Why couldn't Jesus be the object of faith for the Gentiles before his resurrection?
The biblical type shows Jesus could not be the object of faith for the mass of the Gentile world until He had experienced death, burial, and resurrection. Jonah was not a fit servant until he fulfilled the type; only after resurrection could the message go to Gentiles, and Nineveh repented.
Les explains this through the type of Jonah. Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights, matching Jesus' allusion that the Son of Man would be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights. After that, the fish pitched Jonah back on shore, which was a type of resurrection. Only after experiencing death, burial, and resurrection could Jonah go to the Gentiles, and Nineveh repented in sackcloth and ashes. Les teaches that Jonah was not a fit servant until he had fulfilled the type, and likewise Jesus could not be the object of faith for the mass of the Gentile world until He had experienced death, burial, and resurrection. Now, in Christ Jesus, Gentiles who were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ, not by the Law or the covenants.