John Calvin Commentary Matthew 12:41

"The men of Nineveh shall stand up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, a greater than Jonah is here." — Matthew 12:41 (ASV)

The men of Nineveh will rise in judgment. Having spoken of the Ninevites, Christ takes occasion to show that the scribes and others, by whom His doctrine is rejected, are worse than the Ninevites were.

“Ungodly men,” He says, “who never had heard a word of the true God, repented at the voice of an unknown and foreign person who came to them; while this country, which is the sanctuary of heavenly doctrine, does not hear the Son of God, and the promised Redeemer.” Here lies the contrast which is implied in the comparison.

We know who the Ninevites were: men altogether unaccustomed to hearing prophets and destitute of the true doctrine. Jonah had no rank to secure their respect but was likely to be rejected as a foreigner.

The Jews, on the other hand, boasted that among them the Word of God had its seat and habitation. If they had beheld Christ with pure eyes,¹⁶⁷ they must have acknowledged not only that He was a teacher sent from heaven but also that He was the Messiah, and the promised Author of Salvation.

But if that nation was convicted of desperate ungodliness for despising Christ while He spoke to them on earth, we are worse than all the unbelievers that ever existed if the Son of God, now that He inhabits His sanctuary in heaven and addresses us with a heavenly voice, does not bring us to obey Him.

Whether the men of Nineveh were truly and perfectly turned to God I judge it unnecessary to inquire. It is enough for the present purpose that they were so deeply affected by the teaching of Jonah as to have their minds directed to repentance.

¹⁶⁷ “D’un oeil pur, et sans mauvaise affection;” — “with a pure eye, and without evil disposition.”;” — “with a pure eye, and without evil disposition.”