Matthew 12:41

Mat 12:41. The men of Nineveh, &c. — “The Ninevites being judged at the same time with the men of that generation, and their behaviour being compared with theirs, should make their guilt appear in its true colour and condemn them. For though they were idolaters, they repented at the preaching of Jonah, a stranger, a poor person, one that continued among them only three days, and wrought no miracle to make them believe him. But the men of that generation, though worshippers of the true God by profession, could every day hear unmoved the much more powerful preaching of a prophet infinitely greater than Jonah, even the preaching of the eternal Son of God, who confirmed his doctrine by the most astonishing miracles.” — Macknight. Of the reasons which might induce the Ninevites to repent, see note on Jon 3:5-6.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Matthew

‘A GREATER THAN JONAS’

Mat 12:41.

There never was any man in his right mind, still more of influence on his fellows, who made such claims as to himself in such unmistakable language as Jesus Christ does. To say such things of oneself as come from His lips is a sign of a weak, foolish nature. It is fatal to all influence, to all beauty of character. It is not only that He claims official attributes as a fanatical or dishonest pretender to inspiration may do. He does that, but He does more-He declares Himself possessed of virtues which, if a man said he had them, it would be the best proof that he did not possess them and did not know himself. ‘I am the way and the truth and the life.’ ‘I am the light of the world’-a ‘greater than the temple,’ a greater than Jonah, a ‘greater than Solomon,’ and then withal ‘I am meek and lowly of heart.’ And the world believes Him, and says, Yes! it is true.

These three comparisons of Jesus with Temple, Jonas, and Solomon, carry great claims and great lessons. By the first Jesus asserts that He is in reality all that the Temple was in shadowy symbol, and sets Himself above ritual, sacrifices, and priests. By the second he asserts His superiority not only to one prophet but to them all. By the third He asserts His superiority to Solomon, whom the Jews reverenced as the bright, consummate flower of kinghood.

Now we may take this comparison as giving us positive thoughts about our Lord. The points of comparison may be taken to be three, with Jonah as one of an order, with Jonah in his personal character as a servant of God, with Jonah as a prophet charged with a special work.

I. The prophets and the Son.

The whole prophetic order may fairly be taken as included here. And over against all these august and venerable names, the teachers of wisdom, the speakers of the oracles of God, this Nazarene peasant stands there before Pharisees and Scribes, and asserts His superiority. It is either the most insane arrogance of self-assertion, or it is a sober truth. If it be true that self-consciousness is ever the disease of the soul, and that the religious teacher who begins to think of himself is lost, how marvellous is this assertion!

Compare it with Paul’s, ‘Unto me who am less than the least of all saints’-’I am not a whit behind the chief of the Apostles’-’though I be nothing’-’Not I, but Christ in me.’ And yet this is meekness, for it is infinite condescension in Him to compare Himself with any son of man.

{a} The contrast is suggested between the prophets and the theme of the prophets.

‘The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.’ Though undoubtedly the prophet order had other work than prediction to do, yet the soul of their whole work was the announcement of the Messiah.

In testimony whereof, Elijah, who was traditionally the chief of the prophets, stood beside Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration, and passed away as lost in His light.

{b} The contrast is suggested between the recipients of the word of God and the Word of God.

The relation of the prophets to their message is contrasted with His who was the Truth, who not merely received, but was, the Word of God.

There is nothing in Christ’s teaching to show that He was conscious of standing in a human relation to the truths which He spoke. His own personality is ever present in His teaching instead of being suppressed-as in all the prophets. His own personality is His teaching, for His revelation is by being as much as by saying. Similarly, His miracles are done by His own power.

{c} The contrast is suggested between the partial teacher of God’s Name and the complete revealer of it.

The foundation was laid by the prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief corner stone {Heb 1:1}.

II. The disobedient prophet and the perfect Son.

Jonah stands as the great example of human weakness in the chosen instruments of God’s hand.

Take the story-his shrinking from the message given him. We know not why; but perhaps from faint-hearted fear, or from a sense of his unworthiness and unfitness for the task. His own words about God as long-suffering seem to suggest another reason, that he feared to go with a message of judgment which seemed to him so unlikely to be executed by the long-suffering God. If so, then what made him recreant was not so much fear from personal motives as intellectual perplexity and imperfect comprehension of the ways of God. Then we hear of his pitiable flight with its absurdity and its wickedness. Then comes the prayer which shows him to have been right and true at bottom, and teaches us that what makes a good man is not the absence of faults, but the presence of love and longing after God. Then we see the boldness of his mission. Then follows the reaction from that lofty height, the petulance or whatever else it was with which he sees the city spared. Even the mildest interpretation cannot acquit him of much disregard for the poor souls whom he had brought to repentance, and of dreadful carelessness for the life and happiness of his fellows.

Now Jonah’s behaviour is but a specimen of the vacillations, the alternations of feeling which beset every man; the loftiest, the truest, the best. Moses, David, Solomon, Elijah, John the Baptist, Peter, Luther, Cranmer. And it is full of instruction for us.

Then we turn to the contrast in Christ’s perfect obedience and faithfulness in His prophetic office. In Him is no trace of shrinking even when the grimness of the Cross weighed most on His heart. No confusion of mind as to the Father’s will, or as to the union in Him of perfect righteousness and infinite mercy, ever darkened His clear utterances or cast a shadow over his own soul. He was never weakened by the collapse that follows on great effort or strong emotion. He never failed in his mission through lack of pity.

But there is no need to draw out the comparison. We look on all God’s instruments, and see them all full of faults and flaws. Here is one stainless name, one life in which is no blot, one heart in which are no envy, no failings-one obedience which never varied. He says of Himself, ‘I do always those things which please Him,’ and we, thinking of all the noblest examples of virtue that the world has ever seen, and seeing in them all some speck, turn to this whole and perfect chrysolite and say, Yes! ‘a greater than they!’

III. The bearer of a transitory message of repentance to one Gentile people, and the bearer of an eternal message of grace and love to the whole earth.

Jonah is remarkable as having had the sphere of his activity wholly outside Israel.

The nature of his message; a preaching of punishment; a call to repentance.

The sphere of it-one Gentile city. The effect of it-transitory. We know what Nineveh became.

Jesus is greater than Jonah or any prophet in this respect, that His message is to the world, and in this, that what He preaches and brings far transcends even the loftiest and most spiritual words of any of them.

His voice is sweetest, tenderest, clearest and fullest of all that have ever sounded in men’s ears. And just because it is so, the hearing of it brings the most solemn responsibility that was ever laid on men, and to us still more gravely and truly may it be said than to those who heard Jesus speak on earth, ‘The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation and condemn it.’

Alexander MacLaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture (1904–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

12:41-42 someone greater: Jesus is greater than the Temple (12:6), a prophet (Jonah), and a king (Solomon); therefore, rejection of him entails greater judgment on this “evil, adulterous generation” (12:39).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Mat 12:41. Ἄνδερες Νινευῖται, men of Nineveh) whose example was followed by their wives and children. In the following verse, the example of one woman is added, who heard a wise man, though it might seem more natural for the weaker sex to seek prophecy than wisdom.—ἀναστήσονται, shall rise) In the next verse, we find ἐγερθήσεται, shall he raised up; cf. in Luk 11:32; Luk 11:31; shall rise of their own accord, shall be raised up by the Divine volition. The force of each word is contained in the other.—μετὰ, with—κατακρινοῦσιν, shall condemn) Cf. Rom 2:27. Therefore, at the Last Judgment, those whose conduct is similar or opposite,[585] will be pitted in turn against each other.—ΕἸς, at) The faith of the Ninevites is hereby[586] asserted (proprie dicitur).—See Jon 3:5. Cf. the use of εἰς, in Rom 4:20.—κήρυγμα, preaching) without miracles.[587]—Ἰωνᾶ, of Jonah) who was mentioned also in Mat 12:39. The messengers of salvation are prophets, wise men, and scribes; see ch. Mat 23:34. It did not become the Lord to act the Scribe; see Joh 7:15, and cf. Gnomon on Luk 4:16: but He, the greatest Prophet, from the race of prophets selects him who best suited this occasion, namely Jonah; and, being wisdom itself, He, from the race of wise men, selects that distinguished wise man, Solomon; and declares that Something Greater than either of them was then present. Both of them had been believed without signs.—Πλεῖον, Something Greater) He who is rather to be heard.[588]—ὧδε, here) close at hand, cf. in the following verse.—ἐκ τῶν περάτων τῆς γῆς, from the uttermost parts of the earth.

[585] “Quorum par aut opposita est ratio,”—who stand on a like, or a contrasted and opposite footing, in relation to the judgment.—ED.

[586] The εἰς implies the faith whereby they turned to, and believed in, the preaching of Jonah.—ED.

[587] As in the case of Solomon, Mat 12:42.—V. g.

[588] Who is Himself about to be the Judge.—V. g.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Mat_12:41 f. Ἀναστήσονται] Men of Nineveh will come forward, that is to say, as witnesses. Similarly קוּם, Job_16:8; Mar_14:57; Plat. Legg. xi. p. 937 A; Plut. Marcell. 27. Precisely similar is the use of ἐγερθήσεται below (comp. Mat_11:11, Mat_24:11). Others (Augustine, Beza, Elsner, Fritzsche) interpret: in vitam redibunt. This is flat and insipid, and inconsistent with ἐν τῇ κρίσει.

μετά] with, not: against. Both parties are supposed to be standing alongside of each other, or opposite each other, in the judgment.

κατακρ.] by their conduct, ὅτι μετενόησαν, etc. Ex ipsorum comparatione isti merito damnabuntur, Augustine. Comp. Rom_2:27.

ὧδε] like Mat_12:6, refers to the person of Jesus, which is a grander phenomenon than Jonah. For πλεῖον, comp. Mat_12:6.

βασίλισσα νότου] a queen from the South, i.e. from Sheba in Southern Arabia, 1Ki_10:1 ff.; 2Ch_9:1 ff.

Meyer — Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament — English translation by Peter Christie, edited by Frederick Crombie (T&T Clark, 1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Mat 12:41 . pplication of the reference in Mat 12:39 . The men of Nineveh are cited in condemnation of the Jewish contemporaries of Jesus. Cf. similar use of historic parallels in Mat 11:20-24 . πλεῖον Ἰωνᾶ , more than Jonah, cf. Mat 12:6 ; refers either to Jesus personally as compared with Jonah, or to His ministry as compared with Jonah’s. In the latter case the meaning is: there is far more in what is now going on around you to shut you up to repentance than in anything Jonah said to the men of Nineveh (so Grotius).

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Christ teacheth by the sorrowful example of the Jews, that there are none more miserable than they which put out the light of the Gospel which was kindled in them.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, &c.--The Ninevites, though heathens, repented at a man's preaching; while they, God's covenant-people, repented not at the preaching of the Son of God--whose supreme dignity is rather implied here than expressed.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 41. The men of Nineveh shell rise in judgment] The voice of God, threatening temporal judgments, caused a whole people to repent, who had neither Moses nor Christ, neither the law nor the prophets; and who perhaps never had but this one preacher among them. What judgment may not we expect, if we continue impenitent, after all that God has bestowed upon us?

A greater than Jonas is here.] πλειον, for τιπλειον, something more. The evidence offered by Jonah sufficed to convince and lead the Ninevites to repentance; but here was more evidence, and a greater person; and yet so obstinate are the Jews that all is ineffectual.

1. Christ, who preached to the Jews, was infinitely greater than Jonah, in his nature, person, and mission.

2. Jonah preached repentance in Nineveh only forty days, and Christ preached among the Jews for several years.

3. Jonah wrought no miracles to authorize his preaching; but Christ wrought miracles every day, in every place where he went, and of every kind. And

4. Notwithstanding all this, the people of Judea did not repent, though the people of Nineveh did.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(41) The men of Nineveh shall rise . . .—The reasoning is parallel with that of the references to Tyre and Sidon, Sodom and Gomorrah in Mat_11:21-24, but with this difference, that there the reference was to what might have been, here to what actually had been. The repentance of the heathen, and their search after wisdom, with far poorer opportunities, would put to shame the slowness and unbelief of Israel. The word “rise” is used not of the mere fact of resurrection but of standing up as witnesses. (Comp. Joh_16:8.)

A greater than Jonas.—No chapter contains more marvellous assertions of our Lord’s superhuman majesty. Greater than the Temple (Mat_12:6), greater than Jonas, greater than Solomon: could this be rightly claimed by any man for himself who was not more than man?

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

41. in judgment with] More exactly, stand up in the judgment, i. e. in the day of judgment, beside. When on the day of judgment the Ninevites stand side by side with the men of that generation, they will by their penitence condemn the impenitent Jews.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

While he yet talked to the people,.... Upon these subjects, which so nearly concerned the Scribes and Pharisees, and which could not fail of drawing upon him their resentment and ill will.

Behold his mother and his brethren: by "his mother" is meant Mary; but who are "his brethren", is not so easy to say: some are of opinion, that Joseph had children by Mary, who are here meant; but it is more generally believed, that these were either the sons of Joseph by a former wife, whose name is said to be Escha; or rather, Mary's sister's sons, the wife of Cleophas, the cousin-germans of Christ, it being usual with the Jews to call such kindred brethren; and so they might be James, Joses, Simon, and Judas: these

stood without: for Christ was within doors, not in a synagogue, as Piscator thought, but in an house; see Mat 13:1 and his mother and brethren stood without doors, either because they could not get in for the throng of the people; or because they would not, it not being proper to make all within acquainted with what they had to say to him:

desiring to speak with him; not with a pure view to interrupt him in his work, or to divert him from it, lest he should overspend himself; nor from a principle of ambition and vain glory, to show that they were related to him, and that he was at their beck and command; but rather, to observe unto him the danger he exposed himself to, by the freedom he took with the Pharisees in his discourses, and probably to acquaint him with some conspiracies formed against him.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

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.

Ver. 41. They repented at the preaching of Jonas] At one single sermon of a mere stranger, who sang so doleful a ditty to them as the destruction of their town, and yet they repented. What will become of us? Vae torpori nostro. Alas, our numbness. If Mr Bradford so complained of his own unprofitableness under means, in those dim days, what cause have we now much more! Here in London, saith he, be such godly, goodly, and learned sermons, which these uncircumcised ears of mine do hear, at the least thrice a week, which were able to burst any man’s heart to relent, to repent, to believe, to love and fear that omnipotent gracious Lord. But mine adamantine, obstinate, most unkind, unthankful heart, hearing my Lord so sweetly calling and crying unto me, now by his law, now by his gospel, now by all his creatures, to come, to come even to himself; I hide me with Adam; I play not only Samuel running to Eli, but I play Jonah running to the sea, and there I sleep upon the hatches until he please to raise up a tempest, to turn and look upon me as he did upon Peter, &c.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The story of the men of Nineveh we have in Jon 3:1-10. Luke repeateth the same passage, Luk 11:32.

The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment, that is, shall at the general resurrection rise, and stand up in judgment as witnesses against the scribes and Pharisees, and the other unbelieving Jews of this age, and shall be instruments as to that condemnation which God shall that day pronounce against them. Why?

Because they repented at the preaching of Jonas and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here. Jonas was a stranger to them, he wrought no miracles amongst them to confirm that he was sent of God, he only came and cried, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be destroyed; yet they repented, if not truly and sincerely, yet in appearance; they showed themselves to be affected with what Jonah said, his words made some impressions upon them, as that the king arose from his throne, laid his robe from him, covered him with sackcloth, and sat in ashes, called a fast, as Jon 3:5-8. But, saith our Saviour, I am greater than Jonah: I was long since prophesied of, and foretold to this people, to come; I am come; I have preached amongst them, and not only preached, but wrought many wonderful works amongst them, yet they are not so much affected as to show the least signs of repentance.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

41. Shall condemn it — The far superior example of the Ninevites shall reflect condemnation on the Jerusalemites. They repented — Though Jonah and Nineveh were a type of Jesus and Jerusalem, yet there is one point in which there is contrast rather than parallel. Nineveh repented on much less evidence. Jerusalem rejected the most beneficent miracles, persisted in sin, and died in impenitence. Thus did our Lord, in refusing a sign, give a sign and a witness.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Verbally identical with Luk_11:32. The men of Nineveh (andrev Nineuitai). No article, because the evangelist desired to call attention to the character of the Ninevites. The men of Nineveh, heathen though they were, shall do this. Andrev (not anyrwpoi); hardly because of the approaching mention of a woman, (cf. Luk_11:31) but because the men in the city would naturally take the lead, and not the women. So also in the LXX of Jon_3:5 (contrast ver. 7, of the population generally). Shall rise in judgment; shall stand up in the judgment (Revised Version); i.e. shall stand up as witnesses (Job_16:8 Mar_14:57) in the final judgment. (Luk_10:14) With this generation; i.e. present before the judgment-seat with them, for what purpose is shown by the following words (cf. Winer, h). And shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas. (Jon_3:5, sqq.) Observe that this was without miracles or signs being wrought. At (eiv). Marking the direction of their faith. (Rom_4:20) And, behold, a greater than more than" (Revised Version margin)Jonas is here (ver 6, note).

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The men of Nineveh

Again the rejected King announces judgment (cf) Mat 11:20-24 Israel, in the midst of the Pharisaic revival of outward religious strictness, was like a man out of whom a demon had "gone," i.e, of his own volition. He would come back and find an empty house, etc. The personal application is to a mere self-cleansed moralist.

Nineveh vs. Jon 3:5-9; Luk 11:32 (See Scofield "Nah 1:1").

The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

A warning call:

v. 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.

v. 42. The queen of the South shall rise up in the Judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it; for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.

The mention of Jonas brings on the further thought. The Ninevites heard and heeded the call to repentance as it was made by Jonas, Jon 3:10. He was only a prophet called by God to bring this message, whereas here was the Author of the message Himself in the midst of the Jews, and both His person and His message were unheeded. On the Day of Judgment, therefore, these heathen people will rise in accusation against the Jewish nation and their leaders. They will bring a formal charge and complaint, and show them to be guilty in their rejection of Christ. In the same way the great queen that came to see Solomon and hear his wisdom, 1Ki 10:1-29, will appear before the tribunal of God on the last day and add her testimony to that of the Ninevites for the condemnation of the Jews. From a far country, from Arabia Felix, she came to hear the wisdom of a mere man. But here the eternal Wisdom from on high was expounding the counsel of God from eternity, and yet that generation rejected Man and message.

Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

41. The men of Nineveh. The great capital of the Assyrian Empire, situated on the Tigris river, in its day the greatest city in the world, to which Jonah was sent to warn it of judgment for its sins. It has been for many hundred years a ruin. Shall stand up in judgment. They repented at the preaching of Jonah, but “this generation” of Jews remained impenitent under the preaching of “one greater than Jonah.” The example of the Ninevites condemns the Jews.

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

Connecting Statement:

Jesus continues to rebuke the scribes and Pharisees.

The men of Nineveh

"The citizens of Nineveh"

at the judgment

"on judgment day" or "when God judges people"

this generation of people

This refers to the people living during the time Jesus was preaching.

and will condemn it

Possible meanings are 1) "condemn" here represents accusing. AT: "and will accuse this generation of people" or 2) God will condemn this generation of people because they did not repent as the people of Nineveh had. AT: "and God will condemn this generation" (See: Metonymy)

and see

"and look." This emphasizes what Jesus says next.

someone greater

"someone more important"

someone

Jesus is speaking about himself. (See: First, Second, or Third Person)

than Jonah is here

You can make explicit the implicit meaning of Jesus' statement. AT: "than Jonah is here, yet you still have not repented, which is why God will condemn you" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)

translationWords

Nineveh

judgment day

generation

condemn

repent

preach

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

41. ἀναστήσονται κ.τ.λ., ‘Shall stand up in the judgment, (i.e. in the day of judgment) beside.’ When on the day of judgment the Ninevites stand side by side with the men of that generation, they will by their penitence condemn the impenitent Jews.

εἰς τὸ κήρυγμα. Cp. εἰς διαταγὰς ἀγγέλων, Act 7:53. In both instances εἰς appears to be equivalent to ἐν. The two prepositions were originally identical in form and meaning -ενς. In proof of this cp. ἄμειψεν ἐν κοιλόπεδον νάπος θεοῦ. Pind. Pyth. Mat 12:37. In later Greek the two forms are interchanged: ὁ ὢν εἰς τὸν κόλπον τοῦ πατρός, Joh 1:18. ἵνʼ αὐτὸ λούσῃ εἰς σκάφην, Epict. III. 22, 71. On the other hand, ἐν for εἰς, as ἐπιστρέψαι ἀπειθεῖς ἐν φρονήσει δικαίων, Luk 1:17. ἀπελθεῖν ἐν βαλανείῳ, Epict. I. 11, 32. See Donaldson’s Greek Grammar, p. 510. Clyde’s Greek Syntax, § 83, obs. 4.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

41.] In this verse there is no reference to the sign of Jonas spoken of above, but to a different matter, another way in which he should be a sign to this generation. See Luk 11:29 f., and note. (But the preaching of Jonas to the Ninevites was a sign after his resurrection: so shall the preaching of the Son of Man by His Spirit in His Apostles be after His resurrection. Stier.)

41,

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

(L) 41. The men of Nineveh shall rise up at the judgement with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the message of Jonah; and, behold, more than Jonah is here.] Lk. transposes this and the next verse, probably simply in order to secure a chronological sequence. He has this verse in verbal agreement with Mt.

ἀναστήσονται ἐν τῇ κρίσει] shall stand or rise up at the judgement. Except in this and the next verse, Mt. uses ἡμέρα κρίσεως in this sense; cf. 10:15, 11:22, 24, 12:36. For ἡ κρίσις = the last judgement, cf. Luk 10:14. The idea is that at the final judgement the men of Nineveh will indict the men of this generation for not having repented at the preaching of Christ, who had been a greater sign to them than Jonah had been to the Ninevites. Wellhausen urges that in Aramaic “stand or rise up in judgement with” means “to accuse.” That is true; but even so the implied period of accusation must have been the final judgement day. The Greek translator, who rendered the Aramaic original by ἀναστήσονται ἐν τῇ κρίσει μετά, only made his words express what he supposed to be implied in the original.—πλεῖον Ἰωνᾶ] cf. 12:6 τοῦ ἱεροῦ μεῖζον.

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Shall rise up [αναστησονται] . Rev., stand up. Come forward as witnessed. Compare Job 16:9, Sept.; Mr 14:57. There is no reference to rising from the dead. Similarly shall rise up, ver. 42. Compare Mt 11:11; Mt 24:11.

A greater [πλειον] . Lit., something more. See on ver. 6.

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.