Matthew 12:41

Men of Nineveh. The “sign of the prophet Jonas” (v. 39) consisted not only in his miraculous escape from the “whale’s belly,” but also in his successful ministry for the people of Nineveh, capital of ancient Assyria (see DA 406).

Rise in judgment That is, come forward as witnesses on the final day of judgment. It has been suggested that the Aramaic expression Christ here used originally meant “to accuse.”

This generation. See on chs. 11:16; 23:36; 24:34.

They repented. Whether Jonah told the men of Nineveh about his experience with the sea monster we cannot say; the Scriptures are silent on this. The important point is that the Ninevites “repented” in spite of the fact that Jonah worked no miracles for them.

They accepted his message on his own authority, because it carried conviction to their hearts (see Jonah 3:5-10). The same should have been true in the case of the scribes and Pharisees, for the message Christ bore certainly carried with it convincing evidence of His authority (see on Mark 1:22, 27). But in addition to the words He spoke He wrought many wonderful works, and these constituted an additional testimony that His words were true (see John 5:36). Yet in spite of all this evidence the scribes and Pharisees still obdurately refused to believe the evidence afforded them.