In his ministry as a prophet of repentance, Jonah had an unmatched success in Nineveh. At the end of his 40-day preaching, the whole city had prostrated themselves clothed in sackcloth and ashes and had repented. To the question regarding the reason for this rare success of Jonah, we can answer that his extraordinary experience in relation to the message ordained by God gave convincing power to his words.
About seven hundred years had passed and there was born unto the earth a man who was greater than Jonah – Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of the Living God. His word was incomparably more powerful than that of Jonah, as of him it was testified: “Never man spake like this man.” John 7:46.
In comparison to the countless miracles he did throughout his ministry, the wonderful experience of the prophet Jonah sinks into insignificance.
Yet one day some Pharisees and scribes came to him and said: “Master, we would see a sign from thee.” Now we can understand why the Lord reproved these scribes for their hypocrisy. He said: “There shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas.” The Lord compares his death, burial, and resurrection to the sign of the prophet Jonah. The Pharisees and scribes were blind to the signs he had done in his deeds of mercy all around them, and he had no other sign to give them. They needed to be content with the sign of the prophet Jonah, i.e. the miracle of his resurrection from the death.
This sign was to be the last and greatest sign that was to be given to that generation and their acceptance or rejection of it would depend on the bliss or misfortune of the whole Hebrew nation. But the Lord knew beforehand how his message was to be treated, so he continued:
“The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here.” Matt. 12:38-41.
From this experience, it becomes clear that the Jews in the time of Christ were more blinded and more hardened in their hearts than the Gentiles in the time of the prophet Jonah. The inhabitants of Nineveh believed through one miracle and 40 days of preaching, and the Jews continued in their unbelief even though they had seen countless miracles and had listened to Christ’s preaching for years. For this reason in the final Judgment, it will be worse for them and for the Ninevites. The brighter the light shines upon some man, the graver the responsibility of this person is, and his punishment shall be according to his light.
In Matthew 11:20-24 this truth is confirmed even more forcibly. Jesus reproved the cities in which most of his miracles were done, the inhabitants of which had not corrected their course. Thus he mentions Chorazin and Bethsaida and he compares these Jewish cities to two Gentile cities – Tyre and Sidon. Jesus states that if the Gentiles had received such miracles and signs in their time, they would have repented in sackcloth and ashes, so he continued:
“But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you.” Matt. 11:22.
The Lord said the same thing also of Capernaum. The inhabitants of that city had exalted themselves unto heaven. Because they did not want to repent, they shall be cast unto everlasting perdition. Even for Sodom in the last day, it shall be more bearable than for Capernaum. Therefore, the judgment is metered out according to the light that has been given to a certain generation and to the knowledge that they had.
Based on these facts, we must make most serious conclusions for our time. There has never been a time of such enlightenment and such knowledge. We don’t need to enumerate here all the advancements in the realms of transportation and communication. Just one year ago, we knew nothing of the things that have already become something trivial to us now. Based on what has been accomplished so far in the fields of technology and mechanics, we can claim that man has reached a height of knowledge and strength that has never been dreamed of before.
But not only knowledge in the realm of technology is so vast, but also in the religious realm. Truths that were sealed in the past, are now revealed and understood. Even the Revelation of John and the Book of Daniel are no longer clothed in mystery. The whole plan of redemption is revealed and clear to the mind.
As wide the difference between the light of a candle and that of an electric bulb so wide is the difference in the knowledge of the Scriptures then and now. The advancement in all realms is even, though it is not always acknowledged as such. Today we cannot say: We will be satisfied with what our fathers believed. Our fathers shall be saved according to the light that was given in their time. However, God requires us to live according to the light that he has given us in our time.
As we adapt to the increased knowledge in the material world, so we ought to do in the Christian life as well. Yet it is not so, and in this lies the unhappiness of our time. If Christ were to live on this earth today as a Man, he would cry out as he did in old times:
“Woe unto you! You have lived in the time of highest knowledge, you have heard the most solemn truths, yet you have not lived in accordance with them. Verily I say unto you: If the people of Sodom and Gomorrah, of Tyre and Sidon, the citizens of Chorazin, Bethsaida and Sidon had seen what you have seen and if they had heard what you have heard, they would have promptly repented in sackcloth and ashes; therefore it shall be lighter for them in the day of Judgment.”
What Responsibility Do We Have Today as Christians?
