Several months ago, as Janelle and I were returning from a visit to southernCalifornia, we were enjoying our peaceful drive on “the 5” through Los Angeles.  I moved into the carpool lane so we could kick up speed to 25 miles an hour.  Pretty soon, we were cruising at a happy 60MPH, and just as I was beginning to feel smart for being in the fastest lane (other traffic was still going a slow 25), we started to veer off to the left… and more to the left… and more… and then down…

Somehow we had been dropped off of the freeway into a very bad part of town…

And nowhere a freeway entrance sign!  Oh, what I would have given for a freeway entrance sign!

Have you ever been lost like that?  Ever wished there was a sign – a simple sign – to tell you how to get where you wanted to go?

Have you ever thought about how important signs are?

With no signs, there’d be mass chaos on all roads and highways. What would happen if people didn’t obey these?  (SLIDE)

Without signs, there would be no way to know where to stop and eat when you are far from home.  (SLIDE)

Without signs, you wouldn’t know where to find the best shopping deals. (SLIDE)

And when you are in a desperate life and death situation, no sign would show you where to find salvation …  (SLIDE)

Are we convinced?  Signs are a very important part of our existence.  Sometimes, though, signs are quite confusing and don’t really communicate the message effectively.  (SLIDE)  This is in front of some City Hall!  While you are paying for one parking ticket, you’ll probably get another one!

And here is an interesting one.  (SLIDE) 

And some signs communicate ….  (SLIDE) Too effectively.

For the last four weeks, we’ve been working through the book of Jonah.  According to Jesus, Jonah was a sign – a sign to the Ninevites, a sign to the Pharisees – and I would suggest - a sign to us as well.

We are going to conclude Jonah in the book of Matthew: please turn with me to Matthew 12:38-41. 

In this passage, we see the Pharisees asking Jesus for a sign.  It is apparent that the Pharisees had already rejected Jesus.  Jesus had performed numerous miracles, but the Pharisees refused to listen.  In fact, in Matthew 12:24 we see the Pharisees claiming that Jesus is casting out demons by the power of Satan!

In response, Jesus tells them that Satan cannot cast out Satan; and he challenges them with these words in Matthew 12:28:  "But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you."

This is the essence of Jesus’ message: The kingdom of God has come upon you.

And Jesus continues by telling them that he is not going to give them any sign except the sign of Jonah.

So what is the sign of Jonah?  And what does it mean to respond to the sign of Jonah?

As we look at Matthew 12:38-41, we’ll see what the sign of Jonahs is, and we’ll see that the only proper way to respond to the sign of Jonah is to TURN toward God.  And as we look at this passage we see four things that we can do to TURN.

The first thing that we can do is this: Take it personally

In verse 38 we read:  Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, "Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you."

We should find it remarkable that the scribes and Pharisees are not indifferent to Jesus; in fact, throughout the gospels we find them quite interested in interacting with Jesus – they want to argue with him, they want to trap him, they want to discredit him, and they even want to kill him.  And here in verse 38, they want something from him – a sign.

Question:  why didn’t they just ignore him?

They couldn’t.  Jesus was turning their world upside down.  There was no way they would sit back and watch all of their power and prestige be challenged by this man Jesus.

Why, though, is it so easy for us to ignore him?  Jesus challenges us the same way.  His teachings demand that our world be turned upside down as well.

He tells us that if we want to find life, we have to be willing to give it up.

He tells us that if we want to be great, we need to be the servant of all.

He tells us that if we want to be rich, we need to give up everything.

Somehow, though, it is so easy for us to carry on with life as normal, ignoring the fact that we must do something radical with this Jesus.

The Pharisees had one thing going for them: they took the message of Jesus personally.  When Jesus broke into their world, they could not just ignore him.

Here is a little Steve York history for you:  When I was about four years old, I was diagnosed with cancer.  Now I don’t remember much of it, but I do remember my parents taking it quite seriously.  Within days of my diagnosis, I was in the operating room.  I had a tumor in my kidney; so they removed the kidney.  They wanted to be sure that the cancer didn’t spread; so they put me through chemotherapy and radiation treatment.  And you can guess that my parents had a lot of people praying for me!

And now I am alive.  Why?  Because my parents took it personally.  When the doctors said I had cancer and would die if they didn’t operate on me, my parents didn’t say, “Oh, come on, not OUR son.  Oh, we don’t believe you!”   Neither did they say, “Oh, come one… what is the big deal!  It is just cancer.”

Jesus says that we all have a cancer called sin.  And he says that if we don’t get treatment, the cancer will spread and we will eventually die.

And he also says that He is the only doctor who can really bring healing.  We must accept his diagnosis and his treatment.  And in order to do this, we must first realize that he is talking TO US.

Will we take Jesus personally?  Will we decide, no matter what the cost, that we will deal with the real Jesus?  Will we listen to his diagnosis?  Will we believe the prognosis?  Will we consent to treatment?  Will we read his teachings?  Will we study his life?  Will we consider who he claims to be?

If he is God in the flesh, he is worth everything.  If he is not, he should be vehemently opposed, for he then would be guilty of the biggest hoax in history.

Whatever we do, we cannot ignore him.

And having decided to take Jesus personally and deal with reality, we then must take another step.  Turning to Jesus requires that you: Understand your need

In verse 39, we read:  But he answered them, "An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign”

The Pharisees had asked for a sign; what they wanted was some miracle from Jesus that would prove that he was the Messiah.  Why did they want a sign?  They wanted a sign because of their unbelief.  They wanted a sign because they were “an evil and adulterous generation.”

When Jesus calls them “an evil and adulterous generation,” he is talking about spiritual adultery.  The Pharisees were representative of the Jews who were no longer devoted to God.  Instead, though they were God’s chosen people, they were adulterous in heart: they had other idols in their lives.

In fact, the gospels make it abundantly clear that the Pharisees cared about a whole lot of things passionately – like their reputation and their earthly power.  And it is quite apparent that they didn’t care much for pleasing God.

Did the Pharisees really need a sign?  Of course not.  They needed to recognize their own sin and their need for a savior.  They didn’t understand their need!

And that is why when Jesus responds to them, he doesn’t give them any miracle.  Instead, he exhorts them to repent – to turn away from their sin and toward God.

So do we recognize our own need?

Do we realize that we are on a collision course with disaster unless we turn to Jesus and give him our lives?

This guy certainly understands his need! (SLIDE)

Once in a while we have one of those “aha” moments when we realize that we are missing something.

Maybe this is one of those times for you!  Maybe you are sitting here this morning realizing that there is so much more to life – to God – to knowing God and experiencing the LIFE that He has for you – Maybe you recognize right here and now that your life is not going the direction that you want it to go.

You see so clearly that you are on a collision course with destruction.  Understand your need.  You need to give your heart to Jesus.  Maybe it is for the first time.  Maybe it is the 100^th time.

The Pharisees didn’t understand their need.  Do you understand yours?

So many people in this world are desperate for Jesus and they don’t even know it!  They don’t know their need.

Isn’t that sad?

Here is a great quote from French philosopher Blaise Pascal:  “There is a God-shaped vacuum in the heart of every man which cannot be filled by any created thing, but only by God, the Creator, made known through Jesus.”

You and I have a whole lot of wants, but there is one need which, if not satisfied, will leave us empty forever – and dead.

Jesus said:  “an evil and adulterous generation asks for a sign.”

We don’t need a sign.  We don’t need another miracle.  We need to understand that Jesus is the only giver of LIFE.

And having understood our need, we have one more thing to do, and that is this: Recognize the sign

We read in verses 39 and 40:  “but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.  For just 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 Scribes and Pharisees had asked for a sign to prove that Jesus was the Messiah.  What they wanted was a quick miracle on the spot – one that would prove to them that Jesus had the authority from God.  Jesus had already performed plenty of miracles:  He had healed the blind, the paralyzed, the demon-possessed and the dead.  He turned water into wine, walked on water, calmed storms, caused people to catch all sorts of fish.  Some of these the Pharisees had seen and some they’d only heard about.  But they keep asking for one more sign.

Jesus responds by telling them that they weren’t going to get any sign, except the sign of Jonah the prophet.  Jesus then elaborates on just what sign he is talking about.  He says, “For just 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.”

Imagine what the Ninevites must have thought when they heard of Jonah’s miraculous deliverance from death!  Having heard of what Jonah had gone through in being thrown overboard, swallowed by a great fish, and then vomited up on dry land three days later… surely such a miracle would have made his message of repentance more authoritative!

The sign of Jonah, then, is simply the deliverance of Jonah by means of the great fish.  Jesus is essentially saying that the same thing is going to happen to him – deliverance from death.  And just as Jonah’s message was authenticated by his deliverance from death, so too, Jesus’ message would be authenticated by HIS deliverance from death.

Do you see what Jesus is saying?  The only ‘sign’ the scribes and Pharisees are going to get is the death and resurrection of Jesus!

Have you heard of people today who ask for a sign from God to prove that he is real?

Some say, “Oh, if only God would do some miracle, then I’d believe.”

Nonsense!

Jesus did the greatest miracle of all!  He DIED, AND THEN HE ROSE FROM THE DEAD!

Recognize the sign!

Jesus has defeated death.  Jesus is authenticated as the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead.

Christ has been raised!

Do we need any greater sign?

And having recognized the sign, there only one major thing left to do: Name Jesus

We read in verse 41:  The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.

Jesus is essentially saying this:  The people of Nineveh saw the miracle of Jonah’s deliverance from death by means of the great fish, and they in turn believed Jonah’s message.

But now someone greater than Jonah is here!

Jesus is greater than Jonah, and Jesus’ message is authenticated by a greater sign than was Jonah’s message.

If rejecting Jonah’s message meant condemnation, then how much more the rejection of the message of Jesus!

And that is exactly what the scribes and Pharisees were doing; they were rejecting Jesus and his message.

We want to escape condemnation, right?  We need to Name Jesus.

There is no other savior for our sins.  There is no other name by which we may be saved.

The name of Jesus is the name above all names.

Have you given your heart to Jesus?  Have you ever put your trust in Him?  Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life.  No one can come to the Father but through me.”

We have been studying through the book of Jonah.  From the start we established the fact that the book of Jonah is not about Jonah.  It is about God.  It is about God working in history to draw people to himself.  It is about God’s plans of salvation, and his invitation for people to join him in His work.

The life of Jonah is just a small speck in God’s story of redemption.

And your life – and my life – our lives are just the same – small specks in the great story of God.

And yet, even though are lives are but specks, God calls us significant!  And he invites us to be a part of His story.

Hundreds of years after Jonah, God became flesh, and his name is Jesus.  He really did rise from the dead; the greatest sign.

And what was the message of that sign?

Imagine him on the cross.  Imagine him risen from the dead.

The sign simply means: I love you.  Turn to me.

Is your life on the road toward Jesus?  If not, make a U Turn.

Let us pray.