The Chronological Sign of Jonah: Exegesis of Matthew 12:38-42

Abstract

This study addresses the pericope of Matthew 12:38-40, in which Jesus declares that no sign will be given to His generation except the sign of the prophet Jonah. The passage is part of the broader section of Matthew 12:22-50, which depicts the Pharisees and scribes disputing one of Jesus’ miracles: the exorcism of a demon responsible for blindness and muteness. The purpose of this study is to investigate the meaning of the expression “sign of Jonah” within this pericope and its connection to other occurrences of the same phrase in the Gospels (Matt 16:4; Luke 11:29). The study also examines the intention and accuracy of the typological relationship established in Matthew 12:40 between the episode of Jonah in the belly of the “great fish” and the death and resurrection of Christ. In Matthew, the reference to three days and three nights suggests the time Jesus remained in the tomb; however, Luke’s wording appears to point in a different direction, presenting Jonah’s preaching in Nineveh as the sign—thus, in the view of some commentators, weakening the typology proposed in Matthew. This research adopts selected steps from the historical method and narrative analysis. The stages followed include the segmentation and translation of Matthew 12:38-42, analysis of the pericope in its immediate context and within the larger framework of Matthew’s Gospel (Matt 16:4), and a comparative study of the parallel texts in Mark 8:11-13 and Luke 11:29-32. The study also considers the biblical data concerning the temporal interval between the death and resurrection of Jesus.