Someone Greater Than Jonah

 

 Matthew 12:38-42

The Sign of Jonah

³⁸ Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.”

³⁹ He answered, “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a 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 something 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 something greater than Solomon is here.

Would we be stronger believers if we had more signs? Jesus strongly rejects that notion, casting it as the request of "a wicked and adulterous generation." What would he say of our generation with its indifference to and even rejection of the "signs" he has already given? It's not the sign that convinces, but the Person of Jesus. We learn about him through reading of the Gospels and in our own quiet reflection and application of what he said and did then to our own live now. May we keep our focus on this "Greater than Jonah", the only sign we need.

Bro. Rene

Dear Jesus, let me not e distracted by looking for"signs", but help me to keep my eyes nd heart on you, the only sign that matters. Amen.