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 miraculous 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 one 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 one greater than Solomon is here.
43 “When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. 44 Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. 45 Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this wicked generation.”
Jesus’ Mother and Brothers
46 While Jesus was still talking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside, wanting to speak to him. 47 Someone told him, “Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you.”
48 He replied to him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” 49 Pointing to his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. 50 For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”
Here we see the Pharisees and teachers of the Law coming to Jesus and demanding a sign. Now, obviously they weren't simply demanding another miracle, they'd seen a ton of those recently. They were demanding some sort of supernatural fireworks display - and according to MacArthur, they presented this demand in such a way as to imply that such a sign was required if He was truly the Messiah. They weren't satisfied to just reject Him themselves, they wanted everyone else to reject Him too. They wanted to embarrass Him, and clearly only asked Him for this sign because they thought He couldn't do it.
But God is not in the business of catering to the whims of disbelieving, rejecting, vile people. He couldn't give them that sign. Not because He was unable to physically, but because He was unable to morally.
The only remaining sign they would receive was the sign of Jonah - by which He is referring to His own death and resurrection. And the Ninevites will judge the unbelieving Jews because they, though wicked, repented at the preaching of Jonah, while these Jews rejected Jesus, who was far, far greater than Jonah.
The truth is, the morality and ethics of the Pharisees and scribes was worse than immorality. That sounds odd, but it's so true. Morality gives people the illusion that they are good enough, and blinds them to the reality of their own sinfulness and need of a Saviour.
It is entirely possible to undergo a moral reformation without God. People go to drug rehab, they quit smoking, they stop criminal activity, they pull themselves up by their bootstraps. And for all kinds of reasons - fear of the law, painful consequences to sinful behaviour, even pressure by religious groups. But reformation without a relationship with Jesus is so dangerous because it blinds you to the actual condition of your heart.
Jesus also takes this teaching moment to point out that He wants relationship. And you don't have to be related to Him in order to experience the close relationship of family. His statement here was not because He didn't love His mother or His brothers. He loved them dearly. He made provision for His mother at the cross when He asked John to care for her. He redeemed her and, later, His brothers. This wasn't a statement made to exclude them. It was a statement made to include us. To make us realize what it took to become a part of His family - obeying the will of His Father.
Tomorrow's scripture focus: Matthew 13:1-23
1 comment:
Very good point about being able to undergo moral reformation without God. Thanks, once again, for giving me something to think about.
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