Title: Jesus the Resurrection!!
Content Readers, this time I bought and read this book: The Lord Will Use Hara. The content is simple. This is the story of Elder Gwangseok Kim, who used to be a Buddhist, then became a believer and received many blessings while serving the living and working Lord. He simply believed in the living Lord, and the Lord worked through him. Dear saints, the Lord who was with Elder Kim is also with us. Although Jesus died on the cross for us, He rose again to be with us. The resurrected Jesus is now alive, moving and working in us. I hope you believe it.
Today's text consists of the requests of the scribes and Pharisees and Jesus' answers. To understand the Jewish leaders' request and Jesus' answer, we must first consider the Jewish leaders' intentions in requesting a sign. The Pharisees conspired to kill Jesus in the Sabbath argument. In verse 14, it says, “The Pharisees went out and discussed how they should kill Jesus.”
They were not really willing to accept the sign. If they really wanted to, the fact that Jesus cast out demons would be a sufficient sign to them that Jesus was working by the power of the Holy Spirit. When Jesus showed sufficient signs, they interpreted it as the work of the devil and rejected the sign. Yet they are asking Jesus for a sign. For what purpose are they looking for a sign?
They did not seek a sign with an honest heart, as do those who are zealous to know the truth about the Lord. Their demands were already lurking in malice. They wanted Jesus' death, and with such an evil heart, they demanded a sign from Jesus. With a sarcastic and mocking attitude, they demanded. “Teacher, we want you to show us a sign.”
Therefore, Jesus flatly refused their request. You didn't show them the sign they asked for. But Jesus spoke of his final signs and judgments to those who rejected and opposed him. He prophesied about the future. As we think of Jesus' answer in three parts, we want to receive the grace of the Lord.
1. Jesus speaks of the last sign. (verses 39-40)
Jesus refused the sign they asked for, but promised one unique sign. What is the only sign Jesus promised them? Verses 39 and 40. “Jesus answered and said, An evil and adulterous generation seeks a sign, but there is no sign to be seen except the sign of Jonah the prophet. As Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the earth.” The last sign that Jesus will show is the sign of Jonah. The final and only sign that Jesus shows to those who do not believe while accusing Jesus is that it is the sign of Jonah.
Dear saints, we are familiar with the story of Jonah. Jonah was commanded by God to preach the word to the people of Nineveh. Jonah disobeyed and fled to Tarshish, and as a result of God's judgment he was in the belly of a large fish for three days. But Jonah prayed. Jonah, by the grace of God, came out of the belly of the fish, the place of death. Jonah preached the word of God to the people of Nineveh. This is the summary of Jonah's story.
The story of Jonah like this is the sign of Jesus. The sign of Jonah is the sign of Jesus' own death and resurrection. Like Jonah, the Son of Man will be in the earth for three days and three nights, and like Jonah, the Son of Man will rise again. The final sign Jesus shows is that after the hatred of the Pharisees eventually led to his death, Jesus rose from the dead to prove the truth of his teachings.
Brothers and sisters, as we already know well, all these prophecies of Jesus came true. Like Jonah, Jesus died on the cross. Jonah went into the belly of the fish because of his sin, but Jesus died to pay for our sins. As prophesied, he was in the ground for three days. Like Jonah, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day as prophesied. He became the resurrected Jesus. You are the Lord who rules the heavens and the earth. Jesus became Lord with us through the Holy Spirit. And like Jonah, the risen Jesus is witnessing the gospel through the Holy Spirit. I hope you believe it.
2. Jesus speaks of the eternal judgment of the end. (verses 41-42)
Jesus announces future doomsday judgments to those who reject His last sign. Comparing two events in the past, he prophesies the final judgment for the generation that rejects Jesus. Verses 41 and 42 (read).
First, Jesus compares the people of Nineveh with those who reject him. The people of Nineveh are more righteous. Even the people of Nineveh will take the place of judges who condemn the people of this generation who reject Jesus. Why? They accepted Jonah's sign. I believed in Jonah's preaching. repented. I obeyed the word of God. But the people of Jesus' day were not like that. They rejected the sign of Jesus, they were not taught, and they rejected the last sign.
Second, Jesus compared the Queen of the South to the generation of Jesus' day. The queen of Sheba was eager to hear the wisdom of Solomon from the ends of the earth. However, the rebellious and evil generation that rejected Jesus did not believe and rejected Jesus' words.
In this way, Jesus compared the people of Nineveh, who were Gentiles, and Sheba, the queen of the south, with the Jews of his day. If the people of Nineveh, who were Gentiles, had heard Jonah's preaching, the Jews had to obey the teachings of Jesus, who was greater than Jonah. If Sheba, the queen of the south, wanted to listen to Solomon's wisdom, the Jews had to listen to the words of Jesus, who is greater than Solomon.
Those who reject Jesus will face eternal judgment just as Jesus prophesied. If even those who have thus received little light from God's revelation obeyed the fainter teachings, those who reject the last sign of Jesus greater than Jonah and greater than Solomon will face eternal judgment.
Dear saints, these words of the Lord apply to our day as well. I hope you will receive the sign of Jonah, the last sign of Jesus. I hope you believe in the gospel of Jesus' death and resurrection. I hope that you will receive the resurrected Jesus who is greater than Jonah in your heart. If we refuse, the eternal judgment of the Jews who refused will come upon us as well.
3. Jesus speaks of a present judgment. (verses 43-45)
Jesus pronounces a present judgment on a generation that rejects his sign of Jonah. He talks about the personal experience of a person possessed by a demon as an illustration. Verses 43-45 (read). Especially look at verse 45. “So shall it be with this wicked generation,” he declares. What is? This is the situation of those who reject the sign of Jonah of Jesus. He speaks of the present judgment upon those who reject the Lord.
The illustration Jesus spoke of begins when a demon comes out of a person. An unclean spirit has gone out of a man. Jesus shows the demon's activity. Demons need some medium to work, and since they don't have one, they can't stop looking for it, but they can't find it. The demon came back to the one who came out again. When the demon came, he saw that the man's state of mind was “cleaned, cleaned, and repaired.” What is important here is the fact that although it has been cleaned and repaired to some extent it is still empty. When the unclean spirit saw that the man had no master in his heart, he brought seven other more evil spirits back into him. So, his situation improved a little, and his situation deteriorated again, and later his situation became worse than before.
This is the situation of those who reject the sign of Jonah of Jesus. Such a person's condition itself is God's present judgment. God leaves them as they are. They will be tormented by unclean spirits while they live on this earth. They will be slaves to unclean spirits for the rest of their lives. They will eventually face eternal judgment.
Saints, who is in your heart? Is the resurrected Jesus in your heart? Or is it empty? It is never enough just to be set free by the demons. You must have the resurrected Jesus in your heart. That's right. We live in the light of Jesus' final sign, his death and resurrection. It has the sign of Jesus' resurrection, which clearly shows that Jesus is Lord. We are experiencing in our hearts the power of the resurrection Jesus who works through the Holy Spirit. The resurrected Jesus possesses our hearts through the Holy Spirit. He protects us from all evil forces. I hope that you will receive the risen Jesus, who is greater than Jonah, as your Lord. I hope that you will have Jesus of wisdom greater than Solomon in your hearts.
Dear brothers and sisters, I want to ask you a question again. Who is on your mind? Believe me today I have the greater Jonah and the greater Solomon, Jesus. I want you to be convinced that I have Christ, who is the resurrection life. Dear saints, I hope you will confess that there is nothing more important and better than this. Hallelujah! The risen Jesus is with you as Lord.