The Sign of Jonah

Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Him, "Teacher, we want to see a sign from You." But He answered and said to them, "An evil and adulterous generation craves for a sign; and yet no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet; for just as "Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the whale", so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation at the judgment, and will condemn it because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, something greater than Jonah is here."
Matthew 12:38-42

For the Christian - there is no Easter. Easter is a pagan holiday, a spring holiday in honor of the goddess Istar. There isn't even a Good Friday... Jesus was crucified on a Thursday. The closest terminology Christians have for the single most significant event in human history (that happened to fill up three days) would be "the sign of Jonah". Jesus, the promised Messiah, and Holy Son of God, was crucified on a Thursday, and at sundown that Thursday evening, Passover (which was a high sabbath) began. Friday at sundown began the weekly Sabbath, and then on Sunday morning when it was still dark out, God raised Jesus from the dead - Resurrection Sunday. All of creation revolves around Christ's death, burial, and ressurection - this three day sign of Jonah - it's all about Jesus (whether we choose to acknowledge Him or not)!

Jesus lived a sinless and perfect life, so His death on the cross was the atoning sacrifice to pay for all the sins of the world; and by His torture and abuse, He took on all the suffering of the world as well. Because of God's free gift of grace to us through the act of Christ Jesus, we receive salvation simply by our faith and confession of Him. Salvation includes forgiveness of all sin, healing, restoration, and an eternal place in the kingdom and family of God. Jesus came humbly into this world, and gave Himself up to death for us, so that we might come to Him and have life as we were all meant to. He is our Savior and Lord! Praise and thanks unending to our Father and Lord God Almighty for the gift of His Son!!