64 – Request for a Sign Refused, Matthew 12:38-45
Matthew 12:38-45 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. 42 The Queen of the South will rise up with this generation at the judgment and will condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, something greater than Solomon is here.
43 “Now when the unclean spirit goes out of a man, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and does not find it. 44 Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came’; and when it comes, it finds it unoccupied, swept, and put in order. 45 Then it goes and takes along with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there; and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first. That is the way it will also be with this evil generation.”
Footnotes
a. Matthew 12:38 I.e. attesting miracle
b. Matthew 12:39 I.e. attesting miracle
c. Matthew 12:39 I.e. attesting miracle
d. Matthew 12:39 I.e. attesting miracle
Commentary
There are a lot of stories from the Old Testament that we look to and see foreshadowing of the Messiah, but I find it interesting that Jesus calls out the story of Jonah from among the others. Apparently, the story of Jonah is and was controversial, but Jesus alludes to it as verified reality. In verse 40, we read the term “sea monster,” which is a literal translation from the Greek word “ketos”, and the controversy surrounding the story has to do with the specific type of fish that might be capable of swallowing a man.
At the time, the Jewish audience believed that, when God prepared a fish to swallow Jonah, He actually created a new creature specifically for that purpose. However, some scholars present a different view. “As it occurs in the text, the word means “to appoint, ordain, prepare, or order.” The idea is one of commission rather than creation. The fish, then was not one that was created specially for a task, but rather was one already in existence and commissioned for a specific mission, the preservation of God’s prophet” (Nelson KJV Bible Commentary pg. 1037). Although many people believe the fish was a whale, some have pointed out that the biology of a whale’s mouth and stomach would not allow it to swallow a man. Of course, if God had to “prepare” the fish, He may have made some adjustments to the physiology in order to allow for it to swallow a whole man and leave him undigested for three days. There are other plausible theories about fish that have demonstrated the ability to swallow large, live objects. “Other commentators have suggested that the fish was a dogfish, which has a stomach so large that once the body of a man in armor was found in it. Still others suggest that the fish was a shark, some of which grow to a weight of ten thousand pounds and to a length of thirty to forty feet, and in whose stomachs full-grown horses have been found. The Smithsonian Institution has on record an incident in which one fish swallowed another fish that weighted fifteen hundred pounds. The precise identity of the fish is not important. Apparently, God has a number of fish in His repertoire capable of the feat” (Nelson KJV Bible Commentary pg. 1037). While it is not critical to understand exactly how this miracle transpired, we can rely on Jesus’s acknowledgment of the story as proof.
The point of Jesus’s reference, however, was not to settle a dispute about the fish, but to compare God’s people to the people of Nineveh. In the story of Jonah, the Ninevites were an evil pagan people who were enemies of Israel. Despite this, God desired to turn their hearts and sent Jonah to preach to them. Almost unbelievably, when Jonah spoke to them, they immediately repented and turned to God. This is not the first time Jesus has embarrassed His Jewish audience by pointing out that Gentile people have outperformed Israel in humble repentance and worship of God, and He goes on to cite yet another example with His reference to the Queen of the South.
The story of the Queen of Sheba is found in 1 Kings 10 and 2 Chronicles 9. The Queen had heard reports of Solomon’s wisdom and wealth, so she came to see for herself. She put together a showy, extravagant caravan (presumably assuming that she would be able to humble Solomon with her status), and she prepared difficult questions to ask him. However, when she saw the beauty of Solomon’s temple, observed the happiness of his attendants, and heard the depth of his wisdom as he responded to her queries, she declared that Solomon must have been appointed by God to “do justice and righteousness.” She verbally blessed God and proceeded to lavish gifts on Solomon. A woman who had come with a haughty spirit left with a humble and awed attitude toward God and the king of Israel. As Jesus asserts through His comparison, even a Gentile with no understanding of Israel’s God was able to see immediately that He was sovereign, and she was not too proud to lower herself in the presence of one who was greater. However, the Jewish people, for all their study of this story and that of Jonah, refused to humble themselves in front of the Messiah.
In the passage, Jesus goes on to make another comparison between a man with an unclean spirit and the Jewish people. I didn’t entirely understand the analogy of the spirits returning to an empty house, but it helped me to read the short article about this passage in The Word in Life Study Bible. It explains that the man in the parable did not fill his heart with good things, but rather left it empty. The author of the article encourages us not to rest in our pursuit of God because when we stop growing or fall away, that is when our soul becomes an empty vessel, ready to be filled with anything that comes along (The Word in Life Study Bible pg. 1655). The connection Jesus draws is to the Jewish people, who have been “cleansed from their idolatry by the severity of the Babylonian exile” (Nelson KJV Bible Commentary pg. 1198). However, once liberated, they leave themselves them ill-prepared for the ministries of John the Baptist and Jesus because they aren’t close enough to God to recognize the Messiah when they see Him.
See the next post here https://onthepath.online/2020/11/25/redefining-family/
Scripture References
Verse 38
Matthew 12:37 For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”
Matthew 16:1 Then the Pharisees and Sadducees came and tested Jesus by asking Him to show them a sign from heaven.
Mark 8:11 Then the Pharisees came and began to argue with Jesus, testing Him by demanding from Him a sign from heaven.
Mark 8:12 Jesus sighed deeply in His spirit and said, “Why does this generation demand a sign? Truly I tell you, no sign will be given to this generation.”
Luke 11:16 And others tested Him by demanding a sign from heaven.
Luke 11:29 As the crowds were increasing, Jesus said, “This is a wicked generation. It demands a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah.
John 2:18 On account of this, the Jews demanded, “What sign can You show us to prove Your authority to do these things?”
John 6:30 So they asked Him, “What sign then will You perform, so that we may see it and believe You? What will You do?
1 Corinthians 1:22 Jews demand signs and Greeks search for wisdom,
Verse 39
2 Kings 14:25 This Jeroboam restored the boundary of Israel from Lebo-hamath to the Sea of the Arabah, according to the word that the LORD, the God of Israel, had spoken through His servant Jonah son of Amittai, the prophet from Gath-hepher.
Jonah 1:1 Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah son of Amittai, saying,
Matthew 16:4 A wicked and adulterous generation demands a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah.” Then He left them and went away.
Mark 8:12 Jesus sighed deeply in His spirit and said, “Why does this generation demand a sign? Truly I tell you, no sign will be given to this generation.”
Luke 11:29 As the crowds were increasing, Jesus said, “This is a wicked generation. It demands a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah.
Verse 40
2 Kings 14:25 This Jeroboam restored the boundary of Israel from Lebo-hamath to the Sea of the Arabah, according to the word that the LORD, the God of Israel, had spoken through His servant Jonah son of Amittai, the prophet from Gath-hepher.
Jonah 1:17 Now the LORD had appointed a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah spent three days and three nights in the stomach of the fish.
Matthew 8:20 Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head.”
Matthew 12:8 For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”
Matthew 16:21 From that time on Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests, and scribes, and that He must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.
Matthew 28:6 He is not here; He has risen, just as He said! Come, see the place where He lay.
Verse 41
Jonah 1:2 “Arise! Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before Me.”
Jonah 3:4 On the first day of his walk, Jonah set out into the city and proclaimed, “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overturned!”
Jonah 3:5 And the Ninevites believed God. They proclaimed a fast and dressed in sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least.
Matthew 12:6 But I tell you that something greater than the temple is here.
Luke 11:32 The men of Nineveh will stand 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.
Romans 2:27 The one who is physically uncircumcised yet keeps the Law will condemn you who, even though you have the written code and circumcision, are a lawbreaker.
Verse 42
1 Kings 10:1 Now when the queen of Sheba heard about the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the LORD, she came to test him with difficult questions.
2 Chronicles 9:1 Now when the queen of Sheba heard about the fame of Solomon, she came to test him with difficult questions. She arrived in Jerusalem with a very large caravan, with camels bearing spices, gold in abundance, and precious stones. So she came to Solomon and spoke to him all that was on her mind.
Matthew 12:6 But I tell you that something greater than the temple is here.
Verse 43
Luke 11:24 When an unclean spirit comes out of a man, it passes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’
Verse 44
Luke 11:25 On its return, it finds the house swept clean and put in order.
Verse 45
Mark 5:9 “What is your name?” Jesus asked. “My name is Legion,” he replied, “for we are many.”
Luke 11:26 Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and dwell there. And the final plight of that man is worse than the first.”
Hebrews 6:4 It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit,
2 Peter 2:20 If indeed they have escaped the corruption of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, only to be entangled and overcome by it again, their final condition is worse than it was at first.
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