Matthew 12:38-40
‘Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.” But He answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation craves a sign; and so no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah the prophet; for just as JONAH WAS IN THE STOMACH OF THE SEA MONSTER FOR THREE DAYS AND THREE NIGHTS, so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights.”‘
Some may say, “What’s wrong with having proof?” God understands that. He has given enough evidence for Him, Jesus and His way. Romans 1:19,20 says, “For what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood from His workmanship, so that men are without excuse.” The point is there is far too much perfection in creation to think that it evolved on its own. There had to be a designer. I used to read material to assist in debating an unbeliever. Some may be called to that. I don’t see the need. There is already enough evidence according to these verses.
All right, there is a God. How can we say it’s the God of the bible and His Son, Jesus. God has provided enough evidence there through biblical prophecy. There is plenty of it in the bible. One such prophecy is about king Cyrus from Assyria. The prophet Isaiah spoke of him 150 years before it would be fulfilled. He would be the ruler that would send Israel back to Jerusalem from their 70 year captivity in Babylon. It’s in Isaiah 44:28, “It is I who says of Cyrus, ‘He is My shepherd, And he will carry out all My desire.’ And he says of Jerusalem, ‘She will be built,’ And of the temple, ‘Your foundation will be laid.’”
As I was looking this up online, I came across a good example of this. It’s from the Faith Baptist Seminary. ‘Imagine in 1830 that someone in the then 54-year-old United States of America predicted by name in writing that a future president, who himself had formerly been a Hollywood actor, would be instrumental in ending the Cold War with the Soviet Union some 150 years later—in the 1980s! What do you suppose the people back in the early 19th century would have thought? Perhaps their first questions would be: “What’s a Cold War?”, “What’s a Soviet Union?”, “What’s Hollywood?”, And then, “How could an actor be elected president?” God did this to give us confidence in Him and His Word, the bible.
Then what about Jesus. There are many prophecies about Him. He fulfilled 300 prophecies in His lifetime and 27 of them in one day. They are easy to look up. That is mathematically impossible. Some may say, “He worked to fulfill them Himself.” He may have done that for some, but many were out of His control. As to His birth, going to Egypt as a child and so on. Look on line and read them. It’s not possible.
God did this to satisfy questions we may have. We have enough proof. He understands our need for this. I can recall having doubts as a young believer. I can also recall them being satisfied. God is good.
So, those who ask for signs are testing God. We see in Matthew 4:5-7 that we aren’t to do so. ‘Then the devil took Him along into the holy city and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, and he said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down; for it is written: ‘HE WILL GIVE HIS ANGELS ORDERS CONCERNING YOU’; and ‘ON THEIR HANDS THEY WILL LIFT YOU UP, SO THAT YOU DO NOT STRIKE YOUR FOOT AGAINST A STONE.’” Jesus said to him, “On the other hand, it is written: ‘YOU SHALL NOT PUT THE LORD YOUR GOD TO THE TEST.’”
The pharisees were testing Jesus. He calls them an evil generation. There relationship was quite contentious. Jesus turned up the temperature during Holy Week. It caused Judas to betray Him and the pharisees were only happy to oblige. They sent Him to His death. While those watching were horified, it was God’s plan.
Lord, thank you for Your Word as well as Your miracle in creation. You provide us enough evidence to trust You. Thank You.