39 But Jesus replied, “Only an evil, adulterous generation would demand a miraculous sign; but the only sign I will give them is the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40 For as Jonah was in the belly of the great fish for three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights.
41 “The people of Nineveh will stand up against this generation on judgment day and condemn it, for they repented of their sins at the preaching of Jonah. Now someone greater than Jonah is here—but you refuse to repent. 42 The queen of Sheba[e] will also stand up against this generation on judgment day and condemn it, for she came from a distant land to hear the wisdom of Solomon. Now someone greater than Solomon is here—but you refuse to listen. If you know anything about Nineveh you would have a better understanding of the significance. They were considered beyond reachable with their sinful lifestyle. Their reputation being so bad Jonah was fearful to go there. But they heard and they repented and they received forgiveness. And they will stand up on judgement day and condemn, the worst of sinners. That should give us a small glimpse of the hope that we have in Christ. There is nothing that you and I have done that Christ can't cover.
______________________________
John
Burnett: 38 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Him, “Teacher, we want to see a [a]sign from You.” 39 But He answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation craves for a [b]sign; and yet no [c]sign will be given to it but the [d]sign of Jonah the prophet; 40 for just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 41 The
men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation at the judgment, and
will condemn it because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and
behold, something greater than Jonah is here. Way
better than Jonah. Jonah disobeyed God at first but Jesus never did
disobey His Heavenly Father, nor his earthly parents. Here is proof
that God is in control of all things. Some 760 years before Christ, He
put Jonah in the belly of a big fish for three days as foreshadowing for
Christ spending three days in the tomb. Jesus praised Nineveh for
their repentance and boy did they repent. Jonah tells Nineveh in
chapter three that they would be overthrown in 40 days. In the verses
below the king issues the order to repent. He ordered them and their
livestock to not eat or drink for 40 days. The amount of faith it took
to issue this decree is impressive as livestock can only go about a week
without water before they die and people only can only live 8 to 10
days. This also goes to show how merciful God is to us. Nineveh was as
evil as they come but when they repented, He showed them mercy.
Thankfully He does the same for us through Christ’s blood.
Jonah 3:7-10
7 He
issued a proclamation and it said, “In Nineveh by the decree of the
king and his nobles: Do not let man, beast, herd, or flock taste a
thing. Do not let them eat or drink water. 8 But both man and beast must be covered with sackcloth; and let [c]men call on God earnestly that each may turn from his wicked way and from the violence which is in [d]his hands. 9 Who knows, God may turn and relent and withdraw His burning anger so that we will not perish.”
10 When
God saw their deeds, that they turned from their wicked way, then God
relented concerning the calamity which He had declared He would [e]bring upon them. And He did not do it.
______________________________
Allen Michaels: 38 Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to
him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.”
How many times have we said, “If I could just see a real miracle, then I
could really believe in God?” But Jesus’ response to
the Pharisees applies to us. We have plenty of evidence—Jesus’ birth,
death, resurrection, and ascension, and centuries of his work in
believers around the world. Instead of looking for additional evidence
or miracles, we need to accept what God has already
given and move forward. He may end up using our life as evidence to
reach another person.
We must also remember what Christ said in John 20:29 about seeing proof versus faith;
Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."
(John 20:29 NIV)
Then Jesus told him, "You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who believe without seeing me." (John 20:29 NLT)
Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” (John 20:29 ESV)
Then Jesus told him, "You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who believe without seeing me." (John 20:29 NLT)
Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” (John 20:29 ESV)
39 He answered, “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a
sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40 For
as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish,
so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of
the earth.
41 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 something greater than Jonah is here.
42 The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with this
generation and condemn it; for she came from the ends of the earth to
listen to Solomon’s wisdom, and now something greater than Solomon is
here.
What
would Jesus say about our generation? Jesus gave a rather stern warning
to his generation when they demanded a sign from him. It was
characteristic of the
Jews that they demanded "signs" from God's messengers to authenticate
their claims. Jesus faulted them for one thing:
spiritual adultery. The image of adultery was often used in the
scriptures for describing apostasy or infidelity towards God. When the
religious leaders pressed Jesus to give proof for his claims he says in
so many words that he is God's sign and that
they need no further evidence from heaven than his own person. The
Ninevites recognized God's warning when Jonah spoke to them, and they
repented. And the Queen of Sheba recognized God's wisdom in Solomon.
Jonah was God's sign and his message was the message
of God for the people of Nineveh. Unfortunately the religious leaders
were not content to accept the signs right before their eyes. They had
rejected the message of John the Baptist and now they reject Jesus as
God's Anointed One (Messiah) and they fail to heed his message. Simeon had prophesied at Jesus' birth that he was
"destined
for the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that
will be opposed so that inner thoughts of many will be revealed"
(Luke 2:34- 35).
Jesus
confirmed his message with many miracles in preparation for the
greatest sign of all – his resurrection on the third day. The Lord Jesus
through the gift of his Holy
Spirit offers us freedom from sin and wisdom for our lives, if we
listen to him. Do you thirst for Godly wisdom? James says that
“the
wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to
reason, full of mercy and good fruits, without uncertainty or
insincerity”
(James 3:17).
A
double-minded person cannot receive this kind of wisdom. The
single-minded desire one thing alone–that which is good and ordered
according to God's wise plan. We need to ask
the Lord to renew our mind and to increase our thirst for his wisdom.
No comments:
Post a Comment