A greater than Solomon is here

Jonah is one of the 12 minor prophets of the Old Testament. Even the Jewish Scripture put it in the Prophets group, even though scholars fail to locate him in history. (Strictly speaking, Jewish Scripture is not identical with the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. It is divided in 3 groups: Torah, the Prophets and the Holy Writings. Interested readers may visit the Mechon Mamre site to take a look. The Christian Old Testament is actually a Greek translation called Septuagint which is divided into 4 groups instead of 3: Pentateuch, the so-called 5 books of Moses; history books; wisdom books and the Prophets. The positioning of different Old Testament books in the Christian Bible follows that of Septuagint.) The story of Jonah is more likely a short fiction to criticize the prejudice of self-righteous people.

God commissioned Jonah to preach to the Ninevites against their wickedness. But Jonah was angry with the mercy God shown towards them (Jonah 4:1). He overwrote God's commission and ran to the opposite direction instead. God had to take the troubles to send a heavy storm and a big whale to carry Jonah to Nineveh. Jonah 3 tells how Jonah causally yelled "Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown" (Jonah 3:4) and the people believed God and repented! How amazing! Jonah did not work any miracles nor tell the people what remedies to take and yet they repented. So, it must be God's work, not Jonah's. (Remember the parable of seeds that grow by themselves (Mark 4:26-29)? It is God's work, not the preachers that makes the good news bear fruits.) All that commission, that runaway, that storm, that whale and that repentance were God's arrangement. Therefore, the whole story targets not the sinners, but the self-righteous Jonah. Be careful. I am reading the New Testament back into the Old Testament. It may not be a legitimate procedure. Without the light of the New Testament, I am sure the Jews would interpret the whole story in a totally different way. In their eyes, Jonah might not be self-righteous at all.
When we talk about self-righteousness, we will surely remember Jesus' famous line: "I came not to call the righteous, but sinners" (Mark 2:17b). St. Paul says "since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). We have to admit that we have soft-spots and weaknesses. Some are hidden. Others are more conspicuous. All of us need God's healing. Sinners are more aware of this need. Only the righteous do not see such needs. They are in greater danger of losing their souls. The learned Pharisees were in such a danger. Didn't they know Jonah's story? Why did they still criticize Jesus for his dining with tax-collectors (Mark 2:16)? And why didn't Jesus answer them with Jonah's story, but give them a metaphor of physicians instead (Mark 2:17)? Probably the readers of Mark were not familiar with Jonah's story but this explanation is not satisfactory because Luke quoted Jonah. Still, the failure of the Pharisees to apply Jonah's lesson is harder to explain. Therefore, the only conclusion is that Jesus and his contemporary Jews understood Jonah's story in a totally different way from ours. We need to find out how they interpret Jonah's story. Beware, learned people can be very blind.

In the reading of Luke 11:29-32, Jesus was disappointed by the demand of a miracle from the Pharisees. While Mark (8:12) says Jesus refused them bluntly, Matthew (16:4) and Luke (11:29)say that the sign of Jonah (meaning his resurrection) would be given. Luke continues to warn that the Queen of Sheba and the people of Nineveh would arise on Judgment Day to condemn the unbelieving Jews. The Queen of Sheba came to hear the wisdom of Solomon and
behold, something greater than Solomon is here (11:31 RSV).
behold, a greater than Solomon is here (KJV).
看，這裡有一位大於撒羅滿的! (思高)
ἰδοὺ πλεῖον Σολομῶνος ὧδε.
πλεῖον means 'more than' and the gender is neuter. This time, I like the KJV translation better because it is nearer to the Greek original.
The Queen of Sheba came to Solomon because of Solomon's fame of wisdom. But I don't think Jonah was famous in Nineveh. Yet, the Ninevites repented at his preaching (Luke 11:32). His preaching would probably stir up their conscience. However, the most satisfactory reason would be God's grace. While wisdom brings life and preaching that leads to repentance also results in rebirth, Jesus was in fact, claiming greater authority over Solomon and Jonah because He is the very source of life. Praise to You, Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

My God, Your mercy overcomes our self-righteousness. Enlighten us that we may see clearly weaknesses we are blind to. Purge our hearts of arrogance that we may humbly receive Your wisdom, share Your eternal life. Amen.