What Is The Sign Of The Prophet Jonah

The "sign of the prophet Jonah" is a phrase that Jesus used to refer to his own impending death and resurrection. In the Gospel of Matthew (12:39-41), Jesus says:

"An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here."

In this passage, Jesus is responding to the Pharisees and scribes who have asked him to show them a sign from heaven. Jesus rebukes them for their lack of faith and points to the sign of Jonah, who spent three days in the belly of a whale and emerged alive.

Jesus is essentially saying that his own death and resurrection will be the ultimate sign of his authority and identity as the Son of God. In the same way that Jonah was swallowed by the whale and then emerged alive, Jesus will die and rise again, proving his power over death and sin. The comparison with Jonah also serves as a warning to those who do not believe in Jesus; just as the Ninevites repented at Jonah's message, so too must people believe in Jesus and repent of their sins to avoid judgment.