Sign of Jonah

Setting and Overview
Matthew 12 ends with two different manners of conflict. One finds Jesus continuing to respond to the Pharisees who are seeking to test and trap him, and the other finds Jesus’s mother and brothers coming to restrain him (Mark 3:20.) While the manner and tone of the conflicts are different, both are, as we often see in Matthew, opportunities for Jesus to teach those around him, and through both we learn more about what it means to be a disciple of Jesus.

Exposition
While we can’t tell for sure from the language whether verse 38 occurs at the same time as the preceding section, it does clearly follow it in theme. While the Pharisees are respectful in their words as they ask him for a sign, we know from the context that their question is insincere. In the Old Testament, a sign might be requested to confirm a prophetic word (Judges 6:36-40, Isaiah 7:10-14) but the Pharisees are really seeking to trap Jesus (Mark 8:11-12.) Jesus answer by saying that they will only receive the sign of Jonah, and then make a reference forward to his death and resurrection. While Jesus does indeed perform many signs (as emphasized in the Gospel of John), not everyone recognizes their meaning and the Pharisees questioning him are obviously among them. In addition to pointing forward to his resurrection, the reference to Jonah demonstrates a couple additional things. Jonah did not perform miracles as signs bur rather served as a sign himself (Jonah 3:1-4.) While Jesus did perform miracles, in being raised from the dead he would be the ultimate sign himself. Further, Jonah was a sign to Nineveh not of coming blessing but of condemnation. Similarly, Jesus’ resurrection would be a sign of condemnation for those who reject him. In rejecting Jesus, the Pharisees are actually showing themselves to be inferior to Nineveh and the Queen of South, two Gentile witnesses. The former repented and the latter sought out the wisdom of Solomon, yet the Pharisees rejected a greater person and wisdom than those. In that comparison, Jesus wraps up the trifecta began earlier in the chapter (Matthew 12:8): he has come as the fulfillment of the Old Testament roles of priest, prophet, and king. Jesus has now turned the tables on his examiners and is examining them himself and finding them lacking. That examination does not merely lump them with others who have not had exposure to Jesus, but rather in worse shape. As he has already made clear earlier and warned strongly about in verses 31-32, there is no room for neutrality.
While we won’t know until chapter 13 that Jesus’ natural family has grown in size, his mother and brothers appear at the end of chapter 12. Although at least two of his brothers would come to be followers and write New Testament books, at this time they do not believe in him (John 7:5) and they are there with his mother because they are concerned about the reports of people swarming to him. While they wait outside and summon him to join them, Jesus declares that his disciples (Matthew 7:21) are his true family, which is both expansive in that it opens up that designation to women and Gentiles, but also restrictive in that all who are in that designation would demonstrate it by their obedience.

Examination and Application
This section begins with a description of those who would accuse and attack Jesus and ends with those who are fully devoted to him. The warning to the Pharisees can be painful to read, but it is a necessary reminder to all of the obligation of those who hear the Gospel message to respond. In contrast, the picture of what it means to be a disciple is dramatic and encouraging, especially to those who struggle to be accepted or belong. Those who commit fully to Jesus come into a saving relationship with him, and not only identified as his followers, but even as his family.