In only months, the Lord Jesus will be crucified in Jerusalem on the cross. Led by the religious leaders, the people of Israel have largely rejected Him. From now on, the ministry of the Lord Jesus is mostly judgmental toward them. Occasionally He speaks of grace and salvation to the outcasts, the tax collectors and the prostitutes and the criminals. And, He concentrates on His disciples, teaching them about His death and His resurrection and their subsequent ministry.
In v.29 we read, "As the crowds increased, Jesus said, “This is a wicked generation." This is the final statement of the Lord Jesus on Israel. This Greek word ponros translated wicked is used also of Satan. And, the Lord Jesus is speaking of the most religious, moral, the Jews. These were the ones most concerned about keeping the law of God. They were intensely religious so that the whole of their lives were under the control of their religious duties and obligations and rituals. On the outside they were clean, but on the inside they were wicked in the most dangerous way.
When it comes to responding to the gospel we are better off immoral than moral. When it comes to responding to the gospel we are better off irreligious than religious because moral and religious people feel they are good and they feel that they have gained a measure of favor with God. The essence of the gospel is that we are sinners and there is nothing in us that is good and our morality counts for nothing, especially in God's eyes. These religious Jews hated the Lord Jesus for exposing their true condition.
In v.29 the Lord Jesus said, "This is a wicked generation." The evidence of that generation's wickedness was tied to the fact that they were seeking yet another sign. With all of the evidence the Lord Jesus had given them, they didn't believe He was God. This is where we end up when we seek what He has to offer rather than seeking Him. This is true of any relationship. This is not love, and any relationship not build on love will not endure the crevices of our selfishness and greed.
This is the most dangerous posture, to depend upon, our morality, to depend on our religion. This is what caused the Jews to reject the diagnosis of their wretchedness, their sinfulness, their unworthiness, their inability to save themselves. It is from the posture of need that our needs are truly met. They were condemned in the presence of the only One who could save them. They were blinded by their false righteousness.
In v.29 we read, "It asks for a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah.” In the same way Jonah was three days in the belly of the fish, so the Lord will be in the belly of the earth. And just as Jonah came out of His virtual death alive, the Lord Jesus will come out of actual death alive. This is the sign of Jonah.
The Ninevites believed in God as a result of Jonah's miracle. They hadn't seen a miracle. But when Jonah told them the story, they believed. They got the picture of judgment. They knew God was going to destroy them if they didn't turn from their sin. They believed this was a message from the true God, not because they had the Scriptures, but because God had performed a miracle which they believed only He could do.
The story of Jonah is an analogy of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. As Jonah was swallowed by the great fish, the Lord Jesus was swallowed by death on our behalf. When that type of love grips our hearts, we respond in kind. We love Him because He loved us first, and didn't we know that we did not deserve it.
In v.30 we read, "For as Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites, so also will the Son of Man be to this generation." The resurrection is the final and greatest sign. What greater sign could there be? The Lord Jesus conquered sin and death. This is the greatest sign. The people of Nineveh heard one poor prophet who by his own confession was wicked. He only had one sign and they heard him tell about it, they didn't see it but they believed. The Jews standing before the Lord Jesus were blinded by themselves. They couldn't see it, most importantly with their hearts.
In v.31 we read, "The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with the people of this generation and condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon’s wisdom; and now something greater than Solomon is here." A Gentile traveled many many miles to garner Solomon's wisdom which was steeped in His submission to the God of all creation.
The Lord Jesus was saying, "Gentile, pagan, idolatrous people, are going to stand up at the judgment and condemn you, the Jews, the people of God, the people of the promise." This was just intolerable to the Jews. They felt themselves so superior to the Gentiles. The Lord Jesus was speaking the most powerful words of condemnation, so that they would be jolted from their arrogant stupor.
In v.32 we read, "The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and now something greater than Jonah is here." The Ninevites had one rebellious prophet, one prophet with one miraculous experience and the whole city repents. They had none of the privileges, none of the advantages the Jews had.
The Ninevites repented and God's judgment was prevented for 150 years, through three generations. The Jews rejected the Lord Jesus and the truth, and that generation was destroyed in 70 A.D. by the Roman holocaust. The Jews had the living God in their midst, unmistakably proving He was God and they rejected Him. And so, at the judgment the Gentile Ninevites who believed stand as symbols of condemnation over a greater privileged Israel because they repented at the preaching of Jonah. And, behold indeed, something greater than Jonah is here. The Lord Jesus saying, "It's Me. It's My message, it's My kingdom."
The Jews of Jesus' day were wicked due to their self-righteousness. Their morality and religion blinded them. And it all comes down to what we do with the Lord Jesus Christ. They were worse off than uncircumcised Ninevites and a pagan, Gentile woman from the end of the earth who had very little spiritual privilege but made the most of the little privilege they had. The Lord Jesus was giving them a merciful reminder of the coming judgment. It should have produced a heart that recognized its brokenness and a need of a savior, but it didn't.
Brokenness is unwanted because pain is required, the entertainment of pain. It is hard to peer long enough into the eyes of pain to see its purpose. But, when we do, it yields a wisdom that pushes us to the savior. And, it is then that we see Him for the loving God that He is. And, when we see His heart, we will recognize He is trustworthy and worthy to follow.
