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115. The Sign of Jonah


Matthew 12:38-42
Key Verse: "Now one greater than Jonah is here." Matthew 12:41C &
"Now one greater than Solomon is here." Matthew 12:42C

My goodness! After everything Jesus has done, the religious leaders still have the audacity to say, "We want to see a sign." I must admit that, reading this myself, evokes a comment within me something like, "Get your eyes checked. Haven't you been paying attention? I mean you've practically criticized every sign you've been given!" While this wasn't exactly Jesus' response, He did make note of the foolishness of their request.

He knew that the Pharisees were only asking for another sign so that they could do more of the same, that is, ridicule His ministry and belittle the ones drawn to Him. The signs that He had already given, they had attributed to satan. Jesus knew that without the gift of the Holy Spirit, and a willing heart, the situation was pretty hopeless.

So, He compares them to the Ninevites, a Gentile enemy of Israel more than seven hundred years in the past. The Ninevites were a brutal people who were working their way toward conquering the northern Kingdom of Israel. God sent a prophet, Jonah, from northern Israel to call the Ninevites to repentance. Understandably, Jonah didn't want to go and tried to run away. God sent a large fish to swallow up Jonah, after he had been thrown off the ship that he had boarded for his escape vessel. The fish got Jonah back on course and, three days later, coughed up Jonah who then obeyed God's command and preached to the Ninevite enemy, who did indeed respond in repentance. While Jonah was unhappy with the results of his mission, he actually bought his people, one more generation worth of time, to turn to God themselves to avoid annihilation at the hands of the people of Nineveh in Assyria.

Jesus tells the people that the Pharisees are worse than the Ninevites. They responded to a man who had just spent three days in the belly of a fish, but someone greater than Jonah was here, who would spend three days in the earth, but their religious hard hearts would still keep them from responding to God with repentance of their own.

Then there is the queen of Sheba who sacrificed a great deal of time and effort to talk with Solomon who could do nothing for her but amaze her with his wisdom and riches in a human way. Now, the creator of the universe, the creator of wisdom and material things was among them and all they could do was criticize. They weren't willing to sacrifice anything, especially their opinions of Him.  Yet, one day, this One who was so much greater than them would pay the ultimate sacrifice out of love for them. They continued to refuse to see His love and demanded more proof because of their stubbornness.

There comes a time when we all need to stop demanding proof and start believing. We have so much evidence through creation, historical evidence and God's word, that there is really no excuse. Yet, as we learn from the Pharisees today, our minds are capable of explaining anything away if we have a will to do so. If this is you, perhaps you need to ask the question, why is it important to me that Jesus is not God? The Pharisees were threatened. They saw Jesus as a loss of power and influence for them, a change from life as they knew it. What will you lose if Jesus really is God? Let me assure you, what you gain, in the end, will be worth it.

Song: “We Believe in One True God”

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