But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonah:
39. adulterous ] estranged from God; a figure often used by the Prophets to express the defection of Israel from Jehovah.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 39. An evil and adulterous generation] Or, race of people; for so should be translated here, and in most other places in the Gospels; for our Lord, in general, uses it to point out the Jewish people. This translation is a key to unlock some very obscure passages in the evangelists.
Seeketh after a sign] Or, seeketh another sign, (,) so I think this word should be translated. Our Lord had already given the Jews several signs; and here they desire sign upon sign.
Our Lord terms the Jews an adulterous race. Under the old covenant, the Jewish nation was represented as in a marriage contract with the Lord of hosts; as believers, in the new covenant, are represented as the spouse of Christ. All unfaithfulness and disobedience was considered as a breach of this marriage contract; hence the persons who were thus guilty are denominated adulterers and adulteresses. But, independently of this, there is the utmost proof, from their own writings, that in the time of our Lord they were most literally an adulterous race of people: for, at this very time, R. Jochanan ben Zacchai abrogated the trial by the bitter waters of jealousy, because so many were found to be thus criminal. See on Joh 8:3.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
39. But he answered and said untothem“when the people were gathered thick together”(Lu 11:29).
an evil and adulterousgenerationThis latter expression is best explained by Jer3:20, “Surely as a wife treacherously departeth from herhusband, so have ye dealt treacherously with Me, O house of Israel,saith the Lord.” For this was the relationship in which He stoodto the covenant-people”I am married unto you” (Jer3:14).
seeketh after a signInthe eye of Jesus this class were but the spokesmen of theirgeneration, the exponents of the reigning spirit of unbelief.
and there shall no sign begiven to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
But he answered and said unto them,…. Not to the Pharisees, who were unworthy of an answer from him; having, in such an imperious manner, and with a sole view to tempt him, and after such miracles were wrought by him, required of him a sign from heaven; but to the multitude, the throng of people gathered thick together on this occasion, see Mt 12:45 he turns himself from the Scribes and Pharisees, to the common people, and says to them concerning the former,
an evil and adulterous generation; not only in a spiritual sense, being degenerated from the faith, religion, and piety of their ancestors; but literally, which appeared not only in their polygamy, and frequent divorces on trivial occasions, but by criminal conversation with other women; see Joh 8:9 and this, with the Jews themselves, is a character of the generation in which the Messiah comes: for they say h,
“that just when the Messiah comes, or in the age the son of David comes, “impudence shall be increased”, corn and wine shall be dear, the government shall be heretics,
, “and the synagogue shall become a brothel house”.”
Their meaning is, that the chief magistrates should be Sadducees, and those that pretended to religion and holiness would be adulterers, which was now the case. Their writings i frequently speak of the increase and abounding of adulteries, under the second temple, and about this time; which obliged Jochanan ben Zaccai and the sanhedrim, to leave off the use of the bitter waters.
Seeketh after a sign; this is perfectly Talmudic language, the language of the Jews k.
“The disciples of R. Jose ben Kismai, asked him, when the Son of David came? He replied, I am afraid, lest
, “ye should seek of me a sign”; they say unto him, we will not “seek of thee a sign”.”
This the Jews sought of Christ, time after time; not content with one, sought another, though such wonderful ones were wrought, which most fully demonstrated him to be the Messiah; and therefore he would not indulge this temper in them; but declared, that
there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. Not that no miracles should afterwards be wrought amongst them; for, after this, many wondrous works were done by Christ; but no such signs should be given they desired, not one from heaven; but one particularly should be given them, out of the earth, and should be, not for their conviction, but condemnation; and would seem very much like that which was done to the prophet Jonas, or Jonah; for so is his name in the Hebrew language, the other being the Greek termination of it.
h Misn. Sota c. 9. sect. 15. T. Bab. Sanhed. fol. 97. 1. i Misn. Sota, c. 9. sect. 9. & Maimon. Hilch. Sota, c. 3. sect. 19. k T. Bab. Sanhedrim, fol. 98. 1. so , “seeketh a sign”, Shemot Rabba, Parash. 9. fol. 97. 2.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
An evil and adulterous generation ( ). They had broken the marriage tie which bound them to Jehovah (Plummer). See Ps 73:27; Isa 57:3; Isa 62:5; Ezek 23:27; Jas 4:4; Rev 2:20. What is “the sign of Jonah?”
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Adulterous [] . A very strong and graphic expression, founded upon the familiary Hebrew representation of the relation of God ‘s people to him under the figure of marriage. See Psa 73:27; Isa 57:3 sqq.; Isa 61:5; Eze 23:27. Hence idolatry and intercourse with Gentiles were described as adultery; and so here, of moral unfaithfulness to God. Compare Jas 4:4; Rev 2:20 sqq. Thus Dante :
“Where Michael wrought Vengeance upon the proud adultery.” Inf., 7, 12.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “But he answered and said unto them,” (ho de apokritheis eipen autois) “Then, replying he said directly to them,” knowing the ulterior motives of their request, knowing what was in man, Psa 94:11; Joh 2:25.
2) “An evil and adulterous generation,” (genea ponera kai moichalis) “A spiritually wicked and adulterous generation,” in fact both literally and figuratively, an adulterous generation, which they were, Mat 5:32; Jas 4:4.
3) Seeketh after a sign;” (semeion epizetei), “Seeks a sign,” something special for themselves, 1Co 1:22; Mat 16:3-4.
4) “And there shall be no sign given unto it,” (kai serneion ou dothesetai aute) “And there shall be no sign (no further sign at all) given to it,” to this wicked and spiritually adulterous generation of Israel, Luk 11:29.
5) “But the sign of the prophet Jonas:” (ei me to semeion Iona tou prophetou) “Except the sign (that sign) of the prophet Jonah,” Luk 11:30.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
Mat 12:39
. A wicked generation He does not merely charge that age with malice, but pronounces the Jews—or at least the scribes, and those who resembled them—to be a wicked nation; thus declaring that they labored under a hereditary disease of obstinacy. The word γενεά sometimes denotes an age, and sometimes a people or nation. He calls them adulterous, that is, spurious or illegitimate, (165) because they were degenerated from the holy fathers; as the prophets reproach the men of their age with being not the descendants of Abraham, but the ungodly seed of Canaan.
Seeks a sign. This leads to the inquiry, Does Christ address them with such harshness of language, because they wished to have a sign given them? for on other occasions God manifests that He is not so much displeased on this account. Gideon asks a sign, (Jud 6:17,) and God is not angry, but grants his request; and though Gideon becomes importunate and asks another sign, yet God condescends to his weakness. Hezekiah does not ask a sign, and it is offered to him, though unsolicited, (Isa 38:7.) Ahaz is severely blamed for refusing to ask a sign, as the prophet had enjoined him to do, (Isa 7:11.) It is not solely, therefore, because they ask a sign, that Christ makes this attack upon the scribes, but because they are ungrateful to God, wickedly despise so many of his wonderful works, and try to find a subterfuge for not obeying his word. What a display was this, I do not say of indifference, but of malice, in shutting their eyes against so many signs! There was, therefore, no proper ground for this annoyance; and they had no other object in view than to appear to have a good reason for rejecting Christ. Paul condemns their posterity for the same crime, when he says that the Jews require a sign, (1Co 1:22)
A sign shall not be given to it. They had already been convicted by various miracles, and Christ does not abstain from exerting his power among them, for the purpose of rendering them inexcusable, but only means that one sign would stand for all, because they were unworthy of having their ungodly desire granted. “Let them rest satisfied,” says he, “with this sign, that as Jonah, brought up from the bottom of the sea, preached to the Ninevites, so they will hear the voice of a prophet risen from the dead.” The most of commentators, I am aware, display greater ingenuity in expounding this passage; but as the resemblance between Christ and Jonah does not hold at every point, we must inquire in what respect Christ compares himself to Jonah. For my own part, leaving the speculations of other men, I think that Christ intends to mark out that single point of resemblance which I have already hinted, that he will be their prophet after that he is risen from the dead. “You despise,” he says, “the Son of God, who has come down to you from heaven: but I am yet to die, and to rise from the grave, and to speak to you after my resurrection, as Jonah came from the bottom of the sea to Nineveh.” In this manner our Lord cuts off every pretense for their wicked demands, by threatening that he will be their Prophet after his resurrection, since they do not receive him while clothed with mortal flesh.
(165) “ Il entend qu’ils sont enfans bastars;” — “he means that they are bastard children.”
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(39) An evil and adulterous generation.The true relation between Israel and Jehovah had been represented by the prophets as that of the wife to her husband (Jeremiah 3; Ezekiel 16, 23; Hosea 1, 2). The adulterous generation was therefore one that was unfaithful to its Lorddemanding a sign, instead of finding sufficient proofs of faithfulness and love in what He had already done.
There shall no sign be given to it.The words seem at first to place our Lords miracles of healing outside the category of signs, and yet it was to these that He referred the messengers of the Baptist as proof that the Christ had indeed come (Mat. 11:5). They must, however, be interpreted by the context. One sign and only one, such as they demanded, should be given to those for whom the other notes of Messiahship were insufficient, and that should be the sign of the prophet Jonas.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
39. He answered Our Lord uniformly rebuked this demand for a sign. The temper of the demand itself was not to be indulged. Luke says that they made the request tempting, or making experiments upon him. They had a moblike desire to see splendid shows in the sky, not unlike the excitement of the populace for fireworks on some day of public celebration. And for a Messiah they wished a leader of the people who should gratify their riotous tastes and give them war and victory. This is the Messiah that gross human nature ever seeks. Adulterous Compare note, Mat 4:8, and introduction to chap. v, par. 4. Israel had once been, as it were, the true spouse and bride of Jehovah. Their true spouse now was Jesus, the Jehovah incarnate. But with a vile spiritual adultery they were forsaking him, and embracing in their hearts a false Messiah, the incarnation of their own riotous tastes and appetites. Hence they were not only an evil, but adulterous generation. Sign of the prophet Jonas Our Lord, even in refusing a sign, gives a sign. His prophecy of his burial, after the manner of the swallowing of Jonah, was in itself a miracle of foreknowledge, and so a proof of his Messiahship.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘But he answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and there will no sign be given to it apart from the sign of Jonah the prophet,” ’
‘Answered and said.’ In Matthew ‘answered’ does not necessarily refer back to a particular question. It rather has in mind that Jesus’ words are a total answer to all who hear them, that Jesus is God’s answer to all men’s questions.
Jesus’ reply is that the only reason that the present generation, who had seen His works (Mat 11:5; Mat 11:20-23), could possibly want a sign was because they were ‘evil and adulterous’, that is, because they had made ritual their god and their hearts were set on anything but God, with the result that they were unable to truly judge and weigh up His moral teaching and His life, and recognise that both were from God. For had they but recognised it, His unique teaching was the greatest sign of all, a sign which has carried on through the ages, leaving all who have read it without excuse. Our present generation also will be judged by the fact that it has the teaching of Jesus in all its splendour, and yet have refused to acknowledge it in any significant way, and to respond to the One Who gave it. The principle, ‘If any man wills to do His will, He will know of the teaching, whether it be of God’ (Joh 7:17), still applies. Thus all men and women will be judged by their reaction to that teaching and to the One Who is its source.
They thus have all the proof that they need before their eyes. Nineveh had recognised such teaching, even from a lesser man, and so had the queen of the south, Gentiles all, and all had responded to it, but the Jews who now had something greater, had not because they were evil and adulterous. They had replaced God in their hearts by His own Law as interpreted by them, and had gone astray after ritual, while at the same time altering His Law to suit their own ideas. For such spiritual adultery see also Mat 16:4: Mar 8:38; Isa 57:3; Eze 16:32; Eze 16:36; Eze 23:37; Eze 23:45; Hosea 1-3.
Furthermore it also signified that they were unbelieving and faithless, and that they had forsaken the true God in their hearts, judging Him only in unworthy ways, and refusing to believe unless He did things their way, and continually proved Himself. They wanted constant evidences, thereby underlining their unbelief. It is one of the ironies of history that the very people who always wanted to see the spectacular, had on the other hand taken God’s living Law and turned it into chains and manacles as a result of its formality and excessive restraint. They were like the adulterous wife of Hosea (Hos 1:2), taken up with anyone and anything except faithfulness, except what represented the truth. Josephus later tells us that they were also evil and adulterous in practise, (‘that period had somehow become so prolific of crime of every description amongst the Jews, that no deed of iniquity was left unperpetrated, nor, had man’s wit been exercised to devise it, could he have discovered any new form of vice’ (not already being practised)) which was the kind of behaviour that went along with their spiritual attitude.
For their being ‘evil’ compare Mat 12:34. There they had revealed their evil by how they had responded to His casting out of demons. Here it was by how they responded to Him and to His teaching.
So Jesus warns them that He will only give them one sign, the sign of the prophet Jonah, although, as Mar 8:11-12 brings out, it is not the kind of sign that they are looking for. That kind of sign He will not give them! Jonah was called by God to preach in godless Nineveh, but he tried to avoid the task and ended up within the insides of a large fish. Released from there after three days, through fervent prayer, he went and preached in Nineveh where there was instant revival, with the people repenting in sackcloth and ashes (a sign of their repentance). Jesus will use both these ideas for His signs.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
The refusal:
v. 39. But He answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign, and there shall no sign be given to it but the sign of the prophet Jonas.
v. 40. For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly, so shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. An evil brood and adulterous He calls them. He saw into their hearts and judged them accordingly. He knew what their purpose in asking a miracle was, since they were not earnest seekers after truth. In a spiritual sense they were adulterers, Isa 23:17; they were idolaters, since they rejected Him, the Messiah of the world. They would join with the heathens in the act of His condemnation and crucifixion. One sign, one great miracle, indeed, would be given to them and to the world: His resurrection, typified in the history of the prophet Jonas. The belief in His resurrection will for this generation and for all the generations to come be the touchstone by which the followers of Christ will be distinguished from His enemies. Jesus refers to the time between His burial and resurrection according to the Jewish manner of reckoning time, any part of a day being counted as a full day.
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
Mat 12:39 . ] , Theophylact. The Hebrew (Psa 73:27 ; Isa 57:3 ff.; Eze 23:27 , al. ) conceived his sacred relation to God as represented by the figure of marriage, hence idolatry and intercourse with Gentiles were spoken of as adultery. Gesenius, Thes. I. p. 422. On this occasion Jesus transfers the figure to moral unfaithfulness to God , Jas 4:4 ; Rev 2:20 ff.
] generation; the representatives of which had certainly made the request, while the multitude, Mat 12:46 , was likewise present.
] See on Mat 6:32 .
] Seeing that the demand of the Pharisees had manifestly pointed to a sign of a higher order than any with which Jesus had hitherto favoured them, that is to say, some wonderful manifestation, by which He might now prove, as He had never done before, that He was unquestionably the Messiah for they would not admit that the miracles they had already seen were possessed of the evidential force of the actual ; it is certain that, in this His reply, Jesus must likewise have used as meaning pre-eminently a confirmatory sign of a very special and convincing nature. Consequently there is no need to say that we are here precluded from looking upon the miracles in the light of signs, and that, according to our passage, they were not performed with any such object in view (de Wette); rather let us maintain, that they were certainly performed for such a purpose (Joh 11:41 f., with which Joh 4:48 is not at variance, comp. the note following Mat 8:4 ), though, in the present instance, it is not these that are referred to, but a sign , such as the Pharisees contemplated in their demand. Euth. Zigabenus (comp. Chrysostom) inaptly observes: ; ; , .
. ] which was given in the person of Jonah , Joh 2:1 . Jesus thus indicates His resurrection , , Euth. Zigabenus. Notice the emphasis in the thrice repeated .
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
DISCOURSE: 1357
JONAH A TYPE OF CHRIST
Mat 12:39-41. But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign, and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the Prophet Jonas. For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whales belly, so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here.
UNREASONABLE and wicked men are ready to complain of want of evidence, when they neither attentively consider the means of conviction, that are afforded them, nor act agreeably to the convictions, that are already impressed upon their minds. This was eminently the character of the Jews in our Lords days. They had a right indeed to expect, that their religion, which had been confirmed by so many miracles, should not be superseded by any religion, which did not exhibit the same credentials. But the miracles wrought by our Lord were so numerous, so plain, and evident, that his enemies, unable to question the reality of them, ascribed them to the agency of Satan. Yet the Jews still demanded of him a sign, and, to satisfy their incredulity, he must give them a sign from heaven [Note: Luk 11:16; Luk 11:29.]. It is to persons of this description that our Lord replies in the words before us; telling them, that no different kind of sign should be given them, till his resurrection; and, that the repenting Ninevites would in the last day condemn their obstinacy and unbelief.
The text naturally leads us to shew,
I.
Wherein Jonah was a type of Christ
Whatever agreement there is between the histories of Jonah and of Christ; the leading points, wherein the former typified our Lord, are two:
1.
His miraculous restoration to dry land after having been three days confined in the belly of a fish
[This was doubtless a wonderful event; that he should be preserved three days in the belly of a fish, unhurt; and that, after so long a continuance in that situation, the fish, which seemed destined for his destruction, should be the instrument of his preservation! To this, under God, we must ascribe the efficacy of his word at Nineveh; for our Lord tells us, that, by this means, he was made a sign to the Ninevites. What means they had of ascertaining the fact itself, we do not exactly know; but they evidently had not the smallest doubt respecting the truth of it; and therefore they received his message as coming immediately from God.
Now in this he was evidently a type of Christ. Our Lord having, like Jonah, been voluntarily delivered up to death for the salvation of others, was confined in the heart of the earth. The term of his imprisonment there was the same with that of Jonahs continuance in the fishs belly; yet he saw no corruption; and, at the appointed time, he burst the bands of death (of which it was not possible he should be holden) and thus became a sign to the Jewish nation [Note: Luk 11:30.]. On this he laid the whole stress of his Messiahship, while he was yet ministering among his countrymen; and, after the event had taken place, he gave so many, and such convincing, evidences of the fact, as to leave no possibility of doubt respecting his divine mission: this therefore was made the very corner-stone of Christianity; and his sending down of the Spirit on the day of Pentecost in consequence of his resurrection, was such a sign from heaven as must leave unbelievers without excuse to all eternity.]
2.
His successful preaching consequent upon it
[The effect of Jonahs preaching stands perhaps unrivalled from the foundation of the world. The large and populous city instantly received the word, and, though Gentiles by nature, began to call upon Jehovah; so that, from the king upon his throne to the very meanest of his subjects, they all humbled themselves before him in sackcloth and ashes: nor did they cease from their cries, till the wrath of God was averted from them.
And must not this event lead our minds to Jesus, who is no less a light to lighten the Gentiles, than he is the glory of his people Israel? His ministry among the Jews indeed was attended with small success, though ultimately they shall be again engrafted on their own stock: but how rapid, how extensive, has been the effect of his word among the Gentiles! Many myriads have already turned from idols to serve the living and true God: and in due season the whole Gentile world shall flock to his standard [Note: Isa 11:10.], and all flesh behold the salvation of God.]
But notwithstanding this honour put upon Jonah, it will be proper to notice,
II.
His inferiority to him whom he typified
Though we are disposed to cast a veil over the infirmities of Gods servants, yet the peculiarity of Jonahs character, no less than the very words of the text, requires that his inferiority to the Saviour should be strongly marked. We may observe it,
1.
In his office and character
[Jonah was indeed a prophet of the Most High God; but he had as great corruptions as could well consist with a converted state. The whole of his conduct, from first to last, indicated a proud, peevish, discontented, uncharitable, and rebellious disposition; so that it is even a great stretch of charity to believe that he had any piety at all. But the blessed Jesus was free from every species and degree of sin; and was no other than the Messiah himself, even the very Son of God, Jehovahs Fellow, the brightness of his Fathers glory, and the express image of his person. Methinks, therefore, he did not arrogate much to himself, when he said, Behold, a greater than Jonas is here.]
2.
In his manner of executing his office
[Jonah executed the prophetic office among the ten tribes [Note: 2Ki 14:25.]; but we know nothing of his spirit, except from the book which bears his name. And here we see, that he did not enter on his office without great reluctance, fleeing from God, in order to avoid an embassy, which he was afraid would be attended with personal danger or disgrace. When he was in the midst of the storm, which endangered the vessel wherein he was sailing, he, a professor of the true religion, he, a prophet of Jehovah, he, who was the occasion of the storm, was sleeping, while the heathen sailors were crying to their gods; and he was reproached for his supineness by the very heathens themselves [Note: Jon 1:5-6.]. After God himself had interposed to mark him as the occasion of the storm, so that he could conceal his guilt no longer, he confessed his wickedness, and acknowledged to the crew, that the only way of saving the ship, was, to cast him overboard. This done, a fish was prepared to swallow him; and constrained to deliver him safely upon dry land. After this, we might hope, he had attained a better spirit; but alas! though compelled to deliver his message, he preferred his own honour before the salvation of a million souls; instead of once interceding for them, he waited with anxious expectation to see his word fulfilled, and even quarrelled with God for extending his mercy to them [Note: Jon 4:2-5.].
How different was the conduct of our adorable Jesus! He willingly left the bosom of his Father, to become a messenger to our guilty world [Note: Psa 40:7-9.]. So far from wishing to avoid disgrace or danger, he gladly submitted to the accursed death of the cross, and gave his own life a ransom for many. Instead of sleeping while others prayed, he continued whole nights in prayer for those, who were insensible of their danger; and, instead of grieving at the salvation of those who received him, he wept over the impenitence of those who rejected him [Note: Luk 19:41.]. All concern for himself was lost in his concern for others. And his restoration to life, which was effected by his own almighty power, was made the means of more abundant and effectual exertions on behalf of those to whom he was sent. And the more his efforts were crowned with success, the more did he glorify God on the behalf of those who obtained mercy.]
3.
In the success with which he executed it
[Jonah prevailed to the outward reformation and temporal preservation, of one single city But Jesus does, and will, prevail to the spiritual renovation, and everlasting salvation of a whole world How exalted is he in this view, and how worthy of our highest praise!]
We may observe from this subject,
1.
How certainly is Christ the true Messiah!
[The Ninevites knew for certain the divine mission of Jonah, by means of his miraculous deliverance from the fishs belly. How evidently then is Christ declared to be the Son of God with power by his resurrection from the dead [Note: Rom 1:4.]! Let then every word of his, by whomsoever it be delivered, be received, not as the word of man, but, as it is in truth, the word of God ]
2.
How inexcusable are they, who continue impenitent under the preaching of the Gospel!
[Jonah simply denounced the vengeance of God against the Ninevites, without making them any offer of mercy, or even intimating, that there was any possibility that the sentence might be reversed; yea, and without so much as working one single miracle in confirmation of his word: yet they, though heathens, trembled at the very first denunciations of Gods wrath, and set themselves to repent and turn from their sins, upon the slightest hope that peradventure God might turn from his fierce anger [Note: Jon 3:5-9]. How then ought we to seek the Lord, who have not merely temporal ruin, but eternal condemnation, denounced against us; who, besides this, have promises of mercy also set before us, to encourage our repentance; and both the threatenings and the promises confirmed by ten thousand miracles! Surely the Ninevites will rise up in judgment against us at the last day, if we continue obdurate under such means as are used to reclaim us.]
3.
How certainly may they expect mercy, who repent and believe in Christ!
[We have no reason to think, that the repentance of the Ninevites was genuine and abiding: it is more probable that it resembled that of Ahab, both in its nature and duration [Note: 1Ki 21:27-29.]. Still, however, it was the means of preserving all of them from the threatened calamities. And shall not true repentance, accompanied with faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, avail for the salvation of our souls? Will that God, whom Jonah reproached for the unbounded extent of his grace and mercy, cast out any who come to him by Jesus Christ [Note: Joh 6:37.]? We need not fear: it is not a peradventure, but a certainty, that God will save them to the uttermost. Let us then seek the Lord in his appointed way, that we may be monuments of his mercy to all eternity.]
Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)
39 But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas:
Ver. 39. An evil and adulterous generation, &c. ] Spuria soboles, a bastardly brood. So he calleth them, because utterly degenerate from their forefathers’ faith and holiness.
Seeking after a sign ] , summo studio efflagitat. Seeking with utmost earnestness, as if it were such a business as must be done or they were undone. It is the guise of hypocrites to be hot in a cold matter, to show great zeal in trifles, neglecting the main meanwhile.
But the sign of the prophet Jonas ] Nor that neither, but for a further mischief to them; as their fathers had quails to choke them, a king to vex them, &c., and as Ahaz had a sign, whether he would or no, to render him the more inexcusable. Deus saepe dat iratus, quod negat propitius. God gives his enemies some giftless gifts ( , Soph.), as Saul gave Michal to David, to be a snare to him; or as Christ gave Judas the bag, to discover the rottenness of his heart.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
39. ] (see reff.), because they had been the peculiar people of the Lord, and so in departing from Him had broken the covenant of marriage , according to the similitude so common in the Prophets.
The expression . does not, as De Wette maintains, exclude our Lord’s miracles from being : but is the direct answer to their request in the sense in which we know they used , ‘a sign, not wrought by Him, and so able to be suspected of magic art , but one from Heaven .’ Besides, even if this were not so, how can the refusing to work a miracle to satisfy them , affect the nature or signification of those wrought on different occasions, and with a totally different view? And yet on ground like this it is (De Wette, vol. i. p. 147) that rationalistic systems are built. ; ; , , , . Euthym [125] in loc. Notice ; not merely qurit, but requirit; misses, and demands as a sine qu non. See Palm and Rost’s Lex. sub voce.
[125] Euthymius Zigabenus, 1116
The sign of Jonas is the most remarkable foreshadowing in the O.T. of the resurrection of our Lord. It was of course impossible that His resurrection should be represented by an actual resurrection, as his birth was by births (Isaac, Samson, Samuel, Mahershalalhashbaz), and His death by deaths (Abel; the substitute for Isaac; Zechariah the prophet; the daily and occasional sacrifices); so that we find the events symbolic of his resurrection (Joseph’s history; Isaac’s sacrifice; Daniel’s and Jonah’s deliverance), representing it in a figure (Heb 11:19 , ). In the case before us the figure was very remarkable, and easily to be recognized in the O.T. narrative. For Jonah himself calls the belly of the sea monster ( Jon 2:2 ), ‘the belly of Hades,’ = here. And observe, that the type is not of our Lord’s body being deposited in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea, for neither could that be called ‘the heart of the earth,’ nor could it be said that ‘the Son of Man’ was there during the time; but of our Lord’s personal descent into the place of departed souls: see Eph 4:9 ; 1Pe 3:19 , and note on Luk 23:43 .
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Mat 12:39 . as in Mat 11:16 , a moral class, “quae in omni malitia et improbitate vivit,” Suicer, s. v. . , unfaithful to God as a wife to a husband, apt description of men professing godliness but ungodly in heart. , hankers after, as in Mat 6:32 ; characteristic; men that have no light within crave external evidence, which given would be of no service to them. Therefore: : it will not be given either by Jesus or by any one else. He declines, knowing it to be vain. No sign will convince them; why give one? , etc.: except the sign of Jonah the prophet, which was no sign in their sense. What is referred to? But for what follows we should have said: the preaching of repentance by Jonah to the Ninevites. So Luk 11:30 seems to take it. Jonah preached repentance to the men of Nineveh as the only way of escape from judgment. Jesus points to that historic instance and says: Beware! Jonah was not the only prophetic preacher of repentance; but, as Nineveh is held up as a reproach to the persons addressed, to single him out was fitting.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
adulterous. Spiritually. See Jer 3:9. Eze 23:37, &c
generation. Greek. genea. Not the same as in Mat 12:34. See note on Mat 11:16.
seeketh: or, is for ever seeking.
Jonas = Jonah. See App-117.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
39.] (see reff.), because they had been the peculiar people of the Lord, and so in departing from Him had broken the covenant of marriage, according to the similitude so common in the Prophets.
The expression . does not, as De Wette maintains, exclude our Lords miracles from being : but is the direct answer to their request in the sense in which we know they used , a sign, not wrought by Him, and so able to be suspected of magic art, but one from Heaven. Besides, even if this were not so, how can the refusing to work a miracle to satisfy them, affect the nature or signification of those wrought on different occasions, and with a totally different view? And yet on ground like this it is (De Wette, vol. i. p. 147) that rationalistic systems are built. ; ; , , , . Euthym[125] in loc. Notice ; not merely qurit, but requirit; misses, and demands as a sine qu non. See Palm and Rosts Lex. sub voce.
[125] Euthymius Zigabenus, 1116
The sign of Jonas is the most remarkable foreshadowing in the O.T. of the resurrection of our Lord. It was of course impossible that His resurrection should be represented by an actual resurrection, as his birth was by births (Isaac, Samson, Samuel, Mahershalalhashbaz), and His death by deaths (Abel; the substitute for Isaac; Zechariah the prophet; the daily and occasional sacrifices); so that we find the events symbolic of his resurrection (Josephs history; Isaacs sacrifice; Daniels and Jonahs deliverance), representing it in a figure (Heb 11:19, ). In the case before us the figure was very remarkable, and easily to be recognized in the O.T. narrative. For Jonah himself calls the belly of the sea monster (Jon 2:2), the belly of Hades, = here. And observe, that the type is not of our Lords body being deposited in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea, for neither could that be called the heart of the earth, nor could it be said that the Son of Man was there during the time; but of our Lords personal descent into the place of departed souls:-see Eph 4:9; 1Pe 3:19, and note on Luk 23:43.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Mat 12:39. , a generation) A race of the same age and disposition.-, adulterous) i.e. strictly so speaking: see ch. Mat 5:32; and also, by synecdoche, very guilty; see Jam 4:4.-, a sign) and one too of a certain special kind. This word is thrice repeated here with great emphasis; cf. 2Co 11:12, where the meaning is, They wish for an occasion, and no occasion is given them; which resembles what is said here, They seek for a sign, and no sign shall be given them.- seeketh in addition) i.e. beyond those which it has already seen, it requires further signs, as if it had seen none yet.- , the sign of Jonah) that is such a one as was given in Jonah.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
adulterous: Isa 57:3, Mar 8:38, Jam 4:4
no sign: Mat 16:4, Luk 11:29, Luk 11:30
Reciprocal: Exo 7:9 – Show 2Ki 14:25 – Jonah Jer 7:29 – generation Jon 1:1 – Jonah Mat 12:41 – this Mat 16:1 – a sign Mar 8:12 – There Mar 10:34 – and the Luk 9:41 – perverse Luk 11:16 – General Joh 6:30 – What Rom 2:22 – adultery 1Co 1:22 – the Jews
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
2:39
For the reasons expressed in the preceding paragraph, Jesus called them an evil generation and refused to perform any miracle at that time. However, he was willing to stake his reputation as a prophet on an event yet to come.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas:
[An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign.] I. Their schools also confessed, that signs and miracles were not to be expected but by a fit generation.
“The elders being once assembled at Jericho, the Bath Kol went forth and said, There is one among you who is fit to have the Holy Ghost dwell upon him, but that [this] generation is not fit. They fix their eyes upon Hillel the Elder. The elders being assembled again in an upper room in Jabneh, Bath Kol came forth and said, There is one among you who is fit to have the Holy Spirit dwell upon him, but that the generation is not fit. They cast their eyes upon Samuel the Little.”
II. That generation by which and in which the Lord of life was crucified lay, and that deservedly, under an ill report for their great wickedness above all other, from the beginning of the world until that day. Whence that of the prophet, “Who shall declare his generation?” Isa 53:2; that is, his generation (viz. that generation in which he should live) should proceed to that degree of impiety and wickedness, that it should surpass all expression and history. We have observed before, how the Talmudists themselves confess, that that generation in which the Messias should come should exceed all other ages in all kinds of amazing wickedness.
III. That nation and generation might be called adulterous literally; for what else, I beseech you, was their irreligious polygamy than continual adultery? And what else was their ordinary practice of divorcing their wives, no less irreligious, according to every man’s foolish or naughty will?
[But the sign of Jonah the prophet.] Here and elsewhere, while he gives them the sign of Jonah, he does not barely speak of the miracle done upon him which was to be equalled in the Son of man, but girds them with a silent check; instructing them thus much, that the Gentiles were to be converted by him, after his return out of the bowels of the earth, as heathen Nineveh was converted, after Jonah was restored out of the belly of the whale. Than which doctrine scarce anything bit that nation more sharply.
Fuente: Lightfoot Commentary Gospels
Mat 12:39. An evil and adulterous generation. These Pharisees represent the great part of the Jewish people, who looked for a temporal Deliverer, showing signs from heaven. Here, as in the Old Testament, adulterous means unfaithful to God, idolatrous. Their craving after a sign was a token of the same spirit of apostacy which made them join with heathen idolaters in crucifying Jesus.
Seeketh after, craves, demands as essential. Comp. 1Co 1:22.
There shall no sign be given to it. No sign, to confirm their false views of the Messiah.
The sign of Jonah the prophet. One great sign would be given, typified in the history of Jonah,the death and resurrection of Christ. The sign of Messiahship, like the Messiah Himself, was the reverse of their expectations: not a sign from heaven, but from the heart of the earth.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
12:39 But he answered and said unto them, An evil and {f} adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas:
(f) Bastard, who fell from Abraham’s faith or forsook the true worship of God.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
The evil and adulterous generation was the larger group of unbelieving Jews that the scribes and Pharisees represented. Adultery is a common Old Testament metaphor for spiritual apostasy, departure from God (Isa 50:1; Isa 57:3; Jer 3:8; Jer 13:27; Jer 31:32; Eze 16:15; Eze 16:32; Eze 16:35-42; Hos 2:1-7; Hos 3:1; Hos 7:13-16). God had granted signs in the past to strengthen the weak faith of believers such as Abraham, Joshua, and Gideon. Jesus refused to give His critics one since they wanted a sign to trap Him rather than to bolster weak faith.
The sign of Jonah was not a sign for the scribes and Pharisees. It became a sign to believers in Him later. The sign of Jonah means the sign that Jonah was to the Ninevites. He signified one whom God had delivered from certain death. [Note: Eugene H. Merrill, "The Sign of Jonah," Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 23 (1980):23-30.] Jesus’ use of "Son of Man" stressed His suffering role (cf. Mat 8:20). The "heart" of the earth may recall Jon 2:3 (cf. Psa 46:2). This is a reference to Jesus’ burial. Jesus was saying that His deliverance from death in the grave, which would be similar to Jonah’s deliverance, only greater, would prove His claims. As the Jews reckoned time, three days and three nights meant three full days or any parts of three days. [Note: Carson, "Matthew," p. 296.] Jesus was in the grave for parts of three days.