Everlasting October 30, 2025 Devotional

1 CORINTHIANS 1:22 |  ²² For Jews ask for signs and Greeks desire wisdom…

JONAH 1:17; 2:10 | ¹⁷ But the Lord provided a large fish to swallow up Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.

¹⁰ Then the Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah out onto the dry land.

ISAIAH 53:11 | ¹¹ Out of his anguish he shall see;
he shall find satisfaction through his knowledge. The righteous one, my servant, shall make many righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities.

MATTHEW 12:38-29 | ³⁸ Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to him, “Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.” ³⁹ But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation asks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.

Jesus insisted that Jews who demanded signs would only get the “sign of Jonah.” Now the demand for signs is interesting in itself. Jesus’ miracles were numerous and very well attested. No one of His opponents denies His healing powers, for instance. Yet even witnessed miracles can be doubted in various ways. Observers may prefer an enthusiastic principle, or, as Jesus critics did, assume His power was genuine but demonic.

The “sign of Jonah” is a reference to the third day Resurrection of Jesus, since Jonah was cast up upon the shore and rescued from death on the third day. The Resurrection validated the claims of Jesus and countered the charge He was a false Messiah. It also made real the concept of a suffering servant Messiah, put forward by Isaiah, whose work would have a universal spiritual impact, redeeming the world.

The miracles were signs of God’s attitude to human suffering and need. Do you agree?

Gracious God,

Thank You for Jesus’ many signs, they showed Your heart for the hurting, the hungry, and the broken. Thank You for the Resurrection, which demonstrates Your power over death and evil.

Amen.