- Matthew 12:38-42 Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, “Teacher, we want to see a miraculous sign from you.” He answered, “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For 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. The 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. The 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.
God showed either good or bad ‘signs’ as a price according to ‘the deeds of those who follow the Lord’ or according to ‘the deeds of the world.’ To those who asked for a sign, Jesus said, “I have no sign to show except for the sign of Jonah.” I will explain the meaning of: I have no sign to show except for the sign of Jonah. Jonah, the Old Testament prophet, ended up spending three days in the belly of a large fish as a result of disobeying God’s words and going his own way. Then he repented, turned back, went to Nineveh, evangelized the people of Nineveh whom God threatened to judge, and made them repent.
He let them escape God’s judgment by doing that. In the same way, Jesus spoke about his death that would result from the disbelief of the time period – how he, himself, would bear the cross and die to atone for the sins of mankind due to that time period of the New Testament disbelieving Jesus, and how he would remain in the ground for three days. He said: “The people of Nineveh were evangelized by Jonah, repented, and escaped God’s judgment. However, here is someone greater than Jonah. It is ‘I, myself.’”
In Jesus’ time, God wanted to perform numerous signs through ‘Jesus, the one whom God sent.’ However, because that generation rejected Jesus, Jesus died carrying the cross for the sins of all people on their behalf. As a result, God could not show the signs that [Jesus] could perform as the Messiah anymore, and showed signs only in the appropriate areas through Jesus’ followers later on. While Jesus was on the earth, the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law demanded him to show signs. But Jesus, knowing their hearts, spoke about ‘signs’ according to their deeds. He said: just as the prophet Jonah was in the belly of a huge fish for three days, came out of it, and saved the people of Nineveh who were subject to already-rendered judgment, by making them repent; the Son of Man will also be in the heart of the earth for three days, overcome death, and come out.
Jesus’ body died for all mankind redeeming their sins, but his spirit overcame death, resurrected, and appeared to his disciples. Thus, he showed himself being alive, and urged them to testify, believe, and follow. Afterwards, he ascended to heaven, promising, “I will come again.” As for the religions that worship idols and heretic religions, the spirits of those people are dead in the domain of death. Hence, they cannot live in the domain of life of the spiritual world but come to an end. The Lord’s spirit must live in order [for him] to gain the eternal victory and for the spirits of those who believe in and follow him also to live, gain the eternal victory, and live in Heaven. Jesus’ spirit overcoming death and living was ‘a sign.’ If his spirit had not lived, he could not have come to his disciples. The sign of Jonah refers to ‘the sign of showing you according to your deeds.’ In accordance with this Word, [God] shows ‘the sign of glory and blessing’ to those who believe in and follow the Lord in accordance with their deeds, and [He] shows ‘the sign of judgment’ to the disbelievers in accordance with their deeds. God shows signs according to ‘how you treat the Lord.’
I told you that a sign gives birth to another ‘sign,’ right? We must testify for the signs that God has performed. Then, God will show us more ‘signs.’ There are hundreds of different kinds of great signs that God has shown in this time period. Again, there are signs that God has performed for you. You should testify about all of them. By performing ‘signs,’ God, the Holy Spirit, and the Lord help us acquire the things that are unattainable and make impossible things possible. Therefore, you should believe in the signs and keep testifying about them. A sign happens when you believe! A sign takes place when you testify! I bless you that by you believing and testifying, a lot of signs will take place and your wishes will come true!