The Signs Were Already There — Bible Reflection for Monday, October 27

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Matthew 12:38-42

The Sign of Jonah

     ³⁸ Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, “Teacher, we want to see a miraculous sign from you.”

     ³⁹ He answered, “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 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. 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. ⁴² 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.

One of the problems that faces the mainline church is that so many of its members have an elementary Sunday school understanding of the Bible. So many people never go beyond what they were taught as children, because they don’t participate in Bible study as adults. That’s a problem with some passages, because they’re too obscure to teach small children. Today’s passage is a good example. To the casual reader, unless you’ve consulted Bible commentaries, it’s not immediately clear what Jesus is talking about.

I suppose that comes as no surprise. In the passage, Jesus is drawing a lesson from the story of Jonah, and that’s probably one of the most misunderstood and under-appreciated books of the whole Bible.

According to the scholars, Jonah is one of the oldest books of the Bible. But in spite of the fact that it’s thousands of years old, it speaks to one of the central ideas of the Christian faith, one that’s at the heart of our Reformed theological tradition. That’s the idea of grace. So it’s important that we wrap our heads around the lesson Jesus is drawing from that book.

In our reading for today, a group of Jewish religious leaders comes to Jesus and asks him to perform a miraculous sign. From the context, and from Jesus’ reaction, it seems that these leaders wanted him to prove that he could really do it – they wanted him to establish his credentials, we might say. It’s something that happens a number of places in the gospels.

But as always, Jesus refuses to do a miracle just to show he can. Throughout his earthly ministry, whenever Jesus performs miraculous healings and does other wondrous things, it’s for one of two reasons:

The first reason is that he feels profound compassion for the suffering people he meets. And the Greek term that’s translated as ‘compassion’ in the gospels actually indicates that Jesus experiences something like aching in the gut – that he literally ‘feels the pain’ of others.

The second reason for the miracles Jesus performs will sound familiar to those who participate regularly in these Reflections. Each of those miraculous signs represents a preview of God’s kingdom. When that kingdom is brought to fulfillment, the blind will get their sight, the crippled will walk, the hungry will be fed, the dead will be restored to life. That’s why the New Testament refers to the miracles of Jesus as signs – a sign points beyond itself to some higher reality – in this case, to the coming kingdom of God.

So Jesus performs miracles to relieve human suffering, and to provide a glimpse of the heavenly kingdom. But never to entertain people, or to prove that he can.

So, you might ask, what’s the connection with Jonah? Most people only remember Jonah as the guy who got swallowed up by a whale. (Actually, it was “a big fish.”) In this passage we’re thinking about today, Jesus points out that Jonah’s three days in the fish corresponds to the period between his crucifixion and his resurrection.

That’s interesting and no doubt significant. But the real point Jesus wants to make here, it seems to me, is that the story of Jonah illustrates God’s grace and his willingness to forgive sins.

If you remember, the reason Jonah wound up getting swallowed by the big fish was that he had run away from an assignment God gave him. God told Jonah to travel to the city of Nineveh and to call the people there to repent of their sins. But Nineveh was the capital of Assyria, which was the hated enemy of Jonah’s people. So Jonah didn’t want the Ninevites to repent of their sins and be forgiven; Jonah wanted God to destroy them. And Jonah was absolutely furious when the Ninevites did repent of their sins and God did forgive them.

So maybe you see the connection. The story of Jonah is a miraculous sign – a sign of God’s willingness to forgive us, no matter how bad our sins might be. And the story of Jonah is also a call to let go of our resentment of God’s forgiveness of others – even those we think are so bad they don’t deserve forgiveness. Jonah didn’t think the Ninevites deserved forgiveness. And the Pharisees and religious leaders didn’t think the sinners Jesus befriended deserved forgiveness, either. They probably didn’t. And, of course, neither do we.

There’s one other odd little part of this passage. Jesus talks about “the Queen of the South” rising in judgment of “this generation.” The New Testament scholars say this seems to be a prophesy from Jesus that people from beyond the borders of Israel would accept him as Lord and Savior when most Jews would not.

The point Jesus seems to be making is that there were plenty of signs the Pharisees and teachers of the law could look at to get a glimpse what God was doing in the world. God’s grace was being extended. Sinners were being forgiven. Gentiles – foreigners – were being invited to experience new life in Jesus. God had begun establishing his kingdom on earth through the ministry and death and resurrection of Jesus.

Jesus seems to be saying that the signs are already there. So don’t bother him by asking for magic tricks.

Let’s pray. Lord, we thank you for the great signs you have given us – signs of the new kingdom you announced in Jesus. And for the grace by which we have received new life in Jesus. By your Spirit, empower us to play our part in bringing your kingdom to pass on earth, to proclaim your gracious love to all who will accept it. Amen.

Grace and Peace,

Henry