The Old Testament Witness to Christ and His Kingdom, Mentor's Guide, MG09

/ 1 0 9

T H E O L D T E S T A M E N T W I T N E S S T O C H R I S T A N D H I S K I N G D O M

and his prophetic teaching made the necessity of a sign unnecessary. The hard hearted nature of those who rejected his open revelation of his true identity led him to say that only the sign of Jonah would be given. D. A. Carson refers to the judgment involved in this entire allusion in his commentary on the Matthew text: Jesus’ refusal of any special sign produced to order is based on a broader concept of his authority as one greater than Jonah or Solomon (cf. v 6 for the same argument in relation to the temple and its priests). If even pagans could recognize God’s presence in those great men of the OT, why could not this (Jewish) generation accept the authority of the one in whom all those strands of authority (prophet, priest, king, wise man) found their fulfilment? To reject the call of such a spokesman could lead only to judgment. In every way, the life and ministry of Jesus was made plain to these leaders, yet, because of the hardness of their hearts, they refused to accept his clear testimony and demonstration of his true identity as Messiah. Jesus here shows the true nature of his role as Messiah, and gives us insight into the nature of his relationship to the OT. Not only does Jesus’ life and ministry correspond to the events of these characters in the OT, he fulfills and transcends them by nature of the superiority of his revelation juxtaposed to theirs. Jesus is greater than the prophet Jonah, although there is a correspondence between his life and ministry and Jonah’s time spent in the belly of the great fish. Jesus is greater than Solomon, although Solomon’s wisdom and glory resonates with the coming Kingdom and glory of Jesus in his full consummation of the reign of God to come. There is a resonance, a correspondence, a connection between the person of Jesus and the great characters and personages in the OT. Jesus can say and say truly that “ 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 contours of Jonah’s experience point to, expand, and fill out the meaning of Jesus as the Son of Man , his favorite title and the one which speaks most directly to his divinity and role as the coming ruler and king of the world (cf. Dan. 2.44-45; 7.13-14). H. L. Wilmington has compiled a list for those who want to explore the significance of Jonah and other character types, who desire to see the interconnection with the characters of the OT and the event of Jesus’ life and ministry: ~ D. A. Carson. New Bible Commentary: 21st Century Edition . (Electronic ed. of the 4th ed.). (Mt 12:38). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 1997.

3