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Matthew 12:38-40
New Catholic Bible
Matthew 12:38-40
New Catholic Bible
38 The Sign of Jonah.[a] Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to him, “Teacher, we would like you to show us a sign.” 39 He replied, “An evil and adulterous[b] generation asks for a sign, but the only sign it will be given is the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40 For just as Jonah spent three days and three nights in the belly of the whale, so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights.[c]
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- Matthew 12:38 An opinion current among circles of apocalyptic thought at the time looked for the Messiah to perform a unique sign. Jesus offers only the sign of his Death and Resurrection typified by the story of Jonah in the belly of the whale (Jon 2:1).
- Matthew 12:39 Adulterous: i.e., in the spiritual sense of being unfaithful to the generation’s spiritual husband (God).
- Matthew 12:40 Three days and three nights: this manner of speaking denotes a common Jewish way of reckoning time and includes at least part of the first and part of the third day. Any part of the whole was counted as if it were the whole. Thus, even the time from Jesus’ Death till sunset on Good Friday is counted as a day. (The Old Testament depicted the Messiah as one who would suffer [Ps 22; Isa 53] and rise from the dead on the third day [Ps 16:9-11; Isa 53:10f].)
