Matthew 12:38-42

| Matt 12 |

The Sign of Jonah

38 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, “Teacher, w we wish to see a sign from you.” 39 But he answered them, x “An evil and y adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40 For z just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, a so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 41 b The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and c condemn it, for d they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, e something greater than Jonah is here. 42 f 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, e something greater than Solomon is here.

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Matt. 11:1–12:50 Opposition to the Messiah Emerges. Resistance to Jesus' ministry has appeared occasionally (e.g., 9:3–4) but now begins to build significantly, occasioned first by the innocuous questions of John the Baptist (11:2–19), then through the overt hostility of the Jewish religious leaders (12:1–45).

Matt. 12:1–45 Confrontations with the Pharisees. The Pharisees accuse Jesus of violating the Sabbath (vv. 1–14), suggest he is in league with Satan (vv. 22–37), and demand a cosmic sign (vv. 38–42). Jesus vindicates himself as lord of the Sabbath (v. 8), divine servant of justice (v. 18), and the Spirit-empowered inaugurator of the kingdom of God (v. 28). Judgment will come upon the hard-hearted blasphemers (vv. 30–45), but those who follow Jesus are his true family (see vv. 46–50).

Matt. 12:38 a sign. Jesus had already performed many miracles (“signs”) that validated his messianic identity. These men were asking for a sign that they could use against him.

Matt. 12:39 Adulterous refers to spiritual adultery, i.e., unfaithfulness to God. Jesus never rebukes people who seek healing out of genuine need, but he knows these opponents have malicious motives (cf. 16:1). Jonah's being rescued by God was a sign to the people of Nineveh that his message was from God. Jesus' death and resurrection (see 12:40) will likewise be God's sign to the present generation.

Matt. 12:40 Three days and three nights in Jewish reckoning is inclusive, meaning no more than three days or the combination of any part of three separate days. Jesus was raised “in three days” although he was buried Friday afternoon and resurrected Sunday morning (i.e., part of Friday is day one, all of Saturday is day two, and part of Sunday is day three).

Matt. 12:41 Jesus' words affirm the historicity of the story of Jonah: he says that the men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment, thus predicting an actual future event; and that these same men repented at the preaching of Jonah (Jonah 3:5), indicating that Jonah's preaching in Nineveh was an actual historical event.

Matt. 12:42 queen of the South. The queen of Sheba (1 Kings 10:1–29). Sheba was most likely the home of the Sabaeans in southwestern Arabia, in present-day Yemen. Jesus claims that he is greater than the temple (Matt. 12:6), the prophet Jonah (v. 41), and the wise king Solomon. He thus elevates himself and his message of the kingdom to be greater than, and the fulfillment of, the three greatest institutions in Israel—priest, prophet, and king.