“Looking for the Signs”
Matthew 12:38-42
Sermon Series: Kingdom
Expectations
I.
The Unbelief
That Was Displayed (v. 38).
Then
some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Him, “Teacher, we
want to see a sign from You.”
The scribes and
Pharisees came to Jesus with what may sound on the surface like a
polite request. However, this demand for a sign signaled a
deteriorating relationship between Jesus and the Jewish leadership.
Near the end of
Jesus' Galilean ministry, the Pharisees and Sadducees would once
again put Jesus to the test with the same demand: “The
Pharisees came out and began to argue with Him, demanding of Him a
sign from heaven to test Him”
(Mark 8:11 HCSB). Luke 11:6 (HCSB) says: “And
others, as a test, were demanding of Him a sign from heaven.”
Notice that the
phrase “from heaven” clarified the intent of the question. The
Jewish leaders were demanding proof that Jesus' authority was from
God. The request for a sign could be easily misunderstood as a
request for a mighty deed or miracle. The text, however, does not use
the word that is translated “miracle” (dunameis),
but rather the word for “sign” (sēmeion).1
The request for a
sign was not a demand to perform another miracle. They had seen
plenty of those. The Pharisees and Sadducees had seen Jesus heal the
paralytic (9:1-8), give sight to two blind men (9:27-31), cast out
unclean spirits (9:32-34), and more recently healed the man with a
withered hand (12:9-14). They were not asking for another miracle.
Rather, they were demanding that Jesus provide them a unique,
indisputable sign that would confirm that His ministry was approved
and empowered by God.2
Spiritual Truth
#1: When
we demand God provide us “signs,” we display a spirit of
unbelief.
The context of
Matthew 12 can be best described with two words: rejection and
conflict. Despite the fact that the Twelve joined Jesus in the
preaching of the gospel throughout Galilee, the response was mixed at
best. Many people continued to come out to see the miracles, but the
number of Israelites who were repenting and committing their lives to
follow Jesus was few.
Likewise today, many
people say, “If I could just see a real miracle, then I can believe
in Jesus.” Or, “If God would just give me this confirmation
___________, then my faith will be strengthened.”
What is the nature
of biblical faith?
1.
Biblical
faith is grounded
in God's greater realities (Hebrews 11:1).
“Now
faith is the assurance
of things hoped for, the conviction
of things not seen.”
The word assurance is
translated from the word hypostasis,
which communicates the idea of substance, confidence, a guarantee, or
a proof.3
So,
we can translate this part of Hebrews 11:1, “Now faith is the
resolute confidence. . .”
The examples that follow in Hebrews 11 demonstrate a firm confidence
in the promises of God even though the believer had not yet received
the fulfillment of those promises.
The second part of
verse 1 says, “the
conviction of things not seen.”
The
word “conviction” used here is not a static emotion of
complacency. It is something lively and active which propels a
believer to stretch out their hand and lay hold of those realities on
which his or her hope is fixed.
Some realities are
unseen because they belong to the spiritual realm and some because
they lie in the future. In either case, the person of faith lives out
a bold confidence in God's greater realities.4
2.
Biblical
faith is evidenced
by the salvation of an individual.
Ephesians
2:8, “For
by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of
yourselves, it is the gift of God...”
3.
Biblical
faith is rooted
in the testimony of God's Word.
Romans
15:4, “For
whatever was written in earlier times was written for our
instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of
the Scriptures we might have hope.”
When we ask God for a
“sign” we ignore the overwhelming evidence He has already given
us: Jesus' birth, death, resurrection, and ascension, centuries of
work in believers around the world, and the testimony of the Bible.
We must accept what
God has given us and move forward.
II.
The
Comparisons
That Were Drawn (vv. 39-40).
But
He answered and said to them, “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; 40 for
just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of
the sea monster, so will the Son of Man be three days and
three nights in the heart of the earth.”
Jesus'
response to the request for a sign, both here and in other scenes
reflects His frustration with the Jewish leadership's rejection. Mark
captured the spirit of Jesus' response by noting that He sighed
“deeply in His spirit” before responding (Mark 8:12).5
Jesus
began by rebuking the Jewish leadership, and by extension, Israel:
“An
evil
and adulterous
generation demands a sign.”
The
term translated “evil” has the sense of a wicked, degenerate
person. The term translated “adulterous” brings back to mind the
prophet Hosea, who made use of the precise phrase to describe the
behavior of Israel and their relationship with God. It also recalls
Moses' indictment of disobedient Israelites in his generation: “His
[God's] people have acted corruptly toward Him; this is their
defect-they are not His children but a devious and crooked
generation”
(Deut. 32:5 HCSB).
Thus,
by His choice of words, Jesus compared the current generation of
Israelites with two tragic ears in Israel's history: the idolatrous
and faithless generation of Israelites who refused to enter the
Promised Land and died in the wilderness, and the eighth-century
Israelites who were a disobedient, lawless, rebellious, and wicked
generation in desperate need of repentance.6
Then
Jesus tells them the only sign they will receive is the “sign
of the prophet Jonah” (v. 39).
This points to the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. The most
significant aspect of the comparison is the length of time Jonah was
in the belly of the fish “three days and three nights” (Jonah
2:1).
In
the same way, Jesus following His crucifixion was buried in “the
heart of the earth.” Jesus overcame death and was raised on the
third day. In conclusion, what was the sign of Jonah? It was the
parallel experience of Jonah’s miraculous deliverance from the
belly of the fish and Jesus’ miraculous deliverance from the belly
of the earth. In short, the sign of Jonah pointed to the death,
burial, and resurrection of Jesus.
Spiritual
Truth #2: We
must evaluate the opposition to our faith, and emulate Jesus'
response.
Opposition
to the work of the kingdom of God is real. Jesus was opposed by the
religious leaders of His time. In our obedience to the Father's will
for our lives, we too can expect opposition. Jesus
said in Matthew 10:25 (NIV), “It
is enough for the student to be like his teacher, and the servant
like his master. If the head of the house has been called Beelzebub,
how much more the members of his household.”
The
opposition that we encounter will be of a variety of different types.
In today's culture, we will encounter opposition to our faith from
popular culture. The Christian community in the United States was
rocked during the summer of 2002 when a panel of the U.S. 9th
Circuit Court of Appeals struck down a 1954 law passed by Congress
that added the reference “under God” to the Pledge of Allegiance.
The
court said these words violate the establishment clause of the First
Amendment, which requires the separation of church and state.7
More
recent incidents include a married couple in Colorado who owned The
Masterpiece Cakeshop,
being sued for refusing to bake a cake for a homosexual wedding in
June of 2013. The most recent is the Supreme Court legalizing gay
marriage in all 50 states in June of 2015.
These
incidents clearly indicate our culture is increasingly opposed to the
public display of any acknowledgment of the reality of God and His
will for us.
Within
Jesus' prediction of the inevitability of opposition, we also should
look for His example in dealing with it. Matthew develops his
narrative in such a way that as one looks at the life of Jesus, one
not only learns what it is for Jesus to be the Messiah, but also what
it is to be His disciple by emulating the life He lived.
Michael
J. Wilkins defines love this way: “Love is an unconditional
commitment to an imperfect person in which we give ourselves to bring
the relationship to God's intended purpose.”8
As
we encounter opposition, we must love as Jesus loved. Here are some
“tips for wounded disciples.”9
1.
Give
yourself to others.
It
was Jesus' love, character, and grace that permeated this world. The
world needs to see in us the embodiment of Jesus' love, compassion,
and character. Relationships become cold and lifeless if based only
on duty. When we give ourselves to others, we establish real
relationship.
2.
Focus
on serving, rather than being served.
When
we follow Jesus' example of ministry, we find that He came to give,
not take. That was the Father's intended purpose in sending His Son
(John 3:16; Rom. 5:8). Jesus came not to be served but to serve and
to give His life as a ransom for His people. Such an attitude of
giving should also characterize our relationships.
3.
Yield
to God's expectations for you in your relationships.
Jesus
maintained a clear perspective of His Father's will for His life and
ministry and was not deterred by what others expected Him to be. He
was the Messiah of Israel offering forgiveness for the sins of the
people and remained fully focused on that calling. Our lives and
ministries wills stay focused when we try to bring any of our
relationships to what God desires, not necessarily what we, or what
others, want.
4.
Choose carefully the hills you die on.
Jesus
knew clearly that His mission of establishing the kingdom of heaven
would lead Him to the cross for the redemption of humanity. He did
not get caught up in petty squabbles. To use modern terms, He majored
on the majors, not on the minors.
III.
The Warning
That Was Delivered (12:41-42).
“The
men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation at the judgment,
and will condemn it because they repented at the preaching of Jonah;
and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.
42 The
Queen of the
South will rise up with this generation at the judgment and will
condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the
wisdom of Solomon; and behold, something greater than Solomon is
here.”
Spiritual
Truth #3: Our
generation will be held to a stricter accountability because of the
revelation given to us.
Jesus
made two comparisons that describe two different attitudes to the
gospel. The first is a comparison to the Ninevites and His hearers.
They both heard God’s call for repentance from God’s chosen
messenger. As a result of Jonah’s preaching, the men of Nineveh
“believed
in God. They proclaimed a fast and dressed in sackcloth-from the
greatest of them to the least”
(Jonah 3:5 HCSB).
As
a result, God turned from the disaster He had threatened (Jonah
3:10).
The
Gentile witnesses against that generation of Israelites on the Day of
Judgment will not be limited to the Ninevites. Jesus added that “the
queen of the south will rise up at the judgment with this generation
and condemn it.”
The
queen of the south is a reference to the Queen of Sheba (see 1 Kings
10:1-13; 2 Chron. 9:1-12). The queen had traveled from the ends of
the earth to hear Solomon’s wisdom. This pagan queen’s response
to the Wisdom of Solomon signified repentance and faith in the God of
Solomon.
In
both instances, Jesus said the response of repentance we because,
“something
greater than Jonah and Solomon was there”-Jesus.
Our
generation and any subsequent generations will be held under a
stricter accountability at the judgment because we have a greater
testimony than previous generations. We have Jesus, both Testaments,
and the testimony of the Church down through the ages.
Matthew
11:16-20 (ESV):
“But
to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting
in the marketplaces and calling to their playmates,
17 “‘We
played the flute for you, and you did not dance;
we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.’
we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.’
18 For
John came neither
eating nor
drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ 19 The
Son of Man came eating
and drinking, and they say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a
drunkard, a
friend of tax
collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is justified by her deeds.”
On
January 28, 1986, NASA was planning to launch the space shuttle
Challenger from Kennedy Space Center—a mission that included a
schoolteacher named Christa McAuliffe. The launch had already been
delayed a few times. On the night before the new launch date, NASA
held a long conference call with engineers from Morton-Thiokol, the
contractor that built the Challenger's solid-rocket motors. Allan
McDonald was one of the Thiokol engineers.
On
the day of the launch it was unusually cold in Florida, which
concerned McDonald because he feared that his company's O-ring seals
in the Challenger's big joints wouldn't operate properly at that
temperature. Since the boosters had never been tested below 53
degrees McDonald recommended the launch be postponed again.
But
NASA officials overruled McDonald and requested that the "responsible
Morton-Thiokol official" sign off on the decision to launch.
McDonald refused to sign the request, but his boss did. The next
morning McDonald—and millions of people around the globe—watched
as a mere 73 seconds into the flight, the shuttle burst into flames.
After
the accident, a review showed the cause of the explosion to be what
McDonald had feared: the O-rings failed to hold their seal in the
cold temperature. In other words, some people in the know had
foreseen the exact cause of failure.10
They
ignored the overwhelming evidence presented before them. And the
result was death. We have presented overwhelming evidence of the
truthfulness of the gospel. God has given us the full testimony of
His Word, the indwelling Holy Spirit, and the evidence of salvation.
Today, what are you going to do with this evidence?
1 Gregory
T. Pouncey, Commentary on Matthew 12:38-42, Explore the Bible
(Nashville: Lifeway Resources, 2015), 125.
2 Ibid.
3 George
H. Guthrie, Hebrews, The NIV Application Commentary (Grand
Rapids: Zondervan, 1998), 374.
4 Ibid.
5 Pouncey,
126.
6 Pouncey,
126.
7 Michael
J. Wilkins, Matthew, The NIV Application Commentary (Grand
Rapids: Zondervan, 2004), 461.
8 Wilkins,
463.
9 The
following points were modified from Wilkin's commentary on Matthew,
463-468.
10
Illustration taken from preachingtoday.com, “Pride and the
1986 Challenger Disaster,” accessed 21 February 2016, available
from
http://www.preachingtoday.com/illustrations/2015/may/2052515.html;
Internet.
