Well, it's wonderful to see all of you this Sunday.
For the last five weeks, we have been in the book of Jonah
and basically looking at the Old Testament text.
I remember as a young Christian, as a senior in college,
reading scriptures for the first time.
I did not grow up in a family where we had regular devotions.
You could have asked me how many Gospels there are and I'd have no idea.
That wasn't my upbringing.
But as a young Christian, I started to realize that Jesus regularly alludes to
or quotes or mentions the Old Testament.
As many as 4,000 times.
I remember reading the verse,
but my father's house is a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of robbers.
And it dawned on me that Jesus was quoting from Jeremiah chapter 7, verse 11.
I was, in some ways I should have known that, but I was shocked.
I thought to myself, I am reading the same verse that Jesus read at one time.
And then I started to think to myself, what did he feel?
How old was he?
What was he doing before?
How did that verse impress him?
Why does he quote it, but he doesn't quote from the other 50 chapters in Jeremiah?
And I found myself really fascinating by the fact that Jesus knows the Old Testament
and refers to it regularly.
Well, this morning, we're going to do something similar to that.
We are going to look at the sign of Jonah.
But we're not from the Old Testament.
We're going to ask ourselves, when Jesus read the book of Jonah, what did he get out of it?
I know what I get out of it.
I know what my students get out of it, because I give it a passage on a test and they all do badly.
So they don't get much out of it, but I get a lot more out of it.
And I thought, what did Jesus get out of it when he read it for the first time?
Did he say, oh, that's me in the future?
Or what?
So we're going to look at the sign of Jonah in the Gospels.
You are familiar with the sign of Jonah in the Gospel of Matthew.
This is not what we're doing today.
We are not looking at Matthew.
We are looking at Luke chapter 11, verses 29 through 32.
So I want you to turn your Bibles to Luke chapter 11.
But let me cheat here a little bit.
Because we are in the Gospels,
whenever you read the Gospel, you must keep two things in mind.
It doesn't matter which Gospel, which passage, which verse, what chapter.
You must always remember two things before you even begin.
This is like preliminary.
This is like prerequisite.
And what we need to remember about the Gospels are these two things,
which we find very well stated in the Gospel of John.
So please turn, first of all, to the Gospel of John, chapter 20, verses 30 through 31.
And then we'll go back to Luke.
Look at John, chapter 20, verse 30 and 31.
Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples,
which are not recorded in this book.
John is saying, I didn't include everything that Jesus said or did.
I left out some things.
I would add to it, he left out some things as he was inspired by the Holy Spirit
to decide what to include and what not to include.
But if you read the Gospel of John, you shouldn't say,
I have read everything that Jesus said and I've read everything that Jesus did.
John is telling us, no, he did not.
But Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of the disciples,
which are not recorded in this book.
So if he included some things guided by the Spirit,
if he included some things, why did he include them?
One of the things you will be surprised to find out,
that in the four Gospels,
the only miracle that is recorded in all four Gospels is this.
It is not raising Lazarus from the dead.
I thought that would be big enough to make all network news at seven.
It's not raising Lazarus from the dead.
It's not walking on water.
For all of you who think walking on water is easy,
after the baptism service, I'll pay $10 for everyone who can do it.
It's not walking on water.
It is not calming the storm.
It's interesting to notice that the only miracle that Jesus,
that all four Gospels record, is feeding the 5,000.
So this illustrates John's point.
Jesus did many other things that are not recorded in this book.
So, why did he include some material and leave out others?
Look at verse 31.
These are written,
that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ,
the Son of God,
and that by believing,
you may have life in his name.
John is saying,
this is my purpose for writing.
So if I read the Gospel of John,
and I conclude that Jesus hates the Gentiles,
I've misread John.
Because John is telling me,
you should arrive at this conclusion.
If I arrive at that conclusion,
I miss the point.
And so,
John,
bless his heart,
says,
but these are written,
that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ,
the Son of God,
and that by believing,
you have life in his name.
I love John,
because he tells us,
I like,
I'll put this delicately,
I like Mark less,
because he doesn't tell me.
He wants me to play detective.
John is kind.
Mark needs to be rebuked by somebody,
not me.
Keeps me guessing.
Maybe gives New Testament scholars something to do
in their profession.
So,
the Gospels,
the evangelists,
choose the material they're going to include,
guided by the Holy Spirit,
and they choose it for a purpose.
John makes the same point,
again,
in chapter 21,
verse 25.
In chapter 21,
verse 25,
John writes,
Jesus did many other things as well.
If one of them were to,
if one of them were written down,
I suppose that even the whole world
would not have enough room
for the books that would be written.
If we,
of course,
this is a hyperbole,
if we wrote down everything that Jesus did,
we'd fill this world with books.
So,
evangelists do not record everything.
So,
we're going to look at the sign of Jonah
from the Gospel of Luke,
which automatically raises the question,
what is the purpose of the Gospel of Luke?
Well,
I'm not going to tell you.
Not right now.
At the very end,
we'll get back to this.
So,
I'll keep you in suspense for a while.
We're going to ask ourselves,
what is the purpose of Luke?
And why does he include the sign of Jonah?
So,
let's turn to the Gospel of Luke,
where we're going to be staying
the rest of this sermon.
Luke chapter 11,
verse 29.
Luke 11,
29 is going to illustrate
what we just finished reading.
Luke 11,
29.
As the clouds increased,
Jesus said,
this is a wicked generation.
It asks for a miraculous sign,
but none will be given it
except the sign of Jonah.
Keep reading.
For as Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites,
so also the Son of Man
be to this generation.
The Queen of the South
will rise at the judgment
with the men of this generation
and condemn them.
For she came from the ends of the earth
to listen to Moses' wisdom.
And now,
one greater than Moses is here.
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,
one greater than Jonah is here.
Look at this passage carefully.
29 through 32.
Did you read anywhere
the word fish?
There is no word fish.
Did you read anywhere
three days and three nights
in the belly of the earth?
No.
As I was saying a minute earlier,
the Gospels don't record
everything that Jesus said.
They choose what Jesus said
to make a point.
So we know that Matthew
is trying to point
to Jesus' death and resurrection
based on scriptures
because that's important for Jews.
But Luke is doing something else.
So what's he trying to do?
Well, that's what we need to do.
Let me begin by
helping you understand something.
Verse 29.
As the clouds increased,
Jesus said,
this is a wicked generation.
It asks for a miraculous sign,
but none will be given it
except the sign of Jonah.
What is a sign?
In the Old Testament,
if a prophet said something fantastic
or incredible or too much,
like if I said,
God in one night
is going to wipe out
the whole Assyrian army
in one night.
Miraculously.
Well, you may say,
well, he may be patriotic
or he may be hallucinating
or maybe he's on LSD
or, you know,
God knows what's happening to him.
So you ask
the prophet Isaiah,
give us a sign
that will authenticate
that you are a true prophet,
not a false prophet,
that you're not making up this stuff,
that you are indeed
bringing us a word from God.
And then you could have
signs from above
and signs from below.
Signs from above
would be the rainbow.
God says,
I'm going to give you a sign.
I'm not going to flood the world
again like this.
And so a sign from above
would be the rainbow.
Another sign from above
is at the time of Elijah,
where he says,
you say Baal is the great God
and I'm telling you
Elohim is the great God.
You call on your God
to send fire,
I'll call on my God.
And they called and called
and nothing happens.
And he called on his God
and fire came from heaven.
So that's fire from heaven.
At the time of Noah,
the flood, water,
came from heaven.
So that's a sign from heaven.
It could be a sign from earth.
In the book of Numbers,
because they disobeyed God,
God made the earth
open its mouth
and all these evil leaders
were swallowed.
So signs could come
from both places.
Jesus' death and resurrection
is signed from below,
not from above.
He is rising from the earth.
Now,
in this case,
the sign is,
as verse 30,
as Jonah was a sign
to the Ninevites,
so also will the son of man
be to this generation.
So we have to figure out
what does that mean.
Let's ask several questions.
The first one,
the first very important question is,
how are Jonah and Jesus similar?
If Jesus is a sign
to his generation
the same way that Jonah
was a sign to his generation,
how are Jesus and Jonah similar?
Well, most of the time
we think of Jesus and Jonah
are quite different,
and they are.
Jesus is the son of God.
Jonah is not the son of God.
Jesus will judge the world.
Jonah will not judge the world.
Jesus is part of the Trinity.
Jonah is not part of the Trinity.
And you can go down the list.
Jesus accepted his mission.
Jonah rejected his mission.
Jesus went and did
what the father told him to do.
Jonah tried to run away
and escape.
And so there are differences,
but there are similarities.
And this,
noticing the similarities
will help us figure out
what the sign is.
Number one,
they were both sent by God.
They were both sent by God.
I am standing here in front of you
because the elders asked me
to preach this Sunday.
Am I sent by the United Nations?
No.
Am I sent by the IRS?
No.
Am I sent by FIFA?
World soccer?
No.
Why am I here?
Because the elders,
representing God,
asked me to come.
So I am representing the elders.
I am also representing the Lord.
So in that sense,
in a very, very small way,
I am sent by God.
But on a much, much larger,
more magnificent way,
Jesus is sent by the father
in a fantastic way.
But I am sent by God.
Why did I come here?
Well,
for a purpose.
It's not to negotiate a treaty
with Iran.
If I wanted to negotiate
a treaty with Iran,
I wouldn't be here.
I would be over there.
I am not here
to spy
on
Mike Salvati.
I don't know why
I would want to spy
on him.
I am not here
to pull a rabbit
out of the hat
to show that I can do
more magic tricks
than the rest of you.
I am not here
to conjugate verbs
in Arabic.
I am here
because
I am
trying
to present
a message
from the Lord.
I am bringing
you a message
in a very
humble
way
I am saying
thus
saith the Lord.
While
quite aware
that I am terribly
inadequate
and lousy sinner
and should be on my knees
begging for mercy.
But
I am sent
by God
as was Jesus
as was Jonah.
They were both
sent with a message
and they both
preached
to their audience.
Jesus didn't
escape to Germany
Jesus preached.
Jonah escaped.
God got him back
and he preached.
So
they were sent
by God
with a message
from God
and they carried
out their duty
of bringing
that message.
One
with great love
for the world
and one
with resentment
and
probably didn't
like to do it
anyway.
But
interestingly
enough
the sign
of Jonah
is associated
is connected
with the Ninevites
and the queen.
So let's look
at verse 31
please.
Please
verse 31
the queen
of the south
will rise
at the judgment
with the men
of this generation
and condemn
them
because she
came from
the ends
of the earth
to listen
to Solomon's
wisdom
and now
one greater
than Solomon
is here.
The men
of Nineveh
will stand
up at the judgment
with this generation
and condemn it
because they
repented
at the preaching
of Jonah
and now
one greater
than Jonah
is here.
He is saying
look at the example
of the queen
of the south
look at the example
of the Ninevites.
How are they
different?
This will become
important in just a second
but let's figure out
first
how are the Ninevites
and the queen
of the south
different?
Well
first
obvious way
is that
she is a woman
and they are
men.
The text says
the men
of Nineveh.
I need to tell you
something about Hebrew.
Semitic languages
are strange
in some ways
as all languages
are.
So if there is
if all of you
were here
and indeed you are
and this is a mixed
company
with men
and women
in Semitic languages
I would address
you as gentlemen.
It's not because
I can't tell the difference
between men
and women
or because my
eyeglasses
are so bad
that I can't tell
that there are
women standing
in front of me
but Semitic language
is such
that you would
use the word
gentlemen
to cover men
and women.
We don't do that
in English
but we do it
in Semitic languages
we do it in Arabic
and you know
you learn to live
with it.
So
I don't want you
to think that
only men
in Nineveh
believe the gospel.
I suspect
the whole population
but if you're
going to talk
about a mixed
group
you would say
the men.
So she is
a woman
they are
men.
Not only men
but they are
men.
She is just
one singular
person.
They are
multitudes.
Noah
mentioned
God mentions
the 120,000
in the city
who don't know
the right hand
from their left.
She is one
they are
multitudes.
She is
from the south.
They are
from Nineveh
which would be
the north.
It's like saying
I have a friend
from New York
and I have a friend
from California.
that means
one end
of the United
States
the other end
of the 48 states
or one
from Massachusetts
and one
from Florida
north
south
east
west.
She is
from the south
they are
from the north.
The other
difference
is this.
She is
a queen
they are
just
ordinary
citizens.
If she is
a queen
that means
she is rich
she is
powerful
she has
prestige
she has
position
in society
she is
highly
respected
they are
just average
citizens.
And
one more
important thing
to notice
she
came
to listen
to Solomon
they did
not
come to
Jerusalem
Jonah
went
to them
they stayed
put
in their
place
but in
her case
she had
to travel
they didn't
have to
travel
he had
to travel
but they
didn't
so there
are these
differences
but what
do they have
in common
well
they have
several things
in common
number
one
they are
both
Gentiles
if she
is queen
of the
south
she is
a Gentile
by the
way
during
World War
II
Ethiopia
was ruled
by a
dynasty
the last
emperor
in Ethiopia
was
Helasi
Lasi
and he
claimed
that he
was a
descendant
of the
queen
of the
south
that she
had a
son by
Solomon
absolutely
nothing is
said about
that in
the Bible
the Old
Testament
it says
nothing of
the sort
they claimed
according to
their tradition
which they
may have
made up
that they
were descendants
of Solomon
through the
queen of
the south
in its
gardeners
whether
anyway
she
she is
a Gentile
and so
are
they
both
heard
the
message
they
both
believed
in
God
they
both
as the
text
says
will
stand
up
on
judgment
day
and
condemn
this
generation
and
they
both
were
ministered
to
by
someone
less
than
Jesus
please
notice
the
expression
someone
greater
than
Solomon
is
here
someone
greater
than
Jonah
is
here
so
they
are
Gentiles
who
heard
the
word
of
God
believed
in
the
Lord
they
were
ministered
to
by
someone
far
lower
rank
than
Jesus
and
they
will
stand
up
for
that
reason
and
condemn
that
generation
so
why
does
Luke
include
this
passage
in
his
gospel
he
left
out
other
things
resurrection
is not
listed
here
so
why
does
he
do
it
John
tells
us
his
purpose
you can
read that
in
John
chapter
20
verse
31
what
is
Luke's
purpose
and
why
would
the
sign
of
Jonah
help
us
understand
Luke's
purpose
what's
on his
mind
well
the best
way to
understand
that
is
to
turn
to
Luke
chapter
1
Luke
chapter
1
the
first
four
verses
many
have
undertaken
to
draw up
an
account
of the
things
that
have
been
fulfilled
many
things
that
have
been
fulfilled
among
us
just
as
they
were
handed
down
to
us
by
those
who
from
first
were
eyewitnesses
and
servants
of the
word
therefore
since
I
myself
have
carefully
investigated
everything
from
the
beginning
it
seemed
good
also
to
me
and
there
it
is
it
seemed
good
also
to
me
to
write
an
orderly
account
for
you
most
excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught.
Most excellent Theophilus. Please notice two things. First of all, his name. If you are at
a baseball game and they are introducing the players and one of the players' name is Jesus
Gonzalez, you can say with some certainty, yes, he is probably Hispanic. If the next player
is Hans Reichenbach, then you can be sure he's probably of German certainty. So if your name
is Theophilus, what does that mean? It is two Greek words. His name consists of two Greek words.
Theos or Theo, which means God in words like theology and Theophilus. The Phil part means
brotherly love. Philadelphia, philanthropy, philosophy. So his name means lover of God, one who loves
God. That is clearly a Greek name. That's clearly a Greek name. And secondly, he is addressed with the
title most excellent. In the New Testament, this is the title that you use to address a Roman governor.
Roman governor. So he may be a Roman governor. It's not limited to Roman governors, but it is used
very often with Roman governors. He may have been a senator. He may have been a governor of a province
or mayor of a large city like Corinth, but this is a high-ranking Roman person. He has a Greek name and he has a very high title.
So if that is the case, then he is a Gentile. In chapter 11, who else is a Gentile? The citizens of Nineveh and the Queen of the South. Both of them heard the message of God and accepted it, even though they were ministered to by
somebody not quite as great as somebody not quite as great as Jesus. Someone greater than Solomon is here.
Someone greater than Solomon is here. So this person is also hearing the word of God, but he is not hearing it from a minor prophet.
And a king. He is hearing it from Jesus. And Jesus is greater than both. If they repented at the preaching of Solomon and Jonah, how much more should he repent hearing the words of Jesus?
Jesus. But you may say to yourself, well, he is a very high-ranking officer. May I suggest that the Queen of the South was a very high-ranking officer too.
So what is the point? The point is, God does not say only university professors can be saved. God does not say only musicians can be saved.
God does not say only taxi drivers can be saved. God does not say that only bankers can be saved. If you look at the Queen and the citizens, the gospel goes out to a woman and it goes out to men, regardless of gender.
God does not say only. It goes out to a woman and it goes out to a woman and it goes out to people who are high position and people who are just ordinary.
It goes out to those who have great prestige and just common citizens. It goes out to people who live in the north and people who live in the south.
It goes out to people who live in the south. It goes out to people who are looking for the truth and think that they have found the truth there and they go to it and some of them just stumble on the truth because somebody decides to share the gospel with them.
What it is saying is that the gospel goes out to the whole world.
Regardless of gender, regardless of position, regardless of money, regardless of influence, regardless of geography, the gospel goes out to the world.
This is like Luke's version of the Great Commission.
And what Luke wants to do is to encourage the church to open its eyes and realize that the gospel isn't just going to be limited to Jews.
It will include Gentiles.
That even in the Old Testament, Gentiles were converting the queen, the people of Nineveh.
We can add more to those.
Ruth.
So, what this means to us is that we shouldn't underestimate the power of the gospel.
which can convert the whole city or limited to few people, not realizing that it can reach the whole world.
That is the point that Jesus wants to communicate in the gospel of Luke.
Now, how is Jesus able to do that?
Well, here's where the gospel of Matthew puts in.
He is able to do it because he will rise from the dead, conquer death, and empower us to carry on the task.
Let's have a word of prayer.
Let me pray for you.
Father, we are a young church.
We desire to obey you.
We desire to love you.
We desire to do you well.
Give us the confidence that the gospel is powerful and that it can reach every segment of the human race,
regardless of where we are or where that person is.
Help us to have confidence in your ability to change hearts and to bring into your flock those you are calling.
Show us how to do these things, Father.
How to be faithful to you by preaching the gospel.
I ask it, Father, in Jesus' name.
Amen.