Matthew 12:39

But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas:

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(39) An evil and adulterous generation.—The true relation between Israel and Jehovah had been represented by the prophets as that of the wife to her husband (Jeremiah 3; Ezekiel 16, 23; Hosea 1, 2). The adulterous generation was therefore one that was unfaithful to its Lord—demanding a sign, instead of finding sufficient proofs of faithfulness and love in what He had already done.

There shall no sign be given to it.—The words seem at first to place our Lord’s miracles of healing outside the category of signs, and yet it was to these that He referred the messengers of the Baptist as proof that the Christ had indeed come (Matthew 11:5). They must, however, be interpreted by the context. One sign and only one, such as they demanded, should be given to those for whom the other notes of Messiahship were insufficient, and that should be the sign of the prophet Jonas.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

12:38-45 Though Christ is always ready to hear and answer holy desires and prayers, yet those who ask amiss, ask and have not. Signs were granted to those who desired them to confirm their faith, as Abraham and Gideon; but denied to those who demanded them to excuse their unbelief. The resurrection of Christ from the dead by his own power, called here the sign of the prophet Jonah, was the great proof of Christ's being the Messiah. As Jonah was three days and three nights in the whale, and then came out again alive, thus Christ would be so long in the grave, and then rise again. The Ninevites would shame the Jews for not repenting; the queen of Sheba, for not believing in Christ. And we have no such cares to hinder us, we come not to Christ upon such uncertainties. This parable represents the case of the Jewish church and nation. It is also applicable to all those who hear the word of God, and are in part reformed, but not truly converted. The unclean spirit leaves for a time, but when he returns, he finds Christ is not there to shut him out; the heart is swept by outward reformation, but garnished by preparation to comply with evil suggestions, and the man becomes a more decided enemy of the truth. Every heart is the residence of unclean spirits, except those which are temples of the Holy Ghost, by faith in Christ.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

An evil and adulterous generation - The relation of the Jews to God was often represented as a marriage contract - God as the husband, and the Jewish people as the wife.

See Isaiah 57:3; Hosea 3:1; Ezekiel 16:15. Hence, their apostasy and idolatry are often represented as adultery. This is the meaning, probably, here. They were evil, and unfaithful to the covenant or to the commandments of God - an apostate and corrupt people. There is, however, evidence that they were literally an adulterous people.

There shall no sign be given to it ... - They sought some direct miracle "from heavens." Jesus replied that no "such" miracle should be given. He did not mean to say that he would work no more miracles, or give no more evidence that he was the Christ, but he would give "no such miracle" as they required. "He would give one that ought to be as satisfactory evidence to them that he was from God, as the miraculous preservation of Jonah was to the Ninevites that he was divinely commissioned." As Jonah was preserved three days by miracle and then restored alive, so he would be raised from the dead after three days. As on the ground of this preservation the Ninevites believed Jonah and repented, so, on the ground of his resurrection, the people of an adulterous and wicked generation ought to repent, and believe that he was from God. "The sign of the prophet Jonas" means the "sign" or "evidence" which was given to the people of Nineveh that he was from God - to wit, that he had been miraculously preserved, and was therefore divinely commissioned. The word "Jonas" is the Greek way of writing the Hebrew word "Jonah," as "Elias" is for "Elijah."

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

39. But he answered and said unto them—"when the people were gathered thick together" (Lu 11:29).

an evil and adulterous generation—This latter expression is best explained by Jer 3:20, "Surely as a wife treacherously departeth from her husband, so have ye dealt treacherously with Me, O house of Israel, saith the Lord." For this was the relationship in which He stood to the covenant-people—"I am married unto you" (Jer 3:14).

seeketh after a sign—In the eye of Jesus this class were but the spokesmen of their generation, the exponents of the reigning spirit of unbelief.

and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

See Poole on "Matthew 12:40".

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

But he answered and said unto them,.... Not to the Pharisees, who were unworthy of an answer from him; having, in such an imperious manner, and with a sole view to tempt him, and after such miracles were wrought by him, required of him a sign from heaven; but to the multitude, the throng of people gathered thick together on this occasion, see Matthew 12:45 he turns himself from the Scribes and Pharisees, to the common people, and says to them concerning the former,

an evil and adulterous generation; not only in a spiritual sense, being degenerated from the faith, religion, and piety of their ancestors; but literally, which appeared not only in their polygamy, and frequent divorces on trivial occasions, but by criminal conversation with other women; see John 8:9 and this, with the Jews themselves, is a character of the generation in which the Messiah comes: for they say (h),

"that just when the Messiah comes, or in the age the son of David comes, "impudence shall be increased", corn and wine shall be dear, the government shall be heretics, , "and the synagogue shall become a brothel house".''

Their meaning is, that the chief magistrates should be Sadducees, and those that pretended to religion and holiness would be adulterers, which was now the case. Their writings (i) frequently speak of the increase and abounding of adulteries, under the second temple, and about this time; which obliged Jochanan ben Zaccai and the sanhedrim, to leave off the use of the bitter waters.

Seeketh after a sign; this is perfectly Talmudic language, the language of the Jews (k).

"The disciples of R. Jose ben Kismai, asked him, when the Son of David came? He replied, I am afraid, lest , "ye should seek of me a sign"; they say unto him, we will not "seek of thee a sign".''

This the Jews sought of Christ, time after time; not content with one, sought another, though such wonderful ones were wrought, which most fully demonstrated him to be the Messiah; and therefore he would not indulge this temper in them; but declared, that

there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. Not that no miracles should afterwards be wrought amongst them; for, after this, many wondrous works were done by Christ; but no such signs should be given they desired, not one from heaven; but one particularly should be given them, out of the earth, and should be, not for their conviction, but condemnation; and would seem very much like that which was done to the prophet Jonas, or Jonah; for so is his name in the Hebrew language, the other being the Greek termination of it.

(h) Misn. Sota c. 9. sect. 15. T. Bab. Sanhed. fol. 97. 1.((i) Misn. Sota, c. 9. sect. 9. & Maimon. Hilch. Sota, c. 3. sect. 19. (k) T. Bab. Sanhedrim, fol. 98. 1. so , "seeketh a sign", Shemot Rabba, Parash. 9. fol. 97. 2.

Geneva Study Bible

But he answered and said unto them, An evil and {f} adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas:

(f) Bastard, who fell from Abraham's faith or forsook the true worship of God.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Meyer's NT Commentary

Matthew 12:39. Μοιχαλίς] ὡς ἀφιστάμενοι ἀπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ, Theophylact. The Hebrew (Psalm 73:27; Isaiah 57:3 ff.; Ezekiel 23:27, al.) conceived his sacred relation to God as represented by the figure of marriage, hence idolatry and intercourse with Gentiles were spoken of as adultery. Gesenius, Thes. I. p. 422. On this occasion Jesus transfers the figure to moral unfaithfulness to God, Jam 4:4; Revelation 2:20 ff.

γενεά] generation; the representatives of which had certainly made the request, while the multitude, Matthew 12:46, was likewise present.

ἐπιζητεῖ] See on Matthew 6:32.

σημεῖον οὐ δοθήσεται αὐτῇ] Seeing that the demand of the Pharisees had manifestly pointed to a sign of a higher order than any with which Jesus had hitherto favoured them,—that is to say, some wonderful manifestation, by which He might now prove, as He had never done before, that He was unquestionably the Messiah—for they would not admit that the miracles they had already seen were possessed of the evidential force of the actual σημεῖον; it is certain that, in this His reply, Jesus must likewise have used σημεῖον as meaning pre-eminently a confirmatory sign of a very special and convincing nature. Consequently there is no need to say that we are here precluded from looking upon the miracles in the light of signs, and that, according to our passage, they were not performed with any such object in view (de Wette); rather let us maintain, that they were certainly performed for such a purpose (John 11:41 f., with which John 4:48 is not at variance, comp. the note following Matthew 8:4), though, in the present instance, it is not these that are referred to, but a sign κατʼ ἐξοχήν, such as the Pharisees contemplated in their demand. Euth. Zigabenus (comp. Chrysostom) inaptly observes: τί οὖν; οὐκ ἐποίησεν ἔκτοτε σημεῖον; ἐποίησεν ἀλλʼ οὐ διʼ αὐτούς, πεπωρωμένοι γὰρ ἦσαν· ἀλλὰ διὰ τὴν τῶν ἄλλων ὠφέλειαν.

τὸ σημ. Ἰωνᾶ] which was given in the person of Jonah, John 2:1. Jesus thus indicates His resurrection, διὰ τὴν ὁμοιότητα, Euth. Zigabenus. Notice the emphasis in the thrice repeated σημεῖον.

Expositor's Greek Testament

Matthew 12:39. γενεὰ as in Matthew 11:16, a moral class, “quae in omni malitia et improbitate vivit,” Suicer, s. v. γενεά.—μοιχαλὶς, unfaithful to God as a wife to a husband, apt description of men professing godliness but ungodly in heart.—ἐπιζητεῖ, hankers after, as in Matthew 6:32; characteristic; men that have no light within crave external evidence, which given would be of no service to them. Therefore: οὐ δοθήσεται: it will not be given either by Jesus or by any one else. He declines, knowing it to be vain. No sign will convince them; why give one?—εἰ μὴ, etc.: except the sign of Jonah the prophet, which was no sign in their sense. What is referred to? But for what follows we should have said: the preaching of repentance by Jonah to the Ninevites. So Luke 11:30 seems to take it. Jonah preached repentance to the men of Nineveh as the only way of escape from judgment. Jesus points to that historic instance and says: Beware! Jonah was not the only prophetic preacher of repentance; but, as Nineveh is held up as a reproach to the persons addressed, to single him out was fitting.

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

39. adulterous] estranged from God; a figure often used by the Prophets to express the defection of Israel from Jehovah.

Bengel's Gnomen

Matthew 12:39. Γεμεὰ, a generation) A race of the same age and disposition.—μοιχαλὶς, adulterous) i.e. strictly so speaking: see ch. Matthew 5:32; and also, by synecdoche, very guilty; see Jam 4:4.—σημεῖον, a sign) and one too of a certain special kind. This word is thrice repeated here with great emphasis; cf. 2 Corinthians 11:12, where the meaning is, They wish for an occasion, and no occasion is given them; which resembles what is said here, They seek for a sign, and no sign shall be given them.—ἐπιζητεῖ seeketh in addition) i.e. beyond those which it has already seen, it requires further signs, as if it had seen none yet.—τὸ σημεῖον Ἰωνᾶ, the sign of Jonah) that is such a one as was given in Jonah.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 39. - Of the passages mentioned in the introductory note on vers. 38-42, Matthew 16:4 is verbally identical with the answer of our present verse, except the omission of the words, "the prophet," which occur nowhere else but in this passage. But he answered and said to them, An evil (πονηρά, ch. 6:13, note) and adulterous generation. However frequent the sin of adultery may then have been, the common metaphorical sense of spiritual unfaithfulness to God and the practical worship of some other than Jehovah seems the more probable here (cf. James 4:4; Revelation 2:20-23). Seeketh after (ἐπιζητεῖ); Matthew 6:32. A sign; but there shall no sign be given to it. In Mark 8:12 our Lord's reply ends here. But the sign of the Prophet Jonas; Jonah the prophet (Revised Version). In Matthew 16:4 and Luke 11:29 "the prophet" has been added in the Received Text. Matthew 12:39

Vincent's Word Studies

Adulterous (μοιχαλὶς)

A very strong and graphic expression, founded upon the familiar Hebrew representation of the relation of God's people to him under the figure of marriage. See Psalm 73:27; Isaiah 57:3 sqq.; Isaiah 62:5; Ezekiel 23:27. Hence idolatry and intercourse with Gentiles were described as adultery; and so here, of moral unfaithfulness to God. Compare James 4:4 :; Revelation 2:20 sqq. Thus Dante:

"Where Michael wrought

Vengeance upon the proud adultery."

Inf., vii., 12.