 So, we're going to be looking at verses 38 through 42 today and I'll get into that in just a moment. I wanted to share something with you that it's kind of unusual for me to do this. I normally don't. I normally don't take a moment out of a church service to do this. Sometimes I will say these kinds of things during a message. But I wanted to actually, before I take you into the passage that we'll be looking at which is found here in these verses before us where they're demanding a sign from Jesus. I thought it would take a moment to share a couple of things with you because it's appropriate to do it and I may reiterate this in the future. While we were in Israel, we had an opportunity to go to various sites, obviously that's what you do in Israel and I was teaching in a location. The location is called Ngedi. Ngedi is an oasis, if you will, in the southern portion of Israel, not deep south, but outside of Jerusalem and to the south of Jerusalem, if you will. And it's a place where King David had gone when King David was hiding out from King Saul. Now I shared at Ngedi some things because he was there, David was there because Saul was pursuing him with the intent of killing him and you see the story in 1 Samuel. And while I was there in Ngedi, I shared some things that I want to use just as an introduction to what I'm about to share. This is not your morning Bible study. I have the other portion of Scripture prepared for you. But it was something on my heart that I thought I would share with you kind of like because the season I think requires it. And I was sharing how that King Saul was the first king of Israel. The Bible tells us in 1 Samuel in chapter 9 verses 1 and 2, you don't need to turn there. I'll read it to you. There was a man of Benjamin whose name was Kish, the son of Abbeel, the son of Zoroor, the son of Bekorah, the son of Afia, a Benjaminite, a mighty man of power, and he had a choice and handsome son whose name was David. No, no, I'm talking about myself. I'm sorry. He had a handsome son whose name was Saul. There was not a more handsome person than he among the children of Israel. From his shoulders upward, he was taller than any of the people. And I was sharing with our people in our tour in this particular site how the nation of Israel demanded a king. It's not that God did not intend to place a ruler over them because within the confines of the Old Testament law and Deuteronomy, God had already given a certain prescription for the king that would one day be ruling. But the nation of Israel was now demanded a king, and the interesting thing about it is the nation of Israel was saying, we want a king like the other nations have. And so there was a man we just read about. His name was Saul. Saul had three qualities that he didn't attain to. There were things that he didn't realize in his own effort, he didn't pursue. They were just things that he had. He came from a prestigious family. He was very handsome and he was very tall. And these were qualities that caused the people in the nation of Israel to say this indeed is a kingly man. And so what they did is they demanded they wanted a king and then they received the king. But the king they received was a man by the name of Saul and Saul was not completely obedient to the ways of the Lord and God displaced him and ultimately placed another king in his stead and that king we all know as the King David. And so there was a problem between Saul and David because Saul began to be very jealous of King David because King David was a man who slew Goliath. And songs began being sung about David, Saul slain his thousands and David his ten thousands and it provoked Saul to jealousy. To the point where he began to pursue after David and wanted David to be killed and so David ended up in this place called Ingeti where he wrote two of his songs. And so as I was sharing there, I was sharing with the people how that man very often demands a ruler and man has a tendency of looking at the outer appearance. See God said, why are you so concerned about Saul? He said, ultimately he says, man looks at the outer appearance, but I the Lord look at the heart. And so King David's heart was a heart turned towards God and Saul's heart was not. But people have a tendency of looking at only the outside and they don't and how can we they don't see the heart of a person. And that's why when Saul was brought before the people it's recorded in 1 Samuel 10, 24 that the people all shouted, long live the king. And so we have a tendency of choosing based on outer appearance and perceptions. We're about to go through a time of selecting a leader for the nation. And no it's not a king and no this is not a theocracy. But I just wanted to give you something. Maybe you may benefit from this others perhaps could care less. But I wanted you to know that there is a way for us to make determinations as to what we really think as a people in terms of those whom we vote into office. I'm going to assume that every person who is in this room who has the legal right to vote the age and requirements have been met that every one of you vote. So I'm going to assume that. And with that assumption I'm going to say this is something that you might want to think of because soon we'll be doing that. We'll be exercising that right. And that right that we have by the way was the right that was won through blood. People died so that I can have the freedom to be able to select at least have part of the process of the selection of a leader. So when I do that, no I'm not voting for a pastor. I'm not looking for the pastor of the United States. But I am looking for somebody who's qualifications. And I'm keeping in mind that Saul had every outward appearance because he had height and he was handsome and he came from a prestigious background of pedigree. But what is it that I look for? Well, I've done many studies on leadership and I've taught leaders. I've taught pastors and all certain principles of leadership. And in Exodus, in the Old Testament book of Exodus 18 verse 21, Moses was at that point in Exodus, he was making judgment. He was being seated as a judge when the people would bring their problems, both great and small, and he would be seated pretty much all day adjudicating in all and his father-in-law saw him doing that and said, this thing that you're doing is not right. You're going to burn yourself out. You need to get some people who are qualified to help you to do this. And in Exodus 18 21, he said this to Moses. He said, you shall select from all the people, able men such as fear God, men of truth, hating, covetousness, place them, place such over them to be rulers of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens. And so when I look for somebody who's running for an office, I am very careful not to look at just the outer appearance. And I'm very careful to look at their pedigree and all. I'm careful to do that, but there are things I'm looking for. Let me give you five things and then we'll get into our Bible study. But this may be something you may be wanting to be aware of or should be aware of. What is it that we look for? Well, one, they need to be able men. The word able speaks of capable. It speaks of competence, and it speaks of qualification. So I look for the person with the proper skill set to govern. And I ask questions like, do they have experience? Do they have knowledge? Do they exercise judgment? Do they have the proper temperament? Do they have maturity? Do they understand the role that they're going to play in this particular position? Do they have the skills required for that position? So one, I look for an able person. Two, I look to their character. The word able also refers to people's worth or their character. It speaks of their nobility. So will they do justice to the office that they are wanting to hold? Will they serve honorably? How does this person speak? What kind of language do they use? How do they treat other people? How does he conduct himself? I look to character third. I look to see whether they fear God. Does he have a respect and a reverence for God? Now, of course, I would prefer a genuine, born-again believer. Do they? But does his life show evidence that he actually follows God? Because there's one thing for me to hold the Bible and say, I believe in God. It's another thing for that Bible to hold me. And so I look at that. I see if there's evidence. Does he fear God? A fourth thing is, is that person a man of truth? Does he mean what he says? Does he change his opinions easily when the time is opportune? Is this person a man of his word? Does he keep his promises? And then fifth, hating covenants, covenousness. Is he free from financial corruption? Does he avoid financial impropriety? Is the office going to make him a rich person? Does he understand what it means to be a servant of the people? Or is it a position that will be used to personally enrich that person? You see, voting is a duty that we've been handed. It carries great responsibility. So I cast my vote with these things in mind. And while I was away, I was watching the news and I noted how people were responding to the situation that recently occurred in Chicago. Perhaps some of you are aware of it. Many aren't, because many in our fellowship don't seem to follow the news very closely. But in the event that perhaps you are aware of it, recently one of the candidates, Donald Trump was in Chicago and there was a great resistance to him, a lot of anger and you hear the pundits as well as other politicians, begin to blame. So we have a tendency of setting the blame on people's, people were saying, well, we provoke them to do that. We cause them to do that and all. And I know that I have a tremendous influence that I exercise. I know I can provoke people. I understand that it corresponds. Things I do can sometimes provoke somebody else. I understand that. But at the same time when it all is said and done, I have personal responsibility for my own behavior and I can't blame other people for everything that I do. I'm aware of that also. And yet you hear the people saying, oh, this and that concerning this situation and the anger and all. But I was remembering, and here's where being alive for a while, it's actually a benefit. I can remember back to the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in 1968, which many of you weren't even alive at that time. So let me give you a brief history lesson. In 1968, they had riots. And they were having what was called the trial of the Chicago Eight. And there were protesters at that time. And there was an individual by the name of Bobby Seale, who was one of the Chicago Eight. And Bobby Seale was one of the original co-founders of the Black Panther Movement. And so at that time, there were riots. As a matter of fact, in 1968, there were something like 100 riots in various cities. And so you had people marching. And you had people saying, not here in Chicago. And there was even a song that was written at that time by a group called Crosby, Stills, and Nash. It's called Chicago. And it was really in terms of Bobby's. It was sung by Bobby Seale. And I remember that. I remember when that went down. And so what you saw in Chicago recently isn't brand new in American history. There's been a series of riots and series of protests for a long time. And so I saw that. But what I find is interesting is we have a tendency today of, if I don't feel like hearing it, I just won't listen. And that's a lot, a lot of people. And you know that if you're trying to share the gospel with somebody, how people will just shut you down. They don't even want to hear it. Why? Because you don't have a right to have an opinion that I don't agree with. You just don't. I mean, I will listen to you because I'm very tolerant. As long as you're in agreement with me. But when you say something I don't like, I'll shut you down. You know, it doesn't matter if it's a church service, I won't listen to you. I'll walk out. It doesn't matter if it's a political rally. If I don't agree with you, I'll protest. I'll have a sign that says you don't have the right to say that. But the United States was built on freedom of speech. And I have, as a pastor, as a pastor, I thank God for the freedom of speech that I possess. Because I can speak to you freely about Jesus Christ. And there are a lot of people who don't want to hear it. But they don't have the right to tell me not to speak. We live in a free country. And what we need to learn to do is listen to what other people have to say. There are people who don't know how to listen. Their mind is made up. Don't cloud me with the fact. The mind is made up. I've already closed it. Anything you have to say, I don't want to hear if it's not what I approve of. That is what we're seeing today. When you have people who are being interviewed on the street concerning opinions related to life in general or political positions or things like positions people have, many Americans are very ignorant. And I mean that the word ignorant means is without knowledge or uninformed about what's going on. So people are right now feeling the burn, which I find really interesting. Bernie Sanders is me. But Bernie Sanders wants to tax you to the rate of $28 trillion. And we don't even know what that number means. What the word trillion means, it is that huge. And somebody's going to have to pay for all this free stuff. It's going to be you. It's going to be you. And I listened to these promises because they used to say, a chicken in every pot will give you whatever you want. We'll say whatever you want. And then once we're elected, we'll do what we want. So you have someone saying, we left the White House broke, completely broke. And I think all of you know that's Hillary. But she doesn't mention that she stole the White House China while she left. So I don't think she was that broke. But what you end up with is you end up with people who are multimillionaires after leaving the office or even multimillionaires once they occupy that office. We need to be aware of what's taking place. You need to be following the news. And you may be thinking, we're California. We are a blue state. My vote is being thrown away. You know what? I'm not throwing away any vote. I'm making my voice known. My God raises up one and puts down the other. I know everything's in his hand. But I also have responsibility. And so I'm encouraging all of you, watch what's going on, vote your conscience, and make sure that the individuals that you vote for into an office that they are as close to your belief system as is possible. Because I can put my head on my pillow at night. And I can say, I did what I'm supposed to do. I leave it in the hands of the Lord, but I have responsibility too. So that's been on my heart. Because I was watching this when I was gone. And I was thinking, you know, this stuff, we've got to deal with it. We've got to talk about it at least for a moment. And I hope that some of what I just said, I hope some of it meant something to you. Because I really think that we really need to be aware. We just do. OK, I'm jet-lagged, I'm out of here. No, it's a 10-hour difference between where we came back from and where it is right now. So here we go. Matthew chapter 12, we're going to be looking at verses 38 through 42. And we're looking at a request. And the request is simply put, we want a sign. So let me do my best to give you a Bible study this morning. Beginning at verse 38, going to verse 42, Matthew chapter 12. Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered saying, Teacher, we want to see a sign from you. But he answered and said to them, An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign. And no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For 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. The men of Nineveh will rise in the judgment with this generation and condemn it because they repented at the preaching of Jonah. And indeed, a greater than Jonah is here. The Queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it. For she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon and indeed a greater than Solomon is here. Now let me lay a foundation for you as we're about to get in a study. We're going to obviously spend some time in verses 38 through 42 for those of you who perhaps are coming here for the first time in all, we've been going through the Gospel of Matthew and we try to take it verse by verse and we try to find within the confines of those verses passage or that passage, verses that can give to us insight into who Jesus Christ is and how we can live lives that bring honor to him. And so that's what we'll be doing today as we look at this particular portion of scripture. But let me begin by laying a foundation and reminding those of you who've been with us that Jesus has just now made a very strong statement. He had just said in verse 36, every idol, for every idol word that men shall speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. For every idol word that men shall speak, they shall give account of it in the day of judgment. Now, when he speaks concerning this day of judgment, the day of judgment speaks of when God calls all people into what is called final accountability. Nothing is left out. Every secret thing will be judged in this day of judgment. Ecclesiastes in the Old Testament, chapter 12 verse 14, Ecclesiastes 12, 14 says, for God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil. So the point is that God is the judge and he will bring everything into judgment. Whether it's good or evil, he's the one who makes that judgment. You see this judgment that is being spoken of this final judgment occurs just before God creates what is called the new heavens and the new earth. It's called the great white throne judgment. And those whose names are not found in the book of life are judged, it's pointed out in Revelation 20 verses 11 through 15. And so when Jesus is speaking concerning this judgment and all he's referring to the final judgment and it's found in Revelation 20. Now the Bible teaches there is a judgment and the Bible teaches there's a judge. And Jesus in the New Testament is revealed as being that judge. In John 522 it says, the father judges no one but has committed all judgment to the son that all should honor the son just as they honor the father. In Acts chapter 10 verse 42, the apostle Peter said that God ordered us to preach to the people and solemnly to testify that this is the one who has been appointed by God as judge of the living and the dead, speaking of Christ. And then in 2 Timothy chapter 4 verse 1, Paul said I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus who is to judge the living and the dead by his appearing in his kingdom. So the Lord Jesus Christ is the judge. There is a final judgment where God looks at everything, every secret thing. The foundation of this judgment relates to how people responded to the message of the gospel. In John 1248, there is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words. The very words I have spoken will condemn them at the last day. And so Jesus is the judge, how people respond to the gospel is his standard. So Jesus has said that men will give account for every idle word and that your words will either justify or will bring conviction to you. Now the word idle means every careless or unprofitable word. So he was saying that our words are a gauge of our commitment to him. And verse 34, we already saw it out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. Verse 34 makes it clear that our speech betrays our life commitment. Ultimately those who are not committed to Christ have what are called unprofitable words. They're unprofitable in regards to those things that pertain to God and to eternal things. Now obviously there are many who have made profitable contributions to people in general. Not every poet who's ever touched my heart with a beautiful line and not every musician who's ever sung a beautiful song were born again Christians singing things that were necessarily God honoring songs. They just were sentimental songs. So the poem was just a very touching poem. I mean there's some songs that to this day I think have a great beauty to them but nobody would run out and say well these things are Christian songs. My favorite song is hunk of hunk of burning love. I mean that's not, no I'm just kidding. Just to see if you're awake. I mean there are songs out there that have a beauty to them and who would argue that people cannot move with poetry and write beautiful lyrics and play skilfully on an instrument and touch human hearts. I'm not saying that and I wouldn't wanna appear that I am. There are many who have made profitable contributions to people in general through their poets and through the songs and all of that and there are people who have lived the lives of loving their husband or wife and caring for the kids and all of that. But what Jesus would be speaking specifically about would relate to the eternal things and those who haven't yielded themselves to him when it comes to the spiritual things are the ones who are guilty of unprofitable speech. That's because their lives are not filled someone said with the treasures of the grace of God. So that's one of the reasons why and I'll say this as an aside, that's one of the reasons why it's important for you if you're born again, if you're a lover of Jesus and your love is word and you're walking in the spirit and all of those things that believers are and what believers do. That's one of the reasons why it's real wise for you that when you're seeking any advice or direction in your life that you seek if you need advice, you seek that advice from someone who loves the Lord and somebody who loves his word and somebody who has a proven track record of following Jesus and it's unwise to go to the world and ask the world for direction for your life. The Bible tells us very clearly in 1st Psalm, Psalm one versus one and two, blessed, Psalm one versus one and two, blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of the sinner or sit in the seat of mockers but his delight is in the law of the Lord and on his law he meditates day and night and so we don't walk in what he refers to as the counsel of the wicked. We don't go to the world to ask spiritual advice and direction for our life. When I seek advice, it isn't going to be seeking advice from someone who doesn't walk with the Lord, it will be with somebody who loves the Lord because I know that the words that will be given to me are prayed over and I'll know that they're gonna come from the scripture which is gonna help me to make the best decisions and so we need to seek advice from those who know God and know God's word. There are many a young person who's gone to a friend in high school and asked for advice from that friend for life changing choices that they've made and they've said, oh I'm thinking of going out with this person who doesn't know the Lord and they wanna take me to this party but my mom and dad don't want me to go and all and then they've gone and they've lied to their parents and they made some real bad choices and ended up violated and because they listened to their friend who said, oh it's no big deal, I'll help you, I'll cover up for you. That happens all the time, we know that, perhaps you were a victim of that yourself or maybe you've given advice to somebody that they ended up hurt because they followed your advice before you were saved, you didn't think about it. But now that we're Christians, we say no that's not a wise thing, does that guy love the Lord? Does he go to church, does he serve God? No, it doesn't really matter, it does matter. And a lot of people don't think so but the Bible teaches that very specifically so blessed is the one who doesn't walk in the counsel of the ungodly. So what we do is we look to the word of God. So trusting and relying in God's word, well that brings us spiritual life. That's why Jesus in John 6.63 said, the spirit gives life, the flesh counts for nothing. He went on to say, the words I have spoken to you are spirit and they're life. So, the believer, the believer has heard the word of God. Confess Jesus Christ as their savior and then they live as if that's real before people. So Jesus is pointing out that the rejection of him is demonstrated by their verbal rejection of him and of his gospel. We are justified when we in faith confess Christ and we are condemned when we reject him. Ultimately all will stand before Jesus Christ. And so Christians live our lives in preparation for that moment when we see him. In Philippians 2 it says at verse 10 at the name of Jesus every knee should bow of those in heaven, those on earth, those under the earth. Everyone will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. So we live in anticipation of our eternal time with Christ but we don't live in fear of our eternal destiny because we have a relationship with God through Jesus Christ and that's what Jesus had been saying and that's what leads us up now to verse 38. So he had said in verse 37 by your words you'll be justified by your words, you'll be condemned then we move into verse 38 then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered saying teacher. We wanna see a sign from you. We wanna see a sign from you. Now when Jesus is here speaking of eternal things there are always people who wanna argue. They inevitably want to argue and Matthew speaks concerning who these people are. These people are the scribes and the Pharisees. That's who they are. Now I've mentioned to you that a Pharisee is like a denomination in the Jewish religion. So the Pharisee was a very strict, conservative religious person during the time of Christ. Even the name Pharisee gives you an insight into what they were like because the word Pharisee means a separated one. And so these people were very separated, extremely conservative in their religious philosophy. So you have the Pharisees, you have the scribes. The scribes were what are called the legal experts. They were not lawyers in the legal sense in terms of those who are working in the field of law but it was the law of Moses, a religious law that they were expert in. And so in order to be a scribe you had to have certain requirements met. For example, they needed to be at least 30 years old. They were to have spent many years studying the scripture, especially the law of Moses. They were to have memorized the traditions that were set forth by the elders over the centuries. And so they were very trusted. They would be what we would today in theological circles, you would call them the THD, the Doctor of Theology. That's what the scribe was during the time of Christ. And that's what they did. They would answer questions related to theology and they also were what were called the copyists because the Bible was written out in such a way that eventually the scrolls that contained the word of God would wear out. And so the scribe would also copy the scriptures and make fresh copies of them. So they were very, very studied in the Bible as they had it during that time. And so these scribes and Pharisees are asking teacher we want to see a sign from you. Now, because of their training, when they were asked spiritual questions, they would quote the experts. And their authority came from their education as well as their ability to quote others on various subjects. So it revealed that they were students and they were respected for their discipline and their learning. And as they're speaking to Jesus, Jesus is obviously an expert on the law, but it caused people to become confused about him. As a matter of fact, in John 7, 15, it says the Jews marveled saying, how does this man know letters having never studied? How did this man know so much? How did he get this depth of understanding having never gone to a rabbinic school? He doesn't have his doctorate. He's not like one of the scribes. He didn't study all these years. And yet he speaks with such a depth of understanding they would even question that. We saw already in Matthew 7, 29, he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes. When Jesus would speak, he didn't quote one of their authorities. He would say, it has been said, but I say. And that caused them to question him. And so these are people who are scribes and these are Pharisees, they're religious leaders and they're already opponents of Christ. And they're opponents of Christ because Jesus Christ has been busy exposing their hypocrisy. He had already said, Jesus in Matthew 5, 20 said, I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven. And so Jesus has already gone about exposing their hypocrisy and their false teachings and they're beginning now to come after him. And that's why in verse 38 they addressed him in this way. They call him notice, they call him teacher, they call him rabbi. Now they already consider him a Sabbath breaker. They already think that Jesus is a blasphemer. With that in mind, for them to call him teacher would obviously simply be a false humility and sarcasm. What they're really doing is they're trying to bait him. They don't regard him as qualified to teach because he's not part of the group. And so what they're trying to do is set a trap for him. Now this is something they do in Luke 20 verse 20 that says they watched him, sent spies who pretended to be righteous that they might seize on his words in order to deliver him to the power and the authority of the governor. So they don't have a sincere question. Listen, sometimes people have spoken to me in the years that I've ministered and all and sometimes they have asked a question more than once with no intent of really looking for an answer, what they're looking for is an opportunity to argue. And you've had that too, haven't you? If you talk to somebody about the Lord and you're sharing with them, they'll say, well, let me ask you this. And then they'll ask you some question, like, if God is so great, can he create a God that is greater than himself? If God can do all things? If God can do all things, can he create a rock that's too big for himself to pick up? And they'd look at you like, wasn't that deep? Now just because you put God in front of a dumb question doesn't make the question a smart question. But we do that. We do that to try and tie people up. Well, if God is so good, and that's what they do, and what are they doing? Is there a sincerity in the question? No, very often it's an antagonism that they have. They're trying to start an argument. They want to have a quarrel over something because they have a point. And here, when they say, we want to see a sign from you, it's not because they really just desire a sign, it's because they're looking for something to trap him with. In Proverbs 29.5, a man who flatters his neighbor spreads a net for his feet. And that's what they're doing here. So they make a request. Now it's interesting because it reveals that they knew that he performed signs. He had performed so many of them that they felt they could even ask for a sign, sign upon request. Now, seeking a sign was a common request. And it would provide for them some kind of proof. It's interesting how Paul, when he was writing to the church in Corinth, said in 1 Corinthians 1.22, Jews demand miraculous signs. Greeks look for wisdom. And so that was a cultural reality, a cultural trade. And so we want to see a sign. You know, to this day, some believe that Jesus's ministry is only authenticated by miracles. And some will say that God isn't real because I've never seen any genuine miracles. And what they're trying to do is they're trying to cause Jesus to do something upon their demand. And so, how does he answer them? Well, in verse 39, he answered and said to them, An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. Now that's interesting. How does he respond? Well, I want you to see how he speaks to them. And by the way, this helps us to get a sense of his majesty. Somebody is asking him a question and Jesus calls him evil and adulterous. That's a pretty strong way to respond. Don't you think? It is. You know, I was, as a Christian raised on pictures of Jesus, you know, carrying a little lamb on his shoulders or always looking kind of meek and mild and deed he was. But he was also ferocious in the sense of being direct. And so when they're asking for this with an intent to ensnare him, he just calls them out on it. Evil and adulterous. Now, when he says they're an evil, that word evil speaks of that which is wicked. And he refers to them as being adulterous. Now, they're wicked or evil because they are constantly tempting God. That's why he would say they're evil. Remember how that when Jesus was being tempted by Satan, how it records in Matthew 4, 7 that Jesus said to Satan, it is written again, you shall not tempt the Lord your God. That's evil. And so in that temptation and tempting Christ, he says, this is an evil thing for you to do. You're tempting me, but he calls them adulterous. Now, when he says they're an adulterous generation, that word adulterous is interesting because he's saying that spiritually, you have been unfaithful to God. You're an adulterous generation. We need to understand that in the history of Israel, God had commanded the nation of Israel to remain faithful to him. You see, as a nation, they were to worship him first and not to have any false gods before him. When you look at God giving the law in Exodus 20, verses two and three, the 10 commandments, there it says in Exodus 20, verses two and three, I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage, you shall have no other gods before me. And so that was God's initial command. You shall have no other gods before me. When God brought Israel into the land of promise, he commanded them to keep him first. In Deuteronomy 12, verses two through four, he said, destroy completely all the places on the high mountains and on the hills and under every spreading tree where the nations you are dispossessing worship their gods. Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones, burn their astropoles in the fire. Cut down the idols of their gods, wipe out their names from those places. You must not worship the Lord your God in their way. And so God had given initial commands that he is their God and they are to worship him alone. In scripture, God refers to Israel as his wife. It's interesting in the New Testament, Jesus says the church or basically the church is the bride of Christ. In the Old Testament, Israel is the wife of God. In Jeremiah 3, 14, it says return, O backsliding children says the Lord, I am married to you. In Isaiah 54, 5, your maker is your husband. The Lord of hosts is his name. So in the Old Testament, Israel is the wife of God. And their unfaithfulness is what causes God to call them adulterers. In Jeremiah 3, verse 6, during the reign of King Josiah, the Lord said to me, have you seen what faithless Israel has done? She has gone up on every high hill and under every spreading tree and has committed adultery there. How did they commit adultery? He says in verse nine of Jeremiah 3, because Israel's immorality mattered so little to her she defiled the land and committed adultery with stone and wood. They became idolaters. When we're in Israel, we go up to a place called Jeroboam's altar. It's in a region that's called the Dan Nature Reserve. And during the time of Solomon, when Solomon died, his kingdom actually was divided. It divided at that point. Before then, there were 12 unified tribes. When Solomon died, the nation divided into the 10 northern and two southern tribes. There was a man by the name of Jeroboam. Jeroboam began to rule as a king in the 10 northern tribes. And in order to keep the people from the north, from going down south to Jerusalem to worship God there, he built an altar and had them worshiping up in the north because he wanted them to not go down south because he was afraid that it would disunite his kingdom that he had established. And deep in the heart of the nation of Israel was the seed of idolatry. And that's how it worked for many years. When we were in Jerusalem, we were by this one place that's called the Burnt House. And the Burnt House is a house that had been burned down during the time when the Romans came and destroyed Jerusalem. And you go into this place called the Burnt House. And they have different things that they've dug up and they have them on display. And one of the things that you'll see in this Burnt House, our Ashra, they are statues of a female deity. And they had them in their houses. Even close to the temple, they had the Ashra there, these little idols that were figurines of women. And they were fertility goddesses. And Israel, even in the shadow of the temple, was practicing idolatry. God from the beginning had said to the nation of Israel, I am the Lord your God. You shall have no other God beside me. You shall worship me alone. I am your husband. And yet they committed adultery. And that's why Jesus says, evil and adulterous. Constantly tempting God and constantly unfaithful to Him. God help us as the church not to be constantly tempting God and not to be constantly unfaithful to Him. And Jesus, when He's speaking to them, He's saying, you really don't want to sign so that you might see and understand. You want to sign so that you can ensnare me for a charge that you'll lodge against me. You see, if you were faithful, you would be following God's Word. And if you were faithful, Jesus would be saying you would follow me. Because God's Word speaks concerning me. In John 5, 46, and 47, Jesus said, if you believed Moses, you would believe me. Or He wrote about me. But since you do not believe what He wrote, how are you going to believe what I say? And so you want to sign? Here's your sign, the sign of the prophet Jonah. Now, when he speaks concerning that in verse 39, an evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. He goes on to say, 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. He's speaking of his resurrection. He's speaking concerning his resurrection. Now, very quickly, let me add an aside to this. I want you to note this. And this actually is an important thing that you may not even think is at the moment, but it is. It gives you some insight into how Jesus Christ took the actual event of Jonah being swallowed by a great fish literally. He was not using this in a metaphoric sense, an allegoric sense. He's using this in a literal sense. He's using the event in the life of Jonah being swallowed by that great fish as proof of his resurrection. So he would not use an illustration to illustrate reality. He's using reality to illustrate reality. And that's why he speaks concerning Jonah in the belly of a great fish. Now, we all know the story of Jonah. You see, Jonah is one of those stories that people have for centuries been disregarding. For centuries, they've been saying, there's just no way that this guy could have been swallowed up like that and this and that. So it has to be just a picture. It has to be fantasy. It has to be mythology. And in the 1800s, there were critics of the Bible. They referred to them as higher critics. They were German intellectuals who actually began to invade the church with their intellectual and scholarship to the point where they started denying miracles and saying that miracles really didn't exist. And they were just figments of the imagination of backwards people during the time of Christ and prior to him. And in reality, these things didn't happen. So what they did is they tried to look at them as being just illustrations and all of that. And that has seeped into many of the Bible colleges that we have in the United States to this day. This higher critic mentality that miracles really didn't happen. And they're just stories that were intended to illustrate something else. And there was a man whose son was on his way to seminary. And the man was very upset because his son was going to go to a seminary that he believed, the father believed, was going to steal away from him his faith. And so this father says to the son, son, don't let him steal the book of Jonah from you. Don't let him take Jonah away. Don't let him take Jonah from your Bible. And he kept saying it to his son because he knew that he was going to go to this university that was going to teach him that Jonah wasn't in the Bible. And so the boy leaves and he's gone for some time and he returns and the father anxiously has that boy seated next to him and he looks at him and he said, did they take Jonah out of the Bible? That was his number one question. And the boy says, Jonah's not in the Bible. Oh no, they took Jonah out of your Bible. And the boy says to his dad, Jonah's not in your Bible. Jonah's not in your Bible. So what are you talking about? Jonah's not in your Bible, dad. Of course it is. Jonah's. No, it's not in your Bible. Read it to me. So the man goes and gets his Bible, opens it up and starts looking for Jonah to read the book of Jonah to show him indeed that Jonah's in the Bible. He can't find Jonah. And the boy finally says, you're not going to find Jonah in the Bible, dad, because before I went to school I cut it out of your Bible. I removed it and he said, dad, what's the difference between you being afraid that I go to a university that takes the book of Jonah out of the Bible or you who never even read the Bible to know that it's not even there anyway. We need to read the word so that we can defend the word but having this theological position, it's all true and never reading it. No, and so Jesus uses Jonah as proof of his resurrection. We all know the story of Jonah, it's a great story. God commissioned this man, Jonah, to preach to a great, great city. There's an Assyrian city by the name of Nineveh. In Jonah, in chapter one, verse two, God said to him, go to the great city of Nineveh, preach against it because its wickedness has come up before me. Well, when God spoke to this reluctant prophet and commanded him to go, Jonah refused to. He was so upset that he refused the assignment and instead of obeying the call, we know the story. He went AWOL. He went and got on a ship, the Bible tells us in Jonah 1.3 that Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Jaffa where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord. So he rejected his assignment and he did so because he hated, hated the Assyrians. History shows the Assyrians as a brutal people. If you ever look into any history books within the century of Jonah and all, during that time, the Assyrian Empire was known for its brutality. You can actually see pictures that they have found that had been carved into clay and all of prisoners that had hooks that were driven in the jaws of their prisoners. They actually would put hooks in the jaw and they would lead them captive and they were known for the brutality. They would take knives and they would skin you alive. They would put you on a post. They would sharpen the edge of the post and two strong soldiers would drive your body onto it so you would be impaled. And they were so good at it that they could make it so that your heart would be about an inch away from the sharpest point. And the pull of gravity over time would actually draw your body down until you were perforated by that post. They were evil. And the Jews hated them for the evil. And God says, go and preach them. Are you kidding me? I'm going to Spain. Because that's Tarshish. I'm going to Spain. Alfie goes, God says today, how do I understand this? Speak to Isis. Similar. Wait a minute, Lord. You don't understand. Let me, let me, they bury children. They behead Christians. They crucify believers. Can you understand how Jonah would feel? I do. No, they deserve. They deserve other than that. So I understand Jonah. I'm not saying I agree with him, but I do understand him. What did Jonah do? He said, chow, I'm going to Spain. Jumps on a boat and Alfie goes. What's interesting to me, during his attempt to escape the Lord, we know the story again. The storm arises and Jonah revealed why the storm had come. Because the people were trying to save the ship and Jonah's just downstairs asleep. And the guy comes, one of the guys comes and says, call upon your God, perhaps he'll save us. And Jonah says, I know why the storm is here. God whom I serve, the God of Israel. He's the one who provoked this storm. Here's your answer. Come me overboard and the storm will cease. So the guy looks at him and says, okay, bye. But the Bible tells us that in the midst of all this time that he's on a ship escaping from the Lord, there's a big fish that's also being prepared. And by the way, that's what happens in your life too. While you're escaping from the Lord, there's a great big fish waiting to chew you up. I promise you. And you think, oh, I'm getting over it. No problem. And the Lord says, go get them. And that's what happens because the Bible says that Jonah 117, the Lord provided a great fish to swallow Jonah. Jonah was inside the fish three days and three nights. He's pretty stubborn. How long would it take you to say, I've changed my mind. I'll go, how long? The minute that thing's mouth was open, I'd say, I'll take me back in the boat. Can you guys take me back to Jaffa? But no, he's in there for three days and three nights. And then finally, Jonah 2, verse one. From inside the fish Jonah prayed and prayed to the Lord as God. And in verses seven through 10, he said this, when my life was ebbing away, I remembered you Lord, my prayer rose to you to your holy temple. Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that should be theirs. But I, with the song of thanksgiving will sacrifice to you. What I have vowed, I will make good. Salvation comes from the Lord. And the Lord commanded the fish and it vomited Jonah on to dry land. Picture that. Blah, there he is. Seaweed, oh stinky. And so he goes off into that mighty city. I don't know if he took a bath and took the seaweed off before he got in the city, but his impact was immediate. Well, Jonah is a foreshadowing of the event of the resurrection of Christ. And Jesus is saying that his resurrection is the greatest sign of who he was. In Romans chapter one, verse four, Paul says, Jesus Christ our Lord was shown to be the Son of God. When God powerfully raised him from the dead by means of the Holy Spirit. So this was a picture of Jesus's death, burial and resurrection and he alludes to it by calling it the sign of the prophet Jonah. He goes on, the men of Nineveh will rise in the judgment with this generation and condemn it because they repented at the preaching of Jonah and indeed a greater than Jonah is here. The men of Nineveh who repented at Jonah's message of destruction will be their judges. It says in Jonah three, five and six, the Ninevites believed God. They declared a fast and all of them from the greatest to the least put on sackcloth. When the news reached the king in Nineveh, he rose from his throne, took off his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, sat down in the dust. They repented at the preaching of Jonah. They will be your judges because you won't. The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon. Indeed, a greater than Solomon is here. This is the queen of Sheba. She was mentioned in First Kings chapter 10. She was a pagan queen. She traveled many miles to hear of the wisdom of Solomon. It says in First Kings 10, six through nine, she said to the king, the report I heard in my own country about your achievements and your wisdom is true, but I did not believe these things until I came and saw with my own eyes. Indeed, not even half was told me. In wisdom and wealth, you have exceeded the report I heard. How happy your men must be. How happy your officials who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom. Praise be to the Lord your God who has delighted in you and placed you on the throne of Israel because of the Lord's eternal love for Israel, he has made you king to maintain justice and righteousness. So Jesus is saying my message is greater than any message you would ever have gotten from Solomon because not only wisdom, but salvation from your sin is found in my message. In rejecting Jesus's message, they are rejecting salvation. Jonah two verse eight again, those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs. You want a sign? There's no greater sign than the resurrection. There's no greater sign. You can talk to all kinds of people about their teachers. You can ask the Buddhist about their teacher somewhere on the face of the earth, the bones of Buddha can be found somewhere. You can speak to the person who's a Muslim and you can say to them about their teacher somewhere on the face of the earth, the bones of Muhammad can be found, but you'll never find the bones of Jesus because he's not dead. He's alive.