jonah doesn’t want to go)

Jonah decides to go in the opposite direction. Jesus proves to be a better Jonah because endure the cross despising the shame. Luke 22:42 “saying, “Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done.””

Jonah did not they needed salvation. Jonah prefers death than their salvation. Jesus proves to be a better Jonah because His death is what brought salvation. Jesus is saying THE reason I came and stayed the course was FOR salvation.

Jonah thought that they deserved judgment because how bad they are. Jesus proves to be a better Jonah becasue He didn’t come to judge the world but to save

Picture #2

Jonah 1:11–12 “So they said to him, “What should we do to you that the sea may become calm for us?”—for the sea was becoming increasingly stormy. He said to them, “Pick me up and throw me into the sea. Then the sea will become calm for you, for I know that on account of me this great storm has come upon you.””

After finding out that Jonah’s God is responsible for this calamity

He gives himself up to possible death, so that the men on the ship can be saved.

(At this point we don’t know what the motive was)

There was a problem and the only way it can be fixed was to throw me to my death. He gives himself up to the crowd

When we consider Jesus, He was “handed over”

John 10:17–18 ““For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it again. “No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father.””

Jesus is a better Jonah becasue He gave out of love not frustration

Jesus was consumed with His Fater’s will not His own

Picture #3

When Jonah was thrown into the water, the bible says,

Jonah 1:17 “And the Lord appointed a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the stomach of the fish three days and three nights.”

God appointed the fish (we don’t know what the fish was)

Jonah was prepared in the fish for the mission

Jesus was prepared before every fish for His mission - 1 Peter 1:18–20 “knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ. For He was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but has appeared in these last times for the sake of you”

God prepared His coming

Hebrews 10:5 “Therefore, when He comes into the world, He says, “Sacrifice and offering You have not desired, But a body You have prepared for Me;” (Ps 40:6-8)

His mission led him to the cross - Matthew 16:21 “From that time Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on the third day.”

Picture #4

Jonah 1:17 “And the Lord appointed a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the stomach of the fish three days and three nights.”

Jonah 2:10 “Then the Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah up onto the dry land.”

Three days later the fish spat Jonah out

This meant life for Nineveh

Jesus is a better Jonah because when He got up, it meant life for the WORLD.

While scholars argue whether Jonah died, Jesus DID die

But He got up

Thank God, Jesus Got up!

Picture #5

Jonah 3:8–9 ““But both man and beast must be covered with sackcloth; and let men call on God earnestly that each may turn from his wicked way and from the violence which is in his hands. “Who knows, God may turn and relent and withdraw His burning anger so that we will not perish.””

A greater than Jonah is here

A greater message is here

Will we have as great a reponse? - Matthew 12:41 ““The men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation at the judgment, and will condemn it because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.”

Because Jesus got up, I can claim salvation