in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son
of Man be three days and three nights in the
heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh will rise
up in the judgment with this generation and condemn
it because they repented at the preaching of
Jonah and indeed a greater than Jonah is here.
The queen of the south, that's the queen of Sheba,
will rise up in the judgment with this generation
and condemn it. For she came from the ends of
the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon. And
indeed, a greater than Solomon is here. When
an unclean spirit goes out of a man, that's a
demonic spirit, he goes through dry places seeking
rest and he finds none. And then he says, I will
return to my house from which I came. And when
he comes, he finds it empty, swept, and put in
order. Then he goes and takes with him seven
other spirits more wicked than himself, and they
enter and dwell there. And the last state of
that man is worse than the first. So shall it
also be with this wicked generation. Let's pray.
Father, Lord, we were asked, Lord, for the help
and aid of your Holy Spirit this morning. As
we have just sung, Lord, speak to us, Lord, out
of your word. Show us glorious things out of
your law. God, open our eyes to see the glory
and the beauty and the majesty of Christ Jesus,
our Lord. And it's in his name we pray. Amen.
Some of you probably are going to be familiar
with the name of the infamous atheist, Madeline
Murray O 'Hare. Now, if you're young, you probably
don't know that name at all. But she was the
one who got mandatory prayer and Bible reading
banned from public schools in the 60s, actually.
According to one biographer, O 'Hare went outside
in a severe thunderstorm and she began to curse
God and mock him. And she said, if God is real,
then let him strike me dead right now. And since
God did not do that, she was more reinforced
in her atheism than ever. Today you might often
hear people say, if God would just show me a
sign, then I would believe. I mean, if God would
write the gospel in the sky, or if I personally
saw a miracle, then I would know God is real.
God, if he would prove himself to me, well, I
would have no problem following him. However,
the truth is, signs do not create faith. And
we will see that in our text this morning. There
have been many people throughout history who
have witnessed some incredible events. Some have
even witnessed miraculous events. And they still
walked away unchanged and unbelieving. And today
we're going to see Jesus is confronted with some
scribes and Pharisees. They're the religious
leaders. And what are they demanding? They're
seeking a sign from him. Now how stubborn or
obtuse could these men possibly be? Up to this
point in Matthew 12, Jesus has already healed
the sick, cast out many demons, restored sight
to blind men, hearing to the deaf men, and he's
performed miracle after miracle right before
their eyes. Yet they're still unconvinced. They
want another sign. They want more convincing
proof. But their problem was not a lack of evidence.
Rather, it was the condition of their hard hearts.
Now, we have to understand the context this morning.
Beginning in this chapter, beginning in verse
1, Jesus had a confrontation. There's a run -in
between him and the Pharisees, but it was concerning
Sabbath rules, Sabbath regulations. But in verse
8 of Matthew 12, Jesus made this astounding statement.
He said, basically, he said, I'm the Lord of
the Sabbath. That's a great claim. I mean, God
gave the Sabbath. It's the fourth commandment.
He then, though, proved that claim by healing
a man who had a withered hand. You see that in
verse 13. Then he, Jesus, said to the man, stretch
out your hand. And he stretched it out, and it
was restored as whole as the other. That's an
incredible miracle. A man with a withered hand,
a hand that has no use, is now restored to complete
functionality. But later on, Jesus healed another
man. Go down to verse 22. Then one was brought
to him who was demon -possessed, blind and mute.
And he healed him. So that the blind and mute
man both spoke and saw. Here there's another
powerful demonstration of the power of God. The
crowds are amazed. And there's a lot of crowds
there. They're always following Jesus. They're
amazed. But the Pharisees were angry. And they
accused him. They said that Jesus did these miracles
by the power of Satan. Now we come to our text
this morning, verse 38. It's a little while later.
We don't know how much time has passed. But now
the religious leaders, not just the Pharisees,
but there are some scribes gathered there as
well, and they're confronting Jesus once again,
and they want a sign from him. Verse 38. Then
some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying,
Teacher, that is Rabbi. We want to see a sign
from you. This request is beyond ludicrous. I
mean, they had just witnessed two miracles, not
counting all the other miracles Jesus had already
performed up to this point. Now, I do want to
give some fairness to the Pharisees here a little
bit. This group did not represent all the Pharisees.
We do know that at least some of them had come
to the realization that Jesus... must have been
sent from God because no one could do these signs
unless God were the one giving him power to do
it. And we read that in John 3. You know about
the story of Nicodemus. Verses 1 and 2. There
was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a
ruler of the Jews. He holds a very important
position. This man came to Jesus by night and
said to him, Rabbi, same thing these guys are
saying, we do know that your teacher come from
God. Why do we know that? For no one can do these
signs that you do unless God is with him. It
was obvious, all right? Nevertheless, most of
the scribes and the Pharisees already had their
minds made up concerning Jesus, and they rejected
him. Not for lack of evidence, but for hard hearts.
They had concluded already by this time, there
was no way that this man could be the Messiah.
Instead, they said he was a blasphemer who needed
or was worthy of death. Now we come to Matthew
12, 38. They're seeking a sign. But the parallel
passages in both Mark and in Luke tell us that
the Pharisees had asked for the sign in order
to test him. They want to trap him. Luke 11,
16. Others testing him. sought from him a sign
from heaven. Now, so the request is not sincere.
Looks sincere, sounds sincere. It is not. They're
trying to trap Jesus. They want to have something
they can hold over him. Now, let's just get this
straight. Jesus is not going to indulge them
for one minute. He's not some sideshow circus
act who bows to foolish requests. This is not
what he wants. If you read through the pages
of the Gospels, Jesus never did his miracles
to wow the people or impress them or ostentatiously
flaunt his power. He's never doing that. In fact,
just the opposite. Many times when Jesus had
performed a miracle of healing, something dramatic,
he would tell that person, don't tell anyone.
He's not trying to gather crowds around him.
But Jesus, being the Son of God, he knew their
hearts. He knew they were trying to trap him
by requesting the sign from heaven. Now apparently
there is a difference between a miracle and a
sign from heaven. A miracle came through the
hands of a mediator and was done on earth. For
example, that man back in verse 13 with the withered
hand. Jesus spoke and the man with the withered
hand was made whole. That's a miracle, but not
necessarily a sign from heaven. A sign from heaven...
comes directly from God in heaven without a mediator.
For example, if you remember when Elijah was
on Mount Carmel and he's really doing battle
with the false prophets of Baal. And fire falls
from heaven and destroys those false prophets.
The fire falling from the heavens is a sign from
heaven. So here we go back to the text. They
are asking for a sign, and by doing that, really,
these scribes and Pharisees, they're denigrating
all that the Lord had done as if all his previous
miracles counted for nothing. He just healed
a blind man and gave him sight. Now, it's important
to note, they can't deny the miracles. They're
done publicly. It's obvious they're miracles.
But they're saying, well, yeah, there's other
false prophets, agents of Satan, and they can
do some pretty impressive works as well. how
do we know that you're not one of them? In fact,
they've already called him Beelzebub. They had
already publicly stated that Jesus performed
his miracles by the power of Satan. Now they're
saying, if that's not true, then prove it. Give
us a sign from heaven. But it's not a sincere
request. They went to trapping. Basically, if
they don't get the sign, well, they're going
to embarrass him before the people. And if they
do, then, well, certainly he can convince everyone
once and for all, definitively, that he's the
Messiah. Unwittingly, though, the religious leaders
were following in the footsteps of the devil
himself. Because do you remember what Satan did
to Jesus in the wilderness, in the desert, testing
in Matthew 4? Satan demanded a sign. If you are
the son of God, well, throw yourself down. He's
on top of the temple, by the way. For it is written,
he shall give his angels charge over you, and
in their hands they shall bear you up, lest you
dash your foot against a stone. Jesus, all you
have to do, just prove. If you're really the
son of God, cast yourself down from the temple.
Or if you're really the son of God, make these
stones instantly turn into bread. Satan is demanding
the same thing. Prove it. Prove that you are
God's son. And these religious leaders wanted
the same thing. They wanted a sign that would
prove unmistakably that Jesus' power and authority
really came from God. They wanted absolute proof.
How do we know it's God and not some demon who's
empowering you? But Jesus sternly answered them.
Verse 39. He says an evil and adulterous generation
seeks after a sign. He sternly rebukes the request.
He says only evil and adulterous people are asking
for a sign. Friends, it is evil to demand that
God prove anything to us. We don't demand anything
of God. He's not our servant. We're his. And
they're evil. That's what he said. They're morally
corrupt. They resist the truth. He's not going
to bow to their request. And furthermore, he
says, and you're an adulterous generation, meaning
you are unfaithful to God. You are idolaters
in your hearts. The desire for more proof after
all the miracles they had already witnessed was
evidence that they are an evil and adulterous
generation. One more sign. It's just one more
sign. One more sign would not have caused them
to repent and turn to Jesus. These men did not
believe because they already had their minds
made up. They're willfully blind. They choose
not to see what was right in front of them and
was obvious to all. They're unworthy of receiving
a sign from heaven. And I find this whole scene
very ironic because earlier in that day, do you
remember, they accused Jesus of being in league
with Satan. They called him Beelzebub. They said,
you are of the prince of the demons. But ironically,
it is these religious leaders who are acting
satanically. Satan had demanded a sign from Jesus,
so also did the religious leaders. Like father,
like son. Which is why in John 8, Jesus told
them, you are of your father, the devil, and
the desires of your father, you want to do. He
said, the very things that you're asking for
is proving who really is aligned with Satan.
Now, suffice it to say, Jesus is more than capable
of producing a dramatic sign from heaven. But
that's not what he's doing. He's not trying to
impress. In fact, remember in John 6, when he's
multiplying the bread and the fish, he proceeds
that they want to come and make him king by force.
He gets out of there. He does not want to be
known only as a miracle worker. In fact, if you
look and see, when Jesus did miracles, they weren't
done flippantly. They were done to prove that
the kingdom of God had come. That's why when
you look at his miracles, you see diseases are
healed, blind men see, lame men walk, deaf men
hear, because in the kingdom of God in its fullness,
that's what's going to be. No disease, no lameness,
no blindness, no defect whatsoever. His miracles
were signs. And Jesus is refusing to perform
a sign at their request. But he does say something
interesting. He said there will be one sign given.
Look at verse 39, the latter part. He says no
sign will be given to this generation except,
that means there is a sign coming, except the
sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three
days and three nights in the belly of the great
fish, So Jesus is saying Jonah is a literal historical
figure, by the way. So will the Son of Man be
three days and three nights in the heart of the
earth. He said, I will give you a sign. One sign
that will forever and unequivocally prove that
I am the Messiah. I will be raised from the dead.
He said, I will give you the sign of the prophet
Jonah. Now that means Jonah was the sign. Or
better yet, Jonah served as a... type of the
sign. Now keep in mind who Jonah was. He's an
Old Testament Hebrew prophet. He's on the run
from God's call because God had demanded that
he go to Nineveh, which is the capital of the
Assyrian Empire, and preach to those wicked people.
Jonah doesn't want to do that. So he flees. As
a result of his disobedience, he spends three
days and three nights in the belly of a great
fish. Now there are some, and I'm sympathetic
to this view. I don't know where I land on it.
There are some who believe that Jonah actually
died in the belly of that great fish and was
resurrected three days later when the fish vomited
him out. That's not the dominant view. It does
not matter or change the view at all. But here's
what we do know for sure. That there is an analogy.
As Jonah was in the belly of that great fish
for three days, so the body of Jesus will lie
in the grave. For three days. What happened to
Jonah serves as a sign for what would happen
to Jesus. Jesus' body, his lifeless body, will
lay dead in the grave for three days after which
that body will be gloriously raised from the
dead. Jesus the Christ emerging alive after spending
three days in the grave is a conclusive, unequivocal
sign that yes, he is indeed the Son of God who
has been sent into the world. But the Pharisees
didn't want to wait. No, they want proof right
now. And not just proof, we want indisputable,
irrefutable, conclusive proof. And Jesus said,
I'm not giving that to you. But indisputable,
or conclusive, irrefutable proof came when Jesus
of Nazareth, was resurrected from the dead on
that famed Sunday morning. R .C. Sproul says
this, he said, just as Jonah was thrown into
the sea, said that the sailors and the ship might
be saved, Jesus was thrown to the depth of the
earth for our redemption. He was silent for three
days. Then on the morning of the third day, God
the Father took the earth in his hand and shook
it and brought a son to life again. That was
the sign of all signs. Amen. The resurrection
of Christ. That's where our hope lies, friends.
And we'll celebrate that in about four short
weeks. Every Lord's Day. Every time we meet on
Sunday, it's a celebration of Christ's resurrection.
Verse 41. Sobering words of impending judgment.
The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment
with this generation and condemn it. Well, damn
it. Because they repented at the preaching of
Jonah. And indeed, a greater than Jonah is here.
If the wicked city repented at the preaching
of a reluctant prophet, how do you think these
men, and even all Israel, are going to fare in
the day of judgment? Jesus said they won't. He
said the men of Nineveh, they're going to be
raised too. At the last judgment, the final judgment,
these men of Nineveh will be raised and they
will bear witness. They will be raised to testify
against the religious leader, these scribes and
Pharisees, as they are justly condemned by God.
Why? Because the Ninevites, they repented at
the preaching of Jonah. Yet those who witnessed
the mighty works and heard the preaching of the
Son of God remained defiant. In their unbelief.
So the Ninevites' repentance will condemn the
scribes and Pharisees' impenitence. This is amazing
and this is so sobering. When confronted with
the word of God, the Gentiles, that's who the
Ninevites were, the Gentile Ninevites repented
through the preaching of a Hebrew prophet. Yet
one infinitely more glorious than Jonah was present
in Israel. doing miraculous works, and they refused
to repent. And Jesus said their guilt will be
far greater on that day of judgment. See, Israel
didn't just reject a prophet, they rejected God's
Son. Greater exposure to the truth leads to a
greater responsibility and accountability on
the day of final judgment. Imagine the people
who've lived in this country and had access to
the gospel and access to the light of truth all
these years and have hardened their hearts and
spurned it. But Jesus didn't stop. He went further.
Verse 42. He says, the queen of the south will
rise up in the judgment of this generation and
condemn it. For she came from the ends of the
earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon and indeed
a greater than Solomon is here. Another Gentile.
A Gentile woman. She also is going to be raised
at the final judgment, and she will bear witness
against the scribes and Pharisees. This time,
it's the queen of the south, the queen of Sheba.
Sheba is about where modern -day Yemen is. And
so she's going to bear testimony in the day of
your condemnation. Why? Because she traveled
a long, arduous, dangerous journey of about a
thousand miles just to hear the wisdom of Solomon.
She made that trip. She traveled this great distance
because she was impressed by the words of Solomon.
Yet these men, who heard the wisdom of God's
Son, not only did they fail to be impressed,
they blasphemed that worthy man, calling him
Satan. How awful the day of final judgment will
be for them. Can you imagine standing before
him in his unveiled majesty? But why did they
do it? These are smart, educated, elite men.
Why did they reject Jesus? Because he was messing
with their idol. You know what they really worshipped,
what they really valued? It was the esteem and
praise of the people. Oh, they loved it. They
craved it. They wanted public recognition. But
the Lord Jesus was becoming more popular day
by day. And they're jealous. The crowds used
to sit and listen to them. Now they're going
to him. They were envious of the Lord. And they
wanted him dead. Now you say, well, how do you
know that? Because the text tells us that in
Matthew 27, it says they, that is the religious
leaders, all Israel, they handed him, that is
Jesus, over to Pilate because of envy. It's still
the truth today. People will go to great lengths,
including murder, to protect their idol, to protect
what they truly value. What we really value controls
us. What we worship controls us. These men looked
the part, but they weren't worshiping Yahweh.
They weren't worshiping the God of Israel. They
were worshiping the God of acclaim. And recognition.
Which is why this last illustration really makes
sense. There's a warning. Jesus is giving a parable.
And it's a warning about looking good on the
outside and possessing nothing on the inside.
Verses 43 through 45. It's about a demon who
leaves a man apparently voluntarily. And it's
a parable. Keep that in mind. He goes through
dry places. He's seeking a home. He doesn't find
a home. And he says, you know what? I'm going
to go back to my prior home. At least there was
a home there. And when he comes, he finds the
home. It's empty. That's an important part. But
it's swept. It's put in order. It's cleaned up
a little bit. He says, I know what I'm doing.
I'm going to invite some of my buddies. It's
swept. It's cleaned up. And he takes seven other
demons more wicked than himself, and they enter
or possess that man. And Jesus said the last
state of that man is far worse than the beginning.
And then he makes this equivocation. So shall
it also be with this wicked generation. So the
point Jesus is making is not about the finer
points of demon possession. Don't look for that.
That's not the point. Rather, it's a parable
about the religious leaders rejecting him. Now
you say, how do you know it is spoken against
the scribes and Pharisees? Because look at how
it ties in. Verse 45, so shall it be with this
wicked generation, ties into verse 39, an evil
and adulterous generation seeks after a sign.
They're tied together. They're linked. Now I
find it very interesting. I think the Lord is
just so subtle and masterful here. He uses an
example about a man who was demon possessed.
What had they recently accused him of? Casting
out demons by the power of Satan himself. So
it's a subtle slight to them. So this parable,
it's serving as a warning against outward reform
without any inward substance. These were the
scribes and Pharisees. They looked so good on
the outside. But that's it. That's all there
was. They looked holy. They loved to talk about
holiness. They had broad phylacteries and long
robes. They had long tassels. They were always
at temple. So they looked pious. They looked
God -fearing. And Jesus looked at their hearts
and saw the hypocrisy and there was nothing there.
There was no inner reality there. So this demon
leaves the man wanting to have it somewhere else.
He doesn't find it. Let's go back to my prior
home. It's unoccupied. That's the key. I love
what Spurgeon, talking about this particular
verse, he says, the devil has no objection to
his house being swept and garnished. For a moralist,
a very moral person, may be as truly his slave
as the man of debauched habits. It doesn't matter
if he's a drunkard, a profligate, a great, notorious
sinner, or a moral man. So long as the heart
is not occupied by his great foe, that is God,
and he can use the man for his own purposes,
the adversary of souls will let him reform as
much as he pleases. It's these men. They were
dedicated. to the pursuit of righteousness, moral
reform. But friends, it was a righteousness of
their own doing. They made the fatal assumption
that they could please God by their own efforts.
That is a works -based righteousness which will
damn you for eternity. These religious leaders,
they thought... They could rely on their own
performance, their own dedication, rather than
the righteousness that is offered as a gift by
faith in Christ. Satan doesn't care if the house
is tidy. He doesn't care if the house is in order
as long as it is empty, meaning as long as the
spirit of Christ does not dwell there. It says
the demon gathered seven others, more wicked.
This man is now worse off than he was before.
The scribes and Pharisees, their opposition,
their outright rejection of Jesus left them worse
off than it would have had Jesus never come.
Jesus came and exposed them. They would have
been better off in the day of judgment had Jesus
never come. But he had come and they saw the
light and they understood the light and they
rejected the light. They rejected God's clear
witness in Jesus, and now there is no other future
for these men than their condemnation on the
day of judgment. They will be damned by God,
by Christ, for all eternity. So what does this
passage have to do with us today? Everything.
It summons all people, all of us, to repent.
of our sins, and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.
The truth is God has given us more than enough
information and reasons to embrace his son, so
you are now culpable. You are guilty if you ignore
him. You can't ignore him. Jesus never leaves
you that option. To remain neutral is not an
option. If you do not repent and you do not believe,
this will cause you to be found guilty at the
bar of God's judgment throne. See, the people
of Nineveh, they repented when Jonah preached
to them. The queen of Sheba traveled a thousand
miles to hear the wisdom of Solomon. And a greater
than Jonah and a greater than Solomon has been
put before you today. It's Jesus Christ. Yet
what God did for the people of Nineveh, he will
also do for you if you call upon his son. God
delights in mercy. Those wicked Assyrians, those
wicked Ninevites, they deserve judgment and God
granted them mercy. And so he will to you if
you cast yourself upon his mercy. The religious
leaders wanted a sign. Jesus said, I'll only
give you the sign of Jonah. Pointing forward
to Christ's death, burial, and resurrection.
That is the greatest sign God has ever given.
We need nothing else. The empty tomb is God's
declaration of his son that Jesus is God's son
and Jesus is the savior of the world. That empty
tomb proved it. And so that leaves you with a
choice. Are you going to keep looking for more
signs? Or will you call upon the one God has
sent to save people from their sin? Friends,
the choice is yours. God calls and commands you
to repent today and bow your knee before his
son. Let's pray. Father, I thank you for your
word. Lord, it is gloriously rich and instructive
and helpful. Lord, your word is manna. It's food
from heaven, Lord. God, we don't look to ourselves.
Lord, here's the thing, Lord God. If we think
that coming to church or doing righteous things
or reading Bibles and offering prayers and doing
works of charity, Lord, is going to benefit us
in the day of judgment, we're sorely mistaken.
Father, we need your mercy. We need your grace.
We need your righteousness. But it's been given
as a gift, received in faith, to all who come
to Jesus, your Son. Praise be, Lord, to your
holy name. For the unspeakable gift of Christ.
Lord, you have raised him from the grave. His
body saw no corruption and he will never see
corruption. He has been raised as Lord of glory
and ascended to the highest throne in heaven.
That in his name, every knee is going to bow
one day and every tongue is going to confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord. And that will bring
you great glory. Father, would you work by your
spirit in the hearts of those who are here this
morning. Cause them now voluntarily to confess
Jesus as Lord before one day they are forced
involuntarily to bow the knee before him. God,
I pray that you would save. God, help us, Lord,
to see that we're not counting on our own righteousness,
but only on what Christ has done for us. And
we thank you, Lord, for grace and mercy that
ever flows from your throne to your people by
your Son. And it's in his name we pray. Amen.
And while the deacons come and prepare the...