Looking for a sign

In Matthew 12:38 the scribes and Pharisees came to Jesus and said, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.” Essentially the Pharisees were asking Jesus to do something so miraculous that it would prove that he was indeed the Messiah. Jesus responded to their request with the following statement: “An evil and adulterous generation craves for a sign; and yet no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet.” It is hard to read these words and not hear the rebuke in them. It is obvious that Jesus denied the scribes’ and Pharisees’ request. He even exposed their request as being the cravings of an “evil and adulterous generation.” But does Jesus’ response condemn all requests for signs as being “evil and adulterous?” I do not believe it does.

In the second statement of his response to the scribes and Pharisees request, Jesus went on to explain what he had meant by the “sign of Jonah” – telling them that just as Jonah had been in the belly of the fish for three days and three nights, even so he would be in the “heart of the earth” three days and three nights. Clearly then Jesus actually was giving them a sign – just not the kind they were hoping for. By predicting that he would be in the “heart of the earth” for three days, and only three days, Jesus was directing the Scribes’ and Pharisees attention to his death and, more importantly, his resurrection.

Essentially Jesus was saying, “You want a sign? Ok, I’ll give you a sign – I will be dead and buried for three days, and then I will be alive again!” This is, in fact, exactly what Jesus said in John 2:19 after the religious leaders again had come to him and asked him essentially the same question: “What sign do You show us as your authority for doing these things?” Jesus responded to this question saying, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” As in the passage above, Jesus did not give the Jews what they were hoping for by performing some miracle on the spot, but rather he directed their attention to the future and the occasion of his resurrection. But it is still clear from this incident that Jesus did not consider every request for a sign evil. There are a number of other passages that make this clear as well.

In Judges 6:17 Gideon asked God, “Show me a sign that it is You who speak with me.” God granted his request in the form of the angel who was speaking to him miraculously consuming the sacrifice that Gideon had prepared and then vanishing from his sight. In 1 Kings 13:3-5 God gave King Jereboam a sign that the word that had been spoken to him was indeed from God by splitting an altar apart and pouring out its contents. In 2 Kings 20:8 Kings Hezekiah asked God for a sign that he would be healed. God answered king Hezekiah through Isaiah the prophet, and actually altered the rotation of the earth so that the shadow on a sundial would be turned back a period of several hours! In Isaiah 7:10-11 God spoke to king Ahaz saying, “Ask a sign for yourself from the Lord your God; make it deep as Sheol or high as heaven.” Then when Ahaz said he would not test the Lord by asking for a sign, God accused him of trying his patience and told him he would give him a sign anyway. God then went on to promise, “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.”

I believe the real reason Jesus rebuked the Pharisees was two-fold. First, it is unlikely that they would have believed him even if he had done a miracle on the spot. And second, they should not have needed one. Jesus had already fulfilled so many Old Testament prophecies, and would fulfill so many more, that they should have recognized him for who he was without seeing another sign. Similarly, if we are asking God to do something miraculous to prove that Jesus is who the Bible says he is then God will almost surely not give us the “sign” we are seeking. On the other hand, if we are genuinely asking God to confirm a personal word we think he might have spoken to us then I believe God will grant our request – even giving us a “sign” of some kind if necessary.