THE MASK IS OFF” Matthew 12:38-42 Lesson for February 20 ...

“THE MASK IS OFF”
Matthew 12:38-42
Lesson for February 20-21, 2016

Scott Susong
INTRODUCTION
John 15:22-23 is located in the middle of a section of John’s Gospel called “The Upper Room
Discourse”, which was an intense time of instruction by Jesus with His disciples. It was
intense because it took place merely hours before He would be arrested, tried and sent to His
death on the cross.
In these two verses, Jesus said, “If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have
sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. He who hates Me hates My Father
also.”(NASB) The KJV has a fascinating translation of the word for “excuse” – it uses the word
“cloak”, and in other verses “covering”. What is Jesus saying? He is saying that His critics,
those who do not believe in Him, have been living under a cloak or covering of religious
superiority. But now that they have been confronted with the real thing - the words and
works of Jesus Christ, their mask is off. They are exposed for what they are: hypocrites. And,
they no longer have an excuse for their sin of unbelief. He adds in verse 23 – this is why they
hate Jesus; if they hate Jesus, they hate the Father. And, by the way, they hate Jesus’
followers even in our day.
In our passage for today, we have a dramatic demonstration of what it looks like to have the
mask of religious phoniness ripped away.
BIBLICAL/HISTORICAL CONTEXT
Matthew 11 begins a turning point in the narrative consisting of unbelief, opposition, conflict
and rejection of Jesus as Messiah, especially by the religious leaders. Consider these events:

• In 11:20-24 Jesus pronounced woe on the cities which had witnessed some of His most
significant miracles because of their unbelief.

• In 12:1-8 Jesus dealt with Sabbath questions & criticisms and declared that He is the
Lord of the Sabbath.

• Matthew 12:14 states that the religious leaders plotted to kill Him.
• In Matthew 12:22 & following they accuse Jesus of casting out a demon in the power

of Satan, which was absurd and illogical. Jesus warns against blaspheming the Holy
Spirit, which is what the religious leaders were doing.
• In Matthew 12:34 Jesus calls the religious leaders a “brood of vipers,” that is, snakes!
The mask was off. The religious leaders were showing their true colors. They have been
confronted with the words and works of Jesus Christ, and they can no longer hide behind
their mask of religious superiority – they have been exposed as phonies by Jesus. So, suffice
it to say that Jesus was now ministering in an atmosphere of intense opposition and conflict,
which brings us to our passage for today.

I. THE REQUEST, Verse 38
These religious leaders were many of the same ones who (a) had already seen Jesus do plenty
of miracles and (b) had said that the miracles He performed were done in the power of Satan.
So, their request for a sign was not to bolster their faith but to prove that Jesus could not
perform such a sign. In Matthew 16:1 they asked Him for a sign “from heaven.” Here, on the
surface, the request sounded polite and respectful – they even called Him “Teacher.” This
was nothing but pure hypocrisy – they wanted to look good in the eyes of the people. Make
no mistake about it, they hated Jesus and wanted to discredit Him in front of the crowd. It
was a trap, but Jesus was ready for it.

II. THE RESPONSE, Verses 39
In His response, Jesus pulls no punches! He refers to the religious leaders and those who
follow them when He uses the term “generation”.
First, He calls them “evil” which means ungodly and morally corrupt.
Secondly, Jesus refers to them as “adulterous”, which was a common OT metaphor for being
spiritually unfaithful to the one true God, just as a husband might be unfaithful to his wife.
Thirdly, He accuses them of craving a sign, that is, external evidence that He is the Messiah as
He claimed. Because they asked for a sign “from heaven” in Matthew 16:1 and implied here,
they were asking for some spectacular display in the heavens, which they believed Jesus
could not perform. They demanded proof but did not have the will to believe.
Jesus Christ - God in human flesh, could have performed such a sign – but, He refused to do so
knowing the motives of His enemies.
APPLICATION: The Lord is not obligated to perform signs and wonders to prove Himself to us.
Do we believe in Him or not? Do we trust Him or not? If we go through the day expecting a
miracle around every corner: (1) we, at best, expose our lack of faith and maturity and (2) at
worst, show that we may not have the will to believe in Jesus at all.

III. THE SIGN OF JONAH, Verse 40
Jesus promised His critics a sign but it was not the sign they were expecting. He referred to
Jonah 1:17. With this answer, Jesus shows that He believes the account of the Prophet Jonah
and the sea monster – He takes it as historical fact! Dr. Constable states, “Jesus strongly
supported the view that Jonah was a historical person.” [Dr. Constable’s Notes on Matthew,
page 220]
Jonah recovered from being in the belly of the fish after three days and three nights – he
emerged alive. Jesus will be in the heart of the earth for three days and nights, which refers
to His death and burial. He implies that He will fulfill this sign when He is rejected, killed and
buried. In effect, Jesus is saying that they have already rejected Him as Messiah and would
eventually put Him to death. Of course, like Jonah, He will emerge alive from the grave on
the third day – His resurrection!

R.G.V. Tasker states, “He therefore states emphatically that no sign of the kind the Pharisees
were demanding will be given except when His Father raises Him from the dead.”[Tyndale
Commentary on Matthew, page 131]
As to the three days and three nights – in Jewish reckoning, any part of a day was considered
a day. It did not have to mean a full 24 hour period.

IV. A WARNING OF JUDGMENT, Verses 41-42
At this point, the religious leaders probably regret ever asking Jesus for a sign – but He isn’t
finished with them yet. He compares this generation – the religious leaders and their
followers – to (1) the Ninevites in Jonah’s day and (2) the Queen of the South. What is He
doing? What is the significance of these two examples? Jesus is making an additional point
of condemnation of those who had rejected Him.

A. The Ninevites in Jonah’s Day. The Ninevites were pagan Gentiles. Jonah was a
reluctant prophet who didn’t even want to be in Nineveh, and he preached a message
of doom. He performed no miracles, no signs – just a message of judgment. And,
guess what? Those pagans repented and believed! In fact, the King called for a
national fast and covered himself in sackcloth & ashes (a sign of repentance). You can
read about it in Jonah 3:5-10. Verse 10 tells us that their repentance was genuine
because God did not bring judgment on them. Raw Pagans responded to a message of
judgment and doom. Now, they are the ones who will stand up at the final judgment
and condemn those who heard Jesus. Why? Because, as Jesus said, “something
greater than Jonah is here,” meaning Jesus Himself! Jonah preached judgment. Jesus
delivered a message of love, grace, mercy, and salvation – and yet, these religious
leaders and their followers rejected Him and killed Him. They were Jews – they
should have known better. They have no excuse. Their condemnation is great.

B. The Queen of the South. She was also known as the Queen of Sheba, and her story is
found in 1 Kings 10:1-13 and 2 Chronicles 9:1-9. Once again, Jesus validates an Old
Testament person as a literal historical figure. She was from the southern end of the
Arabian Peninsula. She was wealthy and had heard of the “fame of Solomon
concerning the name of the Lord” (1 Kings 10:1). So, she packed up her gear, her
entourage, a train of camels bearing spices, gold, etc. and traveled a great distance to
learn from Solomon. As Jesus said, she came “from the ends of the earth” to hear the
wisdom of Solomon. She went to a great deal of effort, time and expense, as well as
showering Solomon with gifts.
Her response: she stated to Solomon, “Blessed be the Lord your God who delighted in
you to set you on the throne of Israel; because the Lord loved Israel forever, therefore
He made you king, to do justice and righteousness.”(I Kings 10:9) What a wonderful
response from this pagan, Arab woman!
The point: She will stand up at the judgment and condemn those who would not even
walk across the street to hear Jesus and put their trust in Him. Jesus, “something
greater than Solomon” was in their very midst and they rejected Him!

Again, the religious leaders and their followers were Jews – they should have known
better. They have no excuse. Their condemnation is great.
APPLICATION PRINCIPLES
1. Don’t miss the point that there will be a judgment someday for every person who has
ever lived, and it is not something we can ignore. You can run, but you can’t hide.
Judgment is very clearly spelled out in Matthew 25:31-46 which is called the sheep-
goat judgment. The issue? Hearing and believing in Jesus and then obeying His
words. See also John 3:16; 5:22-24, just to name a few additional passages.
2. Each of us can wear a mask just as much as did the religious leaders of Jesus’ day. In
the judgment, we are responsible and accountable for the truth to which we have
been exposed. Remember, Jesus pronounced woe on the cities of Chorazin, Bethsaida
and Capernaum in Matthew 11:20-24. Why did He refer to these three cities?
Because they saw many of His most significant miracles but did not respond with faith.
In fact, He said it would be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of
judgment than for these three cities! Once we have been exposed to Jesus and the
gospel, there is no neutrality – Jesus does not leave that option open to us. We
cannot indefinitely put off a decision. No decision IS a decision - we cannot hide
behind the mask of neutrality!

CONCLUSION
We in America have incredible opportunities and freedom. We have:

• God’s Word. Most people in America own several Bibles. Now, they may not
ever read their Bible, but they have the opportunity.

• Church. Freedom of worship and to listen to great preaching & teaching.
• Christian radio. The Houston area has at least three Christian radio stations

which include great music, preaching, and teaching.
• Christian television broadcasts much of which is solid but be careful of the late

night crazies.
• Christian bookstores – books, literature, study aids, maps, videos, etc.
• All of the above are on the internet, smartphone, apps, podcasts, etc.
Question: are we taking full advantage of what is available to us or are we casual,
taking it for granted? We cannot hide behind the mask of religious privileges – just because
we live in America. We are responsible for what we have – as Jesus said, “freely you
received; freely give.” In other words, whatever we have – salvation, Bible knowledge,
resources – share it, pass it on to glorify the Lord.
Don’t hoard it or take it for granted but be generous!