38 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, “Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.” 39 But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40 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. 41 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. 42 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. Matthew 12: 38-42 ESV
Matthew 12: 38-42 A Sign
Then some of the scribes and Pharisees - Then, after coming at Him about the Sabbath, and losing that debate, because their doctrine was flawed, after committing the logical fallacy of associating Jesus's good works with those of the devil, now they have another test. The last one just demonstrated the wickedness of their own hearts, and they are falling in the eyes of the people, but their pride won't let them stop. They actually hate God, because He is not the one they made, not the one they serve.
…10As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one. 11There is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. 12All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.”… Romans 3: 10-12
We wish to see a sign from You - They call Him, "Teacher", but this is not genuine, since every single one of them would say that about themselves and each other. He is not a peer even in their minds, a fellow teacher, no, this is not about them learning, they are in competition with Him. They want to trip Him up, and they will take anything as a win right now. Remember, He has healed the sick, given sight to the blind, the deaf hear, and He has raised people from the dead. There is also the much more sure word of prophecy which He has and continues to fulfill before them. They are even a part of this.
…30‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone is sent to them from the dead, they will repent.’ 31Then Abraham said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.’” Luke 16: 30-31
An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign - Very interesting way of putting it. Throughout the OT Israel's apostasy was compared to adultery. The covenant relationship was compared to marriage, but Israel kept breaking her vows, going after other gods, the gods of the nations, of their appetites. It is a common thing today, to hear someone at a church that teaches sound doctrine, complain that they need something more, a feeling, better music production, all things which are about them, their entertainment, their self focus and worship. God doesn't change, and so the Pharisees and so many others make up a new god. They like some of the legacy, some of the Bible stories, but they read themselves into them like a play, and they demand a sign, a feeling, ecstasy, wealth, good luck. We will keep the names, God, Jesus, Holy Spirit, Bible, but we will put our own twist upon them, give them a make over so they better fit into the world we would like to see. It is no longer stock; it is all custom, so much so that it is no longer Jesus, no longer worship, and no longer the gospel. The god they would want would bow to their whim, would dance for them, and give them unending signs, a genie that grants an unlimited number of wishes.
“You say, ‘That’s not true!
I haven’t worshiped the images of Baal!’
But how can you say that?
Go and look in any valley in the land!
Face the awful sins you have done.
You are like a restless female camel
desperately searching for a mate.
24 You are like a wild donkey,
sniffing the wind at mating time.
Who can restrain her lust?
Those who desire her don’t need to search,
for she goes running to them!
25 When will you stop running?
When will you stop panting after other gods?
But you say, ‘Save your breath.
I’m in love with these foreign gods,
and I can’t stop loving them now!’
26 “Israel is like a thief
who feels shame only when he gets caught.
They, their kings, officials, priests, and prophets—
all are alike in this.
27 To an image carved from a piece of wood they say,
‘You are my father.’
To an idol chiseled from a block of stone they say,
‘You are my mother.’
They turn their backs on me,
but in times of trouble they cry out to me,
‘Come and save us!’
28 But why not call on these gods you have made?
When trouble comes, let them save you if they can!
For you have as many gods
as there are towns in Judah.
29 Why do you accuse me of doing wrong?
You are the ones who have rebelled,”
says the Lord.
30 “I have punished your children,
but they did not respond to my discipline.
You yourselves have killed your prophets
as a lion kills its prey.
31 “O my people, listen to the words of the Lord!
Have I been like a desert to Israel?
Have I been to them a land of darkness?
Why then do my people say, ‘At last we are free from God!
We don’t need him anymore!’
32 Does a young woman forget her jewelry,
or a bride her wedding dress?
Yet for years on end
my people have forgotten me.
33 “How you plot and scheme to win your lovers.
Even an experienced prostitute could learn from you!
34 Your clothing is stained with the blood of the innocent and the poor,
though you didn’t catch them breaking into your houses!
35 And yet you say,
‘I have done nothing wrong.
Surely God isn’t angry with me!’
But now I will punish you severely
because you claim you have not sinned.
36 First here, then there—
you flit from one ally to another asking for help.
But your new friends in Egypt will let you down,
just as Assyria did before.
37 In despair, you will be led into exile
with your hands on your heads,
for the Lord has rejected the nations you trust.
They will not help you at all. Jeremiah 2:23-37
So will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth - The sign of Jonah, which must have made the more liberal Jews kind of roll their eyes, "that's an archaic story." Jesus apparently believes it, and so did the Pharisees because they were more literal, but why would the Son of Man, which is a Biblical reference to Messiah, be buried, need to, or consent to? I guarantee, even though He has been teaching them, His disciples are stumped here too.
i. Because Jesus here refers to three days and three nights, some think that Jesus had to spend at least 72 hours in the grave. This upsets most chronologies of the death and resurrection of Jesus, and is unnecessary – because it doesn’t take into account the use of ancient figures of speech. Rabbi Eleazar ben Azariah (around the year AD 100; cited in Clarke and other sources) explained this way of speaking when he wrote: “A day and a night make a whole day, and a portion of a whole day is reckoned as a whole day.” This demonstrates how in Jesus’ day, the phrase three days and three nights did not necessarily mean a full 72-hour period, but a period including at least the portions of three days and three nights. There may be other good reasons for challenging the traditional chronology of Jesus’ death and resurrection, but it is not necessary in order to fulfill the words of Jesus here. - Enduring Word
The men of Nineveh - This is the Assyrian city, a city of pagans, that Jonah reluctantly went to. The city, like Sodom and Gomorrah, had almost reached the brim, the fullness of the cup of God's wrath, judgment was imminent. They saw the sign of Jonah, a stinky, bleached out man, a prophet who had to be the absolute worst apologist, they heard his words, what God told him to preach, and they repented. The Scribes and Pharisees have the testimony of Moses and the prophets, the temple, the sacrifices, and now the fulfillment of all Scripture standing before them, calling them to repent, but they won't.
Something greater than Jonah, something greater than Solomon - They were all just forerunners, shadows of the gospel story, Jesus is the Word become flesh. The Seed of the woman, the Ram on Mt. Moriah, the Scapegoat, the Lamb without spot, here He is, standing before you, but you are outed once again, you don't want Him, you have moved on. You talk about God, you revere Moses, would love to go back to the days and prosperity of King Solomon, but the greater is here, and you have rejected the Lord of Glory, you have despised the only Way. Someday Israel will leave off her lovers, come to Him they for so long rejected, making the confession of Isaiah 53, some day.
10Then I will pour out on the house of David and on the people of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and prayer, and they will look on Me, the One they have pierced. They will mourn for Him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for Him as one grieves for a firstborn son. 11On that day the wailing in Jerusalem will be as great as the wailing of Hadad-rimmon in the plain of Megiddo.… Zechariah 12: 10-11
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