Luke 11:29-32 — And when the people were gathered thick together, he began to say, This is an evil generation: they seek a sign; and there shall no sign be given it, but the sign of Jonas the prophet. For as Jonas was a sign unto the Ninevites, so shall also the Son of man be to this generation. The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation, and condemn them: for she came from the utmost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here. The men of Nineveh shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here.

While I was having my quiet time this morning I had an experience that I have fairly often. I don’t know if you’re ever reading your Bible and realize that you might have been completely misinterpreting a familiar passage? It happens to me uncomfortably often! This morning I was reading Luke 11 and realized I might have been looking at Jesus’s comments about the sign of Jonah from completely the wrong angle.

I’ve always thought that the sign of Jonah was about him being in the belly of the whale for three days and that Jesus was talking about His coming crucifixion. Maybe I wasn’t wrong — plenty of commentators look at the passage that way — but today I realized it could be something quite different.

The Ninevites didn’t know Jonah had been in the whale. The people Jesus was addressing didn’t know that He would be crucified, dead and buried, only to rise again after three days. So what did they know?

The Ninevites knew that an Israelite, who had every reason to fear and hate them, had taken a long and dangerous journey to bring them the word of God. Jesus had laid down His powers and undertaken the ultimate dangerous journey to bring the word of God to the people of Israel. Perhaps that’s the sign Jesus was really talking about? Something that makes me think that might be the point is that He goes on to talk about the way the Queen of the South traveled to hear the wisdom of Solomon and the way the Ninevites repented at the preaching of Jonah. The Word of God, and the one sharing it is the really important sign.

So if I’m right about looking at these verses in a new way, what might that mean for me? Two things came to mind.

First, when preaching is on offer, I’d better be listening and letting it have it’s way with my heart.

Second, the Word of God is a sign, and the one sharing it is a sign. I need to be that sign.

It’s not a comfortable experience having to rethink my understanding of scripture … But it can be rewarding.