Matt 16:1 And the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and testing Him asked Him to show them a sign out of heaven. (4) An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and a sign shall not be given to it, except the sign of Jonah. And He left them and went away.
Jonah was the prophet who turned from Israel to the Gentiles and was put into the belly of the great fish. After remaining there for three days, he emerged to become a sign to that generation for repentance (Jonah 1:2, 17; 2:2-10). This was a type of Christ, the prophet sent by God to His people, who would turn from Israel to the Gentiles, and who would be buried in the heart of the earth for three days and then be resurrected, becoming a sign to this generation for salvation. The Lord's word here implies that to that evil and adulterous, Jewish and religious generation, the Lord would do nothing but die and be resurrected as a sign, the greatest sign to them, that they might be saved if they would believe. In speaking of the sign of Jonah, the Lord seemed to be saying, "You Pharisees and Sadducees do not need miracles. You need to discern that this generation is evil and to believe in Me and take Me into you as the crucified and resurrected One. You need to repent as the people of Nineveh did, and you need to believe that I will die for your sins and be resurrected to impart Myself into you as life. This is the sign for this generation. No other sign will be given. I am the sign to you, the sign of the crucified and resurrected Christ. You need to repent and to receive Me into you as your bread."
Bible verses are taken from the Recovery Version of the Bible and Words of Ministry from Witness Lee, Life-study of Matthew, pp. 560. Both are published by Living Stream Ministry, Anaheim, CA. Please visit us at www.emanna.com. Send comments to: [email protected].
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