Matthew
12:38-50
Lesson 24
12:38-50
Lesson 24
Matthew 12:38-50
Asking for a miracle 38 Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee. 39 But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: 40 For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 41 The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here. 42 The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here. 43 When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none. 44 Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished. 45 Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation. 46 While he yet talked to the people, behold, his mother and his brethren stood without, desiring to speak with him. 47 Then one said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to speak with thee. 48 But he answered and said unto him that told him, Who is my mother? and who are my brethren? 49 And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren! 50 For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother. |
Margin notes:
"We would see a sign from thee." (12:38) - "We want to see a miracle from you." People of little faith often asked Jesus to perform miracles to test Him (Matthew 16:1; Mark 8:11; Luke 11:16; John 6:30). Notice that the scribes and Pharisees asked Jesus to perform a miracle after slandering Him by saying He could only perform wonders with Beelzebub's help (Matthew 12:24). "Adulterous generation." (12:39) - Jesus is not referring to people who broke their marriage vows, but to those who professed to love God and then deserted Him. Their infidelity is against God. "There shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas." (12:39) - Jesus is telling the scribes and Pharisees that the sign (miracle) they will see will be His resurrection from the dead. See verse 12:40. "Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly." (12:40) - Jesus is referring to Jonah being swallowed by the great fish (Jonah 1:17). Additional note: The word "whale" comes from the Greek "ketso," which better translates to "huge fish." "So shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth." (12:40) - Jesus is predicting his death and resurrection after three days in the grave. "Nineveh." (12:41): The capital city of the powerful Assyrian Empire. Nineveh was three miles long and one and a half miles wide and stood for 300 years. It was located on the eastern bank of the Tigris River near the modern-day city of Mosul, Iraq. Nineveh was established by Nimrod, the great-grandson of Noah and the first King of Babylon (Genesis 10:8-12). The city was surrounded by a forty-foot-high wall, and it had the first known freshwater aqueduct system. Assyrian was one of the cruelest, bloodiest, and evil empires that ever existed (Jonah 1:2). Miraculously, its citizens repented after listening to Jonah (fresh from the whale's belly) preach (Jonah 3:3-5). Zephaniah 2:13-15, written around 625 BC, predicted the fall of Nineveh, and by 612 BC the city was destroyed. Nineveh's ruins were discovered in 1820 and included numerous palaces and a vast library containing 22,000 inscribed clay tablets. "They repented." (12:41) - The people of Nineveh repented after hearing Jonah preach. "She came from the uttermost parts of the earth." (12:42) - "She came from the ends of the earth." "Garnished." (12:44) - "Put in order." "His mother and his brethren stood without." (12:46) - "His mother and brothers stood outside." "Behold my mother and my brethren!" (12:49) - "Look, this is my mother and my brethren!" |