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38“Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, 'Teacher,  we want to see a sign from you.' 39~But he answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it, except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40~For 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. 41~The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and, indeed, a greater than Jonah is here. 42~The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here”(Jon 1-3; Luke 11:16, 29-30, 32; Mt 12:38-42 NKJV).

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Why Jesus said the people were an evil and adulterous generation

The people wanted Jesus to show them signs from heaven so that they could test Him and find fault with Him. They did not believe in Him and His message. In their hearts, they had already rejected Him as their Savior and did not want to repent of their evil ways (Mt 12:38; 16:1; Mk 8:11; Lk 11:16; Jn 2:18; 4:48). Hence, Jesus said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign” (Mt 12:39; Lk 11:29-30 NKJV). This was not the first time the scribes and Pharisees had asked Jesus for a sign. First Corinthians 1:22 says Jews require a sign and Greeks seek after wisdom. Seeking after wisdom can lead to positive or negative results. James 3:15-17 speaks about two kinds of wisdom, earthly and heavenly; earthly wisdom is devilish, it has no regard for God and repentance. Finally, Jesus told them the only sign they would be given would be the sign of the prophet Jonah (Mt 12:39-40; Lk 11:29-30).

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What was the sign of the prophet Jonah?

Jonah had been in the belly of the fish for three days and three nights (Jon 1:17; 2:1-2, 6, 10) and came out alive, even though he felt as if he had been in hell (Jon 2:2, 5-6). God brought Jonah back to life from the fish's belly so that he could take a message to the people of Nineveh, whose wickedness had come up before God (Jon 1:2). What happened to Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh (Lk 11:30). Therefore, when Jonah came and preached the Word of God to them, warning them of coming destruction, they believed God had sent him to them; they accepted his message and immediately repented of their sins (Jon 3:1-5; Mt 12:41; Lk 11:32). Because they repented, turned away from their evil ways, God did not destroy them (Jon 3:10; 4:2).

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Thus, Jesus was using Jonah's experience and the sign it became to the people of Nineveh (Jon 2:1-6; Mt 12:40a; Lk 11:30) to point to His coming death, burial, and resurrection (1Cor 15:3-4). He, too, would “be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth” (Mt 12: 40b), in hell, and then He would come back to life (1Pe 3:19; Rev 1:18). When this happened, if the sign-seekers before Him could accept it as a sign that God had sent Him and believe His message, then, it was the only sign they would need to repent of their sins and be saved from the judgment of God.

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Another request for a sign and Jesus speaks again about His death and resurrection

At another time when the people had asked Jesus for a sign “Jesus answered and said to them, 'Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up'” (Jn 2:19). Again He was talking about His death and resurrection, referring to His body as “this temple.” Though He did not say it plainly, Jesus spoke of His death and resurrection as often as necessary, because it was the only sign people would need to repent of their sins and be saved. After Jesus went back to heaven, God did many signs and wonders through the disciples/Apostles to confirm their message with power (Acts 5:12; Ro 15:19; Heb 2:4) about salvation in the name of Jesus.

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Today, people continue to seek other signs instead of the sign Jesus left us

Many people, today, are acting like the unbelieving sign-seekers in the Bible. They, too, want to see all kinds of signs before they believe in what Jesus has done for us and repent of their sins. They do not love or accept the truth, the Word of God about His Son. Therefore, God says He will send them strong delusions so they will believe a lie and die in their sins (2Th 2:9-12; Mt 24:24). False Christs and false prophets are already in the world, showing great signs and wonders that if it were possible, they would deceive the very elect (Mt 24:24). Everyone who is rejecting Jesus now could face a fate similar to what Jesus said awaited the evil and adulterous generation of His time, “The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here. 42~The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here”  (Mt 12:41-42; Lk 11:32).

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Jesus was destined to be our only Savior

On the day Jesus was arrested, He was in Gethsemane (Mt 26:36; Mk 14:32) praying to His Father, “O My Father, if this cup cannot pass away from Me unless I drink it, Your will be done” (Mt 26:39, 42; Mk 14:36). The cup was the cup of God's wrath (Rev 14:10; 16:19) against sin, and it did not pass away from Jesus. This means God was willing to forgive the sins of His enemies, us (Rom 5:10), through the suffering and death of His Son! 46~“Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, 47~and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem” (Lk 24:46-47 NKJV).

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Do not be alarmed by the negative things some people say about Jesus’ death

Looking at the days and nights of Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection, Friday to Sunday morning (Mt 28:1; Mk 16:2, 9; Lk 24:1; Jn 20:1), some people say Jesus, the Son of Man (Mt 12:8; 16:13; 17:9; Mk 8:31; Lk 9:26, 56; Jn 3:13), did not spend “three days and three nights in the heart of the earth” (Mt 12:40; Lk 11:30) as prophesied, because Friday to Sunday morning do not add up to three days and three nights. Agreeably, they do not add up. However, because God does not lie (Num 23:19), if we factor in the spiritual aspects instead of focusing only on the physical, we can see that they do add up. That is, we should be aware that when Jesus commended His Spirit into His Father’s hands (Lk 23:46) and “gave up the ghost” (Mt 27:50; Mk 15:37, 39; Jn 19:30 KJV), His Spirit immediately left His body. We should also be aware that when Jesus died and the daylight suddenly turned into three hours of “darkness” (Mt 27:45), the “darkness” was symbolic of a “night” because God calls darkness night (Gen 1:5), and again, “You make darkness, and it is night” (Ps 104:20). Consequently, crucifixion Friday had two nights; one was in broad daylight, and it was in this darkness, the first of the two nights, that the Son of Man, the quickening Spirit (1Co 15:45; 1Pe 3:18), no longer encumbered by the human body, went to the heart of the earth as part of His salvation mission (1Pe 3:18-20), while His dead body remained hanging on the cross waiting to be taken down and buried (Mt 27:58-60; Mk 15:43-47; Lk 23:53; Jn 19:31-42). The following day, Saturday, there was the usual “darkness”, Saturday night, making a total of three nights. As for the three days, the “light” of Friday, Saturday, and Sunday satisfied God’s definition of “day” for “God called the light Day” (Gen 1:5). Then, that same Sunday morning, the third day, Jesus’ Spirit reunited with His changed body (Lk 24:39), and He arose from the dead (Mt 17:23; 20:19; Mk 10:34; Lk 9:22; Ac 10:40).   

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Jesus is greater than Jonah, Solomon, and everyone else; repent in His name only

Even though Jesus called attention to the sign of Jonah and the wisdom of Solomon, He made it clear to people that He was greater than Jonah and Solomon when He said, “The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and, indeed, a greater than Jonah is here. 42~The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here” (Mt 12:41-42; Lk 11:32). Repentance should be preached in Jesus' name and no other. He is the beloved Son of God (Mt 3:17; 17:5; Lk 3:22; 9:35) and Son of Man (Mt 12:8; 16:13; 17:9; Mk 8:31; Lk 9:26, 56; Jn 3:13). He is the chosen one (Mt 12:18) who came and died for us, was buried, spent three days and three nights in the heart of the earth, and then rose from the dead on the third day (Mt 12:40; Mk 14:32, 35; 1Cor 1 5:3-4), so that our sins might be forgiven, and we would not be condemned by anyone in the judgment. 

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7/30/2017