Luke 11:29-32 The Sign of Jonah
Crowds increased, Jesus said, “This is a wicked generation. It asks for a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah. For as Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites, so also will the Son of Man be to this generation. The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with the people of this generation and condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon’s wisdom; and now something greater than Solomon is here. 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.”
To understand this passage, you need to remember the story of Jonah, the prophet. God called Jonah to travel a long distance east to witness to the pagan city of Nineveh; however, Jonah hated the Ninevites and had no desire to see them repent. Jonah boarded a ship bound for Tarshish (Spain), only to have the ship caught in a terrible storm. Finally, Jonah realized that he was the problem and had the sailors throw him overboard. As soon as Jonah’s body hit the water, the storm ceased; meanwhile, God allowed Jonah to be swallowed by a large fish. Jonah lived in the belly of that fish for three days, with the fish finally spitting him out on the beach on the third day. By the time Jonah made it to the beach, he was so happy to still be alive that he traveled to Nineveh post haste, although he was still hateful about the Ninevites.
Jesus is predicting his death and resurrection, for Jesus will die and arise on the third day. Although Jonah’s experience was miraculous, what will happen to Jesus is even more so, for Jonah remained alive during his ordeal while Jesus will die and be resurrected from the dead.
“The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with the people of this generation and condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon’s wisdom; and now something greater than Solomon is here.” 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.” The Queen of the South is the Queen of Sheba, who came to listen to Solomon’s teaching and was completely in awe of what she witnessed.
“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.” Jonah 3:1-10 “Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time:“Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you. ” Jonah obeyed the word of the Lord and went to Nineveh. Now Nineveh was a very large city; it took three days to go through it. 4 Jonah began by going a day’s journey into the city, proclaiming, “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown.” The Ninevites believed God. A fast was proclaimed, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth. When Jonah’s warning reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, took off his royal robes, covered himself with sackcloth and sat down in the dust. This is the proclamation he issued in Nineveh: “By the decree of the king and his nobles: Do not let people or animals, herds or flocks, taste anything; do not let them eat or drink. But let people and animals be covered with sackcloth. Let everyone call urgently on God. Let them give up their evil ways and their violence. Who knows? God may yet relent and with compassion turn from his fierce anger so that we will not perish.” When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he relented and did not bring on them the destruction he had threatened.”
The Ninevites enjoyed a horrific reputation for idolatry and cruelty; yet, they repented and God pardoned them. Now Jesus is prophesying that the men of Nineveh will stand as witnesses against the people listening to Jesus because they repented at the preaching of Jonah, a mere man, while these people are privileged to listen to Jesus, the Son of God.
We read these words and think, “Well, if I were listening to Jesus, I would certainly believe in him!” Oh? But we have both the Old and New Testaments, and both tell us about Jesus. We don’t have to join a crowd in Galilee, for faithful witnesses have recorded Jesus’ teachings while they have also recorded the story of his death and resurrection.
Charles Colson was an atheist lawyer working for President Richard Nixon during the Watergate episode. After entering prison, Colson began re-examining his life and became a Christian. Here’s what Colson has said about the resurrection: “I know the resurrection is a fact, and Watergate proved it to me. How? Because 12 men testified they had seen Jesus raised from the dead, then they proclaimed that truth for 40 years, never once denying it. Every one was beaten, tortured, stoned, and put in prison. They would not have endured that if it weren’t true. Watergate embroiled 12 of the most powerful men in the world-and they couldn’t keep a lie for three weeks. You’re telling me 12 apostles could keep a lie for 40 years? Absolutely impossible.”
When Jesus is crucified, buried, and rises from the dead, he demonstrates to the world that he is truly the Son of God. If we take the Scriptures seriously, we have all the proof we need for us to accept the reality of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. If we ignore these proofs, some day the Ninevites may stand in the judgment with us and condemn us for failing to believe. Let’s pray.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, we believe. Help our unbelief. Let the truth of Your ministry, death, and resurrection dawn in our hearts. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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