The Sign of Jonah

Christ in the Old Testament - Typology The Sign of Jonah - Matthew 12:38-42 November 10, 2024 I want to open this morning with a story. Long ago, God called a prophet to go to the town of his mortal enemy to preach a warning of destruction for their evil deeds to them and to God. This prophet decided he did not want to be obedient to God's call and he ran as quickly as he could in the opposite direction. Because of this, God tossed him into a large body of water, and he was swallowed by a Big Fish. Miraculously, this did not kill him, instead he stayed in the belly of this fish for three days and three nights. While he was sitting there - likely cold, hungry and ashamed - he prayed. The Big Fish spit him up, and the prophet finally went to where he was called to go. He preached a short sermon - unlike the standing guy before you today - and the people were saved. Unfortunately, because of his hatred of these people, he was angry at God's goodness and mercy, so he found a secluded place to sulk. God took away his comfort and rebuked this prophet for his thoughts and actions towards the people that God saved. If you've been in the church for any amount of time, you likely know that I was telling the story of Jonah. The short book about the prophet Jonah is one of my favorites - I know I said that Romans was one of my favorites, and I'm sure I told you a few weeks ago that Genesis is another favorite ... I stand by it - the Bible is a great book! Jonah's story is a lot like ours ... reluctant to do God's will. Not wanting to be obedient to His wishes. Even wishing the worst upon those who we don't like. Here's the interesting fact, however. Jesus addresses the story of Jonah and says that it is a sign of His own Messiahship (is that a word?). That's what we'll be talking about this morning, the second example of a "type" of Jesus found in the Old Testament in our fourth sermon in the series we've called Jesus in the Old Testament. If you're like me, it is difficult to see how Jonah's story is anything like Jesus' story, so let's read an account from Matthew 12 where Jesus makes this claim, beginning at verse 38: 38 THEN SOME OF THE SCRIBES AND PHARISEES ANSWERED HIM, SAYING, "TEACHER, WE WISH TO SEE A SIGN FROM YOU." 39 BUT HE ANSWERED THEM, "AN EVIL AND ADULTEROUS GENERATION SEEKS FOR A SIGN, BUT NO SIGN WILL BE GIVEN TO IT EXCEPT THE SIGN OF THE PROPHET JONAH. 40 FOR JUST AS JONAH WAS THREE DAYS AND THREE NIGHTS IN THE BELLY OF THE GREAT FISH, SO WILL THE SON OF MAN BE THREE DAYS AND THREE NIGHTS IN THE HEART OF THE EARTH. 41 THE MEN OF NINEVEH WILL RISE UP AT THE JUDGMENT WITH THIS GENERATION AND CONDEMN IT, FOR THEY REPENTED AT THE PREACHING OF JONAH, AND BEHOLD, SOMETHING GREATER THAN JONAH IS HERE. The opening verse of this passage is a bit of a head scratcher. They asked Jesus for a sign. Really? Jesus had already performed many signs and miracles before this chapter. Back in chapter 8, for example, Jesus cleansed a leper, healed Peter's mother-in-law, followed by many others who needed healing. Later in chapter 8, he calms a storm, then heals two men with demons. All of that was recorded in chapter 8 alone. Chapter 9 opens with another healing, and later with Jesus raising a girl from the dead. You see here that Jesus already performed many signs and miracles, even here in chapter 12, the Pharisees already saw Jesus in the synagogue. Their request to see a sign was not a sincere request. What they wanted was Jesus to do something so that they can trap Him. This is fairly clear as we see twice here in chapter 12 that they accused Jesus of breaking the Sabbath. The Sabbath, remember, comes from the Hebrew word that means to stop working. There is also another form of the word used in the Old Testament, which means to dwell, or to settle. It was made for man as an example of rest, and example of how the Lord desired us to work, and as an affirmation of our dependance on God. What Jesus did was reinforce what observing the Sabbath really meant, demonstrated in how He observed it through serving and connecting with others, thus drawing them closer to the Father. So, by the time we get to this passage in Matthew 12, Jesus is well into His public ministry, and has no doubt showed Who He is, and what His purpose was. Here, in His response to the scribes and Pharisees, He gives us another sign, or to stay consistent with our theme in our sermon series, He introduces us to a type, one found in the unusual account of the prophet Jonah. So, what's the main idea this morning from this sign of Jonah? I'm glad you asked: Stop looking for signs and start looking for Jesus! When it comes to signs in the Bible, there's really a positive approach and a negative approach to them. A few years ago, I read a book about the seven signs of Jesus from John's Gospel, and in the introduction, he wrote about the positive aspects of signs in the bible. The obvious positive aspect of a sign, he noted, was that signs provide information. Street signs, of course, tell you where you are, where you are going, how fast you can drive to get there, and so on. If you go to the supermarket, there are signs over the aisles that tell you where to go, and when you find your item, there are even little signs that tell you how much they cost. Unless ... you go to Costco. I have a love-hate relationship with that place. You go in, and you go to the place where you bought an item that previous time you were there, and they move it ... so you end up walking around the entire warehouse with the giant Prius sized shopping cart looking for your item because they don't have signs over their aisles. Sorry, just had to vent for a moment. Signs have a purpose, and they are good. However, there is a negative aspect to signs in the bible as well. For example, the story of Gideon is found in Judges 6-8. Gideon repeatedly asked for sings from God, not because He was searching for God, but because He lacked faith. Obviously, that's not Gideon's complete story, as he is later commended in Hebrews 11 for his faith. It is said that people who demand proof from God in exchange for their faith are only showing their misunderstanding the nature of faith. In the end, demanding a sign from God only demonstrates our lack of faith. Now that we have some background on this passage, this sign, this type, let's discuss ... JESUS' RESPONSE Jesus addresses three issues in His response. First, a warning ... * Do not look for signs. (vv.38-39) * The question must be: why? Well, to start with, Jesus said ... o It is evil. * Some translations will use the word "wicked" or "bad" * Either of these three words work. * Why is it evil? * Because of their lack of faith. * The scribes and Pharisees, who knew the Old Testament forward and backwards, missed the signs and did not respond to the warnings from Jesus. * This is addressed in Psalm 78:32 which reads: IN SPITE OF ALL THIS, THEY STILL SINNED; DESPITE HIS WONDERS, THEY DID NOT BELIEVE. * Of course, the psalmist is using a parallel of Israel's heart towards Moses, but the principle is the same. * The evil is their denial of the Messiah. Next, Jesus states that ... o It has an adulterous nature. * When Jesus is calling them adulterous, He is not accusing them of being unfaithful to their wives, He is accusing them of leaving the true worship of God to follow man-made rules. * Most of us are likely familiar with the minor prophet Hosea, which acts as a real-life illustration of the effects of spiritual adultery * One of the lessons, however, from that book is that God is always faithful to offer salvation and redemption, even to the adulterous. * In Jesus' response to the scribes and pharisees, that offer is still available. * This is why He gives them the sign of Jonah in His response, effectively stating ... * The Sign of Jonah has already been revealed. (vv.39-41) o We see this played out in two ways. First: * Jonah's role as a preacher. * Preaching 101 tells you not to use long quotes, but I want to break that rule for a moment. I'm going to read Jonah's life changing sermon from Jonah, chapter 3. We'll start at verse 3: 3 SO JONAH AROSE AND WENT TO NINEVEH, ACCORDING TO THE WORD OF THE LORD. NOW NINEVEH WAS AN EXCEEDINGLY GREAT CITY, THREE DAYS' JOURNEY IN BREADTH. 4 JONAH BEGAN TO GO INTO THE CITY, GOING A DAY'S JOURNEY. AND HE CALLED OUT, "YET FORTY DAYS, AND NINEVEH SHALL BE OVERTHROWN!" 5 AND THE PEOPLE OF NINEVEH BELIEVED GOD. THEY CALLED FOR A FAST AND PUT ON SACKCLOTH, FROM THE GREATEST OF THEM TO THE LEAST OF THEM. * Did you catch it? Jonah preached an eight-word sermon, and it changed the hearts of the entire city of Ninevah. * Ninevah is categorized here as a great city. It was the capital of Assyria, a pagan enemy of Israel and of God. * This is one of the many ways we see the typology of Jonah and Jesus. o Jonah and Jesus both called sinners to repentance o Even though Jonah ran from God, when He realized that God's wrath could have cost the lies of the shipmates, he was willing to sacrifice his life for them, just as Christ willingly gave His life for the salvation of the world. o Jonah was "buried" for three days and three nights, as was Jesus was buried in the tomb for three days and three nights. o It was the third day the Jonah was spewed out from the fish, and of course it was on the third day that Jesus came out of the tomb. o They both preached a message of judgement. * Of course, the big picture here is that ... * Jonah's experience is a picture of Christ's death, burial, and resurrection. * Let's quickly return to this curious phrasing "three days and three nights" * When we do the math, Good Friday and Easter Sunday don't seem to match with this phrasing of three days and three nights. Or, as I like to say, "the math isn't mathing" * Remember, the Hebrew day begins at sundown and ends at sundown. * According to Rabbi Eleazer ben Azariah, "a day and a night make a whole day, and a portion of a whole day is reckoned as a whole day." Therefore, the day and night comment refers to a period that includes at least a portion of three days and three nights. * Now that we got that out of the way, let's move on. * The resurrection is fundamental to our faith. In fact, Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:14: AND IF CHRIST HAS NOT BEEN RAISED, THEN OUR PREACHING IS IN VAIN AND YOUR FAITH IS IN VAIN * Jesus here is foretelling of His completed work on earth, using the picture of Jonah as the "sign." * I don't know about you, but I don't think I would have made that connection if it weren't for Jesus. * The response from the Pharisees should have been positive, right? As in, "Oh, that was about YOU!?" * Instead, they continued hunting Jesus all throughout His ministry. All we need to do is just look a few more pages of Matthew into chapters 15-16 to see them question Him again and again. * What's interesting too, is when you study the Old Testament, the life, suffering, and death of Christ is easier to see, than the prophesies about His resurrection. * Psalm 16:10 is said to be one of the clearest pictures of the resurrection prophecy, where David writes: FOR YOU WILL NOT ABANDON MY SOUL TO SHEOL, OR LET YOUR HOLY ONE SEE CORRUPTION * Peter, during his sermon during Pentecost, quoted Psalm 16:8-11 when preaching the Gospel, to include a direct mention of the Resurrection in Acts 2:31. * Jesus further responds in verse 42, that: * What has already come is greater than Solomon. (v.42) o This - to me - almost seems out of place. What does Solomon have to do with the resurrection? o Nothing, really, but I think Jesus is making a connection again, of the Pharisees searching for everything (signs and even wisdom), but the Man standing before them. o What do we see here with the mention of the Queen of the South and of Solomon. First, let's touch on the ... * Who is the Queen of the South? * Likely, the Queen of Sheba. * We can read this account in 1 Kings 10. * Just like the Pharisees, she traveled to test Solomon and his great wisdom. * Next, let's talk about ... * Solomon's wisdom * In 1 Kings 4, it is said that Solomon was the wisest man who ever lived. * But what do we hear from Jesus? * Something greater than Solomon is here. * Jesus is saying, "I'm hiding in plain sight" * There's no need to look further. Jesus' response to the Pharisees can be summarized in our main idea: Stop looking for signs and start looking for Jesus! So, as we close, let's discuss some actions we can take today to ... LOOK AT JESUS Or, as the writer of Hebrews put it, "look to Jesus" ... first, * Narrow your search. o Let's look at what the writer of Hebrews says about this in Hebrews 12:1-2: 1 THEREFORE, SINCE WE ARE SURROUNDED BY SO GREAT A CLOUD OF WITNESSES, LET US ALSO LAY ASIDE EVERY WEIGHT, AND SIN WHICH CLINGS SO CLOSELY, AND LET US RUN WITH ENDURANCE THE RACE THAT IS SET BEFORE US, 2 LOOKING TO JESUS, THE FOUNDER AND PERFECTER OF OUR FAITH, WHO FOR THE JOY THAT WAS SET BEFORE HIM ENDURED THE CROSS, DESPISING THE SHAME, AND IS SEATED AT THE RIGHT HAND OF THE THRONE OF GOD. o The writer of Hebrews masterfully points us from the opening chapter to the supremacy of Jesus, so as he begins to wrap up the letter in chapter 12, he summarizes this very fact. o In other words, when we narrow our search to Jesus, we are ignoring all the noise around us, the distractions that take our eyes of Jesus and allows us to refocus on Him. o Remembering the resurrection should point us back to looking forward to the promises of God. Next: * Mature in your faith. o I won't spend too much time here because I'm going to remind you of a very familiar threefold principle that we've talked about many times before. o We mature in our faith through three activities of the church: * Fellowship with the saints * Reading the Word of God * Prayer - both individually and corporately o I've lived, as a professing Christian, without these three critical activities, and my faith and my walk was affected greatly. o When we're involved in fellowship, we learn with others, we serve with others, and we're accountable to others o When we're in God's Word, we are informed by the truth o When we pray, we align ourselves with God's will. The sign of Jonah points us to the resurrection, the same resurrection that is foundational to our faith. Without it, there is no Christianity. Jesus is saying to us today, you have your sign. For some, that may mean you need to decide to follow Jesus. For others, it may mean you need to repent and look to Jesus. Because of the sign of the resurrection, we can have assurance in the future promises of God. Let's keep our eyes on Jesus. Let's pray. 2