The Sign of Jonah
Gospel Reflection for Monday, July 21st, 2025. Mt 12:38-42.
38Then certain of the Scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, ‘Master, we would see a sign from thee.’ 39But he answered and said to them, ‘An evil and adulterous generation demands a sign, and no sign shall be given it but for the sign of Jonas the prophet. 40For even as Jonas was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 41The men of Nineve will rise up in the judgment with this generation and will condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonas, and behold, a greater than Jonas is here. 42The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with this generation and will condemn it; for she came to from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, a greater than Solomon is here. (Mt 12: 38-42 NCE)
In this Gospel, we see a continuation of a frustrated Jesus’ experience with the Scribes and Pharisees where Jesus’ miracles and His authenticity were called into question—questioning the source of His power. ‘Master, we would see a sign from thee,’ they implore, without realizing that all of Jesus’ miracles were the signs themselves—signs that the Kingdom of God will soon be breaking into the world. Not only will temporal changes soon happen with Israel as they knew it, but now souls stand at the precipice between right and wrong, good and evil that they—the wicked—will one day stand in judgment for. As we recall in the previous chapter of this Gospel, the Pharisees’ accusation of Jesus of using demons to cast out demons, is basically calling good, evil—which is dangerously close to blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. Jesus, as bothered as He was, still wished for the Pharisees to end up on the right side of history trying to steer them towards the meaning of His words, for the sake of their salvation. For on the day of judgment it will be He, The Son of Man, who will stand in judgment of all mankind.
In this Gospel passage from Mathew, Jesus is quite certainly trying to speak to the Scribes and Pharisees from an angle of historicity, in hope of having an impact. Jesus knew Hebrew history and Scriptures (and their true meaning) better than anyone and would often speak to the Jewish religious hierarchy in terms they could most easily relate to. Here, He harkens to very important figures of the past, one a prophet and one a king: Jonah and Solomon. “…No sign shall be given it but for the sign of Jonas the prophet.” The story of Jonas was both redemptive and a warning, as Jonas, being inside a fish for three days, saw the error of His ways and thus preached to the Ninevites to change their sinful ways. Additionally, there is an allusion to the Resurrection, and although there is deep understanding needed to capture the full impact of what Jesus is alluding to—namely, His death and resurrection on the third day—He is simply looking for them to open their hearts to possibility, unto the truth of who He really is. Additionally, He appeals to Wisdom and one’s search for it, with the allusion to the Queen of Sheba travelling far and wide just to get near to the wisdom of Solomon, pointing out that even through this wisdom, she would be able to see the errors of this generation.
“A greater than Jonas is here…A greater than Solomon is here.” (Mt 12: 41-42)
It is the intended meaning of this Gospel that all these greatest ends are found and fulfilled in the Son of Man, Jesus Christ. Thus, when considering Truth and Wisdom, Prophets and Kings, we are to always remember that Jesus is the Truth where all Wisdom is found. As the subject of the ancient prophets, God’s ultimate revelation, Jesus Christ, was thus the last and perfect Prophet, and High Priest, and King of Kings!