38 Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.” 39 He answered, “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40 For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 41 The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now something greater than Jonah is here. 42 The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon’s wisdom, and now something greater than Solomon is here. (Matthew 12:38-42)
Here we see that several scribes and Pharisees asked the Lord Jesus to show them a sign. The sign mentioned here is said to be sign from heaven in parallel passage. The Lord Jesus had just performed a miracle, healing the sick and driving out demons, he healed a demon-possessed blind and mute man. These scribes and Pharisees must have known about other miracles performed by the Lord Jesus, but they did not believe that he is the Messiah and wanted the Lord Jesus to perform a sign from heaven. The Lord Jesus knew that no matter what miracles he would perform, they would not believe, so he said: “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign, no sign will be given except the sign of prophet Jonah.” In the Old Testament, God asked the prophet Jonah to preach a message of repentance to Nineveh, Jonah disobeyed God, later he stayed in the belly of the big fish for three days and three nights. The Lord Jesus said: The Son of Man will also be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights. Here the Son of Man is Himself. He Himself would be crucified on the cross. He would be in the earth for three days and three nights and be resurrected three days later. Jonah later obeyed God and preached the message of repentance to the people of Nineveh, and they repented. The Lord Jesus said that in the future judgment, the people of Nineveh will condemn this generation. The people of this generation saw many miracles the Lord Jesus performed, but they did not repent. The Lord Jesus continued to say: In the day of judgment, the Queen of the South will rise up to condemn this generation, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon. The Queen of the South here refers to the ancient Queen of Sheba (1 Kings 10:1). She heard that God gave Solomon a lot of wisdom, and she came to Jerusalem from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon’s wisdom. The Lord Jesus said that He is greater than Jonah and Solomon because He is the Christ，the Messiah. People should listen to him more because he has the word of eternal life.
May God bless you and your family! 🙏😊
