In this section of Scripture, Jesus is speaking to a large crowd of people. I'm sure they didn't expect Jesus to begin His message to them the way He did. Jesus said that they were a wicked generation because they asked Him to perform a miraculous sign. In other words, they wanted Jesus to perform some kind of miracle that would prove to them that He was the Messiah.
Jesus said that He wasn't going to give them a sign except for the sign of Jonah the prophet. What I don't get is how these people following Jesus could still be seeking a sign from Jesus to prove Himself. At this point in Luke's Gospel, Jesus has already performed many powerful miracles witnessed by the crowds.
In chapter 4, Jesus drove out an evil spirit in the synagogue, healed Peter's mother-in-law, and healed many people with a variety of problems. In chapter 5, Jesus healed a man with leprosy and a paralyzed man. Chapter 7 finds Jesus in the town of Nain raising a widow's son from the dead. Jesus calms a storm, heals a demoniac, heals a woman with an issue of blood and raises Jairus' daughter. Five thousand were miraculously fed in chapter 9. What more in the way of signs did the people expect? No wonder Jesus reacted the way He did.
Jesus said that the same way in which Jonah was a sign to Nineveh, Jesus would be a sign to His generation. At this point we need to ask, what is this sign of Jonah that Jesus is speaking about?
If you recall, Jonah was a prophet from Israel. An Old Testament book of the Bible is named for him. God called the prophet Jonah to the city of Nineveh, the capitol of the Assyrian Empire.
Jonah had no intention of going anywhere near Nineveh. The Assyrians were the arch enemies of Israel, and as far as Jonah was concerned, God could just go ahead and destroy Nineveh and be done with the matter.
Jonah got on a boat and sailed in the opposite direction. God wasn't going to let Jonah get off the hook that easily. A great storm arose, and Jonah, knowing he was the cause, had the sailors cast him into the sea. As soon as Jonah hit the waves, the storm calmed and a great fish swallowed him.
Jonah spent three days and nights in the belly of the fish. He then repented and was vomited out onto dry land. He rushed to Nineveh and delivered a message of repentance as originally instructed by God. All of Nineveh turned to the Lord. Jonah, being the kind of man that he was, was angry with God for having mercy on the city.
The sign of Jonah Jesus was speaking about was the fact that when Jonah was in the belly of the fish it was as if he were dead then came back to the land of the living.
Jesus said that just as Jonah was three days and nights in the fish, He would be three days and nights in the grave. Then Jesus would rise from the dead victorious over death, hell and the grave.
The sign to Jesus' generation that proved His message was the fact that although crucified and put to death, He rose again conquering sin and its consequences forever. Truly, as Jesus said, He is the resurrection and the life, therefore whoever believes in Him will never die.
The resurrection of Jesus is our sign of who Jesus is and that His message is true. The resurrection of Jesus validates everything He said about Himself and the work of redemption accomplished at Calvary.
In spite of this sign, the vast majority of people in Jesus' day right up to the present day don't believe in Jesus' message of love and redemption.
Jesus told those listening to Him that the Queen of the South would stand up and judge them because she came from the ends of the earth to see Solomon, yet one greater than Solomon was among them.
This reminds me of many people today. They will follow innumerable spiritual paths, but they will not follow Jesus. Just look at the world we live in. Only one-third of the world's population holds to the Christian religion in any form. Two-thirds of this world is going in a different direction.
Here in my country, the United States, many different religious teachers preach a message contrary to Jesus and they have best selling books and are featured on programs of national prominence. All the while, the number of people who believe in the divinity of Jesus and in His resurrection grows smaller.
This makes me sad because I know in my life that my relationship with the Jesus of the Bible has made all of the difference. I hope that others will come to know the Savior I try to serve.
Jesus went on to say that the people of Nineveh would rise up in judgment because they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and those listening to Jesus rejected God come in human flesh.
Jesus told the people then, and He tells us today to repent and believe in Him. Jesus' resurrection from the dead proves who He is.
There is no other historical religious figure who has died and risen from the dead. The empty grave is proof of the resurrection. The Bible says that over 500 people saw the risen Christ. And, why would all of the Apostles except one be willing to suffer a martyr's death if they hadn't seen the risen Jesus?
Jesus is the way. Only He can provide the answers for life and hope for the life to come. I urge you to believe in Him and follow Him today. Amen.
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