Mt 12:38-42
38Some of the scribes and Pharisees said to [Jesus], “Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.” 39He said to them in reply, “An evil and unfaithful generation seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it except the sign of Jonah the prophet. 40Just as Jonah was in the belly of the whale three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights. 41At the judgment, the men of Nineveh will arise with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and there is something greater than Jonah here. 42At the judgment the queen of the south will arise with this generation and condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and there is something greater than Solomon here.”
SIGN OF JONAH THE PROPHET: Jonah, the reluctant prophet, tries to defy God’s command to preach repentance to Nineveh. Instead, he travels to Tarshish which is in the opposite direction. Jonah flees because he knows God will be merciful and gracious to the Ninevites, Israel’s enemies. The Assyrians had destroyed the northern kingdom of Israel and exiled most of the inhabitants to Nineveh, their capital city. Jonah is stopped by a large fish from escaping. Despite his unwillingness, the prophet eventually lands and preaches in Nineveh. And, very much to his chagrin, the pagan people accept his message of repentance, which spares them from destruction (Jon 3:1-10).
This then is the background of Jesus’ reply to the scribes and the Pharisees who ask him for a “sign.” Jesus aligns himself with the figure of Jonah even as he insists that he is greater than the prophet. He contrasts the positive response of the Ninevites to the prophet with the negative response that is given him by the scribes and the Pharisees. Notwithstanding the many mighty acts of Jesus that they have seen, they still want authentication that Jesus is truly from God. The despised pagan Ninevites fared better than these religious leaders.