INTRODUCTION
In the early chapters of Matthew, Jesus is shown as the new Moses and the new Israel. The focus is shifting in chapter 12. Jesus is the “son of David” (v. 23), a warrior confronting Satan’s kingdom, and greater than Solomon (v. 42). In the following chapter, He takes the role of Solomon in teaching about the kingdom of God in parables.

THE TEXT
“ Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, ‘Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.’
But He answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights 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 . . . .” (Matthew 12:38-50).

SIGN OF JONAH

Satan demanded signs from Jesus to show that He was Son of God (Matthew 4:1-11). Despite the many signs Jesus has done, the scribes and Pharisees make the same demand (12:38), thus proving they are spawn of vipers (12:34), an “evil and adulterous generation” (v. 39). An “adulterous” generation is comparable Israel in the wilderness (cf. Matthew 16:4; Mark 8:38; Isaiah 57:3). Jesus is leading Israel out of an Egypt of oppression, but Israel grumbles. Jesus promises only one sign, the sign of Jonah (v. 39). Jesus will be in the “heart of the earth” (or “land”) for three days and nights, as Jonah was in the heart of the sea. Then Jesus will be raised up, as Jonah was vomited back from the great fish.

SOMETHING GREATER

Jonah was a preacher to the Gentiles, and part of the sign of Jonah is the fact that Jesus’ disciples will take the gospel to Gentiles (vv. 41-43). The Ninevites received Jonah’s preaching, though he preached without showing signs, and thus showed they were more worthy of the kingdom than Israel. The Gentiles of the first century will do the same, responding to the preaching of the apostles when the Jews refuse. Likewise, the Queen of Sheba (cf. 1 Kings 10) sought the wisdom of Solomon, while the scribes and Pharisees refuse to accept Wisdom Incarnate.

WORSE THAN THE FIRST

Jesus’ parable about the demon is about “this evil generation” (v. 45). It is a summary of Jesus’ ministry, and the consequences of the rejection by Israel’s leaders. Jesus drives demons from Israel, but the demons will return in force because Israel has not received the Spirit that Jesus brings. By the end of the generation, the Jews had lathered themselves into a frenzy of rebellion against Rome, which led to the destruction of Jerusalem and its temple.

BROTHERS AND MOTHERS

Jesus has been teaching in a house (v. 46), and those who are within the house form the “inside group” of Jesus’ disciples. Significantly, Jesus’ mother and brothers are standing outside wanting to come in. Jesus’ brothers are named in 13:55, and 13:56 mentions that Jesus has sisters as well. Mary, of course, was a believer, as were some of His brothers (Acts 1:14; Galatians 1:19). But their blood kinship with Jesus is not what makes them part of the “inside group.” As He often does, Jesus relativizes family bonds. What makes someone a mother or brother of Jesus is not blood but doing “the will of My Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 12:50).