Jonah, Jesus & Judgment
After last week’s sermon on how our words reveal our hearts, I was very careful to think about the next few words that came out of my mouth—right from when the sermon ended and into the whole week. In fact, it was probably the best week I’ve ever had in terms of watching my words. How do I know that? Because many people cut me off in traffic this week!
If Jesus just finishes telling you that you will give an account on the last day for every careless word you speak—you do not simply speak without thinking carefully. Yet, it is quite ironic how the scribes and Pharisees respond to Jesus with careless words: “Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, ‘Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you’” (Matthew 12:38).
Careless Words (v.38)
Did they think carefully about their response? Maybe they did because they respectfully call him “Teacher.” Plus, it sounds like a genuine request.
Or is it?
This seems like an innocent request, until we realize that Jesus has already given them sign after sign! Yet, each time, the Pharisees remain stuck in their unbelief.
Verses 9-14 talk about how Jesus healed a man with a withered hand, but the Pharisees didn’t like that because Jesus healed on the Sabbath. And Jesus uses logic by saying, “Which one of you who has a sheep, if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not take hold of it and lift it out? Of how much more value is a man than a sheep! So it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath” (12:11-12). Jesus tries to talk some sense into the Pharisees, but verse 14 tells us that they wouldn’t have any of it. Instead, they get all up in arms in wanting to get rid of Jesus.
Then, in verse 22, Jesus gives another sign by casting out a demon from a demon-possessed man and healing him. While the people were amazed in verse 23 and said, “Can this be the Son of David?”, the Pharisees basically said, “No way. This guy did that by the prince of demons.” And again, Jesus uses logic to talk some sense into them: “How can Satan cast out Satan? That kingdom won’t stand! But if I did that by the Spirit of God, then you know that the kingdom of God has come upon you.”
And what do the Pharisees say in response? “Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.” This is no innocent request—this is an unreasonable demand, rooted in unbelief. This reminds me of people I know in this day and age (most of them are unbelievers) who will argue at any cost, will not be reasoned with, and will keep on questioning any evidence or logic even if it clearly disproves their argument—just for the sake of saving face and preserving their ego because they’re obsessed with “being right.”
The book of Proverbs calls these people fools, because all they speak are careless words. And Jesus calls these people evil, because their careless words come from their evil hearts (Matt. 12:34; 15:18-19). And we’re going to see just how careless these words are because of the condemning words that Jesus speaks to the Pharisees, starting in verse 39.
Condemning Words: An Evil Generation (vv.39-40)
“But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it” (12:39a).
Now, we shouldn’t be too surprised by this because we’ve already seen how Jesus called the Pharisees evil because of their hearts—but notice that Jesus calls them adulterous as well. In essence, Jesus is saying that they’re adulterous at heart. This phrase “adulterous” was commonly used by the OT Prophets to describe how Israel, generation after generation, continually broke their covenant with God like an unfaithful bride (Jeremiah 31:32) by going after other gods and not believing God’s promises.
Here, Jesus applies this to the Pharisees because of their unbelief and unfaithfulness to God (keep in mind that the Pharisees were Jews). So when Jesus says “an evil and adulterous generation,” he is referring to unbelieving Jews in their day—like the Pharisees! In short, Jesus is saying to the Pharisees: “Like the unbelieving Jews back then, your evil and adulterous generation of unbelieving Jews today seeks for a sign—but no sign will be given to you.”
Why does Jesus deny these unbelieving Jews of a sign? This is where the other Gospel accounts are helpful to be seen together (synoptic) with this passage, because Mark 8 and Luke 11 talk about this same event and conclude that the Pharisees were doing this to “test” Jesus and see if he would give them a “sign from heaven” (Mark 8:11; Luke 11:16).
However, Jesus tells Satan in Matthew 4: “You shall not put the Lord your God to the test” (Matt. 4:7; cf. Deut. 6:16). In the same way that he denied Satan of a sign from heaven, Jesus denied the Pharisees—a brood of vipers (in other words, sons of serpents/Satan)—a sign from heaven because Jesus had nothing to prove, especially to unreasonable demands.
So Jesus doesn’t let the Pharisees test him by giving them a sign, but he does point them to a sign—not from heaven, but from history—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” (12:40).
One important observation to note here is that Jesus points to the story of Jonah and the fish as a factual event as opposed to a fable, so we should treat it as history as opposed to a kid’s story.
So if you’ve read the book of Jonah, you know that he was called by God to preach to a bunch of unbelievers in a place called Nineveh, but he tried sailing the other way because of his reluctance—so God literally brought him back the other direction by causing him to be thrown into the sea and swallowed by a big fish (or “sea monster” as some translations of Matthew 12:40 put it) for three days and three nights.
Now, we have to pause here because Jesus doesn’t necessarily point to Jonah’s whole life as the sign—but emphasizes this time period when Jonah was in the belly of the fish. Scholars differ on whether the actual sign was Jonah being in the fish, Jonah’s preaching (as hinted at in verse 41), or simply the prophet Jonah himself—either way, what’s significant is that the sign of Jonah was pointing to a much greater sign: the Son of Man being in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights.
At this point, Jesus’ hearers in Matthew 12 don’t see this as clearly yet, but we know from Matthew 27-28 that this is referring to the time period between the eventual death and resurrection of Jesus—from mid-day Friday to early Sunday morning (keep in mind that Jews counted a part of the day as the whole day, in case you’re confused about this time period being recounted as three days and three nights).
But why is Jesus being so cryptic here? Why couldn’t he just give them a sneak peek and say, “Look. Just like Jonah was in the fish for three days and three nights, I will be in the grave for the same amount of time. And just like God told the fish to spit out Jonah back to the earth, so also will God raise me up from the heart of the earth.” Maybe then they’ll believe.
Well, this is why Jesus starts speaking in parables in chapter 13, which has a lot to do with Jesus keeping the secrets of the kingdom from the masses (13:11-14)—but Jesus’ parable about Lazarus and the rich man helps us understand this. When the rich man in hell asks Abraham to resurrect Lazarus as a sign from heaven to warn his brothers on earth about hell, Abraham says to him: “If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets [the Old Testament], neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead” (Luke 16:31).
Back to Matthew 12: Jesus denies the Pharisees a sign from heaven since they were testing him and simply points them to the prophet Jonah—which pointed to Jesus himself! Jesus is the sign that they have been (and are) looking for, but they can’t see it. What’s so ironic about this is that the Pharisees are so obsessed with the Law and the Prophets (the Bible as they knew it back then), but they completely missed the point!
So they start demanding for a bigger and better sign from heaven, but Jesus tells them that Jonah was enough. His prophetic sign was sufficient. This has massive implications regarding our approach to Scripture today, which many Christians throughout history have referred to as “The Sufficiency of Scripture.”
Many Christians today feel the need to explain the Bible by pointing to “more than just the Bible” like archaeology or other outside sources, because unbelievers demand for more convincing evidence of Jesus than words in a plain, old book. But according to Jesus, hearing the words of this plain, old book was enough to bring people to repentance and saving faith in him. As Paul explains it, “Faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the Word of Christ” (Romans 10:17).
And this is the bigger and better sign that Jesus points the Pharisees to: His Word—the prophetic sign of Jonah that pointed to the Son of Man. But that wasn’t enough for the Pharisees. As a result, this evil generation of unbelieving Jews will face condemnation from foreigners in the future.
Condemning Words: Foreigners in the Future (vv.41-42)
“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” (12:41).
In other words, the people who will condemn this generation of unbelieving Jews—are believing Gentiles—starting with the Ninevites. To help us understand why Jesus brings this up, we need some context. In Jonah 3, Jonah preaches a sermon to the ungodly city of Nineveh—which I will read word for word: “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” (Jonah 3:4).
(Let’s pray.)
Notice how short and sweet the “preaching of Jonah” was. Now, the point here is not about how sermons should be short and sweet (we as Emmanuel are glad that this is not the case)—but rather, the point is the result of Jonah’s preaching in verse 5: “And the people of Nineveh believed God” (Jonah 3:5). The Ninevites heard God’s message about their impending judgment, and they repented and believed in God.
Just like that.
Here’s Jesus’ point in Matthew 12:41: The Ninevites heard one message from God, and they repented in a heartbeat—while the Pharisees have seen multiple signs and heard multiple sermons from Jesus, yet still refuse to repent and believe by asking for a greater sign from heaven. And this is Jesus, who is greater than Jonah—the greater prophet whose preaching is greater than that of Jonah’s.
Therefore, the men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment (12:36) and condemn this unbelieving generation. Now, do you see how careless the Pharisees’ words were when they asked for a greater sign than Jesus? “By your words you will be condemned” (12:37). Not only the Ninevites, but also the Queen of the South:
“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” (12:42).
Most people understand this to be the queen of Sheba from 1 Kings 10, who "came from the ends of the earth”—in other words, a long way from Israelite land. At first, she didn’t believe (1 Kings 10:7), but she went and asked more questions that led to her faith in receiving God’s wisdom from Solomon.
Do you see Jesus’ “lesser to greater" logic here? While Jonah journeyed to preach at Nineveh, this Gentile queen journeyed all the way to Jerusalem herself to hear the wisdom of this Israelite king—while the Pharisees had Jesus come to them! And yet, they still resist the wisdom of Jesus, who is greater than Solomon, the greater king whose wisdom is greater than that of Solomon’s.
It’s as if Jesus is saying: “The greater priest (over the temple, 12:6), greater prophet than Jonah (12:41), and the greater king than Solomon (12:42)—the greater sign from heaven that you unbelieving Jews are looking for—is right in front of you. But you still can’t see it! You’re obsessed with Jonah and the prophets but you still won’t believe in who they’re pointing to.
Yet, these Gentiles who were outside of God’s covenant with Israel repented and believed with lesser signs, while your generation of unrepentant, unbelieving Jews received greater signs! Now, you will be truly condemned. And guess what? Your future condemnation as unbelieving Jews will come from believing Gentiles.”
This is what verses 38-42 have been talking about. Now, you might ask: What does this next section about the unclean spirit coming out of a person have to do with Jesus’ condemning words? It might seem a bit random—until we remember that this big discussion started with Jesus casting a demon out of a man (12:22)! Whether Jesus is pointing back to that specific event, or if he’s just circling back to that idea, Jesus’ condemning words are connected to this story about a re-possessed person in verses 43-45.
Condemning Words: A Re-possessed Person (vv.43-45)
“When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, but finds none. Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when it comes, it finds the house empty, swept, and put in order. Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there, and the last state of that person is worse than the first. So also will it be with this evil generation” (12:43-45).
That last phrase is our biggest clue as to how this mini-parable is connected to Jesus’ condemning words to the Pharisees, because it bookends that phrase from verse 39—evil generation. And Jesus says that the last state or final condition of this re-possessed person is what it also will be with this evil generation! So if these two ideas are connected, what is the actual connection?
To find that out, let’s consider the elements of the parable. So the spirit that comes out of a person passes through waterless places seeking rest. Isaiah 34:14 here helps us understand this because it talks about demons roaming around in dry and desolate places (like deserts) to find a place of rest: “And wild animals [desert demons] shall meet with hyenas; the wild goat shall cry to his fellow; indeed, there the night bird [dark spirit] settles and finds for herself a resting place” (Isaiah 34:14).
However, the spirit in Matthew 12:44 finds no place of rest in the desolate land, so it decides to go back and see if it can find rest in its previous home—the human host who is found to be empty. Significance? That’s what the spirit is looking for! An empty house to rest in! Not to mention that the empty house was swept and put in order for the spirit to move in as soon as it can!
For those of you who have sold or rented out a property, you know that a clean and tidy house (and the photos/videos that you or your realtor takes of that clean and tidy house) is crucial to you selling or renting out that property, right? Because that’s what lures people to move in! This is the point that Jesus drives home in Matthew 12 regarding the empty house that is now swept and put in order after having the spirit move out—it just invites the spirit to move back in, because no one has taken up residency!
And not only does it re-enter the human and re-take possession of that house, but it finds seven other roommates per se (and worse ones than itself, who will likely destroy that home). The point is that these spirits will destroy that person all the more! That’s why Jesus, in verse 45, says that the last state (or final condition) of that person is worse than the first.
So also will it be with this evil generation. Earlier, we asked what the connection was between this re-possessed person and this evil generation—so here it is: The last state or final condition of this re-possessed person is what this generation of unbelieving Jews will be like—they will be in much worse shape than before they met Jesus and heard his words.
Why? Because in asking for a greater sign from heaven instead of believing in Jesus after the sign he gave, they are rejecting Jesus who can truly heal their hearts (as Jesus healed the demon-possessed man in 12:22)—as well as God’s Spirit who can forgive their evil and adulterous hearts (Matt. 12:28-32)!
So the Pharisees are like an empty house without a master. They sweep and put it in order by their own efforts in doing good works, instead of inviting the Holy Spirit to reside in their hearts—the one who can sprinkle it clean from an evil conscience (Heb. 10:22). So, like the person in verses 43-45, these unbelieving Jews are very vulnerable to being re-possessed because they have rejected the only one who can truly cast out demons and keep out demons (Matt. 12:28)! Thus, the master who dwells in them is now Satan instead of God’s Spirit.
So these are Jesus’ condemning words to the Pharisees in response to their careless words in rejecting Jesus. This is the fate of those who don’t believe in Jesus, especially after he shows himself to them. While this is talking about their generation of unbelieving Jews, this has much to say for our generation today.
For Our Generation
We know from God’s Word that the greatest sign from heaven has been given to us in Jesus, who came down to be born of a virgin, to live a perfect and sinless life as the God-man, so that he would die and take God’s wrath in our place (to pay the penalty for our sins) and be raised up to life in three days (which is what the sign of Jonah being in the fish for three days and nights pointed to all along).
And if people back in Jonah’s day repented and believed in God’s coming judgment with this lesser sign, then there is a sense of urgency with our generation today who has been given a greater sign and a fuller picture of the gospel. Because this risen Jesus ascended back up to heaven and promised to return to judge the world in righteousness.
Unbelievers
Unbeliever, the warning could not be any clearer: judgment is coming, and those who have not confessed Jesus as Lord will be condemned to eternal torment. So which side are you on? As Jesus says, “whoever is not with me is against me” (Matt. 12:30; Lk. 11:24-26). You must pick a side.
This parable about the repossessed man shows that you can’t just stay empty or neutral. You either submit to Jesus or you are going to be in much worse shape later on when Satan sends his legion of spirits to indwell you because the Holy Spirit isn’t there to keep them out. So believe on Jesus that he may dwell in your hearts through faith (Eph. 3:17).
But maybe you’re hearing this and you’re thinking, “it’s not that I don’t believe, but I just haven’t made up my mind yet.” And I hope that this passage has helped you understand the gravity of what will happen when Jesus comes back to judge the world. I plead with you to repent and believe while there is still time. The fact that the skies haven’t split and that you’re hearing these words right now is because the Lord is patient toward you, not wishing that you would perish, but instead reach repentance (2 Peter 3:9). There is still time becasue God’s mercies are new every morning (Lam. 3:22-23).
While the world is teaching you that to see is to believe—Jesus is telling you that to believe is to see. Specifically, to believe his Word is to see him. And one day, the skies will split and “every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him” (Rev. 1:7). On that day, you will either enter into the joy of your Master (Matt. 25:21, 23) or into the judgment of your tormenter (Rev. 14:10). And I hope that you’re on the side of joy.
This is why believers can enjoy communion with God and with each other (as we do every week at the Lord’s table)—because we know the we will rejoice at his return when he comes to judge the world. Don’t wait until it’s too late. You’re a sinner and in need of a Saviour, so repent (turn away from your sins and turn to Jesus) and believe in his words while the offer still stands. As the apostle Paul says, “Now [today] is the day of salvation” (2 Cor. 6:2).
This also has a special application for children who have grown up in Christian homes but haven’t committed their lives to Jesus: You can’t enjoy the benefits of Christ without the person of Christ himself by his Spirit dwelling in you. There’s no such thing as waiting for the right time—otherwise, you’ll be in worse shape later on. Either you’re filled with the Spirit today or an empty house ready to be indwelt by Satan’s spirits.
You can’t just sweep and put the empty house in order by saying the right "Christian” things. As Jesus asks the Pharisees, “How can you speak good when you are evil?” (12:34). You can’t have empty morals and be doing good works without the one who enables you to do good works (Eph. 2:10). This is why the apostle Paul talks about putting off sin and putting on Christ—these two must go together! One without the other does not make sense: you can’t put off sin without Christ and the power of his Spirit dwelling in you, nor can you put on Christ and continue to sin!
Believers
But what about those of us who have put on Christ and are putting off sin? What does this passage mean for those of us who have repented and believed? Believer: because judgment is coming, we need to warn those who haven’t. And we need to do so with a sense of urgency.
There’s no time to waste at work or at school, or even at your family gatherings this Christmas season. Like we’ll hear about next week, our true family that we’ll spend eternity with are those who bow the knee to Jesus before (and at) his return—so don’t assume that your biological family members or loved ones have time to be warned at the next family gathering. And if you think that it’ll be hard, of course it will be. How do you think Jonah felt preaching to Nineveh? But Jonah obeyed God and gave those Ninevite unbelievers God’s message—and they repented.
Hide behind the the Word of God, just like Jonah did and how this passage warns our generation today—point them to Jesus
The words and warning of God are enough to soften our harden hearts. And when we do this, we can’t be result-oriented—Jesus could’ve given these unbelieving Jews the sign they wanted so they would’ve believed, but he let their hearts be hardened by his words. Some will reject, but some will repent—that’s up to Jesus. But it’s up to us to obey Jesus like Jonah eventually did and be faithful messengers of God’s Word as if there was no tomorrow—while leaving the results up to him.