Verse: Matthew 12:41

Quote:

41    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.

Subject Repenting, not repenting, etc.:       The men of Nineveh

Object of that repentance:    None stated by Matthew

Consequence:            None stated by Matthew.  The passage, however, is presumptively soteriological.

The Object and Consequence of the Ninevites repentance in Matthew:    Although both the object of the Ninevites repentance, and the consequence of their repentance, are both discussed in the Book of Jonah, neither the object of the Ninevites repentance, nor the consequence of their repentance, are recorded in the Gospel of Matthew.  The reason for Matthew's silence (and Jesus apparent silence) on these facts is simple:  they were not relevant to the point Jesus was making.  The essential feature of Jesus' comparison of his generation to Nineveh was that, upon hearing a prophet of God, the men of Nineveh repented and believed the message of God's messenger.  In Jonah 3:5 we read: "So the people of Nineveh believed God."  Jesus is not focusing on the object of the Ninevites repentance, but on the fact that they repented at the preaching of a simple prophet.  Yet when God himself came down to earth in the flesh, and did far greater works than Jonah, His own generation rejected him.  Jesus is making an argumentum a fortiori (if the lesser is true, how much more is the greater true).  Many regard the Ninevites as wicked, but they responded to the preaching of a simple prophet.  Yet when Emmanuel, God in the flesh came to proclaim the good news, His own generation rejected Him, and rejected His message.

Within the Book of Jonah, we learn that the men of Nineveh were called to repent of their evil and violence.  (Jonah, 3:9-10; 4:3, 8-10).  They were known to skin their enemies alive in battle.  As noted, the concept of "repenting of one's sins" is not unbiblical.  It is simply never stated as a requirement for receiving eternal life.  The consequence of their repentance was that Nineveh was spared God's temporal judgment on their city when they received the message of the prophet, Jonah, and did as he instructed.  Sin is often the grounds for temporal judgment, both on nations (such as Nineveh, Sodom, Gomorah, etc.) and on people (e.g. Ananias and Saphira, Acts. _____)  However, the fact that the men of Nineveh were called to repent of their wickedness by Jonah does not that mean that Jesus is calling for men to repent of their sins as a condition for salvation.

NOTE:           For those who are determined to interpret Jonah's call for Nineveh to repent from their "wickedness" and "violence" as a requirement that Christians are to "repent of their sins to be saved," in spite of the absence of any such words in Matthew 12:41, the reader should note Matthew 12:43-45 immediately following the discussion of Nineveh's repentance!  They speak of the utter pointlessness of "turning from one's sins."

43        When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none.

44        Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished.

45        Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation.

This context hardly suggests that turning from sin is the means to eternal redemption.

Repentance in Matthew 12:41