Thursday, 28 August 2025
The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here. Matthew 12:41
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“Men, Nineveh, they will arise in the judgment with this generation and they will sentence it, for they reconsidered at the proclamation of Jonah. And you behold! Jonah’s greater is here!” (CG).
In the previous verse, Jesus noted that just as Jonah was in the belly of the great lunker three days and three nights, He would be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights. Next, He continues His address to the scribes and Pharisees, saying, “Men, Nineveh, they will arise in the judgment with this generation.”
The location Nineveh is introduced here. The name Nineveh may be a word of foreign origin, but if connected to Hebrew, its meaning is Offspring’s Habitation. As the Bible is written from a Hebrew perspective, the Hebrew name is what is to be considered.
Nineveh is a city that was built at the earliest times of man after the flood. It was noted as being built by Nimrod in the Table of Nations in Genesis 10:11. It is noted in 2 Kings, Isaiah, Jonah, Nahum, and Zephaniah, but the main biblical accounts of Nineveh are recorded in Jonah and Nahum.
Jesus is referring to the account in Jonah, saying that the inhabitants of Nineveh will arise to judge the generation of Israel in which He came. And more, He next says, “and they will sentence it.”
The verb katakrinó, to judge against, is introduced. In judging against, it means an unfavorable verdict is rendered, leading to condemnation. Condemning or condemnation in the Bible is often associated with eternal punishment. This is not always the case when the word is used.
To condemn means expressing disapproval, censuring, sentencing, etc. The context will derive the meaning. In this case, Nineveh will be a part of the judgment and sentencing of Israel’s people at Jesus’ time. The reason is, “for they reconsidered at the proclamation of Jonah.”
Another new noun is stated, kérugma. It signifies a proclamation. Preaching is a type of proclamation. Jonah was sent to Nineveh to speak a word of the Lord against Nineveh. This was his kérugma, his proclamation –
“Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, 2 ‘Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before Me.’” Jonah 1:1, 2
“And Jonah began to enter the city on the first day’s walk. Then he cried out and said, ‘Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!’” Jonah 3:4
As noted in the Matthew 12:39 commentary, Jonah’s time in the belly of the lunker is not the sign of Jonah. The sign of Jonah is something Nineveh was aware of. They had no idea that Jonah was in the lunker’s belly. The sign of Jonah is the kérugma, the proclamation, of Jonah.
But more, it is specifically what the proclamation stated, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.” As noted in the Matthew 12:38 commentary, a sign is something that stands for something else. It may be a miracle or a wonder, but a sign points to another thing, such as “this indicates this.”
Jesus clearly states in Luke 11:30-32 that the preaching of Jonah is the sign, just as Jesus’ preaching to the people of Israel is the sign. Jonah preached and promised destruction in forty days. Jesus preached and promised destruction as well.
The sign of Jonah is the preaching, which, if rejected, would lead to destruction after forty days. Jesus’ time in Sheol, followed by the resurrection, simply bears witness to the truth of Jesus’ preaching, which was to an already unbelieving people.
His words of the kingdom and reconsideration to “this generation” are the ultimate sign to them. Other prophets spoke in the name of the Lord, but Jesus spoke in His own name and under His own authority as the Son, and so He next says, “And you behold! Jonah’s greater is here!”
The warning to reconsider or be overthrown turned out to be a day for a year, just as it was in the Old Testament. When Israel disobeyed in the wilderness, they were given a day for a year punishment for every day that the spies were gone. It was forty days, and thus forty years of punishment.
In Ezekiel chapter 4, he was told to lie on his right side for forty days, signifying a day for a year of punishment for Judah. He was told to do the same for his left side, but for three hundred and ninety days. It was a day for a year for the house of Israel. Together, they formed the basis of the prophecy concerning the return of Israel in 1948.
Forty years after Jesus’ words, a day for a year, Israel’s temple was destroyed, and the people were carried away in exile. The Romans came in and did what Nineveh was spared of. God’s judgment fell heavily upon them for failing to reconsider, receive their long-awaited Messiah, and conform to the will of God, which is found in the finished work of Jesus Christ.
Life application: The sign of Jonah is the preaching of Jonah. The word of God, spoken to Israel in fulfillment of Scripture, and under the full authority of the Messiah who had been promised since the very beginning of man’s time on the planet, was the sign. The resurrection simply proved it.
It is the word that conveys this to us. Thus, the word is its own sign to the people of the world. In essence, “I have used My people, Israel, to be a sign to the world as a proof that My word is true and that it is to be understood and accepted as such.”
The sign of Israel is a sign that is not yet fully fulfilled. To assume that the church has replaced Israel reflects a fundamental flaw in Christian understanding. It fails to match the reality of what is coming upon the world in the tribulation and millennium.
Be sure to have your theology concerning Israel properly aligned with what God is doing in the world. Otherwise, events that lie ahead will leave you surprised and confounded.
“Therefore, indeed, I send you prophets, wise men, and scribes: some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city, 35 that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.36 Assuredly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.” Matthew 23:34-36
Lord God, thank You for being with us as we engage with Your word. On our own, it is often hard to see what is being conveyed. Add on top of that, innumerable incorrect analyses of what is being said have been loaded upon us. Help us cut to the heart of what You are telling us by reminding us to stay in and study Your word all our days. Amen.