Matthew 16:1-4 ” The Pharisees and Sadducees came to Jesus and tested Him by asking Him to show them a sign from heaven. He replied, ‘When evening comes, you say, It will be fair weather, for the sky is red, 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 wicked and adulterous generation looks for a miraculous sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah.’ Jesus then left them and went away.”

This wasn’t the first time the Jewish Leaders attempted to entangle Jesus by insisting on a miraculous work with the fingerprints of God on it. But Jesus never performed miracles on demand, and for them to command one “from heaven” only went to show their stubborn refusal to acknowledge that Jesus was indeed the Messiah they were waiting for. In His conversation with them, Jesus observes the irony that they can distinguish the signs in the sky to predict the weather, but fail to fully grasp what His miraculous signs signify about the “Spiritual weather” or season they were currently living in…namely, the era of the Coming Messiah. So the sign of Jonah signifies the parallel & preview between Jonah spending three days and three nights in the belly of the fish before being “resurrected” onto dry land and Jesus spending three days and three nights in the heart of the earth before being resurrected into glory. (Matthew 12:38-40)