Matthew 12:38-42
Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to him, “Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.” But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation asks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For just as Jonah was for three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so for three days and three nights the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth. The people of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the proclamation of Jonah, and see, something greater than Jonah is here! The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to listen to the wisdom of Solomon, and see, something greater than Solomon is here!”
Signs, in my experience, are often overrated. Why? Because you typically accept a sign only if it already confirms your prior wants or desires. Believe in God and you will see all kinds of signs for God’s existence. Don’t believe, and the same things that convince a believer will leave you unmoved. Signs, in this sense, are kind of like the shapes someone may see in the clouds – their veracity is totally in the eye of the beholder.
Jesus seems to say something similar to Pharisees, but takes it one step further. Even asking for a sign is a problem. Not, I think, because Jesus doesn’t sympathize with their – or our! – desire for something to help us in our belief. But more because they were not really looking for a sign in order to believe, but rather to test him and, more likely, in the hope of discrediting him.
As if to drive his point home, Jesus moves from their request at offering a simple sign to offering the greatest sign – really, the greatest miracle – they would ever see: his resurrection after three days in the tomb. Why does he offer this “super-sign” after rejecting their request? Because he knows that those who doubt and reject him will not be convinced even when they hear reports that he has been raised from the dead.
Prayer: Dear God, let us see and rejoice in the manifold signs of your presence in our life that we may give thanks for the greatest sign and promise of the resurrection of your Son. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
In the past, I’ve not asked for them, but the Holy Spirit has supplied me with what I like to call “shutter” moments. A camera shutter opens up to catch the image then closes. In this same way, I’ve been afforded different opportunities to have moments where this faith thing and Jesus are absolutely real and then there are the other times when one is not so sure. In spite of having signs or not, faith and hope carry me through.