The Sign of Jonah and the Seven Spirits: A Warning Against Judgmentalism

Photo (c) Sam Lee 2024

In the Gospel of Matthew, the teachers of the law demanded a sign from Jesus, and He responded with a striking rebuke: “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah” (Matthew 12:39). Jesus explained that just as Jonah spent three days in the belly of a great fish before being delivered, so too would the Son of Man spend three days in the heart of the earth before rising again (Matthew 12:40). This was a profound declaration of His impending death and resurrection—a sign far greater than any they could have asked for. Immediately after this, Jesus told about an impure spirit that leaves a person, only to return with seven other spirits more wicked than itself, leaving the person worse off than before (Matthew 12:43-45). On the surface, these two teachings might seem unrelated, but in reality, they are deeply connected. They reveal a profound truth about the dangers of turning God’s grace into a judgmental, rigid relgious system.

Jonah is often remembered as a prophet who fled from God’s command, but the deeper issue was not his disobedience; it was his extreme religiosity and judgmental attitude. Jonah wasn’t just reluctant to preach to Nineveh—he was furious at the thought of God extending mercy to a people he deemed unworthy. Jonah wanted to sit in the judgment seat, determining who was deserving of God’s compassion and who was not. His anger at God’s mercy reveals the danger of a religious spirit that values legalism over love, judgment over grace.

Let us reach out in love to those whom we may, in our theories, methodologies, and theologies, have labeled as sinners, lawbreakers, or ungodly.

In this context, the example of the impure spirit serves as a powerful warning. Jesus cautions that those who have experienced the grace and mercy of God but then turn back to extreme religiosity, becoming judgmental Christians, are in danger of falling into a worse condition than even the judgmental and angry teachers of the law in His time. This connection between the sign of Jonah and the parable of the seven spirits is a warning for all who follow Christ. It warns us against the temptation to take the grace we’ve received and twist it into a tool for judgment. Jonah’s story reminds us that God’s heart is one of compassion, even towards those we might consider unworthy. Jesus warns us that if we turn away from this grace and embrace judgmental religiosity, we risk falling into a state far worse than before we knew Christ.

In essence, Jesus is teaching us that true faith is not about using religion as a weapon of judgment, but about embodying the grace and mercy we have been shown. The sign of Jonah—the death and resurrection of Christ—is the ultimate expression of God’s love and compassion. Jonah, in his religious anger, prayed to God, saying, “Now, Lord, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live” (Jonah 4:3), but God did not grant his request, allowing him to remain in his bitterness. In contrast, Jesus willingly laid down His life out of love and grace, offering us the ultimate example of selfless compassion and forgiveness.

To turn this into a system of judgment is to betray the very heart of the gospel. Instead, we are called to reflect that same love and compassion in our own lives, extending grace to others just as it has been extended to us.

Let us take heed of this warning, resisting the pull towards a judgmental, religious spirit, and instead embracing the transformative power of grace that leads to true, lasting change. Let us reach out in love to those whom we may, in our theories, methodologies, and theologies, have labeled as sinners, lawbreakers, or ungodly. Rather than passing judgment, let us choose to show them the same love and compassion that has been freely given to us.