Bible Study series: Matthew 12:38-42. He did not grant their request, but told them of another prophet and his sign.
A warm welcome to this Bible study! I write to learn, so let’s learn together. I also translate to learn. The translations are mine, unless otherwise noted. If you would like to see many others, please click on this link:
In the next link to the original chapter, I comment more and offer the Greek text. At the bottom you will find a “Summary and Conclusion” section geared toward discipleship. Check it out!
In this post, links are provided for further study.
Let’s begin.
Scripture: Matthew 12:38-42
38 Then at that moment some of the teachers of the law and Pharisees replied, saying, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from you!” 39 But he answered back and said, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, and a sign shall not be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah, 40 for just as Jonah was in the belly of the sea-monster for three days and three nights, so also the Son of Man will be in the belly of the earth for three days and three nights. 41 The men of Nineveh shall be raised up at judgment with this generation and condemn it because they repented at Jonah’s preaching. And look! Something greater than Jonah is right here. 42 The Queen of the South shall be raised up at judgment with this generation and condemn it because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and look! Something greater than Solomon is right here.” (Matt. 12:38-42)
Comments:
Some more restrictive Bible interpreters, referring to this passage, say that we should not seek for signs and wonders after we preach the gospel. But they take this passage out of context. It is perfectly legitimate to look for healings and demon expulsion, which are different from a sign like Elijah produced or Moses performed, as my comments at v. 38 explains.
38:
“teachers of the law”:
“Pharisees”:
You can learn about them here at this link:
Quick Reference to Jewish Groups in Gospels and Acts
See v. 2 for how they were the Watchdogs of Theology and Behavior.
Now about the sign these religious men were demanding. Recall that in v. 14, they took counsel together to find out how they might destroy him. Now they were demanding that he perform some sign, on their terms. A sign is “a special divine proof (as in John, the term refers to a symbolic wonder that points to the reality of the person performing it). They seek a heaven-sent spectacle (cf. 16:1, ‘sign from heaven’) like the exodus signs that forced the Hebrews to believe (Exod 4:8, 30-31 …)” (Osborne, comment on 12:38)
What sign? Here are some possibilities.
Elijah confronted the false prophets of Baal and called down fire from heaven, which consumed the drenched sacrifices (1 Kings 18:20-40). He ordered the false prophets to be put to the sword. Would Jesus call down fire on the Romans?
Then Elijah also called down fire to consume the soldiers from king Ahaziah (2 Kings 1:1-16), exactly in the passage where the god of Ekron, Baal-Zebub, is mentioned. Jesus’s critics must have taunted him to call down fire on the pagan Romans. Would he do it? Recall his response to James and John, when they asked permission to call down fire on the Samaritans who rejected them (Luke 9:51-55). He wheeled on them and told them no. He rebuked them. Or maybe they tested him to do some other sign, like God making the shadow go backwards, as a sign to king Hezekiah (2 Kings 20:9-11; Is. 17:14-20).
Moses commanded the sky to go dark (Exod. 10:21-29) and other nine plagues. Could Jesus do that to deliver Israel from Rome or prove he was the Messiah?
Whatever the demanded signs were, he rejected their games. He would not produce a sign in the heavens or skies to dazzle the crowds. He was going to be a different kind of sign (see vv. 29-32).
Miracles of God, particularly the ones Jesus performed to usher in the kingdom of God, are purposed to help people, to set them free from natural deformities and diseases and spiritual, demonic afflictions, and falsehoods with the truth—all the abnormalities of a world gone haywire, a fallen world. In Elijah’s case, the fire from heaven flashing down on the sacrifices helped the small nation of Israel to come out from under the false gods. But Jesus could foresee that the kingdom of God would not be restricted to Israel. The kingdom would go far outside its borders to all nations (Matt. 28:18-20; Luke 24:47). So there is no need to call down fire to protect an old Sinai covenant, for such terrifying displays of instant judgment is not how God works to proclaim the good news of the kingdom in the New Covenant to the entire globe.
Nowadays he works by (just) government authorities to express his judgment-wrath (Rom. 13:1-5). And during and in spite of this governmental wrath, the gospel goes forth.
Why Did Ananias and Sapphira Drop Dead?
Everyone Shall Be Judged by Their Works and Words
Be careful! God is still a judge, and those living outside the New Covenant are susceptible to his judgment in the afterlife, if not in the here and now. And people in the New Covenant are vulnerable to God’s judgment, as well, beginning right now (Heb. 12:5-11; 1 Pet. 4:17).
No, the sign that shall be given to Jesus’s generation was his preaching with great power and wisdom and the people’s refusal to repent. Jonah and the Ninevites did not have the benefits or the light that Jesus brought. Yet the Ninevites repented. Now what about the Jews of Jesus’s generation?
God’s wrath is judicial.
It is not like this:
(Source)
But like this:
(Source)
That is a picture of God in judgment.
The Wrath of God in the New Testament
Do I Really Know God? He Shows Wrath
The Wrath of God in the Old Testament
Everyone Shall Be Judged by Their Works and Words
Bible Basics about the Final Judgment
39:
So there will no sign in the heaven like Moses performed. No need. Jesus wanted to shield his identity as the Messiah so people would have to dig deep for it. Were they hungry? Would they connect the dots by faith? Would they understand Is. 53 and the Suffering Servant? Or did they want the Mighty Messiah (Dan. 7)? Would they miss the boat and reject their true, humble Messiah, so the larger world far outside Israel (even you and me) could welcome him as the Messiah?
Here are the signs of the Messiah, which Jesus told to John the Baptist’s disciples, while John was in prison, doubting:
2 When John heard in prison of the works of Christ and sent word through his disciples, 3 he said to Jesus: “Are you the Coming One, or should we expect someone else?” 4 In reply, Jesus said to them: Go and report to John what you hear and see: 5 the blind see again and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised and the poor have the good news preached to them. (Matt. 11:2-5)
Go back to Matthew 11:4-5 for more comments on these signs. They are all people-centered and meet their real needs in body and soul. This is the kind of Messiah he was. Those are the signs he did.
40:
“three days and three nights”: Some people take this to mean that since Jonah literally spent seventy-two hours in the depths of the sea, (Jnh. 1:17), so Jesus must also spend seventy-two hours in the grave. But we over-read the intent here. The sign of Jonah was his coming out of the depths of the belly and the sea, and then he came out of the fish, which was a type of the resurrection. Let’s not over-analyze it. Jesus was crucified and died on Friday; he spent Saturday in the grave—or his body did—and his body was raised from the dead early on Sunday morning: Friday, Saturday, and Sunday—three days. They don’t have to be seventy-two hours.
Jonah: Luke omits the three days and three nights in the belly of the sea-monster (the Shorter Lexicon suggests this translation), while Matthew has it. France points out that Jewish usage at this time was flexible. “Underlying this flexible usage is the Jewish tendency to speak of a period of twenty-four hours as a day and a night, so that Jesus’s time in the tomb can be said to embrace (parts of) three ‘day-nights’” (p. 491, n. 12).
More specifically from France, how do I prove that “three days and three nights” can be partial? First, in 1 Sam. 30:12 (literally “today three days”), the day before yesterday. Second, in Esther, a period described as “three days and three nights” (4:16) is concluded on the third day (5:1). (Thanks, R. T. France, p. 491, fn. 12!). Third, Jesus says he will rise on the third day (Matt. 16:21; 17:23; 20:19; 27:64, and in Mark and Luke). Those verses in the Gospels where he quotes Jonah 1:17 and here where he says “on the third day” prove that he did not over-interpret Jonah, for the prophet was merely a sign and type. Jesus believed that three days and three nights could be partial. Fourth, even Paul said, “on the third day, according to the Scriptures”, that is, the OT (1 Cor. 15:4). So Paul must be using a semitic inclusive day out of three days of 72 hours. The days are partial.
Go to biblegateway.com and type in “third day.” It is amazing how many times the phrase is very significant, in many contexts.
Challenge from a commenter: Jesus said three days and three nights. Prove the days were partial and he died on Friday.
Reply: Let’s not create a modern mathematical monstrosity (I like the alliteration).
(1) Let’s not over-interpret Jesus’s quotation of Jonah 1:17. In his context Jonah and his time in the fish was a type and a sign of the burial and resurrection. Too precise for a sign and type.
(2) How do I prove that “three days and three nights” can be partial? First, in 1 Sam. 30:12 (literally “today three days”), the day before yesterday. Second, in Esther, a period described as “three days and three nights” (4:16) is concluded on the third day (5:1). (Thanks, R. T. France, p. 491, fn. 12!). Third, Jesus says he will rise on the third day (Matt. 16:21; 17:23; 20:19; 27:64, and in Mark and Luke). Those verses in the Gospels where he quotes Jonah 1:17 and here where he says “on the third day” prove that he did not over-interpret Jonah, for the prophet was merely a sign and type. Jesus believed that three days and three nights could be partial. Fourth, even Paul said, “on the third day, according to the Scriptures”, that is, the OT (1 Cor. 15:4). So Paul must be using a semitic inclusive day out of three days of 72 hours. The days are partial. Go to Bible Gateway and type in third day and look at all the wonderful thematic hits.
(3) As for Preparation Day, the one before the Sabbath, here are the verses: Matthew 27:62; Mark 15:42; Luke 23:54; and John 19:31, 42. All four Gospels agree that he died on Friday, the Preparation Day, the day before the Sabbath. Once again, please see France’s comment, for semitic days, and when they end and begin. Three days can be partial in semitic reckoning.
(4) So, the bulk of the evidence shows me that we should not over-interpret the type and sign of Jonah, and demanding …. what?… 24×3 = 72 hours? The Messiah was not incorrect. Rather, the over-interpretation of the type and sign is.
I hope this helps.
“Son of Man”: see v. 8 for more comments.
The sign that the evil generation will get is the burial and resurrection, not a sign in the sky. Very wise of Jesus to say this. His Father would not have endorsed it if his Son imitated one of the prophets by producing a sign in the sky, which would have helped no on in particular.
41:
The men of Nineveh will rise in judgment against the generation to whom Jesus was ministering and speak condemnation over it. The Ninevites will compare their belief and repentance at Jonah’s preaching and this generation’s stubbornness. The Ninevites will rise up at the judgment, being reunited with their bodies, and judge the evil generation.
“something”: see v. 6 for more comments.
“repent”: it is the verb metanoeō (pronounced meh-tah-noh-eh-oh), and “to repent” literally means “changed mind.” And it goes deeper than mental assent or agreement. Another word for repent is the Greek stem streph– (including the prefixes ana-, epi-, and hupo-), which means physically “to turn” (see Luke 2:20, 43, 45). That reality-concept is all about new life. One turns around 180 degrees, going from the direction of death to the new direction of life.
42:
The Queen of the South is Sheba (1 Kings 10:1-13; 2 Chron. 9:1-12). She was truly impressed and overawed at Solomon’s wisdom. Now what about Jesus’s fellow Jews at his teaching with wisdom and great power? Would they receive it? Evidently some did, but others did not.
“will rise”: Every dead person will be reunited with their bodies, which lay buried in the ground or dissolved in the ocean. God can work this miracle.
Rapture = Second Coming and Happens at Same Time, on Last Day
It must be a humiliating thought to men for a woman to judge them (the Greek is unambiguously “men” and not the generic “persons”). She traveled a great distance to listen to Solomon in her generation, but to the first-century generation, God sent his very best. Jesus is the one who became an itinerant preacher, so they did not have to travel very far, but right outside their doors in the countryside. Or sometimes he went through their village.
“wisdom”: Let’s define it broadly and biblically. BDAG is considered the authoritative Greek lexicon, and it translates the noun sophia (pronounced soh-fee-ah and used 51 times) as “the capacity to understand and function accordingly—wisdom.”
So biblical wisdom is very practical. It is not like the wisdom of the Greek philosophers, which was very abstract. But let’s not make too much of the differences. In the classical Greek lexicon, sophia can also mean: “skill in handcraft and art … knowledge of, acquaintance with a thing … sound judgment, intelligence, practical wisdom.” In a bad sense it can mean “cunning, shrewdness, craft” (Liddell and Scott).
“at judgment”: Every person who ever lived will be judged before the great white throne, and so it seems Sheba will stand in the middle of this generation and be a living witness against it. She does not have to pronounce judgment on them, for her appearance will be sufficient. But if we read the verse literally, then she will actually be permitted by God to condemn them.
Bible Basics about the Final Judgment
“something”: why didn’t Jesus say “someone”? See. v. 6 for further comments.
Before leaving this pericope or section, let’s talk about judgment in a little more detail.
Yes, Jesus is employing firm rhetoric—even harsh rhetoric—but there are theological truths here that explain the strong rhetoric.
First, this “generation” stands in for individual people. It’s not clear (to me at least) how God through Christ will judge an entire generation as a collective, but he will. It may be based on the idea that generations seem to take on an ethos or character, probably because neighbors copy each other. It is easy to imagine, however, that a few people may have welcomed or would have welcomed the kingdom of God. If a few adults broke free from the crowd of unbelief, then God will judge them differently, like Lot and his family escaping from Sodom and Gomorrah. In other words, God distinguishes between the righteous and the wicked. Abraham asked God, “Shall not the judge of all the earth do what is just?” (Gen. 18:25, ESV). The answer is yes.
What Happens to Children after They Die?
Second, people are judged according to the light they have. The Ninevites had very little light other than moral law and Jonah’s message of repentance. Now imagine how the judgment will be on this entire generation in this pericope when they did not repent! They had a much brighter light than just moral law. They had the kingdom of God and the Messiah in their midst. If this generation could not accept them, then their judgment will be severe. With greater gifts and light come greater responsibility. If people reject God’s gifts and light, then their judgments will be severe.
Everyone Shall Be Judged by Their Works and Words
GrowApp for Matt. 12:38-42
1. The greatest sign in your life is your repentance, God’s acceptance of you and his transformation of your mind and life. Tell your story about this. Is there another sign God gave you, like a healing or being born again?
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1. The Historical Reliability of the Gospels: Introduction to Series
SOURCES
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