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The reasoning of the Jewish historians was correct. Jesus clearly confirmed the fact that
Nineveh's repentance came about as a result of their knowledge of Jonah's ordeal of the preceding
days, i.e., his "entombment" in the great fish and his "resurrection" on the sands of the beach! He
made this quite plain when He said --

Jonah became a SIGN to the men of Nineveh" (Luke 11:30).

With this pronouncement Jesus put the seal of authenticity on the story of Jonah's "burial"
and "resurrection" and Nineveh's repentance and confirmed that it was historically true. At the
same time He also gave credance to the theory that the inhabitants of Nineveh had heard of Jonah's
ordeal and remarkable "resurrection" and, as a result, took his message in all seriousness. They
thereby hoped for a similar deliverance by turning from their wickedness and repenting before
God. By stating that Jonah had become a SIGN to the people of Nineveh, Christ made it perfectly
clear that the city knew of God's recent dealings with the rebellious Jewish prophet. This explains
the earnestness and rapidity with which the Ninevites repented before God.

A second significant reason for believing the sign of Jonah consisted of the miracle of Jo-
nah's "resurrection" alone is found in the passage of John 2:19 where, in response to the same re-
quest by the Jews for a sign, Christ replied --

Destroy this temple, and IN THREE DAYS I will raise it up.

Once again, Jesus gave them the sign of Jonah. Once again, we see the period of "three
days" -- but now there is an added dimension: He challenges the Jews to destroy the temple and,
whereas he earlier spoke of being Himself in the heart of the earth for three days, He now appar-
ently speaks of the temple of God being destroyed for three days and thereafter being restored. So,
with some amazement, the Jews said to Christ:

It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?
(John 2:20).

That, of course, was a ridiculous question. However, they had asked for a supernatural sign
to validate Christ's actions and were incredulous when He shot back this answer. If He had said
"Destroy this temple and in forty-six years I will build another" He would not have gotten their at-
tention -- after all, what sort of sign would that be? But He said He would do it in ONLY three
days. That really grabbed their attention and was assuredly a sign for them to see and behold --
proving that He was indeed all that He claimed to be.

This was probably the most momentous statement that Christ ever made, and it made an IN-
DELIBLE impression on the minds of the Jews. Notes John Gilchrist --

When Jesus was brought to trial years later, the two witnesses brought to testify against
him both mentioned this remarkable claim. One said, "This fellow said, "I am able to de-
stroy the temple of God and to build it in three days" (Matthew 26:61). Another said, "We
heard Him say, "I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and WITHIN THREE
DAYS I will build another made without hands' (Mark 14:58). Both of these men twisted

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