The Power of Repentance

Matthew 12:38-45

New International Version (NIV)

³⁸ Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.”

³⁹ He answered, “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. ⁴⁰ For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. ⁴¹ 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 something greater than Jonah is here. ⁴² The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon’s wisdom, and now something greater than Solomon is here.

⁴³ “When an impure spirit comes out of a person, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. ⁴⁴ Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. ⁴⁵ Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that person is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this wicked generation.” (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2012:38%20-%2045&version=NIV)

Have you ever asked for a sign from God?  I have and yet as I read this I wonder if I should have asked such a question.  Why do you think Jesus says that “A wicked and adulterous generation ask for a sign!”?  As I read this scripture in preparation for this blog my first thought was “woops”!  How many times have I asked for a sign?  Have I been wrong?   He goes on to say that the people of Nineveh will condemn this generation as well as the Queen of the South.  In order to really understand what Jesus is talking about we may need to explore these people just a little.

First let’s consider the life of Jonah.  If you go to I Kings 14: 23 - 39

²³ In the fifteenth year of Amaziah son of Joash king of Judah, Jeroboam son of Jehoash king of Israel became king in Samaria, and he reigned forty-one years. ²⁴ He did evil in the eyes of the LORD and did not turn away from any of the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit. ²⁵ He was the one who restored the boundaries of Israel from Lebo Hamath to the Dead Sea, in accordance with the word of the LORD, the God of Israel, spoken through his servant Jonah son of Amittai, the prophet from Gath Hepher.

²⁶ The LORD had seen how bitterly everyone in Israel, whether slave or free, was suffering; there was no one to help them. ²⁷ And since the LORD had not said he would blot out the name of Israel from under heaven, he saved them by the hand of Jeroboam son of Jehoash.

²⁸ As for the other events of Jeroboam’s reign, all he did, and his military achievements, including how he recovered for Israel both Damascus and Hamath, which had belonged to Judah, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel? ²⁹ Jeroboam rested with his ancestors, the kings of Israel. And Zechariah his son succeeded him as king.

Things weren’t so great during the time of Jonah but in this scripture I think it is so important to note why God had Jonah prophesy to these people.  First of all He cared about His people, He saw their suffering and He had made a promise that He would stick by, no matter what!  What does that say about our AWESOME God?  He is good, all the time, all the time God is good.  Not always are His people good but that does not change the character of our God.  You can read more about Jonah and how God used him in to call the people of Nineveh to repent in the book of Jonah.  It is only four chapters long and one worth reading, if you don’t have a Bible go to the following link and read it  http://www.biblegateway.com/ .   Jonah lived in a time that the ways of God weren’t really being followed and the people of Nineveh were one of the most wicked places of all but God chose to send Jonah there to speak His words to these people.  Jonah questioned why God would want these people to repent.  Have you ever wanted to see God’s justice on people who were evil?  We often think that we want God to pass His judgment and punishment on people sooner rather than later.  I don’t think that Jonah was any different from us.  I  would imagine these people had done evil things maybe even something that had a personal impact on Jonah and he really didn’t want them to repent but God had other plans.  As you read, Jonah did finally follow God’s calling and the people repented, just what Jonah thought would happen and he wasn’t happy about it.  But, he did follow God’s plan and God humbled Jonah through the process. 

The other reference in this has to do with the Queen of the South that went to visit Solomon.  You can read about this visit in I Kings 10: 1 – 13. http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=I%20Kings%2010:%201%20-%2013&version=NIV   The verse that stood out to me though was I Kings 10: 9   “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.”

Do you see a pattern here?  The Queen of the South recognized the Lord and gave praise to Him.  The people of Nineveh, the King of Nineveh, recognized God and repented.  These people were evil but they recognized their sins and repented.  The pharisees who wanted a “sign from God” were not willing to admit their sin and repent.  To this day they have not recognized Jesus as Lord and they have refused to repent.  The Israelites, to this day, again do not have all the land that was promised to them because once again they have not repented and recognized Jesus as LORD.  Jesus clearly says in this scripture that He was sent, greater than Jonah, wiser than Solomon and yet they were still asking for a sign.

Now, it comes back to each of us.  Are we asking for a sign or are we repenting?  We need to repent and God will take care of all our needs.  He will make sure that His will is done in all situations.  We need to walk in His will by repenting and recognizing He is in control.   He is in control whether we think times are good or if we think they are bad.  Remember God, is good, all the time, all the time God is good!!!!!!!!

As you seek Him may you find Him forgiving you as you repent your humanness to Him and recognizing that He is in control.



Seeking Him with all my heart,

Sheila