The Sign of Jonah - Pt 3

We are now in the third part of our series in the Gospel of Matthew dealing with The Sign of Jonah. It is important to fully understand the meaning of Jesus’ words of “the Sign of Jonah.” We must go to an earlier Scripture than we started the series with: Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, “Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.” But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For just 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. The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here. The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here. (Matthew 12:38-42 ESV). The context of this passage in Matthew comes as Jesus teaches he is the Lord of the Sabbath (cf. 12:1-8); heals a man with a withered hand angering the Pharisees and Sadducees (cf. 12:9-14); and, declares that those who refuse to believe in him would be condemned both on this world and in heaven because of their blasphemy of the Holy Spirit (cf. 12:15-37). The Pharisees showed their hypocrisy when they asked Jesus for a sign proving that He was the Messiah. They were obviously not seeking to know Jesus. They had already seen so many proofs that He was the Messiah. Another miraculous work will not change their minds because they had decided already not to believe Him. There is an important word here that we have to define carefully. It is the word “sign.” When the Pharisees asked for a sign, they wanted a miraculous sign, some miracle that would prove that Jesus is the Savior sent of God. Actually, this word “sign”, semeion, is often translated by the word “miracle.” A sign can be a miracle. However, in several other verses, it refers to some less supernatural events. And sometimes it is used of things not supernatural at all. Now, in the sign of Jonah, the emphasis is not on the miraculous nature of the sign but on the fact that we are able to see it. In the Bible, a sign is something that you can see with your own eyes and which conveys a message. The point of comparison is between Jonah and the Son of man, as well as between the Ninevites and this generation. Jonah was the sign to the people of Nineveh in the same way that the Son of man is the sign to us in this present age. Jonah became a sign when he spent three days and three nights in the fish. Notice that Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites only after he was three days and three nights in the belly of the fish. And he would become a sign to the Ninevites not only after that event, but because of that event. In the same way, Jesus would become a sign to this generation, to you and me, by virtue of His death and resurrection. And just as Jonah became a sign after the event, so Jesus becomes a sign to us after the resurrection. This event is the declaration of God to all of us that He can be trusted to empower us in our journey. We don’t need any other sign. And, those who seek them are misguided at best and evil and adulterous at worst. Trust the sign you have received!