The Sign of Jonah
29 As the crowds increased, Jesus said, “This is a wicked generation. It asks for a miraculous sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah. 30 For as Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites, so also will the Son of Man be to this generation. 31 The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them; for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon’s wisdom, and now one greater than Solomon is here. 32 The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now one greater than Jonah is here.
My Understanding: In the verses preceding this passage, Jesus had just driven a demon out of a man who had been made mute by the demon. The crowd was amazed at this miracle of deliverance, yet some in the crowd assigned this miracle to Satan, as though Jesus had driven out a demon by Satan’s power. Jesus strongly refuted this illogical statement. Others in the crowd demanded a sign from heaven, as though Jesus’ teachings, miracles of healing, miracles of raising people from the dead, as well as his miracles of deliverance of people from demons was not enough of a sign for them to believe in him. A woman in the crowd blessed Mary, the mother of Jesus, for giving Jesus birth and for nursing him. I love Jesus’ response to her, which is very fundamental to all that he taught and lived: “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.”
Jesus’ response to this demand for an additional sign beyond the miracles he had already performed was to call that generation a wicked generation. He said that no additional sign would be given that generation of people except for the sign of Jonah. Jonah was a prophet of God, but a reluctant one when it came to going to the people of Nineveh and giving them a message from God concerning judgment on them. He ran from God, was thrown overboard into the water and was swallowed by a huge fish, perhaps a whale. He remained in the belly of the fish for 3 days and 3 nights, and then he called on God in repentance. God had the fish vomit him up, and then Jonah was willing to obey God by going and telling the people of Nineveh: “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overturned.” The book of Jonah, chapter 3, records that “The Ninevites believed God. They declared a fast, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth… When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he had compassion and did not bring upon them the destruction he had threatened.”
Jesus then did a comparison between the sign of Jonah to the Ninevites and the sign he would be to the people of his generation. Jonah was a man. Jesus was both man and God, the second person of our triune and only true God. Jonah was a prophet of God, i.e. one who spoke God’s exact words to the people as given to him by God. Jesus was/is God, so when he spoke/speaks, he spoke and speaks the very words of God. Jonah was a reluctant prophet, yet he finally obeyed. Jesus Christ willingly left his throne in heaven to come to earth, to take upon himself human flesh, to suffer as we suffer, to be tempted as we are tempted, yet without sin, and to die a cruel death on the cross, although he had done no wrong. Much greater than that, though, when he died, he took upon himself the sins of the entire world, crucified our sins with him, buried them with him, and then he rose from the dead victorious over Satan, hell, death and sin. So, it is difficult to see how Jesus was saying that, as Jonah was a sign to Nineveh, so also would Jesus be to his generation.
Although there were these distinct differences between Jesus Christ and Jonah, yet there were also parallels with individual dissimilarities within the parallels. Jonah was in the belly of a huge fish for 3 days and 3 nights. Jesus was buried in the tomb for 3 days and 3 nights. Jonah was cast overboard and was swallowed by the fish due to his disobedience and his unwillingness to do what the Lord God had commanded him to do. Jesus was in the grave 3 days and 3 nights due to our disobedience, i.e. our sin, which he took upon himself in our place. Jonah was rescued from the belly of the fish due to his calling on God in repentance and his willingness to obey God. Jesus was resurrected to life because of his obedience to the cross of Christ, his willingness to die for our sins, and because he was our perfect Lamb sacrifice to take away our sins. For him to deliver us from our sins, he had to conquer sin by taking our sin with him to the grave and then by rising victorious over our sin. And, we are saved from sin because of God’s grace in sending his Son to die in our place and through our faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior via repentance and obedience.
So, the sign of Jonah was two-fold: 1) It represented judgment for disobedience (sin), and 2) It represented salvation through faith, repentance and obedience, which goes back to Jesus’ statement to the woman in v. 28 when he said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.” The reason Jesus said that the generation of people of his day were a wicked generation was because, even though they heard the word of God via Jesus’ preaching, they refused to believe and repent of their sins. That is why he contrasted them with the Queen of the South who traveled a great distance to hear the wisdom of Solomon. He also contrasted them with the people of Nineveh, who immediately repented of their sins at the words Jonah spoke to them in the power of God Almighty. Now Jesus Christ - God in the flesh - was among them, and yet they refused to believe and they refused to repent. That is why Jesus said that the Queen of the South and the men of Nineveh would stand and would rise at the judgment to condemn this generation.
The following song speaks of how deep the Father God’s love is for us that he would give his only Son to die on the cross for our sins. As well, Jesus Christ, God the Son, had great love for us that he was willing to leave his home in heaven, to become a man and to die for us, i.e. to take the punishment for sin that should be upon us on himself so that we could go free, not only from the ultimate penalty of sin, i.e. eternal separation from God and eternal punishment and torment in hell, but he freed us from the daily control of sin over our lives. Our Father God did not give up his Son to die for us, and Jesus Christ did not willingly go through all that he suffered for us so that we would continue in our sin with little regard for what Jesus accomplished on the cross when he took our sins upon himself. So many are preaching salvation absent of true repentance and obedience to Jesus Christ, yet this passage of scripture, as well as the whole of the New Testament makes it quite clear that repentance and obedience are essential for salvation. To do anything less makes a mockery of what Jesus Christ did for us and is a slap in the face to God Almighty.
A wicked generation wants the blessings of God without the sacrifice, but they go hand-in-hand. We cannot claim salvation from our sin and belief in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord if we are still the ones controlling our own lives and we refuse to repent and to obey. Jesus said that we are blessed if we hear the word of God and we obey it. And, we will be condemned at the judgment of Almighty God if we refuse to repent. Judgment is inevitable whether we like to accept that reality or not. One day we will all have to come before God and to give an account of what we did with his Son and with His salvation that he provided for us. Many will hear the words, “I never knew you. Depart from me.” So, make sure today that you are among those who will hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” If you are still living in sin and are refusing to repent, I pray today that you will give your all to Jesus.
How Deep the Father’s Love for Us / Philips, Craig and Dean
Behold the man upon the cross
My sin upon His shoulder…
Why should I gain from His reward
I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom
Link to song
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