Devotional thoughts for Tuesday

Tuesday 14. October 2014 

Trinity 17 

Jesus answered the scribes and Pharisees: "For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth." (Matthew 12,40, ESV) 

The scribes and Pharisees asked Jesus for a sign. They wanted some proof to back up the claims Jesus had made about Himself. If He is the Messiah, then He should prove it. Apparently, healing the sick, calming the storm, exorcising demons, raising the dead and healing the paralyzed, the blind and a man with a crippled hand (Matthew 8-12) were not signs enough for these teachers of Israel. No, they want a real sign. 

Jesus gave these evil and idolatrous teachers of Israel a sign: the sign of Jonah. This is the sign of the resurrection, and not just any resurrection but the resurrection of the Son of Man. The Messiah will die, but He will rise again and conquer death, Hades and the grave. 

This is also a sign of judgment upon the unbelieving Jews. Jonah had been sent to Nineveh to call them to repentance. Surprisingly, the wicked city repented and God spared them His judgement. The sign is clear to the scribes and Pharisees: they need to repent of their unbelief and receive Jesus as their promised Messiah. If they remain hardened in their unbelief, then judgement will befall them. If they repent and believe in Jesus, then mercy will cover them. 

Sadly, we know the outcome. The scribes, Pharisees and Jerusalem did not repent and did not believe in Jesus. God's judgement reigned down upon them through the Romans. Jerusalem was destroyed and Israel scattered. But the sign is still there: Jesus died, was buried and rose again. That sign is a sign of hope and grace. No one ever need bear the brunt of judgment because God is merciful and sent His Son to redeem us. The sign of Jonah and Jesus is the sign of God's forgiveness. We believe in Jesus and we have what He promises: mercy, salvation and forgiveness. 

Prayer: O Blessed Lord, since You have caused all Holy Scriptures to be written for our learning, grant that we may so hear them, read, mark, learn and inwardly digest them so that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, One God, now and forever.  Amen. (A68, Treasury of Daily Prayer)