The Sign of Jonah (Matthew 12:38–50)

[Stephan Choe]

May 8, 2026

Key Verses 39–40:      “But he answered and said to them, ‘An evil and adulterous generation demands a sign, but no sign will be given to it, except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For just as Jonah was in the belly of the fish for three days and three nights, so the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights.’”

Jesus had already performed numerous miracles and revealed himself as the Christ.

Following his Sermon on the Mount, he performed numerous miracles. He healed a leper, healed the paralyzed servant of a Roman centurion, calmed the raging Sea of ​​Galilee, delivered demon-possessed Gergesenes from evil spirits, healed a paralytic, healed a woman suffering from a hemorrhage, even brought Jairus’s deceased daughter back to life, healed two blind men and a mute man, healed a man’s withered hand on the Sabbath, and so on.

Despite such numerous miraculous signs, the Pharisees and the scribes did not believe in him as the Christ; instead, they once again demanded a miraculous sign from Jesus as proof of his Messiahship.

What kind of sign did Jesus offer them so that they might believe in him as the Christ and the Son of God?

Today, we want to learn about the miraculous sign that Jesus offered them so that we, too, may believe in him as the Christ and the Son of God.

Furthermore, through his teaching, we want to recognize the necessity of dedicating our hearts exclusively to Jesus Christ and of becoming Jesus’ true relatives.

1. The Credible Sign of Christ (38–42)

Then some scribes and Pharisees came to Jesus and said to him, “Teacher, we would like to see a sign from you” (38).

Jesus had already performed many miracles. Nevertheless, they still refused to believe in him as the Christ. Instead, they demanded more signs from him.

Then Jesus said:

“An evil and apostate generation demands a sign. But no sign will be given to them other than the sign of the prophet Jonah. For just as Jonah was in the belly of the fish for three days and three nights, so the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights” (39–40).

Here, Jesus identified his death and resurrection as the ultimate sign of his messiahship.

Jonah's Attempted Escape to Tarshish and His Warning of God's Judgment upon Nineveh [1]

Jonah [2] was a prophet of Northern Israel around 800 BC, during the reign of Joash—whose rule spanned the years 802–787 BC. God commanded Jonah to go to Nineveh, the capital of Assyria, and to warn its inhabitants of impending divine judgment. However, because Assyria was an enemy of Israel, Jonah would rather have died than preach repentance to them for the sake of their forgiveness and salvation. Consequently, he attempted to flee by ship to Tarshish. When, because of him, the ship was in danger of being wrecked, he was thrown into the sea. He was then swallowed by a great fish and remained in the fish's belly for three days and three nights. The fish then spat him out onto dry land. Jonah went to Nineveh and preached to its people about God's impending judgment. Thereupon, all the inhabitants of Nineveh repented of their sins; God forgave them and spared Nineveh.

After his death on the cross, Jesus would spend three days in the tomb and subsequently rise from the dead. And Jesus offers to all people the opportunity to receive forgiveness of sins and eternal life through faith in His death and resurrection.

Subsequently, in Verse 41, Jesus says, "Behold, standing right here before you is One who is greater than Jonah!"

What did Jesus intend to convey with these words?

I will mention two intentions behind His statement:

His first intention is that the Pharisees—and we ourselves—should repent of our narrow-mindedness and unbelief.

At the time Jonah lived, Israel was divided into two nations: Judah in the south and Israel in the north. The northern kingdom is simply referred to as Northern Israel, or just Israel. Jonah was a citizen of Northern Israel. At that time, Assyria was a powerful neighbor to Northern Israel. It is not uncommon for a weaker nation to harbor hatred toward its powerful neighbor. Some Dutch people still do not hold a high opinion of Germany, because the Netherlands was occupied by Germany during the Second World War.

Jonah found it difficult to accept that God wanted to save the inhabitants of Nineveh from impending divine judgment. He would rather have died than preach repentance in Nineveh. Yet, he eventually obeyed God's will and preached the divine message to them. In response, they repented; God forgave them and spared Nineveh.

The Pharisees, too, found it difficult to accept that God loved the Romans who had occupied their land. But Jesus taught them that they should possess God's heart—and love Romans as well.

As the saying goes: "Becoming a father is easy, but being a father is hard." That is true. Becoming a father is easy, but being a *good* father—that is hard.

Becoming a Christian is easy, but being a *good* Christian—that is hard. We tell others: "As a Christian, you must love your enemy!" Yet it is not easy to love someone with whom you are at enmity.

But what is the difference between a good Christian and a bad one? A good Christian strives to obey God's will, even though it is not easy. A bad Christian, however, makes no such effort, using the excuse that it is too difficult. We are called to have a loving heart toward all people, even though loving them is hard. If we choose the easy path, we become like the Pharisees. But if we embrace God's will and strive to love even our enemies, God—through the Holy Spirit—will help us to do just that.

Pastor Yangwon Son [3]

In October 1948, a Korean pastor named Jang-Won Son learned that his two sons, Dong-In and Dong-Shin, had been shot dead during the communist uprising in Yeosu, South Korea, by a young man named Jae-Sun Ahn. The two boys had been arrested by the South Korean military and were slated for execution. Pastor Son petitioned the military to save the killer’s life so that he might adopt him as his own son. Naturally, his two daughters were vehemently opposed to this. Pastor Son persuaded his daughters, adopted the young man, and helped him come to faith in Jesus Christ. Ahn became a Christian and went on to become a pastor; subsequently, his son, Kyungsun Ahn, also became a pastor.

The second purpose of this discourse is to encourage us to place our faith in the death and resurrection of Christ.

Jesus declared that He would grant the Pharisees but a single sign: the sign of the Prophet Jonah. They were to believe in this sign. This sign signifies His death and His resurrection. Just as Jonah remained in the belly of the fish for three days—only to be spewed out onto dry land thereafter—so too would Jesus be put to death, remain in His tomb for three days, and ultimately rise from the dead on the third day.

This sign is, in truth, of pivotal importance for all humanity, for it bestows forgiveness and eternal life upon all who believe in it. It constitutes the very "heart" of Christ's message. For Jesus—the Son of God and the Christ—died for the sins of all mankind and rose again from the dead. Through His death, He bore away all our guilt; and through His resurrection, He brought us eternal life. Thus, Jesus' death and resurrection stand as God's most significant miracle on our behalf.

Many people seek some form of miraculous sign to serve as a prerequisite for believing in Jesus as the Christ and the Son of God. Regrettably, some individuals view Jesus as a deceiver. They demand, "Show us a sign that we may believe in Jesus as the Christ and the Son of God." In verse 42, Jesus says, “The Queen of the South will rise up at the Last Judgment with this generation and will condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon. And behold, here is One who is greater than Solomon.”

Around 950 B.C., the Queen of Sheba traveled to Jerusalem—despite the long, arduous journey—to hear the wisdom of Solomon.

Jesus says to us, “Here is One who is greater than Solomon!”

Jesus desires to graciously bestow upon us the forgiveness of sins and eternal life. We are to gratefully accept God’s gift through faith in Jesus Christ.

2. We Are to Be Filled with the Holy Spirit (43–45)

Now Jesus tells a story about an unclean spirit. The unclean spirit departs from a person, wanders through arid places, and seeks rest. However, because he finds no place of rest, he returns to his former home. Upon his return, he finds it empty, swept clean, and put in order. Therefore, he goes out and gathers seven other spirits, who are even more wicked than he is. Thus, the evil spirits take up residence in the person, and the person’s condition becomes worse than it was before.

Unclean spirits are agents of Satan and hold dominion over the realm of darkness.

Here, Jesus teaches us that through faith in Jesus Christ, we are to receive the Holy Spirit and allow Him to rule over us, so that we do not become possessed by evil spirits. We must not leave our hearts empty. Rather, through faith in Jesus Christ, we are to gratefully receive the Holy Spirit and be filled with Him. Then, evil spirits will stand no chance against us.

3. Jesus’ True Relatives (46–50)

While Jesus was teaching the crowd, his mother and his brothers arrived and wanted to speak with him. So someone said to him, “Look, your mother and your brothers are standing outside and want to talk to you.”

Let us imagine that Jesus had said to his disciples—who were following him with such devotion—the following: “My mother and my brothers have come. They are my first priority. You must wait until I have taken good care of them.” How, then, would his disciples have felt? They would likely have lost the heart to follow Jesus.

But Jesus said to the people, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?”

Then he pointed with his hand toward his disciples and said, “Look, here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and my mother” (50).

I believe that the disciples were deeply grateful for his affirmation and were encouraged to follow him with even greater devotion.

Of course, by these words, Jesus did not mean to imply that he did not value his mother. In reality, he held his mother in very high esteem, just as God had taught in the Ten Commandments: “Honor your father and your mother” (Exodus 20:12).

When Jesus hung upon the cross, he asked John to look after his mother, Mary (John 19:26–27). From that moment on, John welcomed Mary into the community and cared for her.

Here, Jesus teaches us that we should cherish those who willingly do the will of God just as highly as we do our own mothers and siblings. We need this spiritual standard of values.

The Greatest Sign

Outwardly, Jesus appeared to reject the request of the Pharisees and the scribes when he spoke of the sign of Jonah. Yet, in reality, through this very act, he sought to reveal his loving heart—both for them and for all people. For He desired to die on the cross for the sins of all mankind and then rise from the dead.

Jesus did not condemn the Pharisees but died for them as well. We are to recognize His love. We are to repent of our sins and, through faith in Jesus' death and resurrection, receive forgiveness and divine blessing.

We are to remain constantly filled with the Spirit of God so that evil spirits may find no room within us. We are to actively dedicate ourselves as true kin of Jesus. In this way, the Kingdom of God can be expanded and God's name be praised. Amen!

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[1] https://bibelgemeinde-bremen.de/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Jona.pdf

[2] Fritz Rienecker, Lexikon zur Bibel 1994 S. 833

[3] https://blog.naver.com/happysmile2u/222593927641