No Other Sign but the Sign of Jonah

Matthew 12:38-45
KV 12:40; 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.

Some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law demanded more signs from Jesus. Looking for signs was not wrong, but their motivation was wrong. In any case, Jesus acknowledged their need for a sign. Among so many signs, he chose the sign of Jonah in the Scriptures. It is the most effective sign for those who are wicked and adulterous.

Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from you (Mt. 12:38)." People look for miraculous signs for various reasons. Looking for a sign itself is not a matter of right and wrong. The motivation and circumstance behind matter. Jesus answered, "A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah (Mt. 12:39)." They were wicked. The Pharisees nicely asked Jesus for a sign as if they had wanted. But their intention was offensive and obnoxious. Outwardly the Pharisees called Jesus teacher. In those days, the term teacher was the expression of respect. They pretended to learn from Jesus. In other versions, they called him master. They appeared ready to obey Jesus. Such calling was only a guise. They had rejected Jesus as their teacher and master. They were about to make another judgment on the quality of his sign. They had seen so many signs, but rejected all of them as qualifiers. Healing another leper in front of them would not make any difference to them.

The Pharisees were adulterous. This statement of Jesus was shocking to them, since they strived to live holy. They not only stayed away from immoral life, but also discouraged others to be immoral. They would not understand Jesus' point. Jesus said so in light of their relationship with God. They were unfaithful to God. They loved something else more than God. They were religious in keeping meticulously all the ritual ceremonies. They did everything to please God in their own style, but ended up displeasing him. They had no idea what God had in his mind. They did not know how far they were from God. For example God had already declared that Jesus was his Son and God was pleased with him (Mt. 3:17). But they could not hear Jesus' voice and understand his heart, especially when he struggled so hard to help the sick and sinners. Instead they hated Jesus and called him the prince of demons (Mt. 12:24). They strived to obey all the commands of God, but missed the main objective of loving his people and caring for those who were weak. Some of them were avaricious and made every effort to make money in the name of God. God was merely a tool to serve their goal. The money was their god.

Jesus could have ignored their request for a sign because of the wrong motivations. Giving them another sign would be useless. Instead Jesus acknowledged the necessity of a sign. There is a merit for a sign. Some people look for a sign to have a conviction for God's will. Gideon is an example. His people suffered from the Midianites (Jdg. 6). For example they had to abandon their homes and live in caves. God had compassion for them and called Gideon to fight the Midianites. Gideon was too fearful to do so and asked for a sign from God. God listened to him and gave him the very sign he wanted. After seeing the sign, Gideon had the courage to fight the Midianites. The sign Gideon witnessed paved a way for the victory of his country and the peace and prosperity of his people. Another example is found from Isaiah 7 when King Ahaz faced his enemies Aram and northern Israel. They were united to attack him. Ahaz was too fearful to fight them but Isaiah encouraged him to be calm and depend on God. God himself showed up and asked Ahaz to seek a sign. It was a way to demonstrate his power and plant faith in him. But Ahaz refused to ask (Isa 7:12) and God was disappointed by his rejection. In this situation, Ahaz should have asked for a sign from God.

So the heart of matter is the choice of signs. Jesus chose the sign of Jonah in the Scriptures, “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 (Mt. 12:39-40)." The reference from the Scriptures was one everyone knew from their childhood. Nonetheless it would be the most effective sign to them despite their wickedness and adultery. This prophecy was before Jesus openly talked about his death and resurrection to his disciples. There were many other signs Jesus could pick from the Scriptures instead of the sign of Jonah. Jesus could have picked the sign of the Israelites crossing the Red Sea. Jesus could have picked up the sign of ascending into heaven like Elijah. But Jesus picked the sign of Jonah. Probably not many people considered it a sign, but rather an amazing story. It did not appear to indicate anything that would come. But Jesus' point of view was different. It was the only and best sign for that generation.

Jesus summarized the sign of Jonah in less than one sentence. The entire story is in the book of Jonah. Jesus focused on Jonah who stayed in the belly of a huge fish. Maybe it was a whale. Whatever it was, it was impossible for anyone to survive such ordeal. His adventure was not the main point. It was God who intervened in the life of Jonah. Jonah did not want to preach to the people in Nineveh. He ran away from his mission. It was God who was mindful of the people in Nineveh. So God tracked him in a mysterious way and had him realize that God was not going to let him go unless Jonah would finish the mission. The entire story was based on the God's determination to save the people of Nineveh. For this reason, God had prepared a big fish and kept Jonah in its belly for three days. During that period Jonah accepted God's love for the people in Nineveh. Jonah cried out to God and promised to carry out the mission if God would save him. So the sign was the sign of God's love for the Gentiles. Jesus understood that the sign of Jonah was a precursor for his future. Jesus understood that it was the sign that God had prepared for Jesus to show. Jesus was willing to be in the belly of big fish for three days so that the sign would be given to the generation. He did not think about any other signs, especially when he thought about the wicked and adulterous generation. Jesus had this vision and conviction from the book of Jonah.

The sign of Jonah was also a rebuke for the wicked and adulterous generation as shown in verse 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” (Mt. 12:41). When the Pharisees demanded a sign, Jesus could have been intimidated. However, Jesus severely rebuked them. Jesus had the conviction that God was working through him. Even the people of Nineveh would have agreed. The work of Jesus had been far superior to that of Jonah. Jonah had no shepherd heart for the people of Nineveh. He did not care about their restoration. He was unhappy when they repented and survived God's punishment. He had hoped that the people of Nineveh would be punished and perish, although he preached the message of God to them. On the other hand, Jesus loved his people. He loved his people more than the Gentiles (Mt. 15). He hoped that his people would accept his message and avoid God's judgment. When he watched his people from the Mount of Olive, he wept (Mt. 23:37). He was sorry to find that his generation was worse than the people of Nineveh.

Jesus used another story from the Bible to challenge the wicked and adulterous generation— the story of the Queen of the South, “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“ (Mt. 12: 42). When the Queen of the South came to see Solomon, she did not look for a miracle. She did not ask for Solomon to demonstrate something nobody could do. She did not ask Solomon to fly like a bird and run like a lion. She did not demand Solomon to show a sign to prove that he was the king. From the outset she honored him as the king. She heard about him and made tremendous effort to visit him, leaving her palace for the arduous journey. When she came, she came with many questions. She wanted to learn from Solomon. From her point of view, the people at the time of Jesus were foolish and ignorant. Instead of looking for a wisdom from Jesus, they only sought for a sign. In a sense, they had become superstitious.

Looking for a sign from God's servant is truly wrong approach in judging him. It leads many people astray. They treat God's servants like a fortune teller. Jesus warned us that many would come in his name and deceive them by demonstrating miracles (Mk 13). Rather we should look for wisdom. In the movie 300, the king faced the vast army from Persia. The envoy from Persia came and requested unconditional submission. In exchanged for his surrender the envoy promised a kingdom for him. The king agonized and wondered what he should do, to fight or to surrender. He searched for a sign on a high mountain, which advised him to surrender. His wife, however, helped him to see things more clearly by sharing all the information she had gathered. Surrendering was not an option, since it meant the annihilation of the entire Greece. The Persian's king was not worthy of trust. The queen encouraged the king to fight to his death. He followed her wisdom. It cost him life, but brought the country its freedom. What if he had followed the false sign and surrendered?

Some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law demanded more signs from Jesus. They did not deserve another sign, since they had had enough. In addition, they were wicked and adulterous. Yet Jesus chose to give them a sign. The sign he promised was not something unheard of, but the very sign from the Scriptures. The sign of Jonah pointed to Jesus' burial and resurrection. The sign would be most effective sign for the Pharisees despite their wickedness and adultery. The sign demonstrated the love of God not only for his people, but for the Gentiles. On a personal level, the sign meant his firm decision for utter sacrifice and his firm belief in the God's power for raising the dead.