The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and, behold, a greater than Jonah [is] here.
41. in judgment with ] More exactly, stand up in the judgment, i. e. in the day of judgment, beside. When on the day of judgment the Ninevites stand side by side with the men of that generation, they will by their penitence condemn the impenitent Jews.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 41. The men of Nineveh shell rise in judgment] The voice of God, threatening temporal judgments, caused a whole people to repent, who had neither Moses nor Christ, neither the law nor the prophets; and who perhaps never had but this one preacher among them. What judgment may not we expect, if we continue impenitent, after all that God has bestowed upon us?
A greater than Jonas is here.] , for , something more. The evidence offered by Jonah sufficed to convince and lead the Ninevites to repentance; but here was more evidence, and a greater person; and yet so obstinate are the Jews that all is ineffectual.
1. Christ, who preached to the Jews, was infinitely greater than Jonah, in his nature, person, and mission.
2. Jonah preached repentance in Nineveh only forty days, and Christ preached among the Jews for several years.
3. Jonah wrought no miracles to authorize his preaching; but Christ wrought miracles every day, in every place where he went, and of every kind. And
4. Notwithstanding all this, the people of Judea did not repent, though the people of Nineveh did.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
The story of the men of Nineveh we have in Jon 3:1-10. Luke repeateth the same passage, Luk 11:32.
The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment, that is, shall at the general resurrection rise, and stand up in judgment as witnesses against the scribes and Pharisees, and the other unbelieving Jews of this age, and shall be instruments as to that condemnation which God shall that day pronounce against them. Why?
Because they repented at the preaching of Jonas and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here. Jonas was a stranger to them, he wrought no miracles amongst them to confirm that he was sent of God, he only came and cried, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be destroyed; yet they repented, if not truly and sincerely, yet in appearance; they showed themselves to be affected with what Jonah said, his words made some impressions upon them, as that the king arose from his throne, laid his robe from him, covered him with sackcloth, and sat in ashes, called a fast, as Jon 3:5-8. But, saith our Saviour, I am greater than Jonah: I was long since prophesied of, and foretold to this people, to come; I am come; I have preached amongst them, and not only preached, but wrought many wonderful works amongst them, yet they are not so much affected as to show the least signs of repentance.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
41. The men of Nineveh shall rise injudgment with this generation, c.The Ninevites, thoughheathens, repented at a man’s preaching while they, God’scovenant-people, repented not at the preaching of the Son ofGodwhose supreme dignity is rather implied here than expressed.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment,…. Alluding either to the custom and practice of witnesses, who rise up from their seats, and stand, when they give in their testimonies in a court of judicature; or else, referring to the time of the general resurrection from the dead, at the last day, when these men shall rise from the dead, and stand in judgment
with this generation; shall rise when they do, and stand before the judgment seat together, and be against them,
and shall condemn them; not as judges of them, but by their example and practices, which will be brought above board, and observed as an aggravation of the guilt and condemnation of the Jews: so the lives and conversations of the saints condemn the wicked now, and will do hereafter: in this sense the word is used in the Talmud o; where having related how Hillell, though a poor man, and R. Eleazar, though a rich man, studied in the law, and Joseph, though youthful, gay, and beautiful, withstood the importunities of his mistress, it is observed, that Hillell , “condemned” the poor; and R. Eleazar ben Harsum condemned the rich; and Joseph condemned the wicked: in like manner, the Ninevites will condemn the Jews,
because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; a mere man, a single prophet, a stranger to these men, who only preached, and wrought no miracle among them, and his stay with them was very short; whereas the men of this generation had the Son of God “sent” to them, had the ministry of his apostles, and of John the Baptist, and a variety of miracles wrought among them; and all this for a series and course of years, and yet remained impenitent: the chief aggravation of their impenitence, and what made it the more astonishing was, that so great a person was in the midst of them;
and behold, a greater than Jonas is here; meaning himself, who was greater in person, office, doctrine, miracles, life, obedience, sufferings, death, and resurrection from the dead. The Ninevites, though a Heathenish people, having but forty days allowed them to repent in, upon Jonas’s preaching, repented immediately; whereas the Jews, though God’s: professing people, and having forty years, from Christ’s resurrection, allowed them to repent in, yet did not at all; and though the repentance of the Ninevites was but an external one, in dust and ashes, yet it was what secured them from temporal ruin; as the Jews would have been saved from the destruction that came upon their temple, city, and nation, had they repented but as they did.
o T. Bab. Yoma, fol. 35. 2.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
In the judgment ( ). Except here and in the next verse Matthew has “day of judgment” ( ) as in Matt 10:15; Matt 11:22; Matt 11:24; Matt 12:36. Luke (Lu 10:14) has .
They repented at the preaching of Jonah ( ). Note this use of just like . Note also (neuter), not (masc.). See the same idiom in 12:6 and 12:48. Jesus is something greater than the temple, than Jonah, than Solomon. “You will continue to disbelieve in spite of all I can say or do, and at last you will put me to death. But I will rise again, a sign for your confusion, if not for your conversion” (Bruce).
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Shall rise up [] . Rev., stand up. Come forward as witnessed. Compare Job 16:9, Sept.; Mr 14:57. There is no reference to rising from the dead. Similarly shall rise up, ver. 42. Compare Mt 11:11; Mt 24:11.
A greater [] . Lit., something more. See on ver. 6.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “The men of Nineveh shall rise,” (andres Ninevitai anastesontai) “Ninevite men will stand up,” to witness their repentance to God their obedience to God at the preaching of Jonah they shall stand up quickly, voluntarily to witness, Jon 3:5.
2) “In judgment with this generation,” (en te krisei meta tes geneas tautes) “In the judgment with this generation,” of Christ rejecting Jews, as taught Ecc 12:13-14; When Jesus shall judge all men, Joh 5:22; Joh 5:27; Joh 5:30.
3) “And shall condemn it:” (kai katakrinousin auten) “And they will condemn it,” by their testimony, that they responded to the Divine call to repentance for their sins, Act 17:30-31.
4) “Because they repented at the preaching of Jonas;” (hoti meteneosan eis to kerugma Iona) “Because they repented with respect to the proclamation or preaching of Jonah,” Jon 3:5.
5) “And behold, a greater than Jonas is here.” (kai dou pleion Iona hode) “And behold a greater one than Jonah is here,” or a greater challenge than that of Jonah confronts you all, Luk 11:32.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
Mat 12:41
. The men of Nineveh will rise in judgment. Having spoken of the Ninevites, Christ takes occasion to show that the scribes and others, by whom his doctrine is rejected, are worse than the Ninevites were. “Ungodly men,” he says, “who never had heard a word of the true God, repented at the voice of an unknown and foreign person who came to them; while this country, which is the sanctuary of heavenly doctrine, hears not the Son of God, and the promised Redeemer.” Here lies the contrast which is implied in the comparison. We know who the Ninevites were, men altogether unaccustomed to hear prophets, and destitute of the true doctrine. Jonah had no rank to secure their respect, but was likely to be rejected as a foreigner. The Jews, on the other hand, boasted that among them the Word of God had its seat and habitation. If they had beheld Christ with pure eyes, (167) they must have acknowledged, not only that he was a teacher sent from heaven, but that he was the Messiah, and the promised Author of Salvation. But if that nation was convicted of desperate ungodliness, for despising Christ while he spoke to them on earth, we are worse than all the unbelievers that ever existed, if the Son of God, now that he inhabits his sanctuary in heaven, and addresses us with a heavenly voice, does not bring us to obey him. Whether the men of Nineveh were truly and perfectly turned to God I judge it unnecessary to inquire. It is enough for the present purpose that they were so deeply affected by the teaching of Jonah, as to have their minds directed to repentance.
(167) “ D’un oeil pur, et sans mauvaise affection;” — “with a pure eye, and without evil disposition.”
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(41) The men of Nineveh shall rise . . .The reasoning is parallel with that of the references to Tyre and Sidon, Sodom and Gomorrah in Mat. 11:21-24, but with this difference, that there the reference was to what might have been, here to what actually had been. The repentance of the heathen, and their search after wisdom, with far poorer opportunities, would put to shame the slowness and unbelief of Israel. The word rise is used not of the mere fact of resurrection but of standing up as witnesses. (Comp. Joh. 16:8.)
A greater than Jonas.No chapter contains more marvellous assertions of our Lords superhuman majesty. Greater than the Temple (Mat. 12:6), greater than Jonas, greater than Solomon: could this be rightly claimed by any man for himself who was not more than man?
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
41. Shall condemn it The far superior example of the Ninevites shall reflect condemnation on the Jerusalemites. They repented Though Jonah and Nineveh were a type of Jesus and Jerusalem, yet there is one point in which there is contrast rather than parallel. Nineveh repented on much less evidence. Jerusalem rejected the most beneficent miracles, persisted in sin, and died in impenitence. Thus did our Lord, in refusing a sign, give a sign and a witness.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
“The men of Nineveh will arise in the judgment with this generation, and will condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, a greater than Jonah is here.”
The second, but lesser, sign lay in Jonah’s evangelistic ministry. Jonah had gone to Nineveh and there had been a great revival with many repenting. But it was short and sweet. John had done the same thing in Judea but over a longer period, and bringing far more to repentance. Jesus, however, had outshone them both (see Joh 4:1). Thus it should have been clear to all that ‘a greater than Jonah’ was here. That is why the Gentile Ninevites will stand up or arise (anistemi – ‘rise’) at the judgment and pass judgment on Jesus’ generation, for even though they saw none of the signs and wonders that were now being seen, yet they had repented in their thousands. As resurrected saints they will not be able to credit how the Jews could have rejected Jesus, and will condemn them. Note that they will be there as those who are truly believers. They are not like the Tyre, Sidon and Sodom of the past.
‘A greater.’ Literally ‘something greater’. Jesus is not only a greater prophet, He is greater in an even more distinctive way. Compare Mat 12:6.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
A warning call:
v. 41. 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.
v. 42. The queen of the South shall rise up in the Judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it; for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here. The mention of Jonas brings on the further thought. The Ninevites heard and heeded the call to repentance as it was made by Jonas, Jon 3:10. He was only a prophet called by God to bring this message, whereas here was the Author of the message Himself in the midst of the Jews, and both His person and His message were unheeded. On the Day of Judgment, therefore, these heathen people will rise in accusation against the Jewish nation and their leaders. They will bring a formal charge and complaint, and show them to be guilty in their rejection of Christ. In the same way the great queen that came to see Solomon and hear his wisdom, 1Ki 10:1-29, will appear before the tribunal of God on the last day and add her testimony to that of the Ninevites for the condemnation of the Jews. From a far country, from Arabia Felix, she came to hear the wisdom of a mere man. But here the eternal Wisdom from on high was expounding the counsel of God from eternity, and yet that generation rejected Man and message.
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
Mat 12:41-42. The men of Nineveh, &c. The Ninevites being judged at the same time with the men of that generation, and their behaviour being compared together, should make the guilt of the latter appear in its true colours, and condemn them: for though they were idolaters, they repented at the preaching of Jonah, a stranger, a poor person, and one who continued among them only three days, and wrought no miracle among them to make them believe him: but the men of that generation, though worshippers of the true God by profession, could every day hear unmoved the much more powerful preaching of a prophet infinitely greater than Jonah; even the preaching of the eternal Son of God, who confirmed his doctrine by the most astonishing miracles. Our Saviour likewise told them that the queen of the south, (of the south country, Campbell,) being compared in the day of judgment with them, would condemn them; she having undertaken a long journey to hear the wisdom of Solomon; whereas they would not hear one infinitely wiser than Solomon, though he was come to their very doors; or, if they condescended to hear his wisdom, they would not embrace it. See the note on 1Ki 10:1. From the uttermost parts of the earth, , is rendered by some commentators, from the utmost bounds of the land. “I do not think,” says one of them, “that the word is used in the New Testament for the earth: is the land, by eminence; , the Roman empire; , the earth.” One cannot help remarking the very sublime manner, yet the perfect modesty and decorum, wherewith our Lord here speaksof himself. The humble form of his appearance, and his necessary reserve in declaring himself the Messiah in so many words, made it yet more expedient, that by such phrases as these before us, he should sometimes intimate it; and indeed, his saying that he was greater than Solomon, that most illustrious of all the descendants of David, was as plain an intimation as could well be given.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Mat 12:41 f. ] Men of Nineveh will come forward , that is to say, as witnesses . Similarly , Job 16:8 ; Mar 14:57 ; Plat. Legg. xi. p. 937 A; Plut. Marcell. 27. Precisely similar is the use of below (comp. Mat 11:11 , Mat 24:11 ). Others (Augustine, Beza, Elsner, Fritzsche) interpret: in vitam redibunt. This is flat and insipid, and inconsistent with .
] with, not: against. Both parties are supposed to be standing alongside of each other, or opposite each other, in the judgment.
.] by their conduct, , etc. “Ex ipsorum comparatione isti merito damnabuntur,” Augustine. Comp. Rom 2:27 .
] like Mat 12:6 , refers to the person of Jesus, which is a grander phenomenon than Jonah. For , comp. Mat 12:6 .
] a queen from the South, i.e. from Sheba in Southern Arabia, 1Ki 10:1 ff.; 2Ch 9:1 ff.
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
41 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.
Ver. 41. They repented at the preaching of Jonas ] At one single sermon of a mere stranger, who sang so doleful a ditty to them as the destruction of their town, and yet they repented. What will become of us? Vae torpori nostro. Alas, our numbness. If Mr Bradford so complained of his own unprofitableness under means, in those dim days, what cause have we now much more! Here in London, saith he, be such godly, goodly, and learned sermons, which these uncircumcised ears of mine do hear, at the least thrice a week, which were able to burst any man’s heart to relent, to repent, to believe, to love and fear that omnipotent gracious Lord. But mine adamantine, obstinate, most unkind, unthankful heart, hearing my Lord so sweetly calling and crying unto me, now by his law, now by his gospel, now by all his creatures, to come, to come even to himself; I hide me with Adam; I play not only Samuel running to Eli, but I play Jonah running to the sea, and there I sleep upon the hatches until he please to raise up a tempest, to turn and look upon me as he did upon Peter, &c.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
41, 42. . ] On the neuter, see above, Mat 12:6 , note. There is more than Jonas here. No matter so worthy of arousing repentance had ever been revealed or preached as the Gospel: no matter so worthy of exciting the earnest attention of all. And the Lord Himself , the Announcer of this Gospel, is greater than all the sons of men: his preaching , greater than that of Jonah: his wisdom , than that of Solomon.
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
41. ] In this verse there is no reference to the sign of Jonas spoken of above , but to a different matter, another way in which he should be a sign to this generation. See Luk 11:29 f., and note. (But the preaching of Jonas to the Ninevites was a sign after his resurrection: so shall the preaching of the Son of Man by His Spirit in His Apostles be after His resurrection. Stier.)
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Mat 12:41 . pplication of the reference in Mat 12:39 . The men of Nineveh are cited in condemnation of the Jewish contemporaries of Jesus. Cf. similar use of historic parallels in Mat 11:20-24 . , more than Jonah, cf. Mat 12:6 ; refers either to Jesus personally as compared with Jonah, or to His ministry as compared with Jonah’s. In the latter case the meaning is: there is far more in what is now going on around you to shut you up to repentance than in anything Jonah said to the men of Nineveh (so Grotius).
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
Matthew
‘A GREATER THAN JONAS’
Mat 12:41
There never was any man in his right mind, still more of influence on his fellows, who made such claims as to himself in such unmistakable language as Jesus Christ does. To say such things of oneself as come from His lips is a sign of a weak, foolish nature. It is fatal to all influence, to all beauty of character. It is not only that He claims official attributes as a fanatical or dishonest pretender to inspiration may do. He does that, but He does more-He declares Himself possessed of virtues which, if a man said he had them, it would be the best proof that he did not possess them and did not know himself. ‘I am the way and the truth and the life.’ ‘I am the light of the world’-a ‘greater than the temple,’ a greater than Jonah, a ‘greater than Solomon,’ and then withal ‘I am meek and lowly of heart.’ And the world believes Him, and says, Yes! it is true.
These three comparisons of Jesus with Temple, Jonas, and Solomon, carry great claims and great lessons. By the first Jesus asserts that He is in reality all that the Temple was in shadowy symbol, and sets Himself above ritual, sacrifices, and priests. By the second he asserts His superiority not only to one prophet but to them all. By the third He asserts His superiority to Solomon, whom the Jews reverenced as the bright, consummate flower of kinghood.
Now we may take this comparison as giving us positive thoughts about our Lord. The points of comparison may be taken to be three, with Jonah as one of an order, with Jonah in his personal character as a servant of God, with Jonah as a prophet charged with a special work.
I. The prophets and the Son.
Compare it with Paul’s, ‘Unto me who am less than the least of all saints’-’I am not a whit behind the chief of the Apostles’-’though I be nothing’-’Not I, but Christ in me.’ And yet this is meekness, for it is infinite condescension in Him to compare Himself with any son of man.
a The contrast is suggested between the prophets and the theme of the prophets.
‘The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.’ Though undoubtedly the prophet order had other work than prediction to do, yet the soul of their whole work was the announcement of the Messiah.
In testimony whereof, Elijah, who was traditionally the chief of the prophets, stood beside Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration, and passed away as lost in His light.
b The contrast is suggested between the recipients of the word of God and the Word of God.
The relation of the prophets to their message is contrasted with His who was the Truth, who not merely received, but was, the Word of God.
There is nothing in Christ’s teaching to show that He was conscious of standing in a human relation to the truths which He spoke. His own personality is ever present in His teaching instead of being suppressed-as in all the prophets. His own personality is His teaching, for His revelation is by being as much as by saying. Similarly, His miracles are done by His own power.
c The contrast is suggested between the partial teacher of God’s Name and the complete revealer of it.
The foundation was laid by the prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief corner stone Heb 1:1.
II. The disobedient prophet and the perfect Son.
Take the story-his shrinking from the message given him. We know not why; but perhaps from faint-hearted fear, or from a sense of his unworthiness and unfitness for the task. His own words about God as long-suffering seem to suggest another reason, that he feared to go with a message of judgment which seemed to him so unlikely to be executed by the long-suffering God. If so, then what made him recreant was not so much fear from personal motives as intellectual perplexity and imperfect comprehension of the ways of God. Then we hear of his pitiable flight with its absurdity and its wickedness. Then comes the prayer which shows him to have been right and true at bottom, and teaches us that what makes a good man is not the absence of faults, but the presence of love and longing after God. Then we see the boldness of his mission. Then follows the reaction from that lofty height, the petulance or whatever else it was with which he sees the city spared. Even the mildest interpretation cannot acquit him of much disregard for the poor souls whom he had brought to repentance, and of dreadful carelessness for the life and happiness of his fellows.
Now Jonah’s behaviour is but a specimen of the vacillations, the alternations of feeling which beset every man; the loftiest, the truest, the best. Moses, David, Solomon, Elijah, John the Baptist, Peter, Luther, Cranmer. And it is full of instruction for us.
Then we turn to the contrast in Christ’s perfect obedience and faithfulness in His prophetic office. In Him is no trace of shrinking even when the grimness of the Cross weighed most on His heart. No confusion of mind as to the Father’s will, or as to the union in Him of perfect righteousness and infinite mercy, ever darkened His clear utterances or cast a shadow over his own soul. He was never weakened by the collapse that follows on great effort or strong emotion. He never failed in his mission through lack of pity.
But there is no need to draw out the comparison. We look on all God’s instruments, and see them all full of faults and flaws. Here is one stainless name, one life in which is no blot, one heart in which are no envy, no failings-one obedience which never varied. He says of Himself, ‘I do always those things which please Him,’ and we, thinking of all the noblest examples of virtue that the world has ever seen, and seeing in them all some speck, turn to this whole and perfect chrysolite and say, Yes! ‘a greater than they!’
III. The bearer of a transitory message of repentance to one Gentile people, and the bearer of an eternal message of grace and love to the whole earth.
The nature of his message; a preaching of punishment; a call to repentance.
The sphere of it-one Gentile city. The effect of it-transitory. We know what Nineveh became.
Jesus is greater than Jonah or any prophet in this respect, that His message is to the world, and in this, that what He preaches and brings far transcends even the loftiest and most spiritual words of any of them.
His voice is sweetest, tenderest, clearest and fullest of all that have ever sounded in men’s ears. And just because it is so, the hearing of it brings the most solemn responsibility that was ever laid on men, and to us still more gravely and truly may it be said than to those who heard Jesus speak on earth, ‘The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation and condemn it.’
Fuente: Expositions Of Holy Scripture by Alexander MacLaren
men. Greek No Art., plural of aner. App-123.
rise = stand up. Not the same word as in Mat 12:42.
judgment = the judgment, as in Mat 12:42. Compare Psa 1:5.
repented. The last reference to repentance in Matthew. See App-111.
preaching = proclamation. Compare App-121.
greater. See note on Mat 12:6.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
41, 42. . ] On the neuter, see above, Mat 12:6, note. There is more than Jonas here. No matter so worthy of arousing repentance had ever been revealed or preached as the Gospel: no matter so worthy of exciting the earnest attention of all. And the Lord Himself, the Announcer of this Gospel, is greater than all the sons of men: his preaching, greater than that of Jonah: his wisdom, than that of Solomon.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Mat 12:41. , men of Nineveh) whose example was followed by their wives and children. In the following verse, the example of one woman is added, who heard a wise man, though it might seem more natural for the weaker sex to seek prophecy than wisdom.-, shall rise) In the next verse, we find , shall he raised up; cf. in Luk 11:32; Luk 11:31; shall rise of their own accord, shall be raised up by the Divine volition. The force of each word is contained in the other.-, with-, shall condemn) Cf. Rom 2:27. Therefore, at the Last Judgment, those whose conduct is similar or opposite,[585] will be pitted in turn against each other.-, at) The faith of the Ninevites is hereby[586] asserted (proprie dicitur).-See Jon 3:5. Cf. the use of , in Rom 4:20.-, preaching) without miracles.[587]-, of Jonah) who was mentioned also in Mat 12:39. The messengers of salvation are prophets, wise men, and scribes; see ch. Mat 23:34. It did not become the Lord to act the Scribe; see Joh 7:15, and cf. Gnomon on Luk 4:16 : but He, the greatest Prophet, from the race of prophets selects him who best suited this occasion, namely Jonah; and, being wisdom itself, He, from the race of wise men, selects that distinguished wise man, Solomon; and declares that Something Greater than either of them was then present. Both of them had been believed without signs.-, Something Greater) He who is rather to be heard.[588]-, here) close at hand, cf. in the following verse.- , from the uttermost parts of the earth.
[585] Quorum par aut opposita est ratio,-who stand on a like, or a contrasted and opposite footing, in relation to the judgment.-ED.
[586] The implies the faith whereby they turned to, and believed in, the preaching of Jonah.-ED.
[587] As in the case of Solomon, Mat 12:42.-V. g.
[588] Who is Himself about to be the Judge.-V. g.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
The men of Nineveh
Again the rejected King announces judgment (cf) Mat 11:20-24 Israel, in the midst of the Pharisaic revival of outward religious strictness, was like a man out of whom a demon had “gone,” i.e, of his own volition. He would come back and find an empty house, etc. The personal application is to a mere self-cleansed moralist.
Nineveh vs. Jon 3:5-9; Luk 11:32 (See Scofield “Nah 1:1”).
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
men: Luk 11:32
rise: Mat 12:42, Isa 54:17, Jer 3:11, Eze 16:51, Eze 16:52, Rom 2:27, Heb 11:7
this: Mat 12:39, Mat 12:45, Mat 16:4, Mat 17:17, Mat 23:36
because: Jon 3:5-10
behold: Mat 12:6, Mat 12:42, Joh 3:31, Joh 4:12, Joh 8:53-58, Heb 3:5, Heb 3:6
Reciprocal: 2Ki 19:36 – Nineveh Isa 37:37 – Nineveh Jer 36:24 – nor rent Eze 3:6 – of a strange speech and of an hard language Mat 3:2 – Repent Mat 11:20 – because Mat 11:21 – for Mat 12:27 – they Luk 11:19 – shall
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
JONAHS MISSION
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.
Mat 12:41
Jonahs entrance into Nineveh was the greatest and most successful Mission which the world has ever seen. There is no parallel in all history of such preaching,such reformation,and such results!
I. Consider the city.The people were, undoubtedly, greatly debased. Their wickedness had come up before God, and His righteous anger was kindled against them. But is the picture drawn of Nineveh a darker picture than might be drawn of some of our English cities? The wickedness is gone up before God. There were different degrees of sinners. Some were comparatively respectable, while others were utterly degraded and licentious! But God regarded them collectively. God regards us collectively, at the same time that He sees us in the closest individuality; and each one who sins must bear His own burden. Still, as a family, or as a household, or as a church, or as a nation, or as a town, God does see us and deal with us as a whole.
II. Consider the man.Jonah was a religious man. Christ made him both His type and His witness. He had right and clear views of the character of God,views far before his age. Still, he had deep falls, and for them very heavy punishment. But saved by Providence, and restored by grace, he received a second call to his solemn Mission! In all this he was being trained and fitted for the work.
III. The power of Jonahs preaching.It was perfectly astounding! What is all the strength of all preaching? Not the words; not the power of the speaker; but the grace which God is pleased to add. And so it was when at that mans lips the whole town listened, believed, repented, fasted. And why should we lower our standard now, or set before us an inferior mark? According as our faith is, it will be with us; and the degree of the expectation of the future is always the measure of the memory of the past. Why should Nineveh be more blessed than we are? Why should the Mission preaching now tell less than Jonahs? Behold, a greater than Jonas is here!
The Rev. James Vaughan.
Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary
2:41
We know that Christ will be the only one to sit on the throne of judgment at the last day, hence all apparent statements to the contrary are to be understood in some accommodative sense. The word condemn is from KATAKRINO which Thayer defines, “b. by one’s good example to render another’s wickedness the more evident and censurable.” If the men of Nineveh were willing to repent at the preaching of a man like Jonas, there will be no excuse for people who have had that of the Son of man given them.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Mat 12:41. The men of Nineveh shall rise, i.e., as witnesses, by their example.
In the judgment, not in judgment.
With this generation, i.e., at the same time, not necessarily against them, although this would be the result.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Mat 12:41. The men of Nineveh, &c. The Ninevites being judged at the same time with the men of that generation, and their behaviour being compared with theirs, should make their guilt appear in its true colour and condemn them. For though they were idolaters, they repented at the preaching of Jonah, a stranger, a poor person, one that continued among them only three days, and wrought no miracle to make them believe him. But the men of that generation, though worshippers of the true God by profession, could every day hear unmoved the much more powerful preaching of a prophet infinitely greater than Jonah, even the preaching of the eternal Son of God, who confirmed his doctrine by the most astonishing miracles. Macknight. Of the reasons which might induce the Ninevites to repent, see note on Jon 3:5-6.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
12:41 {9} 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.
(9) Christ teaches, by the sorrowful example of the Jews, that there are none more miserable than they who put out the light of the gospel which was kindled in them.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
The Pharisees believed correctly that judgment followed resurrection. [Note: F. W. Green, ed., The Gospel According to Saint Matthew in the Revised Version, p. 183.] Jesus followed His comments about resurrection in Mat 12:40 with instruction about judgment in Mat 12:41.
His critics’ condemnation would be greater than that of the Ninevites because the Ninevites repented at Jonah’s preaching, but the scribes and Pharisees would not repent at Jesus’ preaching. Jesus did not mean that the believing Ninevites and the unbelieving Jews of Jesus’ day would appear before God at the same time. That is clear because the Ninevites would not condemn the Jews, but God would. Jesus meant that the believing Ninevites could testify against the unbelieving Jews when each group appeared before God for judgment.
The something greater than Jonah was again the authority of Messiah. The sign Jesus promised did not meet His critics’ demand since they did not need weak faith strengthened. It was a sign that He provided for His own disciples. By refusing to respond to Jesus’ message the scribes and Pharisees showed themselves to be worse sinners than the Gentile Ninevites.
"Jesus is greater than Jonah in many ways. He is greater in His person, for Jonah was a mere man. He was greater in His obedience, for Jonah disobeyed God and was chastened. Jesus actually died, while Jonah’s ’grave’ was in the belly of the great fish. Jesus arose from the dead under His own power. Jonah ministered only to one city [according to the Book of Jonah], while Jesus gave His life for the whole world. Certainly Jesus was greater in His love, for Jonah did not love the people of Nineveh-he wanted them to die. Jonah’s message saved Nineveh from judgment; he was a messenger of the wrath of God. Jesus’ message was that of grace and salvation." [Note: Wiersbe, 1:43.]