Matthew-037

Today, by the grace of God, I would like to expound to you the meaning of the sign of Jonah. I hope that every one will follow very carefully what the Lord Jesus is saying here in Matthew 12:38-42.

Let us also read the parallel passage which is Luke 11:29-32

A sign is: a visible message

In the Chinese, we have the translation of “miracle” for the English word “sign.” The word in the Greek original is the word “sign,” not “miracle.” It is very important for us to understand that we are talking about the “sign” of Jonah not the “miracle” of Jonah. Of course, miracles were also signs but obviously, the translator in the Chinese Bible couldn’t think of how best to translate “sign,” and it is admittedly difficult to translate. The Lord Jesus is saying here that Jonah becomes a “sign” for the people of Nineveh to see. In the Bible, a sign can be seen, and by means of the sign, God’s message is brought to you.

For example, in the context of the Christmas story, Luke 2:12 tells us: “And this shall be the sign to you,” it is not a “miracle” to you. The “sign” shall be that the baby is wrapped in swaddling clothes. And so the shepherds would know when they see the sign, this baby wrapped in this special type of swaddling clothes, that this would be the Savior.

Again, in Matthew 26:48, we see the “sign” in the bad sense where Judas said to the people who came to arrest Jesus, “I will give you a sign. I will kiss him on the face.” Surely, when he says, “I’m giving you a sign,” he doesn’t mean “I’m giving you a miracle.” He means, “I’m giving a sign to show that this is the one you have to arrest.”

What is “this generation”?

Here the scribes, that is the Bible scholars, the Jewish theologians of that day, and the Pharisees, said to Jesus, “Give us a sign that we can see.” And Jesus said to them, “To this evil and adulterous generation, no sign will be given except the sign of Jonah.” When the Lord Jesus says “this generation,” which generation is he talking to? Is he talk­ing to the generation that lived in that day? Does it mean then that only that generation would receive the sign of Jonah and that future generations receive no signs? Shall we say then that somehow, only that generation is evil and adulterous, and that the generations after that are not evil and adulterous, so that only that generation is called evil and adulterous?

We need to understand that the word “generation” as the Lord Jesus uses it, does not mean “generation” in the English sense of the word. In the English sense, “generation” generally refers to a particular group of people belonging to that same period of time of roughly 30 years or 40 years. Curiously enough, the Biblical use of the word “generation” refers to a period of time. It does not necessarily limit it to a generation of 30 years, as in the English sense of the word. It can refer to the whole New Testament age, a considerably long period of time in history covering this present time in which we live.

The Chinese translation for “generation” as世代, that is, 世界的一代meaning a period of time in this world is more accurate. This is quite the same as the Hebrew meaning, and the way the Lord Jesus uses it. Therefore in the Hebrew sense of the word, one could speak of the Old Testament as covering the entire Old Testament period. That is why the word “generation” came to refer to a whole class of people, with no reference to any length of time, so that Psalm 14:5 for example, speaks about “the generation of the righteous.” That means the whole class of people who are described as righteous. And then it also speaks by contrast, of “the generation of the wicked”, that is, a whole class of people who are wicked.

When the Lord Jesus says “this generation,” is the sign only for those people standing in front of Jesus? Or is the sign of Jonah for all this present age? If the sign is only for that group of people, then it seems that that particular evil and adulterous generation is especially being favored, and future generations are to have no sign at all. But now when we understand the meaning of “this generation” accu­rately, we begin to see that the Lord Jesus is not only referring to the Jews that he is talking to, otherwise where will the others ever have a sign? We begin to see that this sign of Jonah is given to all people in this entire age, including this present period of time.

Is the sign the resurrection of Jesus?

What is the sign? It says in Luke 11:30 that Jonah was the sign to the people of Nineveh so that in this present age, the Son of man is the sign to us. The question is, how is Jesus as Son of man a sign to us? You might say he preached and taught the Word of God, so he is a message rather than a sign. But a message is something you hear, you don’t see. A sign is something that you see. What then is the sign?

You will say, “If Jesus is the sign to this age, we don’t see Jesus.” Matthew 12:40 says, “As Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the fish, so the Son of man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” Here is a clear reference to the resurrection, that Jesus will be buried for three days and three nights then he will rise from the dead.

However, the question is: How can the resurrection of Jesus be a sign to us because we did not see the resurrection? It could be a message but it can hardly be a sign. So we are still in the dark as to what the sign of Jonah is, and what the sign of the Son of man is. When people study the Word of God, many study it superficially. They say, “Oh, the sign is simply the resurrection of Jesus.” If a miracle is performed that you can see, then that miracle can serve as a sign. But who has seen the resurrection? Then how can the resurrection be a sign?

Moreover, if the resurrection power is a sign, then the Lord Jesus has already given that sign. In John Chapter 11, he raised Lazarus from the dead in front of the eyes of not only Lazarus’ family but also the whole crowd of people who were standing there. On another occa­sion, he raised the daughter of Jairus, and again, we saw that these people were able to see that sign. On yet another occasion, he raised the widow’s dead son at Nain. He stopped the funeral procession and raised this man up from the dead in front of this whole crowd.

Many had already seen the sign of the resurrection, the power of the resurrection that Jesus had, but they were not there to see Jesus’ own resurrection. Jesus was not talking about the disciples but about this evil generation, people who did not believe in him. Even if the disciples saw Jesus after his resurrection as they did indeed, this evil and adulterous generation did not see it. Again, remember that he was talking to the scribes and the Pharisees. He said, “I will give you the sign,” but they never saw his resurrection.

What seemed to be a very simple way to say the sign would be the resurrection of Christ, turns out not to be the case at all. For what the unbelievers, this evil and adulterous generation does not see, cannot be a sign to them. How are we going to understand this wonderful sign that Jesus is going to give?

How can Jonah and the Lord Jesus serve as a sign?

The Lord Jesus said the comparison would be with Jonah. The point is that as soon as we compare the Lord Jesus with Jonah, we seem to be comparing black with white! Jonah was a prophet in the Old Testament who was running away from God when he was cast into the sea. Even after his amazing experience of being in the belly of the fish for three days and then being saved, we find that when he went to preach in Nineveh, was he happy when the people of Nineveh repented? No, he was grumbling about this. You will say, “What’s the comparison between Jonah and Jesus? How is Jonah going to serve as a sign? And in what sense is Jesus, the Son of man going to serve as a sign?”

Then you will say, “We are not talking about the first and the last part of Jonah. We are only going to talk about those three days that he is in the belly of the fish.” However, the point is, it doesn’t say that Jonah was a sign when he was in the belly of the fish. It says that he was a sign when he went to the people of Nineveh; it was to them that he was a sign. This problem is getting too hard to solve. What seemed so easy at first is getting more difficult to understand the more we talk about it. I want to show you by this process how superficial is the human understanding of the amazing and wonderful teaching of Jesus. People promptly imagine they have understood when they have not understood at all.

The more I study the teaching of the Lord Jesus, the more I am amazed at his teaching. There is nothing like it in the world! Yesterday, the more I meditated in the Word of God, the more excited I got, and my wife couldn’t understand why I was so excited. She hoped that I would share something with her except that was about half past three in the morning, so it was a little bit difficult to start on an exposition then. Sometimes, I get so excited in the Word of God that I just can’t sleep, and I work right till daybreak. In fact, this is what happened this morning. So I find that when people say that they have difficulty to get themselves to study the Bible, I am not quite sure what they mean. For me, I just cannot stop! But I have one big problem: it is how to get the message across so that people can understand it. I fear sometimes, it is easier to understand than to help others to understand.

Let us think again about the sign of Jonah. We can only touch on a very small portion of the meaning that is here. Jonah became a sign to Nineveh because and only after he was in the belly of the fish for three days and three nights. When we study Luke 11:30 carefully, we see that Jesus did not say, “My resurrection will be a sign to you, Pharisees” but “the Son of man will be a sign to this generation.” He is saying he would become a sign to this generation, that is to you, me, and everyone from that day to this present day, in virtue of his death and resurrection, and only after his death and resurrection. Just as Jonah became a sign after being in the belly of the fish, so Jesus becomes a sign to us after the resurrection.

If you are thinking fast, you would say, “After the resurrection? This generation didn’t see Jesus at all after the resurrection.” The scribes and Pharisees and this generation as a whole could see him before his death and his resurrection, but they would never see him again after his death and resurrection. In fact, that was what Jesus said to his disciples: “The world will see me no more but you will see me.” (Jo. 14:19) So how could he be a sign to this generation? We are still at that question.

Who is “the Son of man”?

The answer is to understand what Jesus means by this term, “the Son of man.” You need to notice he did not just say, “I will be a sign,” but “the Son of man will be a sign.” To understand the teaching of the Lord Jesus, you have to be absolutely accurate with scientific precision with his words. Otherwise, you are going to go wrong somewhere along the line. You have to notice exactly what Jesus said, and not just assume that he said something he did not say.

We know that “Son of man” is a title of the Lord Jesus. After Jesus was resurrected, he did not appear to the world but only to his disciples. So he did not become a sign to this generation after his resurrection, because the people of the world never saw him. But don’t forget that after his resurrection, Jesus revealed himself through the church. So he is called the head of the church, and the church is his body (Eph. 4:15-16, 5:23-24; Col. 1:18). The church was born precisely because he rose from the dead. So the church is the sign of the resurrection of Christ, a sign that people in the world can see.

Therefore, “Son of man” is the person, Jesus and it is also the whole church. This is why the apostle Paul says to the Christians that “Christ in you” is what the church is about. We, as the church, are the manifestation of Christ in the world today. When people see us, they ought to see Jesus. If I see your body, I am seeing you. You cannot deny that your body is part of you. Paul tells us that the Lord Jesus is the head and we are the body. Does the vine refer to one person or to many persons in John chapter 15? Jesus is the vine but we are also the vine – we are the branches of that vine. So the vine is both one person, Jesus, and it is also the whole church.

The sign is: The power of resurrection that transforms life

We begin to see the Lord Jesus is saying something really wonderful: “I am going to give you a sign, and the expression of that sign will be the power of the resurrection.” The resurrection did not just happen 2,000 years ago. The power of the resurrection is here and now operating day by day in the world. The power of the resurrection is what you and I can experience. The power of the resurrection is what I actually do experience. That is why I am a Christian.

Yet, the power of the resurrection is not something that you know all about when you first become a Christian. You will keep on know­ing the power of the resurrection in your daily experience as you become a new person conformed to the image of Christ. That is why in Philippians 3:10, the apostle Paul said, “that I may know him and the power of the resurrection.” Do you mean that the apostle Paul doesn’t know Jesus, and doesn’t know the power of his resurrection? The word “know” here means experience. Of course, Paul knows Jesus. Paul certainly knows the power of his resurrection. What he is saying is that “I need to know more about it.” You and I have not yet come to know everything there is to know, to experience about him and the power of his resurrection. When we became Christians, we were beginning to experience that power to change us into a new person, to take us out of death into life.

The brothers and sisters who are baptized are testifying to that very power. You can see the change that is taking place in their lives. You can see the sign of the resurrection in their lives. It is a wonderful privilege to be in the pastoral ministry; you are very close to people and are watching their spiritual development, and I never cease to be amazed at God’s transforming power as I see the lives of the people changed before my very eyes. The beauty of it is that not only I can see their change, but this particular sign is also visible to everyone including the non-Christians.

I interview the people before they are baptized, and I ask them why they want to become Christians. In each case, somewhere along the line, it was that they saw the sign of a changed life in someone they knew. They could see the power of the resurrection. They say, “I knew this person very well, and I noticed how he was completely changed! I was so amazed by this change that I also began to be drawn to God.”

Can you see the sign of the resurrection operating in every period of time, in every age? That was exactly what the Lord Jesus promised to this generation, and now we begin to see it. It is not a miracle that you see, such as a sick person was healed, that changes the person. You see many people who have seen miracles or have heard about miracles, but it does not affect them much. It may affect them to some extent, but nothing affects them as powerfully as seeing the sign of a changed life. Now that is exactly what the power of the resurrection is about. What are we talking about when we talk about a changed life? It is to pass from death to life, as the apostle Paul said. A person’s change is that he is taken out of the power of sin where death is, to the power of life where righteousness is.

The church, like Jonah, is a sign to the world

Every changed life still has quite a few faults, just like Jonah

If a Christian becomes a completely new person, does it mean he becomes a perfect person? No, it doesn’t. In the comparison with Jonah, the sign was not to be just in Jesus himself, the sign was to be in his church; the church is comparable to Jonah. You cannot really compare Jesus in his perfect self with Jonah. That would be no comparison because Jonah was disobedient and Jesus was always obedient. You will notice that even after the transforming expe­rience that Jonah had after three days in the fish’s belly, he still had much of the old character in him – he still grumbled when the people of Nineveh repented because it seemed to make him lose face. Now we look at Christians, and we find on the one hand it’s so wonderful to have change, but on the other hand, we also know that every changed life still has quite a few faults, just like Jonah. So now you can begin to see the beauty of the sign of Jonah. The sign of Jonah is the sign of the Son of man, which is the sign of the church.

Baptized into water and rise up to a new life, as Jonah

Also, just as Jonah was really very literally baptized in water and rose up to a new life, so we see that the dear friends who are going to be baptized will go through the depth of the water and rise up to a new life.

A spiritual change in the heart, as Jonah

Also like Jonah, it was not just a physical baptism that made the difference, there was also a spiritual change in his heart.

So becoming a Christian is not just a matter of being baptized but also a matter of a spiritual transformation. And that is the point when we talk about the power of the resurrection – we become dead to the world, to sin and alive to God. It was in the belly of the fish that Jonah first died to the world. He was literally dead as far as the world was concerned – he was buried under the water, but alive to God. We see that beautiful prayer that he prayed in chapter 2. Likewise, for those being baptized, the spiritual change means dying to the world and their sins, and becoming alive to God, which is the resurrection. Consequently, they become a sign to this generation.

From now on, you and I, and everyone who is a true Christian, is “the sign of the Son of man” that the world can see. That is how the world knows Jesus. They know Jesus through you and me. They see Jesus in you and in me. If they don’t see Jesus in you and in me, they won’t see Jesus anywhere at all. If we are not the sign to this generation, then this generation has no sign. So this wonderful teaching shows us our responsibility in this generation, as a sign that God gives to the world. That is why any Christian who doesn’t behave like a Christian, is worse than a non-Christian, because a non-Christian cannot stum­ble another non-Christian, he cannot prevent him from coming to know God and entering into eternal life. But a Christian, who doesn’t live like a Christian can stumble a non-Christian.

The life of Christians must manifest the power of resurrection

Therefore, the beauty of these words of Jesus is: the life we live as Christians that show forth Christ Jesus to the world is the sign. But with privilege comes responsibility! That is why I have said to people, “Don’t be in a hurry to get baptized.” That is why I never pressurize anyone to be baptized. If anyone says to me they are not quite sure yet, I will say, “Just wait until you are really sure.”

The great responsibility and the great privilege of that responsibility is that from now on, the world will see Jesus in us. And let no Christian make excuses because God doesn’t listen to excuses. Never say to other people, “Don’t look at me. I’m not much of a Christian. You just believe in God.” What is the matter? Is the power of the resurrection not enough to change you? If it were not enough to change you, why become a Christian at all?

The apostle Paul said, “Imitate me as I imitate Christ” (1 Cor. 11:1). And you say, “Ah Paul! I didn’t know you were so proud.” Paul is not proud. His confidence is in what God can do in him. He said, “I am the least of the apostles, not even fit to be called an apostle. Left to myself, I am the chief of sinners. But now I am what I am by the grace of God. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (who gives me the power).” (cf. 1Cor. 15:9-10; 1 Tim. 1:15; Phil. 4:13.)

To become a Christian is to talk about power; it’s not just to talk about teaching, about doctrine, about theology. For many people, being a Christian is just so much talk. Who wants to be a Christian if being a Christian is just a matter of talk? To become a Christian is a matter of power. This is made very clear to us all through the Bible. It is the power of God that we are talking about. In 1 Corinthians 4:19, Paul says,

I wouldn’t have liked to be in the position of those false Christians when Paul came on the scene because he doesn’t want to listen to your talk, he wants to examine certain self-professed “Christians”, to look at the power in their life.

The power of God is the power of the resurrection, for nowhere is God’s power greater seen than in the resurrection. If physical resurrection is wonderful, how much more is spiritual resurrection. Which is easier for God to do? To raise the physically dead or to raise the spiritually dead? Of course, it is exactly the same! The power that raises the physically dead is the same power that raises the spiritual­ly dead. No man can raise the spiritually dead, or the physically dead. But as I think about it, it seems to me that to raise the spiritually dead is in a sense even harder than raising the physically dead. It is only the mighty resurrection power of God that can do it.

Therefore, may we think about our responsibility on this Easter Sunday. What Jesus is saying to us is this: Transformed Christians—as the church, as the Son of man incarnate—are the sign of Jonah to this generation.

Experience God’s power of resurrection each day

If up to now, you are not a Christian, and you have only heard about the resurrection of Christ, then I am asking you today, not just to listen to it but to come and experience that power in your own life.

Perhaps right now, you are like Jonah, running away from God, but you may also be like Jonah as he prayed and called out to God in his distress from the belly of the fish.

Jonah was swallowed up by the power of death just as you are swallowed up by the power of spiritual death. And if you are not delivered from it, it will soon mean that you will also be swallowed up by physical death. For we know that unless Jonah cried out in his distress to God to save him from the belly of the fish, as he did in Jonah chapter 2, he would have perished. But having been delivered, he became a sign to the people of Nineveh precisely because he experienced in his own life the power of God’s resurrection, the saving power of God.

The whole point is that we are not just reading a story about Jonah, it is something that you can experience of what God can do in your life. Is that story true? Find out in your own experience! The only true God who can save Jonah, can he not save you?

If you are a Christian, don’t say to yourself, “I’m a Christian now. That’s the end of the matter.” You are only at the very beginning of the road. These are early days; you have a long way to go yet. You will not only experience the beginning of that power but also its ongoing operation within you, day after day.

I do experience this power every day. I experience that power constantly working in my life as that power also works in the life of others who are totally committed to love God, and to imitate Christ. This is the joy, the excitement, the power of the Christian life!