except the sign of Jonah. As Jonah became a sign for the people of Nineveh, so will the Son
of Man be a sign for this generation. The Queen of the South will rise up on Judgment Day
with the people of these times and accuse them, for she came from the ends of the earth to
hear the wisdom of Solomon; and here, there is greater than Solomon.
The people of Nineveh will rise up on Judgment Day with the people of these times and
accuse them, for Jonah’s preaching made them turn from their sins, and here, there is greater
than Jonah.
Reflect
“Jesus is greater than Jonah.” In the Old Testament, Jonah was sent by the Lord to Nineveh
in order to proclaim to the Ninevites God’s message of conversion. However, Jonah at first
fled to Tarshish and he became angry when the Ninevites were converted. Jonah was
escaping from God and was angry about the Ninevites’ conversion because the Ninevites
were the enemies of the Israelites. Jonah could not let go of his hurts because the Ninevites,
the Assyrians, destroyed his nation. Jonah was the one who really needed conversion.
Failing to forgive his enemies, Jonah had locked himself in his own small world
while having difficulty coming to terms with the God who is gracious and forgiving.
Hence, Jesus is indeed greater than Jonah. Jesus became the sign for the people of his time.
He preached forgiveness (cf. Lk. 6:37). He practiced forgiveness by forgiving his executioners
(cf. Lk. 23:34). Jesus remains to be a sign for all of us today. We are challenged to go out
of the small world we made for ourselves due to hurts and anger. We are called to forgive.
© Copyright Bible Diary 2024