The Sign of Jonah^(A)(B)

³⁸ Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign^(C) from you.”^(D)

³⁹ He answered, “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.^{(E) 40} For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish,^(F) so the Son of Man^(G) will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.^(H)

The Demand for a Sign^(A)

16 The Pharisees and Sadducees^(B) came to Jesus and tested him by asking him to show them a sign from heaven.^(C)

² He replied, “When evening comes, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red,’ ³ 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](D) 4} A wicked and adulterous generation looks for a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah.”^(E) Jesus then left them and went away.

¹¹ The Pharisees came and began to question Jesus. To test him, they asked him for a sign from heaven.^{(A) 12} He sighed deeply^(B) and said, “Why does this generation ask for a sign? Truly I tell you, no sign will be given to it.”

¹⁶ Others tested him by asking for a sign from heaven.^(A)

¹⁸ The Jews^(A) then responded to him, “What sign^(B) can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?”^(C)

¹⁹ Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.”^(D)

²⁰ They replied, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?” ²¹ But the temple he had spoken of was his body.^{(E) 22} After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said.^(F) Then they believed the scripture^(G) and the words that Jesus had spoken.

⁴⁸ “Unless you people see signs and wonders,”^(A) Jesus told him, “you will never believe.”

³⁰ So they asked him, “What sign^(A) then will you give that we may see it and believe you?^(B) What will you do?

²² Jews demand signs^(A) and Greeks look for wisdom, ²³ but we preach Christ crucified:^(B) a stumbling block^(C) to Jews and foolishness^(D) to Gentiles, ²⁴ but to those whom God has called,^(E) both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God^(F) and the wisdom of God.^(G)