signs
20 - 02/25 /11:47
“A wicked and adulterous generation looks for a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah.”
— Matthew chapter 16
1st century religious leaders asked Jesus to show them a sign from heaven demonstrating He had God’s approval and acted with divine authority. Those who seek a sign raise three problems.
First, they test God. Matthew recounts the religious leaders “tested” Jesus by asking for a sign. Shockingly, Matthew identified the religious leaders with the devil who “tested” Jesus in the wilderness. Question is: why did these religious leaders not join the crowds following Jesus? If they had they would have witnessed miracles. Other religious leaders in the crowds following Jesus saw miracles.
Second, they seek a sign. Depending upon how one reads the text, the religious leaders may have wanted a sign in the sky. Jesus’ public miracles always benefited people: restoring sight to the blind, making the lame walk, or feeding hungry crowds. Miracles displayed power and mercy. Jesus miracles announced that the kingdom of heaven had come near.
Third, they want a performance. The religious leaders prioritized performance over mercy. Why did they not accept the testimony from the hundreds, thousands of people who witnessed Jesus’ miracles? Did the want a spectacle? Perhaps thunder or stilling a storm or producing a heavenly cloud. In fact, Jesus did these three things—thunder heard by a crowd, a storm calmed for the disciples, a shining cloud enveloped Peter, James and John.
Chrysostom of Constantinople (398-404) opined, “Had the religious leaders come with readiness to believe He would have given such a sign. Jesus had just given such a sign to a Canaanite woman who pleaded for her demon-possessed daughter. But they did not seek to believe so Jesus left them, dismissing the religious leaders as wicked and adulterous.”
Christians sometimes pray for signs and wonders. I, too, would like to see signs from heaven—miracles that might serve as evidence for the Lordship of Jesus.
But would they? Miracles attract crowds but do they prompt faith in Jesus?
Jesus offers an answer. He responded to the religious leaders, “A wicked and adulterous generation looks for a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah. For as Jonah was three days in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days in the heart of the earth. The people of Nineveh will condemn this generation; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, but something greater than Jonah is here. The Queen of Sheba will condemn this generation; for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon’s wisdom, but something greater than Solomon is here.”
A sign has been given. The resurrected Jesus walked out of the tomb. Death has been defeated. A portal to the kingdom of heaven has been opened. Those who confess faith in Jesus are empowered to access that portal. Those who seek another sign, Jesus dismissed as wicked. ~
Blessings,
Dan Nygaard