The Sign of Jonah

29 As the crowds increased, Jesus said, “This is a wicked generation. It asks for a miraculous sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah.30 For as Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites, so also will the Son of Man be to this generation.31 The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them; for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon’s wisdom, and now one greater than Solomon is here.

32 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 one greater than Jonah is here.

In those days Jesus was like the rock star going from town to town so the crowds were increasing.  But also a part of that generation, being like Gideon’s, [discussed in Signs pat1] everyone (mostly His people the Jews) wanted  a sign.  It was the proof for them to see if Jesus was sent from the one true God.  The problem was they were ignoring the miracles performed, always for the good of people, and they were ignoring His message.

When ignoring the message of Jesus which by the way if we boil it down is basically “Repent and to Love God, Love Others”.  They ignored this by wanting to see the ‘sign’.  They were wanting to make sure it was something that they wanted.  Most people believe that when He says they won’t see a sign except for the sign of Jonah (v.29) that it means that they will witness the resurrection. See Jonah to read about his three days in the belly of a fish.

Lastly, the Queen of Sheba was a ‘Gentile’ (non Jew) that traveled great distances to hear about God from King Solomon.  She did not come seeking a sign but seeking an answer for life.  She had witnessed what God was doing for the Jews so she wanted to know more.  She puts to shame the men of Jesus’ time because of her desire for the truth and God. It didn’t help too much either that she was a woman that in Jesus eye’s was favored over men, that’s not good in that culture.

With all that in mind I want to say this.  For the Christian, seeing Jesus change people’s lives and getting a chance to be involved in it is about the only sign we should expect to get. The preaching of the gospel and witnessing the changing effect of it is the sign that God is working.  And once you see where this is happening you should move towards it.  Henry Blackaby, wrote a study called Experiencing God which one of the assumptions is if you want to know what God’s will is, see where He is working and move towards it.  The more you see life change happen around you the more you should want to be involved in it.

So what’s that look like for us.

  • Thinking about moving for a job? – What is God doing in the area you are moving to?  Is there a need for people to be reached for Jesus?  Is there a thriving ministry there that you can join?  Does a job change, for money, take you away from doing something for God?  Does moving for a job take you away from where you are needed?
  • Thinking about dating a certain person? – Do they LOVE Jesus?  Is Jesus continuously changing their life?  What are the fruits of the Spirit that you can see in their life?  Do they understand that they are broken and you can’t meet all their needs? Are they looking to see how they can serve God?
  • Should you buy a home or go with a bigger one? – Does it get you more in debt? You should always be increasing margin in you life to spend more time & resources on what God wants you to do.  Does it cause more stress?  If you have a family can it help them learn how to mange things or does it take money for someone else to upkeep?  If at all possible are you trying to downsize so that there is more resources to do God’s will with?
  • Thinking about going back to school? – Will your education allow you to move closer to your vision/purpose of your life?  Do you have a vision yet for you life?  Have you ever thought about ‘not’ what you want to do with your life but about what God wants you to do with it?  Is it debt that you can handle right now?  Can you pay cash for it?  Does it take away time from your family which, is your first call?  If so for how long?

I think that before we ever ask for a sign that God has already been giving us lots of them.  They aren’t just sticking out in Neon with our names all over them.  Like I said in Part 1 it doesn’t work like that.  But when you start asking questions like, “Where is God in all of this?”  You will start to see one step at a time what direction you should take.  Every time you do this it begins to get easier to make decisions about what to do.  Again seeking signs is a waste of time.

They key is discovery not certainty…