Seeking a Sign
TRANSLATION
(38) Then some of the teachers of the Law and Pharisees said to him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.” (39) But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, and there shall no sign be given but the sign of the prophet Jonah. (40) For just as Jonah remained three days and three nights in the belly of the fish, so shall the Son of Man remain three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. (41) The people of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, someone greater than Jonah is here. (42) 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, someone greater than Solomon is here.
(43) “When an unclean spirit has departed from a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest but finds none. (44) Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I departed.’ And when it comes, it finds the house empty, swept, and ordered. (45) Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they enter and dwell there. And the last state of that person is worse than the first. So it will be with this wicked generation.”
(46) While he was still speaking to the crowd, behold, his mother and brothers stood outside asking to speak to him. (47) And someone told him, “Behold, your mother and your brothers are outside asking to speak to you.” (48) But he responded to the one who told him, “Who is my mother and who are my brothers?” (49) He then stretched out his hand toward his disciples and said, “Behold, my mother and my brothers! (50) For whoever seeks to do the will of my Father who is in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”
OBSERVATIONS
The thrust of each paragraph in this segment can be determined by the repetitions found in them. In the first paragraph “sign” occurred four times (in vss. 38 & 39). “Jonah” also appeared four times (vss. 39, 40, & 41) while “Solomon” is found twice (vs. 42). Three phrases were repeated: “three days and three nights” (both in vs. 40), “will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it” (vss. 41 & 42), and “someone greater than (Jonah/Solomon) is here” (also vss. 41 & 42).
Repetitions in the second paragraph included “spirit(s)” (vss. 43 & 45), “person” (vss. 43 & 45), “house” (both in vs. 44), and “wicked” (both in vs. 45). In the third paragraph, “behold” is found three times (vss. 46, 47, & 49), and both “mother” and “brother” occurred four times (vss. 46, 48, 49, & 50). “Generation” is also found four times in the first two paragraphs, twice modified by the adjective, “evil” (vss. 39, 41, 42, & 45).
OUTLINE
I. The only sign Jesus would give to an evil and adulterous generation was that of the prophet Jonah. (38-42)
II. Jesus also gave warnings concerning those who have been delivered from evil spirits. (43-45)
III. Jesus redefined his “family” as those who do the Father’s will. (46-50)
IDEA STATEMENT
When Israel’s religious leaders rejected his messianic ministry by demanding another sign, Jesus turned from his Jewish “family” to minister to all who desired to do the will of the Father.
APPLICATION
After Jesus had proven his divine authority by casting the demon out of a blind and deaf mute and healing him (Mt. 12:22), the Pharisees displayed their hostility toward his ministry by demanding additional proof of his messianic mission. The sign which Jesus gave them, that of Jonah in the belly of the fish, accomplished two purposes. First, it rebuked their unbelief by reminding them how God had dealt with an Old Testament prophet who had willfully disobeyed his commands. Then it anticipated the greatest sign that would ever be given to an unbelieving world, the miracle of Christ’s resurrection from the dead. He then explained that someone greater than either Jonah or Solomon was in their midst, pointing to himself as superior to Israel’s greatest revivalist and to Israel’s wisest king. He could hardly have been clearer in identifying himself as Israel’s Messiah.
The events described in Matthew 12 marked a turning point in Jesus’ earthly ministry. The first twelve chapters of Matthew’s Gospel present the Son of David offering himself to the lost sheep of the house of Israel as their long-awaited Messiah. When the nation’s religious leaders rejected him by attributing his miracle-working power to Satan and demanded of him another sign, his journey towards death on a cross in Jerusalem became inevitable. No longer would he minister exclusively to his Jewish “family.” Now he would reach out to all who do the Father’s will by opening their hearts to the Son whom he had sent.