In today’s Gospel the scribes and Pharisees were seeking a sign in the way it doesn’t normally work: signs are a gift. If you demand a sign, often you won’t get it, because signs are a gift from God and he sends them when and how he pleases. In this case, Jesus has already worked various signs regarding his mission from the Father. When Our Lord responds with the story of Jonah he is speaking of his impending Death and Resurrection, a great sign, but by connecting it to the story of Jonah he is also sending a message: destruction is at hand if his listeners, the scribes and Pharisees, do not repent. His message from the beginning of his public ministry has been that the Kingdom is at hand, and repentance and belief are expected. The people of Nineveh did penance for their sins, and in the end the Lord did not destroy them or their city.
The scribes and Pharisees had to repent and believe in order to avoid a spiritual catastrophe. When Our Lord says something greater than Jonah is happening in this case, he’s referring to a spiritual destruction, something far worse than physical death or loss. He’s also referring to an unimaginable sign: Resurrection. If he is blunt in his response it is because he knows the stakes are much higher in this instance and there’s already been a lack of repentance and faith despite all the signs he has already worked. It’s no coincidence that after his Resurrection he only appeared to his disciples: they received a confirmation of their faith in witnessing the Risen Lord.
Let’s ask Our Lord to strengthen our faith today in whatever manner he chooses.
Readings: Exodus 14:5–18; Exodus 15:1b–6 Matthew 12:38–42.