Matthew 12:38-42

Matthew 12:38-42

38 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.” 39 But He answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation craves for a sign; and yet no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet; 40 for just as JONAH WAS THREE DAYS AND THREE NIGHTS IN THE BELLY OF THE SEA MONSTER, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 41 “The men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation at the judgment, and will condemn it because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, something greater than Jonah is here. 42 “The Queen of the South will rise up with this generation at the judgment and will condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, something greater than Solomon is here.

Excuses are very dangerous because they are attempts to avoid what we know needs to be done.  The scribes and Pharisees are looking for excuses.  They recognize Jesus as a teacher but realize He claims to be Messiah.  Their request for a sign seems innocent enough on the surface but Jesus sees it for what it truly is; an excuse not to believe.  Jesus has already performed numerous signs and has just been accused of casting out daemons by the power of Satan.  He knows that any additional signs would just be ignored or explained away, so instead of performing signs He confronts them for their lack of faith.  We need to be careful not to make excuses about our actions and attitudes because they are of no use before the Lord.  His Word has revealed all we need to know about His will.  Obedience should be our focus and not a desire for more information.

REQUEST FOR A SIGN REFUSED: This request for a sign from Jesus was refused because Jesus knows the hearts of men.  He knew that they were determined not be believe and had ignored the numerous signs He had already performed.  He was not interested in being manipulated by these faithless and self-righteous people.  He confronts them with being an evil and adulterous generation because of their insistence on additional signs.  The only sing He is willing to give them is the sign of Jonah in which He foretold His own resurrection.  Just as Jonah was in the belly of the great fish for three days; Jesus would be buried for three days and then rise again.  This was not an immediate sign like they requested but must have certainly come to their minds when He rose from the grave three days after His crucifixion.  This is a clear demonstration that Jesus was correct in refusing to give a sign because when the grave was found empty they just made up lies about His body being stolen instead of believing.  We are responsible to believe and obey the revelation we have right now.  God is sovereign over what He reveals when and to whom. 

REFUSAL TO BELIEVE REBUKED: Jesus uses two illustrations from the Old Testament to rebuke the Pharisee’s refusal to believe.  The first was the pagan city of Nineveh and the second was the Queen of Sheba.  The city of Nineveh repented at the simple and heartless preaching of Jonah.  Jonah warned them of impending judgment and they immediately responded by tearing their cloths, wear sackcloth and ashes and pleading for forgiveness.  The Queen of Sheba traveled a great distance because she had heard about the wisdom and wealth of Solomon.  She had a little information and responded to it.  She then received additional information and responded to that as well.  These two illustrations are what God is looking for in all of our lives: repentance from our sin and responding to the revelation He has given us.  Those who don’t respond to initial light will not respond to additional light.  Jesus points to Gentiles who with very little revelation responded as a means of rebuking their refusal to believe in light of all they had been given.  We will all be judged according to our response to the revelation we have been given. 

APPLICATION: Don’t make excuses about why we disobey the Word of God.  Appreciate and respond in repentance and faith to the message of God’s Word we hold in our hands.  Prepare for the day that we will stand before the Lord and give an account as to how we responded to the revelation we have been given.