Summary
JesusJesus is the Messiah whose life, death, and resurrection are God's saving act for humanity. More invokes figures from Old Testament history to reject the importance of signs and to condemn the unbelief of the scribes and the Pharisees.
Analysis
Despite Jesus’ emphasis on words and testimony (see MatthewA tax collector who became one of Jesus' 12 disciples. More 12:33-37 – Good from Good, Bad from Bad), the scribes and Pharisees respond by asking for a sign. Like MosesProphet who led Israel out of Egypt to the Promised Land and received the law at Sinai. More turning his staff into a snake (Exodus 7:8-13), the performing of a sign was meant to validate the words of a prophet. The book of Matthew is full of other references to the prophet Moses. With this in mind, Jesus’ rejection of signs can be a reference to the unbelief of Pharaoh and the Egyptians in the face of all the mighty acts that God performed among them.
In rejecting their request for a sign, Jesus makes a pun. When the scribes and the Pharisees asked for a sign, they meant divine confirmation of Jesus’ authority. Jesus offers them JonahJonah son of Amittai was a rebellious prophet who fled from the Lord's command, only to be delivered by a big and fish and bring about the repentance of Nineveh. More as a sign (like a highway sign) that points to the mysteryA mystery is something secret, hidden and not perceived by ordinary means. In the book of Daniel a significant mystery is revealed through divine revelation (Daniel 2); Paul speaks of a mystery of God in Romans 11 and again in Ephesians 3. In speaking of... More of Jesus’ death and resurrection.
Jesus then goes on to invoke two sets of witnesses who will stand up in accusation at the last judgment. Notably, both of those groups are non-Israelites. The people of Nineveh believed God’s Israelite prophet. The Queen of Sheba came to hear the wisdomWisdom encompasses the qualities of experience, knowledge, and good judgment. The Old Testament book of Proverbs, which sometimes invokes a Woman as the personification of Wisdom, is a collection of aphorisms and moral teachings. Along with other biblical passages, it teaches, "The fear of the... More of the king of Israel. The scribes and the Pharisees who should be experts in the scriptures cannot even recognize God’s MessiahThe Messiah was the one who, it was believed, would come to free the people of Israel from bondage and exile. In Jewish thought the Messiah is the anticipated one who will come, as prophesied by Isaiah. In Christian thought Jesus of Nazareth is identified... More in front of them.
