The Sign of Jonah

^29 (A)When the crowds were increasing, he began to say, ^(B)“This generation is an evil generation. ^(C)It seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.

¹⁶ while others, ^(A)to test him, kept seeking from him a sign from heaven.

The Pharisees Demand a Sign

^11 (A)The Pharisees came and began to argue with him, ^(B)seeking from him ^(C)a sign from heaven ^(D)to test him. ¹² And ^(E)he sighed deeply ^(F)in his spirit and said, “Why does this generation seek a sign? Truly, I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation.”

The Sign of Jonah

³⁸ Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, “Teacher, ^(A)we wish to see a sign from you.” ³⁹ But he answered them, ^(B)“An evil and ^(C)adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. ⁴⁰ For ^(D)just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, ^(E)so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. ^41 (F)The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and ^(G)condemn it, for ^(H)they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, ^(I)something greater than Jonah is here. ^42 (J)The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, ^(K)something greater than Solomon is here.

²² For ^(A)Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom,

Beware of the Leaven of the Pharisees

12 In the meantime, ^(A)when so many thousands of the people had gathered together that they were trampling one another, he began to say to his disciples first, ^(B)“Beware of ^(C)the leaven of the Pharisees, ^(D)which is hypocrisy.

^51 (A)“You stiff-necked people, ^(B)uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. ^(C)As your fathers did, so do you. ^52 (D)Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of ^(E)the Righteous One, ^(F)whom you have now betrayed and murdered,

^44 (A)You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. ^(B)He was a murderer from the beginning, and ^(C)does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. ^(D)When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

³⁰ So they said to him, ^(A)“Then what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform?