The religious leaders questioned Jesus for a sign, but not because they wanted to believe, for they had already determined what they thought of him. Unfortunately, this is all to common in our world today.  Many people have already made up their mind as to what they believe about Jesus, no matter the signs. 

Observations: 

#1 – Surprise! Why did the Ninevites repent? 

1. The prophet raised from the depths out of the sea ought to be listened to! 
   • The Ninevite hearts were softened
2. The Savior raised from the dead out of the tomb ought to be listened to!
   • The Jewish hearts were hardened

#2 – Surprise!  What was the “sign of Jonah”?

1. The “sign of Jonah” in Jonah’s day was Jonah being vomited from a fish after 3 days!
   • The Ninevites paid attention
2. The “sign of Jonah” in Jesus’ day was Jesus being resurrection after 3 days!
   • The religious leaders ignore

#3 – Surprise! What was the response? 

1. The surprise of a prophet raised out from the depths out of the sea was a story worth telling!
   • The Ninevites told everyone
2. The surprise of a Savior raised from the dead out of the tomb is a story worth telling!
   • The Jewish authorities lied, bribed, and denied

Application: 

If Jesus is alive… What is your story?
How has God surprised you! 

Jonah 3:4

“Jonah began by going a day’s journey into the city, proclaiming, “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown.”

Luke 11:30

“For as Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites, so also will the Son of Man be to this generation.”

Matthew 12:41; Luke 11:32

“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 something greater than Jonah is here.

Luke 16:31

“He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’”

Matthew 12:38-39

“Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.”
He answered, “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.”

Jonah 3:3-6

“Jonah obeyed the word of the Lord and went to Nineveh. Now Nineveh was a very large city; it took three days to go through it. Jonah began by going a day’s journey into the city, proclaiming, “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown.”

“The Ninevites believed God. A fast was proclaimed, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth. When Jonah’s warning reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, took off his royal robes, covered himself with sackcloth and sat down in the dust.”

Matthew 16:1-4

“The Pharisees and Sadducees came to Jesus and tested him by asking him to show them a sign from heaven. He replied, “When evening comes, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red,’ and in the morning, ‘Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times. A wicked and adulterous generation looks for a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah.” Jesus then left them and went away.”

1 Corinthians 15:1-4 

“Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.”

Matthew 28:11-15

“While the women were on their way, some of the guards went into the city and reported to the chief priests everything that had happened. When the chief priests had met with the elders and devised a plan, they gave the soldiers a large sum of money, telling them, “You are to say, ‘His disciples came during the night and stole him away while we were asleep.’ If this report gets to the governor, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.” So the soldiers took the money and did as they were instructed. And this story has been widely circulated among the Jews to this very day.”

Luke 24:1-11

“On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’” Then they remembered his words. When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others. It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles. But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense.”