Matthew 16:4 “A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. And he left them, and departed”. The phrase “sign of Jonah” was used by Jesus as a typological metaphor for His future crucifixion, burial, and resurrection. Jesus answered with this expression when asked by the Pharisees for miraculous proof that He was indeed the Messiah.

1. What does Matthew 16:4 mean?
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Matthew 16:4
“A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall
no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. And he left
them, and departed”.
The phrase “sign of Jonah” was used by Jesus as a typological
metaphor for His future crucifixion, burial, and resurrection. Jesus
answered with this expression when asked by the Pharisees for
miraculous proof that He was indeed the Messiah.
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2. The Pharisees remained unconvinced of Jesus’ claims about
Himself, despite His having just cured a demon-possessed man
who was both blind and mute. Shortly after the Pharisees accused
Jesus of driving out demons by the power of Satan, they said to
Him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.”
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He answered, “Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees
answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee. But he
answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh
after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the
prophet Jonas: For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the
whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in
the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with
this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the
preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here.”
Matthew 12:38–41
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3. !
To fully appreciate the answer that Jesus gave, we must go to the
Old Testament book of Jonah. In its first chapter, we read that God
commanded the prophet Jonah to go to the city of Nineveh and
warn its people that He was going to destroy it for its wickedness.
Jonah disobediently ran from the Lord and headed for the city of
Tarshish by boat.
The Lord then sent a severe storm that caused the crew of the ship
to fear for their lives. Jonah was soon thrown overboard and
swallowed by a great fish where he remained for “three days and
three nights” Jonah 1:15–17. After the three-day period, the Lord
caused the great fish to vomit Jonah out onto dry land Jonah 2:10.
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4. !
It is this three days that Jesus was referring to when He spoke of
the sign of Jonah. Jesus had already been producing miracles that
were witnessed by many. Jesus had just performed a great sign in
the Pharisees’ presence by healing a deaf man who was possessed
of a demon. Rather than believe, they accused Jesus of doing this
by the power of Satan. Jesus recognized their hardness of heart
and refused to give them further proof of His identity. However,
He did say that there would be one further sign forthcoming, His
resurrection from the dead. This would be their final opportunity to
be convinced.
Jesus’ paralleling of the Pharisees with the people of Nineveh is
telling. The people of Nineveh repented of their evil ways (Jonah
3:4–10) after hearing Jonah’s call for repentance, while the
Pharisees continued in their unbelief despite being eyewitnesses
to the miracles of Jesus. Jesus was telling the Pharisees that they
were culpable for their unbelief, given the conversion of the
people of Nineveh, sinners who had received far less evidence
than the Pharisees themselves had witnessed.
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5. !
There is an important note to make about Jesus’ death, which has
been the source of tradition, is the advent of Good Friday, which
suggest Jesus died on the cross on a Friday. The reality is that
Jesus’ time of death was 3PM - Wednesday AD 31.
When Jesus died He was quickly buried because of the oncoming
Feast of Unleavened Bread, a high day which began at sunset on
Wednesday to sunset on Thursday - Luke 23:46-54. “And that day
was the preparation, and the sabbath drew on”
Many have assumed this was the weekly Sabbath and that Jesus
was crucified on a Friday. There are two distinct high days or
Sabbaths referred to in this week. The weekly Sabbath is sunset
Friday to sunset Saturday verses the first day of Unleavened Bread, a
high annual Sabbath - Sunset Wednesday to Sunset Thursday.
John 19:31 (for that sabbath day was an high day) - (Exodus
12:16-17; Leviticus 23:6-7) The annual Holy Days usually fall on
weekdays, other than the regular weekly Sabbath days, sunset
Friday - sunset Saturday.
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6. Luke 23:54-56 the women saw Jesus’ body being laid in the tomb
just before sunset Wednesday. They “returned and prepared spices and
ointments”
Preparing spices would not have been done on a Sabbath day,
Friday - Saturday, since it would have been considered a violation
of the Sabbath.
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This is verified by Mark’s account, which states, “Now when the
Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and
Salome bought spices” (which they would not have purchased on
the high-day Wednesday - Thursday (Mark 16:1).
The women had to wait until this annual “high day” was over
before they could buy and prepare the spices to be used for
anointing Jesus’ body. After purchasing and preparing the spices
and oils on Friday, “they rested on the Sabbath according to the
commandment” Luke 23:56.
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7. The second Sabbath mentioned in the Gospel accounts is the
regular weekly Sabbath, observed from sunset Friday to sunset
Saturday.
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Two Sabbaths
Mark tells us the women bought spices after the Sabbath, Luke
states they prepared the spices before resting on the Sabbath—
two different Sabbaths.
John 19:31 - The first Sabbath was a “high day”— the first day of
the Feast of Unleavened Bread—which, in A.D. 31, fell on a
Wednesday. The second was the weekly seventh-day Sabbath -
Sunset Friday - Sunset Saturday
Jesus died at the 9th hour of the day. Matthew 27:45-50 - 3PM
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8. After the women rested on the regular weekly Sabbath Friday -
Saturday, they went to Jesus’ tomb early on the first day of the
week (Sunday), “while it was still dark” John 20:1, and found that
He had already been resurrected (Matthew 28:1-6; Mark 16:2-6;
Luke 24:1-3).
Jesus was crucified and entombed on Wednesday afternoon, just
before the Sabbath began at sunset. The high-day Sabbath, lasting
from sunset Wednesday to sunset Thursday, rather than the
regular weekly Sabbath, lasting from sunset Friday to sunset
Saturday.
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Jesus rose anytime from 3PM Saturday - He was already gone
early Sunday when Mary arrived.
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9. Matt 28:1-6, Jesus rose precisely three days and three nights after
He was placed in the tomb, you can’t get 3 days and 3 nights from
Friday to Sunday morning.
God would often use signs (or miracles) in the Bible to
authenticate His chosen messenger. The Lord provided Moses
with several miraculous signs in order to prove to others that he
was appointed by God (Exodus 4:5–9; 7:8–10;19-20). God sent
down fire on Elijah’s altar during Elijah’s contest with the
prophets of Baal (1 Kings 18:36–39).
He performed this miracle to prove that the God of Israel was the
one true God. Jesus Himself would perform many miracles (or
“signs”) to demonstrate His power over nature (Matthew 4:23;
Mark 6:30–44; Luke 8:22–24; John 6:16–24).
The “sign of Jonah” would turn out to be Jesus’ greatest miracle of
all. Jesus’ resurrection from the dead would be God’s chief sign
that Jesus was Israel’s long-awaited Messiah (Acts 2:23–32) and
establish Christ’s claims to deity (Romans 1:3–4).
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