Sermons

1. Pragmatist (vv. 38-42)

[KEY] Curious accusation bc/comes indirectly.  

• More bait than direct assault.
  • Cheapen Christ, baiting into pragmatism.
    • “If you are who you say you are then show us a sign!” “Prove it.”
    • Jesus’ half-brothers required the same.

^ESV  John 7:1-5 After this Jesus went about in Galilee. He would not go about in Judea, because ^athe Jews¹ were seeking to kill him.

² Now ^athe Jews’ Feast of ^bBooths was at hand.

^{3 a}So his brothers¹ said to him, “Leave here and go to Judea, that your disciples also may see the works you are doing.

⁴ For no one works in secret if he seeks to be known openly. If you do these things, ^ashow yourself to the world.”

^{5 a}For not even ^bhis brothers believed in him. (Joh 7:1-5 ESV)

 

• They did not believe in Jesus yet, would later.

 

• No different than when Jesus on cross.
  • Desperate, dying, in agony.
  • Taunted by crowds.

^ESV  Matthew 27:40 and saying, ^a“You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself! ^bIf you are ^cthe Son of God, come down from the cross.” (Mat 27:40 ESV)

• “If you are whom you claim to be, then do something about it!”

 

• Masquerade of faith is subtle.
  • Prosperity theology is not always flamboyant.
    • “Prove it, faith!”
      • Opposite of contentment.

^ESV  1 Timothy 6:6 Now there is great gain in ^agodliness ^bwith contentment, (1Ti 6:6 ESV)

• Trusting, sufficiency of Christ.

[KEY] Godliness is absolute opposite of Pragmatics.

• Believers promised life w/mixed results.
  • Anything else from sin-cursed world is suspect.
    • Cannot truly represent Christ.
    • Not in this kind of world.

^ESV  2 Corinthians 4:7-12 But we have this treasure in ^ajars of clay, ^bto show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.

⁸ We are ^aafflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair;

⁹ persecuted, but ^anot forsaken; ^bstruck down, but not destroyed;

^{10 a}always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, ^bso that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies.

¹¹ For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.

¹² So ^adeath is at work in us, but life in you. (2Co 4:7-12 ESV)

 

[Tripp] [The church today] …is influenced by the short attention span, next best thing, instant gratification, and easily bored culture of the society in which we live and do our work…tempted to chase the next big worship phase…too interested in strategies for quick results and success…too willing to search for the key to this or that that would launch our ministries into a different stratum. We are tempted to like quick and despise slow. We are tempted to esteem new and disrespect old. We are attracted to new ideas instead of ancient truths…The culture around us tends to lack patience and an esteem for long-term process…we’ve begun to lack patience.

[Context] “Scribes and Pharisees” ask what is repugnant.

• Jesus argues everything in view of “day of judgment” (v. 36).
  • Either “justified” or “condemned” (v. 37).
    • Religious leaders w/nowhere to go, resort to flattery.
      • “Use pragmatics!”
      • “Make us believe!”

 

• Satan: “If you are the Son of God, turn these stones to bread” (Matt. 4:3).
  • Use, Divine Right.
    • Act autonomously.
      • Be own authority.
      • Presume!

 

• Presumption was in the early church.

Paul issued, severe confrontation:

^ESV  Romans 6:1 What shall we say then? ^aAre we to continue in sin that grace may abound?

² By no means! How can ^awe who died to sin still live in it? (Rom 6:1-2 ESV)

 

James (1/2 brother of X):

^ESV  James 4:13-16 Come now, you who say, ^a“Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”—

¹⁴ yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For ^ayou are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.

¹⁵ Instead you ought to say, ^a“If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.”

¹⁶ As it is, you boast in your arrogance. ^aAll such boasting is evil. (Jam 4:13-16 ESV)

 

[Illus] Churches, desensitize people, presuming grace will salve the conscience.

• Christianity becoming attractive through compromising on accountability.
  • Pragmatic worldliness.

 

[TRANS] Our text is a study in contrast (Hearts).

• Religious Signs verses Bible Signs.
  • Natural man Spiritual man.
    • Truth verses false.
    • A pragmatic sign verses a Bible sign.

 

• Only hope for Anyone in the world is to hear the Bible – See this Sign.

[KEY] Answering Why our World needs God’s Word, God’s Sign.

 

Prop: Why Jesus did not give a sign.

1. Their motive was evil (vv. 38-39)

[KEY] Jesus strikes heavy note how answers, Scribes and Pharisees.

• Asking for a sign, looks like faith? It wasn’t!
  • Not even a small step.
    • You are “An evil and adulterous generation” (v. 39).
      • Religious leaders represent cultural thinking.
      • Mindset of masses!

 

• Jesus exposing whole generation’s blindness.
  • Problem with getting swept up in cultural trends.
    • w/o crosschecking, Scripture!
    • The Zeitgeist!

 

• What people say when they say they want Jesus but really do not want Jesus?

 

• They “seek for a sign” (v. 39).
  • Jesus uses language of betrayal.
    • Evil not
    • Adulterous not

 

• [Question] “Why such an egregious sin to ‘seek for a sign?’”
  • Covered “presumption” as deeper sin.
  • “Presumption” is a symptom of deeper sin.

 

• Labels, “evil” and “adulterous” mean moved to abject rejection.
  • Moving toward: Committing, Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit?
    • Entire generation breaking its covenant with Jesus.
      • National apostacy.
      • Idolatry!

[Point] “For us to commit ourselves to you, you have to prove yourself to us!” “Need proof.”

[Question] “What an odd time to ask for more.”

• Just delivered a man from a demon and made to now see and speak.

^ESV  John 3:1-2 Now there was a man of the Pharisees named ^aNicodemus, ^ba ruler of the Jews.

² This man came to Jesus^{1 a}by night and said to him, ^b“Rabbi, ^cwe know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do ^dunless God is with him.” (Joh 3:1-2 ESV)

 

• We need a sign, meaning one sign is not enough. Guess what? There would never be enough signs!

[Illus] After Jesus would raise Lazarus from death, the crowds during Passover went to see if they could catch a glimpse of the new and improved Lazarus!

^ESV  John 12:9 When the large crowd of the Jews learned that Jesus¹ was there, they came, not only on account of him but also to see Lazarus, ^awhom he had raised from the dead. (Joh 12:9 ESV)

Approaching the Lord like this is dangerous. Miracles never meant as a sideshow and Jesus never an entertainer.

[KEY] Scribes and Pharisees joined forces to see another sign.

• Healing man w/withered hand on Sabbath, conspired to kill Jesus (cf. Mt. 12:14).

 

• Wanted a “sign from heaven” (cf. Luke 11:16).
  • Astronomical! “Stars, aligning to say, ‘Jesus is Messiah!’”
    • “Remove ambiguity?”
    • Would be explained away, as an astronomical event!

[KEY] Remember Rich man and Lazarus:   

^ESV  Luke 16:23-31 and in ^aHades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and ^bsaw Abraham far off and Lazarus ^zat his side. ²⁴ And he called out, ^a‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and ^bcool my tongue, for ^cI am in anguish in this flame.’

²⁵ But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that ^ayou in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish.

²⁶ And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.’

²⁷ And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father’s house–

²⁸ for I have five brothers¹–so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’

²⁹ But Abraham said, ‘They have ^aMoses and the Prophets; ^blet them hear them.’

³⁰ And he said, ‘No, ^afather Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’

³¹ He said to him, ‘If they do not hear ^aMoses and the Prophets, ^dneither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.’” (Luk 16:24-31 ESV)

 

Same issue during early church:

^ESV  1 Corinthians 1:22-25 For ^aJews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom,

²³ but we preach Christ ^acrucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles,

²⁴ but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ ^athe power of God and ^bthe wisdom of God.

²⁵ For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. (1Co 1:22-25 ESV)

 

[Point] Clear rebuke for seeking a sign, [say you want to see], Jesus, exposing spiritual blindness.

• Test Jesus, not submit to Jesus!
  • Pragmatism, not Word of God.
  • Breaking from the Word of God.

[TRANS] Ironically, Jesus gives them what they are asking for! Jesus offers the Greater Sign which is God’s Word!

• Jesus points to the historic book of Jonah!
  • Not a Sunday school children’s story.
    • Opposite is True.
    • Jesus saying, “If you want to see something extraordinary!”
      • Look 750 hundred years ago ( 2 Kings 14:25; during reign Jeroboam II).
        • Great fish swallowed the prophet, Jonah.
        • “How about this miracle from God’ Word?”

“The Bible is a sign only God could do!”

• Refusing the Word of God is rejecting God’s Sign!

 

• Jesus’ answer for their lack of faith is the historic account of Jonah.

  

2. God’s Word is the Sign (v. 40)

[KEY] Jesus takes things a level deeper. 

• Going deeper using storyline of Jonah (to preach Gospel).
  • Jesus explains the priority of salvation, through Jonah!
    • Miracle? Jonah, three days, and three nights in the belly of the great fish.
      • Meant, salvation for Ninevites.
      • Meant, Israelites worse than Ninevites.

 

• Likewise, the Son of Man was “three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.”
  • Jonah thrown into the sea by sailors.
  • Jesus thrown into the earth by or sin.
    • “Three Days, Three Nights?”
      • Hebrew Idiom.
      • Parts of three days.

 

• Salvation for all who would trust in him.
  • Miracle was never the point.
  • Salvation was always the point.
    • Jonah swallowed by the great fish makes this point.
    • Fish was instrument not judgment!

^{17 1} And the LORD appointed² a great fish to swallow up Jonah. ^aAnd Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.

^ESV  Jonah 2:1-10 Then Jonah prayed to the LORD his God from the belly of the fish,

² saying, ^a“I called out to the LORD, out of my distress, and he answered me; ^bout of the belly of Sheol I cried, ^cand you heard my voice.

^{3 a}For you cast me into the deep, into the heart of the seas, and the flood surrounded me; ^ball your waves and your billows passed over me.

^{4 a}Then I said, ‘I am driven away from your sight; ^byet I shall again look upon your holy temple.’

^{5 a}The waters closed in over me ^bto take my life; the deep surrounded me; weeds were wrapped about my head

⁶ at the roots of the mountains. I went down to the land whose bars closed upon me forever; yet you brought up my life from the pit, O LORD my God.

⁷ When my life was fainting away, I remembered the LORD, ^aand my prayer came to you, into your holy temple.

^{8 a}Those who pay regard to vain idols ^bforsake their hope of steadfast love.

^{9 a}But I with the voice of thanksgiving will sacrifice to you; what I have vowed I will pay. ^bSalvation belongs to the LORD!”

¹⁰ And the LORD spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah out upon the dry land. (Jon 1:17-10 ESV)

 

[Question] “When Jonah cries, ‘Salvation belongs to the LORD!’ is he primarily talking about physical or spiritual salvation?” “Both!”

• Context of Jonah’s salvation from the great fish infuses willingness to carry out the mission to the Ninevites.

 

• Jonah called Nineveh to repent, and they did so!

^ESV  Jonah 3:1-4 Then the word of the LORD came to Jonah the second time, saying,

² “Arise, go to ^aNineveh, that great city, and call out against it the message that I tell you.”

³ So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the LORD. Now ^aNineveh was an exceedingly great city,¹ three days’ journey in breadth.²

⁴ Jonah began to go into the city, going a day’s journey. And he called out, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” (Jon 3:1-4 ESV)

 

• And they repented and they were saved!

^{5 a}And the people of Nineveh believed God. ^bThey called for a fast and ^cput on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least of them.

⁶ The word reached¹ the king of Nineveh, and ^ahe arose from his throne, removed his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, ^band sat in ashes.

⁷ And he issued a proclamation and published through Nineveh, ^a“By the decree of the king and his nobles: Let neither man nor ^bbeast, herd nor flock, taste anything. Let them not feed or drink water,

⁸ but let man and ^abeast be covered with sackcloth, and let them call out mightily to God. ^bLet everyone turn from his evil way and from ^cthe violence that is in his hands.

^{9 a}Who knows? God may turn and relent ^band turn from his fierce anger, so that we may not perish.”

¹⁰ When God saw what they did, ^ahow they turned from their evil way, ^aGod relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it. (Jon 3:5-10 ESV)

 

• Jonah preached begrudgingly.
  • Nineveh a major Assyrian city.
  • Sworn enemy of Israel.

[Point] Jonah’s later complaints to the LORD fill out, why he did not want to preach to salvation to Nineveh.

^ESV  Jonah 4:1-2 But it displeased Jonah exceedingly,¹ and ^ahe was angry.

² And he prayed to the LORD and said, “O LORD, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? ^aThat is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a ^bgracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and ^brelenting from disaster. (Jon 4:1-2 ESV)

 

• Making point that salvation comes back to heart change.

 

• Jonah intercepted, so he would bring grace to undeserving people!

 

• The Son of Man being thrown three days and three nights in the heart of the earth was likewise an intervention, not for him but for us!

 

 

• Jonah’s unwillingness to bring saving grace is magnified by Christ’s absolute willingness to bring Saving Grace.

 

3. Judgment was sure (vv. 41-42)

[POINT] Jesus now takes another level deeper into the storyline of Jonah.

• Part not recorded in Jonah, an unwritten chapter we could call, Jonah 5!
  • What will happen with the generation of the Ninevites who repented.

 

• Nahum 3 tells later generations returned to paganism.

^ESV  Nahum 3:7 And all who look at you ^awill shrink from you and say, Wasted is ^bNineveh; ^cwho will grieve for her? ^dWhere shall I seek comforters for you? (Nah 3:7 ESV)

• Only one generation spared from physical wrath but from eternal wrath.

 

• Verse 41 says, “The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment” (v. 41).
  • We have brothers and sisters in heaven who are Ninevites.
  • Unknown how many people this will be.

^ESV  Jonah 4:11 And should not I pity ^aNineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also much ^bcattle?” (Jon 4:11 ESV)

• 120,000 could reference the children of Nineveh, perhaps under the age of accountability ignorant of what makes for sin.
  • This makes the “generation” similar sized to the population of Anchorage.
  • Lot of people making up an ancient city.

[KEY] Jesus returns to “the day of judgment” (cf. 36).

• Nineveh will “rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it!” (v. 41).
  • Because, “…they repented at the preaching of Jonah!” (v. 41).
    • Not moved by the fish miracle, Jonah’s capture.
      • Moved by Jonah’s message (God’s Word) and repented.
        • Credentialed to witness because of repentance.
          • Saved generation over against this generation.
            • Accepting God’s warning.
            • Rejecting Jesus’ warning.

 

• Ninevites: “You wanted a miracle” “You wanted to be wowed” “You wanted your physical need to be met” and instead “You should have repented over your sin!”

 

• Jesus’ point? “…something greater than Jonah is here” (v. 41).

[Principle] “Greater accountability means greater judgment!”

• Do you believe that today there is a greater or lesser accountability regarding God’s witness?
  • Jesus is no longer here, right?
    • The great commission said, “I am with you always, even to the end of the age?”
      • Jesus’ presence manifest by the Holy Spirit.
      • Through the witness of the Word of God.

 

• The Word of God has never been so ubiquitous, with the onset of modern media.
  • During the Cold War the printed Word was shut out of Russia.
    • Communism was anti-God.
      • Missions’ teams were assembled to smuggle Bibles across the boarders in trunks of cars.
      • When iron curtain fell, a massive push for donations to be made for printed Russian Bibles, so that people could read the Word of God for themselves for the first time in their lives.
        • I understand that many countries limit access to God’s Word going out through the internet (blocking!).

 

• But on the scale of accessibility over the last few decades, both the preached and written Word of God has been on the move!

 

• Even with the recent technological upgrades with Zoom, people are being networked and trained like never before.

 

• This not unlike what the Gutenberg printing press meant for the spread of Scripture which forever changed the world.

[TRANS] Man’s deepest need to repent and believe and Jesus gives one more example of an unlikely someone who repented and believed.

 

4. Jesus makes believer’s wise (v. 42)

[Note] Verse 42 changes the landscape to the “queen of the South” (v. 42) otherwise known as “The Queen of Sheba.”

• 1 Kings 10 and 2 Chronicles 9 both tell of the account where at his apex of wealth and influence is visited by the renowned queen of Ethiopia.
  • Some say, Queen of Ethiopia.
    • Or, from ancient land of Sheba.
    • The Sabeans.

[Quote] The Sabeans were an ancient people group mentioned in the Bible as coming from a nation far away from Israel (Joel 3:8). They were a people of stature (Isaiah 45:14) and a rival nation to Israel (Job 1:15). The Sabeans lived in the land of Sheba, which archeology suggests was a Semitic trading state that existed for 1,000 years in the area that is now Yemen. The capital of Sheba was called Marib (or Ma’rib), and the kingdom existed from 1200 BC to AD 275, trading primarily in spices. The land of the Sabeans was eventually destroyed as a result of civil war.

• Visit would be 1,200 miles.
  • Lucrative trade routes from India.
  • Joel called, “distant nation” from the ends of the earth!

^ESV  1 Kings 10:1-9 ^aNow when ^bthe queen of ^cSheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the LORD, she came ^dto test him with hard questions.

² She came to Jerusalem with a very great retinue, with camels ^abearing spices and very much gold and precious stones. And when she came to Solomon, she told him all that was on her mind.

³ And Solomon answered all her questions; there was nothing hidden from the king that he could not explain to her.

⁴ And when the queen of Sheba had seen all the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built,

⁵ the food of his table, the seating of his officials, and the attendance of his servants, their clothing, his cupbearers, and his burnt offerings that he offered at the house of the LORD, there was no more breath in her.

⁶ And she said to the king, “The report was true that I heard in my own land of your words and of your wisdom,

⁷ but I did not believe the reports until I came and my own eyes had seen it. And behold, the half was not told me. Your wisdom and prosperity surpass the report that I heard.

^{8 a}Happy are your men! Happy are your servants, who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom!

^{9 a}Blessed be the LORD your God, who has delighted in you and set you on the throne of Israel! ^bBecause the LORD loved Israel forever, he has made you king, ^cthat you may execute justice and righteousness.” (1Ki 10:1-9 ESV)   

 

• A test of Solomon’s reputation.
  • True about wealth?
    • More about his wisdom to acquire the wealth.
    • “Did Solomon possess wisdom, she had never yet encountered?”
      • Pagan queen had acquired world scale wealth.
        • Up to now, unrivaled.
        • Now in the presence of Solomon.
          • Humbled, perhaps bewildered.
          • 2 Chronicles 9:4 displays her physical response.

^ESV  2 Chronicles 9:4 the food of his table, the seating of his officials, and the attendance of his servants, and their clothing, his cupbearers, and their clothing, and his burnt offerings that he offered at the house of the LORD, there was no more breath in her. (2Ch 9:4 ESV)

 

• 1 Kings 10:9 gives us the reason for this test.
  • Unique way that God was witnessing to the world.

 

• Who was thought to be the wealthiest person (the Queen) was shown not to be the wealthiest person.

 

• Disparity of wealth was not material at the core but immaterial.
  • The issue was not Solomon’s wealth but Solomon’s wisdom to acquire and wield wealth.
  • Wisdom the queen could only attribute to the LORD (cf. Dt. 10:9).

 

• How evangelism works!
  • We have treasure inside of earthenware!

 

^ESV  2 Corinthians 4:7 But we have this treasure in ^ajars of clay, ^bto show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. (2Co 4:7 ESV)

 

• We have answers, a defense (2 Peter 3:15) no one else can give. We have the wisdom of God.

 

^ESV  1 Peter 3:15 but ^ain your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, ^balways being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and ^crespect, (1Pe 3:15 ESV)

 

• Treasures in Christ!

 

• We know Solomon was vested with God’s wisdom (cf. 1 Kings 3:1-15) above wealth and this account proves God gave it to him.
  • But this account was not chiefly about Solomon, it was about the LORD who was behind his wisdom!
    • Solomon’s testimony was sullied by profligate sin and emptiness from seeking to fill his heart with worldly pleasures (see Ecclesiastes).
    • His world was empty vanity, chasing after wind.

 

• Yet, Solomon was a believer who God used to witness to this Queen.

 

• Jesus tells us what happened to her? (cf. v. 42)
  • She too as converted.
    • The “Queen of Sheba” is a sister in Christ who will carry out the same role as the saved generation of
    • Gentiles!!

 

• She “…will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it” (v. 42).

 

• The time of Jonah perhaps took place (approx. 700 B.C.).
  • The Queen of Sheba’s visit (900 B.C.).
    • Both there “on the day of judgement” (v. 38).
    • Why? Because “…something greater than Solomon is here” (v. 42).

 

• The Queen came to see Solomon and was converted by the LORD’s wisdom.

 

• The Ninevites unimpressed by the prophet’s miracle.

 

• Queen unimpressed by Solomon’s material wealth.

 

• Both, impressed to repent and believe.

 

• Jesus flips bait-accusation that he’s pragmatist back on the “scribes and Pharisees!”

 

• Saying, “Look to the Bible-signs!”
• What do those accounts tell you?

[Point] Jesus is all you need, answers your need, and will meet your need.

• You do not need a sign, you need Jesus.

 

[Question] “What about our generation?” Gospel is a Command!

^ESV  Acts 17:30 ^aThe times of ignorance ^bGod overlooked, but ^cnow he ^dcommands all people everywhere to repent, (Act 17:30 ESV)