The Transfer of the Relics of the Holy Unmercenaries Cyrus and John (5th c.)
Apostles’ Fast. Abstention from meat and foods that contain meat.
Romans 15:7-16; Matthew 12:38-45.
Read Matthew 12:38-45
Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory forever!
When some of the scribes and Pharisees asked Jesus for a sign, He told them that “an evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth” (Mt. 12:40).
In the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus (see Lk. 16:19-31), from Hades, the rich man asked the patriarch Abraham to send Lazarus to his father’s house to testify to his five brothers, “lest they also come to this place of torment” (Lk. 16:28). Ultimately, Abraham did not send Lazarus. Abraham said, “if they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead” (Lk. 16:31).
The only sign given to this “evil and adulterous generation” was the sign of the prophet Jonah. Christ’s resurrection from the dead is the ultimate sign that He is truly God Who has power over death. On Pascha morning, at irmos 6 of Resurrection Matins we sing: “You have descended into the realm of Death, O Christ, and have broken ancient bonds which held the captive. You arose from the tomb on the third day like Jonah from the whale.” We recognize the sign of Jonah in Christ’s resurrection.
Christ, Who is God, ministered to people by teaching them, healing them, and working miracles. While preaching He said, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Mt. 4:17). Since we are still alive, we are in a privileged position where we have the ability to repent and have faith in Christ. In the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus, we are in the position of the rich man’s brothers. Will we listen to the teachings of Moses and the prophets and accept the sign of Jonah? Do we truly believe that Jesus Christ is Lord? Are we willing to repent from our former way of life and live as true believers in the resurrected Christ?