May 13, 2025 • 26 mins
Jesus offers undeniable evidence of His divinity through the sign of Jonah—His death and resurrection, providing proof that exceeds the wisdom of Solomon and the preaching of Jonah. The empty tomb stands as history's most compelling testimony to Christ's claims and offers assurance that His message of salvation is true.
• Jesus promised only the sign of Jonah to those demanding proof
• Jonah's three days in the fish foreshadowed Jesus's three days in the tomb
• The Queen of Sheba traveled far to test Solomon's wisdom and was amazed
• Jesus possesses superior wisdom as the Creator of all things
• Unlike Jonah's message of destruction, Jesus offers escape from judgment
• The disciples wouldn't die for what they knew was a lie if they had stolen the body
• The empty tomb remains the most compelling evidence for Jesus's claims
• No other religious leader in history has conquered death
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
You're listening to Heed the Word with our pastor
and teacher, Ken Davis.
Pastor Ken is the senior pastorof Calvary Chapel, Southwest
Metro in Burleson, Texas.
Please join us as we study theGospel of Luke verse by verse.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
The scriptures tell us that Jesus is the light of
the world.
Jesus bears witness to the fact, not that destruction is coming
, but to the fact thatdestruction can be escaped, not
to the fact that there's goingto be judgment, but that there
(00:38):
is a way, through Jesus, to havethe judgment that was to be
laid upon us laid upon himinstead.
Speaker 1 (00:48):
The Gospel of Luke is the third account in the
Gospels of the life andteachings of our Savior Jesus
Christ.
As believers, there are fewstudies that will benefit us
more spiritually than studyingthe life and teachings of the
Master Jesus, the Son of God,the Prince of Peace.
The Word made flesh came tothis earth to make a way for us.
(01:09):
Now, through his shed blood, wecan have access to the Father.
All of mankind is offeredsalvation through Jesus, but not
all will accept it.
We can choose to believe andobey, which promises blessing,
or we could go our own way,which leads to destruction.
Don't forget to stay with usafter today's message to hear
more information about Heed theWord, specifically how you can
(01:32):
get a free copy of this teaching.
Speaker 2 (01:40):
But for now, please open your Bibles to the Gospel
of Luke, chapter 11, verse 29,as we join Pastor Ken.
Now, that word condemn is toconvey the idea that, by their
good example, they have made itmore evident that these others
were wicked.
You see, not that they wouldrise up and pass judgment, for
we know that there's only onejudge and that is God, but that,
rather, because of the exampleof the queen of the south, the
(02:02):
queen of sheba, that she came tosolomon and heard his wisdom
and that she believed, andbecause of the people of nineveh
who, when they heard thepreaching of jonah, they
repented and believed because oftheir good example, that, at
the example of solomon and atthe preaching of jonah, these
others, these gentiles, in bothcases, believed that their right
(02:22):
action would, by its example,condemn those of this generation
who had the benefit of thewitness of Jesus Christ, one who
was greater than Solomon, onewho was greater than Jonah.
They had asked for a sign andJesus said okay, fine, I'll give
you a sign.
The only sign you're going toget is the sign of Jonah.
(02:43):
Well, what was the sign ofJonah?
In Jonah 1.7, we read the versethat says now the Lord had
prepared a great fish to swallowJonah, and Jonah was in the
belly of the fish three days andthree nights.
Now we remember the story ofJonah.
It's short enough that I couldprobably read it this morning
and I will read a portion of itin a moment.
But you remember that God wassending Jonah to Nineveh right
(03:07):
To proclaim judgment upon thecity.
But Jonah knows that God is amerciful and a just God and he
knows that if he goes and hepreaches there, that the people
of Nineveh will in alllikelihood repent and that God
will then relent and not destroythem.
And Jonah really would preferthat God does destroy them.
He doesn't want the mercy ofGod on the people of Nineveh.
(03:27):
Nineveh, they were hated, youknow, and Jonah wanted them to
be judged and so, rather than beobedient to the Lord and go
where the Lord told him to go,he jumps on a boat and heads off
in the opposite direction asfar as he can possibly go.
Well, we know the story of howthe Lord brought this huge storm
and that everybody was freakingout on the boat saying you know
what's going on, what's goingon.
And the captain finds Jonahsleeping there and he says what
(03:48):
are you doing?
Sleeping, you know, pray toyour God that this might stop.
And of course, after thecasting of lots, they discover
that it was Jonah's fault,because he was fleeing from God,
that this storm had come.
And they say to Jonah what dowe need to do to you to make
this storm stop?
And you know, jonah, the smartthing would have been to have
said turn around and head forNineveh, and the storm will stop
(04:09):
, because that's where God wantsme to go.
If I get back in line with hiswill, we'll get where we're
going, won't we?
But no, jonah says throw meoverboard.
And what he was saying was Iwould rather die than obey God.
I would rather die than do whatthe Lord wanted me to do in the
first place.
And so they throw him overboardand, sure enough, the storm
stops and all of these mensacrifice and make vows unto the
(04:30):
Lord.
They worship God because of theamazing thing that's happened
there.
Isn't it amazing how God caneven use our disobedience to
glorify his name, as was thecase in Jonah's life at that
time?
So can you imagine Jonah'sthoughts as he's sinking down
through the waters there andhe's thinking it's over, I won,
I didn't have to go to Ninevehand all it cost me was my life.
(04:53):
But little did he know that Godwasn't through with him yet and
I have to tell you, some of youhere this morning might think
that you're done, but God isn'tthrough with you yet.
God had prepared a great fishto swallow Jonah and Jonah was
(05:15):
in the belly of the fish we'retold in Jonah 1.17, for three
days and three nights Amazing.
And Jesus said you want a sign?
Fine, I'll give you the sign ofJonah.
And what he was saying was thatthe son of man, jesus, the son
of God, would be in the belly ofthe earth for three days and
that even as Jonah was broughtback from that place, so he
(05:39):
would be as well.
Let's turn to Jonah, chapter two, and let's read just briefly
what that was like for Jonahthere in the belly of the whale.
Jonah chapter 2 really consistsof just one thing, and that is
Jonah's prayer to God.
It's interesting that it tookthree days in the belly of a
fish to bring about the resultsthat we see here.
(06:01):
But praise God, those resultscome.
Then Jonah prayed to the Lord,his God, from the fish's belly
and he said I cried out to theLord because of my affliction,
and he answered me.
I cried out to the Lord becauseof my affliction, and he
answered me.
Out of the belly of shale, outof the belly of the grave.
(06:21):
In essence, I cried and youheard my voice, for you cast me
into the deep and into the heartof the belly of the grave.
In essence, I cried and youheard my voice, for you cast me
into the deep and into the heartof the seas, and the floods
surrounded me.
All your billows and your wavespassed over me.
Then I said I have been castout of your sight.
Yet I will look again towardyour holy temple.
The waters surrounded me, evento my soul.
(06:43):
The deep closed around me.
Weeds were wrapped around myhead.
I went down to the moorings ofthe mountains.
The earth with its bars closedbehind me forever.
Yet you have brought up my lifefrom the pit.
O Lord, my God, when my soulfainted within me, I remembered
the Lord and my prayer went upto you and your holy into your
(07:05):
holy temple.
Those who regard worthlessidols forsake their own mercy.
But I will sacrifice to youwith the voice of thanksgiving.
I will pay what I have vowed.
Salvation is of the Lord.
So the Lord spoke to the fishand it vomited Jonah onto dry
land.
Now the word of the Lord cameto Jonah the second time, saying
(07:28):
arise, go to Nineveh, thatgreat city, and preach to it the
message that I tell you.
So Jonah arose and went toNineveh, according to the word
of the Lord.
Now, nineveh was an exceedinglygreat city, a three-day journey
in extent, and Jonah began toenter the city on the first
day's walk.
Then he cried out and said yet40 days and Nineveh shall be
(07:48):
overthrown.
So the people of Ninevehbelieved God, proclaimed a fast
and put on sackcloth from thegreatest to the least of them.
Then word came to the king ofNineveh and he arose from his
throne and laid aside his robe,covered himself with sackcloth
and ashes, and he caused it tobe proclaimed and published
throughout Nineveh by the decreeof the king and his nobles
(08:11):
saying let neither man nor beastherd nor flock taste anything,
do not let them eat or drinkwater, but let man and beast be
covered with sackcloth and crymightily to God yes, let
everyone turn from his evil wayand from the violence that is in
his hand.
Who can tell if God will turnand relent and turn away from
his fierce anger so that we maynot perish.
(08:32):
Then God saw their works, thatthey turned from their evil way
and God relented from thedisaster that he had said he
would bring upon them.
And he did not do it.
The people of Nineveh heard themessage of Jonah 40 days and
destruction cometh right.
That's a real hope-filledmessage, isn't it?
(08:54):
It really gives you a lot ofencouragement that maybe there's
some way out of this.
But you know what?
They heeded the message, theylistened and God forgave them,
he restored them and he withheldjudgment from them.
In Romans, chapter 1, verses 1through 6, paul writes that he,
(09:14):
a bondservant of Jesus Christ,was called to be an apostle
separated of the gospel which hepromised before through his
prophets.
In the holy scriptures,concerning his son, jesus Christ
, our Lord, who was born of theseed of David according to the
flesh, and he declared to him tobe the son of God with power,
according to the spirit ofholiness, by the resurrection
from the dead, jesus said thatthe sign that he would give them
(09:37):
was the sign of Jonah.
What was that sign?
What was the sign that Jesustold that generation would be
given to them that they mightknow that the things that he was
telling them were true.
It was the sign of his death,burial and resurrection.
If you examine the variousreligions of the world, you will
(09:59):
find in them a myriad of morallaws.
You will find in them teacherswho say things like remember my
teachings, do the things thatI've taught you to do.
But what we find when weexamine Christianity is that
Jesus didn't say remember myteachings, did he?
Jesus said remember me, myteachings, did he?
(10:23):
Jesus said remember me Because,though his teachings are true
and though they are holy, andthough they are righteous, it is
not the teachings of Jesus thatsave us.
It's the death of Jesus thatsaves us and it's his
resurrection that gives us hope,because in that we find life
and that life is the promisethat he has given us.
Now he also referred there tothe queen of the south.
(10:46):
Turn to 2 Chronicles, whilewe're here in the Old Testament,
chapter 9.
2 Chronicles, chapter 9,starting in verse 1.
Now, when the queen of Shebaheard of the fame of Solomon,
she came to Jerusalem to testSolomon with hard questions,
having a very great retinue,camels that bore spices, gold
(11:09):
and abundance and preciousstones.
And when she came to Solomon,she spoke with him about all
that was in her heart.
So Solomon answered all herquestions.
There was nothing so difficultfor Solomon that he could not
explain it to her.
And when the queen of Sheba hadseen the wisdom of Solomon, the
house that he had built, thefood on his table, the seating
of his servants, the service ofhis waiters and their apparel,
(11:32):
his cupbearers and their apparel, and his entryway by which he
went up to the house of the Lord, there was no more spirit in
her.
She gave up the fight.
She's like man I give.
You really are all they say youare.
Let's read on.
Then she said to the king it wasa true report which I heard in
(11:53):
my own land, about your wordsand wisdom.
Now, the interesting thing is,when she first heard it, she
didn't believe it.
When she first heard about thewonders of Solomon and his
kingdom and his incrediblewisdom, she wasn't buying.
And it says there, as we lookback in the earlier part of
chapter 9, that she came to testhim.
Right, she's like well, let'ssee just how wise this guy
(12:16):
really is.
Let's read on in verse six andsee what she said.
However, I did not believetheir words until I came and saw
with my own eyes, and indeedthe half of the greatness of
your wisdom was not told me.
You exceed the fame which Iheard.
Happy are your men and happyare those your servants who
(12:37):
stand continually before you andhear your wisdom.
Blessed be the Lord, your God,who delights in you setting you
on his throne to be king for theLord, your God, because your
God has loved Israel toestablish them forever.
Therefore he made you king overthem to do justice and
righteousness.
And she gave the king 120talents, of gold spices in great
(12:59):
abundance and precious stones.
There never were any spicessuch as those the queen of Sheba
gave to King Solomon.
Also, the servants of Hiram andthe servants of Solomon who
brought gold from Ophir broughtalgum wood and precious stones,
and the king made walkways ofall the algum wood for the house
of the Lord and for the king'shouse.
Also harps and stringedinstruments for the singers, and
(13:22):
there were none such as theseseen before in the land of Judah
.
Now, king Solomon gave to thequeen of Sheba all she desired,
whatever she asked, much morethan she had brought to the king
.
So she turned and went to herown country, she and her
servants.
So the queen of Sheba comes andshe's like hey, I've heard some
(13:42):
incredible things about you,let's test them.
Let's test you and find out ifthese things are true.
And once she sees everythinghe's done and once he's answered
all of her questions, sheacknowledges the fact that not
only was everything she hadheard true, but there was twice
as much that's true that shehadn't even heard and that he
was even more wonderful than hisreputation.
Let on and she gave him gifts,rich, wonderful gifts.
(14:06):
But by the time she left, shehad received back from him even
more than she had offered.
And Jesus said that the queenof the south, the queen of she,
came all the way to Jerusalem tosee Solomon, and yet one
greater than Solomon is herewith you now, and yet you won't
(14:26):
believe.
He said so that in the day ofjudgment, she's going to stand
up and she, this Gentile woman,is going to condemn you, the
leaders of Israel, by her goodexample.
Let's turn back to Luke 11.
Jesus had greater wisdom thanSolomon.
(14:48):
Solomon was able to answer allof her questions, wasn't he?
Because Solomon knew abouteverything, because it was the
wisdom of God that he had beengiven.
And yet Jesus was wiser.
Well, how do we know that Jesuswas wiser?
Look at the testimony of John 1, 1, which says that in the
beginning was the word, and theword was with God and the word
(15:10):
was God.
He was in the beginning withGod and all things were made
through him, and without himnothing was made.
That was made In him was life,and the life was the light of
men, and the light shines in thedarkness, and the darkness did
not comprehend it.
Now, solomon may have knownabout all things, but Jesus
created all things.
(15:30):
So who knows more, the authorof life or the one who did the
book report?
The author knows more.
Jesus was wiser than Solomon.
It says that Solomon gave giftsto the queen of Sheba that were
in excess to the gifts that shegave him.
Is there anyone here that wouldargue that when we come to
(15:50):
Jesus and give him all that weare and all that we have, that
he doesn't give us even more inreturn than we have given him?
Solomon gave good gifts.
The gifts that Jesus gives areeven greater.
(16:12):
Romans 6.23 tells us that thewages of sin is death, but the
gift of God is eternal life inChrist Jesus, our Lord.
So he was wiser than Solomon.
He gave greater gifts thanSolomon.
Well, how does the comparison toJonah hold up?
Let's see.
First of all, jesus was greaterthan Jonah.
(16:32):
How do we know that Jonah wasthe representative of God?
Wasn't he?
But Jesus was therepresentative of God?
Wasn't he?
But Jesus was therepresentation of God.
Jonah spoke the words of theLord, but when people looked at
Jesus, it could honestly be saidthat they had seen the Father.
(16:53):
In John 14, 8 through 11, wefind these words Philip said to
him, said to Jesus Lord, show usthe Father, and it is
sufficient for us.
Jesus said to him have I beenwith you so long and yet you
have not known me, philip, hewho has seen me has seen the
Father.
So how can you say show us theFather?
(17:16):
You see, jesus was the veryembodiment of God.
Jesus was God in the flesh.
So it is an easy thing to sayand to know that he was greater
than Jonah.
But he also preached a greatermessage than the message that
Jonah preached.
What was it?
Jonah said 40 days anddestruction cometh.
(17:36):
That's a real uplifting message, isn't it?
That's a real word ofencouragement.
Thank you, jonah.
I appreciate that.
In John 10, 7 through 17, wefind the message that Jesus
preached.
He said most assuredly I say toyou I am the door of the sheep.
All whoever came before me arethieves and robbers, but the
sheep did not hear them.
I am the door.
(17:58):
If anyone enters by me, he willbe saved and will go in and out
and find pasture.
The thief does not come exceptto steal and to kill and to
destroy.
But I have come that they mighthave life and that they may
have it more abundantly.
I am the good shepherd.
The good shepherd gives hislife for the sheep.
But a hireling, he who is notthe shepherd, one who does not
(18:22):
own the sheep, sees the wolfcoming and leaves the sheep and
flees, and the wolf catches thesheep and scatters them.
The hireling flees because heis a hireling and does not care
about the sheep.
I am the good shepherd and Iknow my sheep and am known by my
own, as the father knows me.
Even so, I know the father andI lay down my life for the sheep
(18:44):
and other sheep I have whichare not of this fold.
Them also I must bring and theywill hear my voice and there
will be one flock and oneshepherd.
Therefore my father loves mebecause I lay down my life that
I may take it again.
The scriptures tell us thatJesus is the light of the world.
Jesus bears witness to the fact, not that destruction is coming
(19:24):
, but to the fact thatdestruction can be escaped, not
to the fact that there's goingto be judgment, but that there
is a way, through Jesus, to havethe judgment that was to be
laid upon us laid upon himinstead.
So not only was Jesus greaterthan Jonah, but his message was
(19:47):
greater than that of Jonah's,and yet they wouldn't receive it
.
Why they have the sign of Jonah?
You have the empty tomb.
Can I tell you there is nogreater testimony to the
veracity of the scriptures andto the message of Jesus Christ
than that empty tomb, not one.
(20:10):
That empty tomb was a sign, notjust to that generation, but to
every generation that wouldcome after it.
Because, guys, let me tell yousomething, if that tomb hadn't
been empty, then mark my wordsthose priests would have gone
down there themselves and,religious restrictions about
hanging onto dead bodies aside,they'd have grabbed hold of him
(20:33):
and drug him through the streetsaying look, he is not risen.
Here is his body.
Now you might say, well, yeah,sure, I understand what you're
saying, but you know, maybethose disciples went over there
and stole that body while theRoman soldiers were sleeping.
Can I tell you, roman soldiersdon't sleep when they're on duty
.
Because you know what happensto Roman soldiers who go to
sleep when they're on duty theyget killed, they die.
(20:56):
There was a Roman seal set uponthat stone and it was upon
penalty of death that anyonewould go in there and do that.
But you know what?
Let's assume for a moment thatthey did fall asleep and that as
the disciples rolled the stoneaway, they didn't happen to wake
up.
Even if the disciples werestrong enough to do it, I doubt
(21:18):
they'd have been able to manageit in silence.
But let's assume for a moment,even beyond that, even beyond
that, that they did sleepthrough it and that the
disciples were able to take thatbody and hide it somewhere
where nobody would find it right.
Then why would these men, whoonly days before had run in fear
(21:40):
, now be willing to lay downtheir lives for something that
they knew was a lie?
Because had they stolen thebody, they would have known that
it was a lie.
These guys didn't profit fromthe message of the gospel.
They died for the message ofthe gospel.
They were martyred, some ofthem horrible, horrible deaths,
(22:04):
and if Jesus was not raised,then every one of those men was
a liar.
Now, men will die for a lie,but only if they think it's the
truth.
These men died for somethingthat they knew to be true,
because if it were not true,these men would have known that
it was a lie.
That alone bears witness to thefact that Jesus Christ rose
(22:29):
from the grave.
No other religious leader inthe history of our world has
done that.
He is unique.
He's the son of God and yet, inspite of the fact that he was
wiser than Solomon, in spite ofthe fact that he was greater
than Jonah, in spite of the factthat there was the sign given
(22:51):
that he would die and be dead inthe tomb for three days and
then rise again, in spite of allof that, many of these very
people who saw the miracles heperformed refused to believe and
, what's more, many of themstill refuse to believe to this
very day.
There are those in our worldwho, in spite of all the
evidence you can muster, inspite of irrefutable evidence,
(23:15):
refuse, refuse to believe.
And I ask again the questionwhy?
Well, jesus answers it.
Luke 11, verse 33,.
No one, when he has lit a lamp,puts it in a secret place or
(23:35):
under a basket, but on alampstand that those who come in
may see the light.
Now we know from scripture John8, 12 specifically that Jesus
is the light of the world.
He said it himself.
He said I am the light of theworld.
Whoever follows me will neverwalk in darkness but will have
(23:57):
the light of life.
John 1 bears testimony to it aswell.
As we look at John 1, startingin verse 1, it said, as we read
earlier, in the beginning wasthe Word, and the Word was with
God and the Word was God.
Speaker 1 (24:12):
Truly, these are some of the most difficult times
that many of us have ever seen.
The economy is bad, work issparse and there's no shortage
of strife throughout the world.
But as believers in Jesus,we've been given many great and
precious promises.
For instance, listen to thisverse taken from our current
study but the very hairs of yourhead are all numbered.
(24:34):
Do not fear.
Therefore, you are of morevalue than many sparrows.
You see, it doesn't matter howbad things get.
God has promised to take careof us.
Today's teaching was only partof a full-length message taught
by Pastor Ken Davis on a Sundaymorning at Calvary Chapel,
southwest Metro, burleson, texas.
To hear this message in itsentirety, log on to
(24:57):
heatthewordorg.
That's heedthewordorg.
Once you're there, select theListen Online page.
Or if computers aren't yourthing, that's okay, you can
always call us.
That number to call is817-447-5675.
That's 817-447-5675.
(25:18):
Even if you're not ordering acopy of today's study, we'd love
to hear from you.
Knowing that God is using heedthe word for his glory and to
encourage his saints is one ofour greatest joys.
So call us.
Today.
This study through the gospelof Luke has been a real eye
opener.
Maybe you've been challenged insome areas in your walk with
Jesus.
Well, we want to exhort you notto just hear God's Word, but to
(25:42):
do it.
Begin to walk in obedience tothe things you're learning.
From all of us here at he theWord, we want to say thank you
for tuning in and may God richlybless you as you seek His face.
You're listening to Heed the Word with our pastor
and teacher, Ken Davis.
Pastor Ken is the senior pastorof Calvary Chapel, Southwest
Metro in Burleson, Texas.
Please join us as we study theGospel of Luke verse by verse.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
The scriptures tell us that Jesus is the light of
the world.
Jesus bears witness to the fact, not that destruction is coming
, but to the fact thatdestruction can be escaped, not
to the fact that there's goingto be judgment, but that there
(00:38):
is a way, through Jesus, to havethe judgment that was to be
laid upon us laid upon himinstead.
Speaker 1 (00:48):
The Gospel of Luke is the third account in the
Gospels of the life andteachings of our Savior Jesus
Christ.
As believers, there are fewstudies that will benefit us
more spiritually than studyingthe life and teachings of the
Master Jesus, the Son of God,the Prince of Peace.
The Word made flesh came tothis earth to make a way for us.
(01:09):
Now, through his shed blood, wecan have access to the Father.
All of mankind is offeredsalvation through Jesus, but not
all will accept it.
We can choose to believe andobey, which promises blessing,
or we could go our own way,which leads to destruction.
Don't forget to stay with usafter today's message to hear
more information about Heed theWord, specifically how you can
(01:32):
get a free copy of this teaching.
Speaker 2 (01:40):
But for now, please open your Bibles to the Gospel
of Luke, chapter 11, verse 29,as we join Pastor Ken.
Now, that word condemn is toconvey the idea that, by their
good example, they have made itmore evident that these others
were wicked.
You see, not that they wouldrise up and pass judgment, for
we know that there's only onejudge and that is God, but that,
rather, because of the exampleof the queen of the south, the
(02:02):
queen of sheba, that she came tosolomon and heard his wisdom
and that she believed, andbecause of the people of nineveh
who, when they heard thepreaching of jonah, they
repented and believed because oftheir good example, that, at
the example of solomon and atthe preaching of jonah, these
others, these gentiles, in bothcases, believed that their right
(02:22):
action would, by its example,condemn those of this generation
who had the benefit of thewitness of Jesus Christ, one who
was greater than Solomon, onewho was greater than Jonah.
They had asked for a sign andJesus said okay, fine, I'll give
you a sign.
The only sign you're going toget is the sign of Jonah.
(02:43):
Well, what was the sign ofJonah?
In Jonah 1.7, we read the versethat says now the Lord had
prepared a great fish to swallowJonah, and Jonah was in the
belly of the fish three days andthree nights.
Now we remember the story ofJonah.
It's short enough that I couldprobably read it this morning
and I will read a portion of itin a moment.
But you remember that God wassending Jonah to Nineveh right
(03:07):
To proclaim judgment upon thecity.
But Jonah knows that God is amerciful and a just God and he
knows that if he goes and hepreaches there, that the people
of Nineveh will in alllikelihood repent and that God
will then relent and not destroythem.
And Jonah really would preferthat God does destroy them.
He doesn't want the mercy ofGod on the people of Nineveh.
(03:27):
Nineveh, they were hated, youknow, and Jonah wanted them to
be judged and so, rather than beobedient to the Lord and go
where the Lord told him to go,he jumps on a boat and heads off
in the opposite direction asfar as he can possibly go.
Well, we know the story of howthe Lord brought this huge storm
and that everybody was freakingout on the boat saying you know
what's going on, what's goingon.
And the captain finds Jonahsleeping there and he says what
(03:48):
are you doing?
Sleeping, you know, pray toyour God that this might stop.
And of course, after thecasting of lots, they discover
that it was Jonah's fault,because he was fleeing from God,
that this storm had come.
And they say to Jonah what dowe need to do to you to make
this storm stop?
And you know, jonah, the smartthing would have been to have
said turn around and head forNineveh, and the storm will stop
(04:09):
, because that's where God wantsme to go.
If I get back in line with hiswill, we'll get where we're
going, won't we?
But no, jonah says throw meoverboard.
And what he was saying was Iwould rather die than obey God.
I would rather die than do whatthe Lord wanted me to do in the
first place.
And so they throw him overboardand, sure enough, the storm
stops and all of these mensacrifice and make vows unto the
(04:30):
Lord.
They worship God because of theamazing thing that's happened
there.
Isn't it amazing how God caneven use our disobedience to
glorify his name, as was thecase in Jonah's life at that
time?
So can you imagine Jonah'sthoughts as he's sinking down
through the waters there andhe's thinking it's over, I won,
I didn't have to go to Ninevehand all it cost me was my life.
(04:53):
But little did he know that Godwasn't through with him yet and
I have to tell you, some of youhere this morning might think
that you're done, but God isn'tthrough with you yet.
God had prepared a great fishto swallow Jonah and Jonah was
(05:15):
in the belly of the fish we'retold in Jonah 1.17, for three
days and three nights Amazing.
And Jesus said you want a sign?
Fine, I'll give you the sign ofJonah.
And what he was saying was thatthe son of man, jesus, the son
of God, would be in the belly ofthe earth for three days and
that even as Jonah was broughtback from that place, so he
(05:39):
would be as well.
Let's turn to Jonah, chapter two, and let's read just briefly
what that was like for Jonahthere in the belly of the whale.
Jonah chapter 2 really consistsof just one thing, and that is
Jonah's prayer to God.
It's interesting that it tookthree days in the belly of a
fish to bring about the resultsthat we see here.
(06:01):
But praise God, those resultscome.
Then Jonah prayed to the Lord,his God, from the fish's belly
and he said I cried out to theLord because of my affliction,
and he answered me.
I cried out to the Lord becauseof my affliction, and he
answered me.
Out of the belly of shale, outof the belly of the grave.
(06:21):
In essence, I cried and youheard my voice, for you cast me
into the deep and into the heartof the belly of the grave.
In essence, I cried and youheard my voice, for you cast me
into the deep and into the heartof the seas, and the floods
surrounded me.
All your billows and your wavespassed over me.
Then I said I have been castout of your sight.
Yet I will look again towardyour holy temple.
The waters surrounded me, evento my soul.
(06:43):
The deep closed around me.
Weeds were wrapped around myhead.
I went down to the moorings ofthe mountains.
The earth with its bars closedbehind me forever.
Yet you have brought up my lifefrom the pit.
O Lord, my God, when my soulfainted within me, I remembered
the Lord and my prayer went upto you and your holy into your
(07:05):
holy temple.
Those who regard worthlessidols forsake their own mercy.
But I will sacrifice to youwith the voice of thanksgiving.
I will pay what I have vowed.
Salvation is of the Lord.
So the Lord spoke to the fishand it vomited Jonah onto dry
land.
Now the word of the Lord cameto Jonah the second time, saying
(07:28):
arise, go to Nineveh, thatgreat city, and preach to it the
message that I tell you.
So Jonah arose and went toNineveh, according to the word
of the Lord.
Now, nineveh was an exceedinglygreat city, a three-day journey
in extent, and Jonah began toenter the city on the first
day's walk.
Then he cried out and said yet40 days and Nineveh shall be
(07:48):
overthrown.
So the people of Ninevehbelieved God, proclaimed a fast
and put on sackcloth from thegreatest to the least of them.
Then word came to the king ofNineveh and he arose from his
throne and laid aside his robe,covered himself with sackcloth
and ashes, and he caused it tobe proclaimed and published
throughout Nineveh by the decreeof the king and his nobles
(08:11):
saying let neither man nor beastherd nor flock taste anything,
do not let them eat or drinkwater, but let man and beast be
covered with sackcloth and crymightily to God yes, let
everyone turn from his evil wayand from the violence that is in
his hand.
Who can tell if God will turnand relent and turn away from
his fierce anger so that we maynot perish.
(08:32):
Then God saw their works, thatthey turned from their evil way
and God relented from thedisaster that he had said he
would bring upon them.
And he did not do it.
The people of Nineveh heard themessage of Jonah 40 days and
destruction cometh right.
That's a real hope-filledmessage, isn't it?
(08:54):
It really gives you a lot ofencouragement that maybe there's
some way out of this.
But you know what?
They heeded the message, theylistened and God forgave them,
he restored them and he withheldjudgment from them.
In Romans, chapter 1, verses 1through 6, paul writes that he,
(09:14):
a bondservant of Jesus Christ,was called to be an apostle
separated of the gospel which hepromised before through his
prophets.
In the holy scriptures,concerning his son, jesus Christ
, our Lord, who was born of theseed of David according to the
flesh, and he declared to him tobe the son of God with power,
according to the spirit ofholiness, by the resurrection
from the dead, jesus said thatthe sign that he would give them
(09:37):
was the sign of Jonah.
What was that sign?
What was the sign that Jesustold that generation would be
given to them that they mightknow that the things that he was
telling them were true.
It was the sign of his death,burial and resurrection.
If you examine the variousreligions of the world, you will
(09:59):
find in them a myriad of morallaws.
You will find in them teacherswho say things like remember my
teachings, do the things thatI've taught you to do.
But what we find when weexamine Christianity is that
Jesus didn't say remember myteachings, did he?
Jesus said remember me, myteachings, did he?
(10:23):
Jesus said remember me Because,though his teachings are true
and though they are holy, andthough they are righteous, it is
not the teachings of Jesus thatsave us.
It's the death of Jesus thatsaves us and it's his
resurrection that gives us hope,because in that we find life
and that life is the promisethat he has given us.
Now he also referred there tothe queen of the south.
(10:46):
Turn to 2 Chronicles, whilewe're here in the Old Testament,
chapter 9.
2 Chronicles, chapter 9,starting in verse 1.
Now, when the queen of Shebaheard of the fame of Solomon,
she came to Jerusalem to testSolomon with hard questions,
having a very great retinue,camels that bore spices, gold
(11:09):
and abundance and preciousstones.
And when she came to Solomon,she spoke with him about all
that was in her heart.
So Solomon answered all herquestions.
There was nothing so difficultfor Solomon that he could not
explain it to her.
And when the queen of Sheba hadseen the wisdom of Solomon, the
house that he had built, thefood on his table, the seating
of his servants, the service ofhis waiters and their apparel,
(11:32):
his cupbearers and their apparel, and his entryway by which he
went up to the house of the Lord, there was no more spirit in
her.
She gave up the fight.
She's like man I give.
You really are all they say youare.
Let's read on.
Then she said to the king it wasa true report which I heard in
(11:53):
my own land, about your wordsand wisdom.
Now, the interesting thing is,when she first heard it, she
didn't believe it.
When she first heard about thewonders of Solomon and his
kingdom and his incrediblewisdom, she wasn't buying.
And it says there, as we lookback in the earlier part of
chapter 9, that she came to testhim.
Right, she's like well, let'ssee just how wise this guy
(12:16):
really is.
Let's read on in verse six andsee what she said.
However, I did not believetheir words until I came and saw
with my own eyes, and indeedthe half of the greatness of
your wisdom was not told me.
You exceed the fame which Iheard.
Happy are your men and happyare those your servants who
(12:37):
stand continually before you andhear your wisdom.
Blessed be the Lord, your God,who delights in you setting you
on his throne to be king for theLord, your God, because your
God has loved Israel toestablish them forever.
Therefore he made you king overthem to do justice and
righteousness.
And she gave the king 120talents, of gold spices in great
(12:59):
abundance and precious stones.
There never were any spicessuch as those the queen of Sheba
gave to King Solomon.
Also, the servants of Hiram andthe servants of Solomon who
brought gold from Ophir broughtalgum wood and precious stones,
and the king made walkways ofall the algum wood for the house
of the Lord and for the king'shouse.
Also harps and stringedinstruments for the singers, and
(13:22):
there were none such as theseseen before in the land of Judah
.
Now, king Solomon gave to thequeen of Sheba all she desired,
whatever she asked, much morethan she had brought to the king
.
So she turned and went to herown country, she and her
servants.
So the queen of Sheba comes andshe's like hey, I've heard some
(13:42):
incredible things about you,let's test them.
Let's test you and find out ifthese things are true.
And once she sees everythinghe's done and once he's answered
all of her questions, sheacknowledges the fact that not
only was everything she hadheard true, but there was twice
as much that's true that shehadn't even heard and that he
was even more wonderful than hisreputation.
Let on and she gave him gifts,rich, wonderful gifts.
(14:06):
But by the time she left, shehad received back from him even
more than she had offered.
And Jesus said that the queenof the south, the queen of she,
came all the way to Jerusalem tosee Solomon, and yet one
greater than Solomon is herewith you now, and yet you won't
(14:26):
believe.
He said so that in the day ofjudgment, she's going to stand
up and she, this Gentile woman,is going to condemn you, the
leaders of Israel, by her goodexample.
Let's turn back to Luke 11.
Jesus had greater wisdom thanSolomon.
(14:48):
Solomon was able to answer allof her questions, wasn't he?
Because Solomon knew abouteverything, because it was the
wisdom of God that he had beengiven.
And yet Jesus was wiser.
Well, how do we know that Jesuswas wiser?
Look at the testimony of John 1, 1, which says that in the
beginning was the word, and theword was with God and the word
(15:10):
was God.
He was in the beginning withGod and all things were made
through him, and without himnothing was made.
That was made In him was life,and the life was the light of
men, and the light shines in thedarkness, and the darkness did
not comprehend it.
Now, solomon may have knownabout all things, but Jesus
created all things.
(15:30):
So who knows more, the authorof life or the one who did the
book report?
The author knows more.
Jesus was wiser than Solomon.
It says that Solomon gave giftsto the queen of Sheba that were
in excess to the gifts that shegave him.
Is there anyone here that wouldargue that when we come to
(15:50):
Jesus and give him all that weare and all that we have, that
he doesn't give us even more inreturn than we have given him?
Solomon gave good gifts.
The gifts that Jesus gives areeven greater.
(16:12):
Romans 6.23 tells us that thewages of sin is death, but the
gift of God is eternal life inChrist Jesus, our Lord.
So he was wiser than Solomon.
He gave greater gifts thanSolomon.
Well, how does the comparison toJonah hold up?
Let's see.
First of all, jesus was greaterthan Jonah.
(16:32):
How do we know that Jonah wasthe representative of God?
Wasn't he?
But Jesus was therepresentative of God?
Wasn't he?
But Jesus was therepresentation of God.
Jonah spoke the words of theLord, but when people looked at
Jesus, it could honestly be saidthat they had seen the Father.
(16:53):
In John 14, 8 through 11, wefind these words Philip said to
him, said to Jesus Lord, show usthe Father, and it is
sufficient for us.
Jesus said to him have I beenwith you so long and yet you
have not known me, philip, hewho has seen me has seen the
Father.
So how can you say show us theFather?
(17:16):
You see, jesus was the veryembodiment of God.
Jesus was God in the flesh.
So it is an easy thing to sayand to know that he was greater
than Jonah.
But he also preached a greatermessage than the message that
Jonah preached.
What was it?
Jonah said 40 days anddestruction cometh.
(17:36):
That's a real uplifting message, isn't it?
That's a real word ofencouragement.
Thank you, jonah.
I appreciate that.
In John 10, 7 through 17, wefind the message that Jesus
preached.
He said most assuredly I say toyou I am the door of the sheep.
All whoever came before me arethieves and robbers, but the
sheep did not hear them.
I am the door.
(17:58):
If anyone enters by me, he willbe saved and will go in and out
and find pasture.
The thief does not come exceptto steal and to kill and to
destroy.
But I have come that they mighthave life and that they may
have it more abundantly.
I am the good shepherd.
The good shepherd gives hislife for the sheep.
But a hireling, he who is notthe shepherd, one who does not
(18:22):
own the sheep, sees the wolfcoming and leaves the sheep and
flees, and the wolf catches thesheep and scatters them.
The hireling flees because heis a hireling and does not care
about the sheep.
I am the good shepherd and Iknow my sheep and am known by my
own, as the father knows me.
Even so, I know the father andI lay down my life for the sheep
(18:44):
and other sheep I have whichare not of this fold.
Them also I must bring and theywill hear my voice and there
will be one flock and oneshepherd.
Therefore my father loves mebecause I lay down my life that
I may take it again.
The scriptures tell us thatJesus is the light of the world.
Jesus bears witness to the fact, not that destruction is coming
(19:24):
, but to the fact thatdestruction can be escaped, not
to the fact that there's goingto be judgment, but that there
is a way, through Jesus, to havethe judgment that was to be
laid upon us laid upon himinstead.
So not only was Jesus greaterthan Jonah, but his message was
(19:47):
greater than that of Jonah's,and yet they wouldn't receive it
.
Why they have the sign of Jonah?
You have the empty tomb.
Can I tell you there is nogreater testimony to the
veracity of the scriptures andto the message of Jesus Christ
than that empty tomb, not one.
(20:10):
That empty tomb was a sign, notjust to that generation, but to
every generation that wouldcome after it.
Because, guys, let me tell yousomething, if that tomb hadn't
been empty, then mark my wordsthose priests would have gone
down there themselves and,religious restrictions about
hanging onto dead bodies aside,they'd have grabbed hold of him
(20:33):
and drug him through the streetsaying look, he is not risen.
Here is his body.
Now you might say, well, yeah,sure, I understand what you're
saying, but you know, maybethose disciples went over there
and stole that body while theRoman soldiers were sleeping.
Can I tell you, roman soldiersdon't sleep when they're on duty
.
Because you know what happensto Roman soldiers who go to
sleep when they're on duty theyget killed, they die.
(20:56):
There was a Roman seal set uponthat stone and it was upon
penalty of death that anyonewould go in there and do that.
But you know what?
Let's assume for a moment thatthey did fall asleep and that as
the disciples rolled the stoneaway, they didn't happen to wake
up.
Even if the disciples werestrong enough to do it, I doubt
(21:18):
they'd have been able to manageit in silence.
But let's assume for a moment,even beyond that, even beyond
that, that they did sleepthrough it and that the
disciples were able to take thatbody and hide it somewhere
where nobody would find it right.
Then why would these men, whoonly days before had run in fear
(21:40):
, now be willing to lay downtheir lives for something that
they knew was a lie?
Because had they stolen thebody, they would have known that
it was a lie.
These guys didn't profit fromthe message of the gospel.
They died for the message ofthe gospel.
They were martyred, some ofthem horrible, horrible deaths,
(22:04):
and if Jesus was not raised,then every one of those men was
a liar.
Now, men will die for a lie,but only if they think it's the
truth.
These men died for somethingthat they knew to be true,
because if it were not true,these men would have known that
it was a lie.
That alone bears witness to thefact that Jesus Christ rose
(22:29):
from the grave.
No other religious leader inthe history of our world has
done that.
He is unique.
He's the son of God and yet, inspite of the fact that he was
wiser than Solomon, in spite ofthe fact that he was greater
than Jonah, in spite of the factthat there was the sign given
(22:51):
that he would die and be dead inthe tomb for three days and
then rise again, in spite of allof that, many of these very
people who saw the miracles heperformed refused to believe and
, what's more, many of themstill refuse to believe to this
very day.
There are those in our worldwho, in spite of all the
evidence you can muster, inspite of irrefutable evidence,
(23:15):
refuse, refuse to believe.
And I ask again the questionwhy?
Well, jesus answers it.
Luke 11, verse 33,.
No one, when he has lit a lamp,puts it in a secret place or
(23:35):
under a basket, but on alampstand that those who come in
may see the light.
Now we know from scripture John8, 12 specifically that Jesus
is the light of the world.
He said it himself.
He said I am the light of theworld.
Whoever follows me will neverwalk in darkness but will have
(23:57):
the light of life.
John 1 bears testimony to it aswell.
As we look at John 1, startingin verse 1, it said, as we read
earlier, in the beginning wasthe Word, and the Word was with
God and the Word was God.
Speaker 1 (24:12):
Truly, these are some of the most difficult times
that many of us have ever seen.
The economy is bad, work issparse and there's no shortage
of strife throughout the world.
But as believers in Jesus,we've been given many great and
precious promises.
For instance, listen to thisverse taken from our current
study but the very hairs of yourhead are all numbered.
(24:34):
Do not fear.
Therefore, you are of morevalue than many sparrows.
You see, it doesn't matter howbad things get.
God has promised to take careof us.
Today's teaching was only partof a full-length message taught
by Pastor Ken Davis on a Sundaymorning at Calvary Chapel,
southwest Metro, burleson, texas.
To hear this message in itsentirety, log on to
(24:57):
heatthewordorg.
That's heedthewordorg.
Once you're there, select theListen Online page.
Or if computers aren't yourthing, that's okay, you can
always call us.
That number to call is817-447-5675.
That's 817-447-5675.
(25:18):
Even if you're not ordering acopy of today's study, we'd love
to hear from you.
Knowing that God is using heedthe word for his glory and to
encourage his saints is one ofour greatest joys.
So call us.
Today.
This study through the gospelof Luke has been a real eye
opener.
Maybe you've been challenged insome areas in your walk with
Jesus.
Well, we want to exhort you notto just hear God's Word, but to
(25:42):
do it.
Begin to walk in obedience tothe things you're learning.
From all of us here at he theWord, we want to say thank you
for tuning in and may God richlybless you as you seek His face.
Popular Podcasts
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.