The Greatest Sign, March/April 2020 Edition
The Greatest Sign
By Pastor Tony Ojamiren
Luke 11:30 For as Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites, so also will the Son of Man be to this generation.
Luke 18:33 “On the third day He will rise again."
We celebrate Easter because it is the day Jesus rose up from the grave after His crucifixion. (Resurrection Sunday also known as "The Lord's Day").
Jesus’ resurrection gives us hope that because He lives, we shall live also (John 14:19).
Though it was a Roman crucifixion (representing the gentiles - non Jews), it was also a Jewish rejection and condemnation (Acts 2:23) and everyone today who rejects Jesus are culpable.
Being born again when you confess your sins and make Jesus your Saviour and Lord is linked to the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Your life that was once dead in sin has now been resurrected into life in Christ Jesus. Rom 6:11 “Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord”.
What is the Greatest sign of all signs?
The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the greatest sign the world has ever seen.
I believe the sign of the resurrection is the sign that superseded all signs.
The virgin birth of Christ is a great sign. The miracle of the cross is great where our sins were nailed to the cross and our healing or atonement obtained
· But the resurrection supersedes all these. All these signs will not be complete without the resurrection.
Without the sign of the resurrection, Christianity will be like all other religions.
The cross was the ultimate sacrifice but the Resurrection is the ultimate Victory.
How was Jonah “a sign to the Ninevites”?
It was not the preaching of Jonah, but what the Ninevites saw in him - the discoloration of Jonah’s skin due to the acid and enzymes in the fish’s stomach.
The Ninevites saw him and must have asked: “What happened to you? Replied Jonah: I was three days and three nights in the belly of the big fish”. I have been resurrected to tell you 4 "… Forty more days and Nineveh will be overturned." 5 The Ninevites believed God.
They declared a fast, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth. (Jonah 3:4-5). I believe that was the sign to the Ninevites.
As we celebrate Easter, the sign of Christ's resurrection must be seen in our lives. A changed life that will cause a stir that will make people to ask “what happened to you? Jesus happened to me should be your response.
My prayer is that this “greatest sign” (Christ's resurrection), will reflect daily in our lives.
Happy Easter.
Your Friend Tony Ojamiren
