Funny, I've actually been reading Matthew this past week.
Mat 12:39 And he answering said to them, `A generation, evil and adulterous, doth seek a sign, and
a sign shall not be given to it, except the sign of Jonah the prophet;
Mat 12:40 for, as Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights, so shall the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights.
I believe that verse 40 is somewhat of a qualifier for verse 39, but only according to what the pharisees could perceive...i.e...carnally. If He had wished, Christ could have further explained what he meant something like " For three days will my body lay lifeless, but on the third I will live again" or whatever. If He'd done that though, then they might understand His speech about destroying the temple, and raising it again in three days. They might have understood any parable then, and that would go against His purpose since he came to make the blind see, and make the seeing blind.
I am seeing this...
a sign shall not be given to it, except the sign of Jonah the prophet;
It...what is "it"? An evil and adulterous generation. Yes, the pharisees trying to trap him, but anyone that asks for a "sign, miracle, wonder, etc" in order for them to believe. To ask for a "Sign" is to be thinking carnally. I get signs all the time, but not like literal "fire from heaven". My "fire from heaven is spiritual, and it comes when I seek it enough, and when God is ready to give it to me. Christ I think was speaking here to seperate flesh and spirit. The pharisees at the time would have thought, "Oh, he's going to be in the belly of a whale" or what have you but..."My word is spirit". He "dumbed down" what he was saying I think to keep some blinded somewhat (like me actually...I"m getting part of the picture, but missing an actual answer to your question).
What if the fish is the "Church" or Babylon? This just occured to me and I have no scripture to back it right now. It's kind of hard to type because I slashed my finger at work a few days ago and have a finger splint on so I don't pop my stitches so typing is a bit difficult right now
:lol: .
Christ does say that he will go into the "heart of the earth". Earth is usually spiritually understood as "Church". So my question is, could being in the belly of the whale scripturally be backed as the same thing as being "in the heart of the earth"? I don't think so, but if anyone has something to offer to help me see this more clearly I'm all ears