Matthew 12:38-42 "Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee. 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 whale's 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. 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 scribes and Pharisees that were gathered saw Jesus cast the devil out of the man that was blind and mute. This was not done in secret. The man stood before them both seeing them and speaking to them. He was healed immediately and completely at the command of Jesus.
The people saw it and were amazed and excited. Jesus’s power to liberate and heal prompted them to think that Jesus must be the Messiah their prophets had talked about. The scribes and Pharisees saw the exact same event and accused Jesus of having a devil Himself. These men did not believe, and they did not want the people to believe.
Jesus stood and pointed out their folly. If the act of healing the man who was blind and mute was good, then the One who did the healing must also be good. The blasphemous words the scribes and Pharisees had spoken was evidence that their hearts were evil, even though they thought themselves better than other men. When they referred to Jesus as “Master” in verse twenty-eight, it was meant to mock Him rather than honor Him.
The scribes and Pharisees were witness to the miracle that Jesus did. Because they had already attributed that miracle to the work of Satan, they asked that He would give them a sign (miracle from heaven). According to Jesus, they were still seeking after a sign because their hearts were evil and they had abandoned the righteousness of God for their own self-righteousness. They had already been given a sign in the experience of the prophet Jonah.
I realize that science says the largest whales cannot swallow anything larger than a grapefruit. What they fail to take into consideration is the words of the scripture that tell us that God “prepared” a fish to swallow Jonah. This was one of a kind and given for a specific purpose. Just as Jonah was in the belly of the whale for three days and nights and then came out alive, so Jesus would be in the heart of the earth for three days and nights and come out alive.
The Jews held Jonah in high esteem as one of their prophets. Solomon was one of the greatest and wisest kings that had ever lived. The scribes and Pharisees were blind to the truth that Jesus was greater than Jonah or Solomon. Not only was He greater, but while Jonah and Solomon were both dead, Jesus was there in front of them doing the works of God.
Dear ones, know this. Whoever our heroes might be in this world, Jesus is greater than all of them. If we have been blessed to believe that Jesus rose from the dead and is alive forevermore, then we have seen the very sign of God’s power and love for us. Be not faithless but believing (John 20:27)!