Matthew 12:38-45
Pharisees
Demand Miracles from Christ
( Asking
for Signs )
12:38
Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Him,
"Teacher, we want to see a sign from You."
39 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.
41 "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.
43 "Now when the unclean
spirit goes out of a man, it passes through
waterless places seeking rest, and does not find
it.
44 "Then it says, 'I will
return to my house from which I came'; and when it
comes, it finds it unoccupied, swept, and put in
order.
45 "Then it goes and takes
along with it seven other spirits more wicked than
itself, and they go in and live there; and the last
state of that man becomes worse than the first.
That is the way it will also be with this evil
generation."
This
is the Word of the Lord ... It is meant to change
the way we think, and the way we
live.
Commentary
by Bob Pardue
Asking for Signs from
God
Have you ever been in a
situation or circumstance where you've asked God
for help and just wished he would send a sign to
show he has heard your prayer? Life
would be much simpler if everything in God's plan
for us was crystal clear and we could see instant
miracles happening before our eyes every time we
prayed. Well, it's not quite that
simple.
As for the Pharisees, they
were asking for miracles, not for the good of
mankind but for the sake of proof that Jesus was
who he claimed to be ( The Messiah ). The
miraculous deeds Christ had performed up until this
time should have been proof enough so Jesus knew
their hearts. And, one more sign would be
meaningless. If the religious leaders were open to
believe, they would have done so
already.
Should We Ask For
Miracles In Order to Believe in
God?
In verse 39 Jesus answered
the Pharisees with "An evil and adulterous
generation craves for a sign;.." so the same
applies to us.
A Question of
Faith
The Bible clearly gives us
guidance and proof that Christ was born of Mary,
lived among us, died on the cross and rose again to
save us from sin. This is the foundation of
Christianity. Witnessing a miracle today would not
change these facts for us. In actuality, asking for
signs only serves to prove a lack of faith on our
part.
Instead of Looking for
Signs ..
We, as Christians, need to
follow in the footsteps of the faithful servants
who came before us and tell others the good news
about Jesus Christ instead of asking for signs to
prove Gods existence. Miracles do happen everyday
in Gods plan but don't expect them to always be
obvious. The outcome might not be what we expect.
Jesus prayed; "Your will be done .." and so
should we.
What We Should Do Instead
..
With myself included, trust
in God with faith, learn more about him through The
Bible, and help others to trust him too. This very
day someone might learn about Christ through
something we do or say. Then, we'll see the
greatest miracle of all!
Love In Christ
- Bob
If you are considering making
the commitment to receive the love and
life-changing experience of Jesus Christ, please
take a moment to read
John 3:16 for more
information.
Verses about miracles and asking for signs
are from New American Standard Bible -
Lesson from Life Application Bible - NIV
Version
Other
Bible Study Verses For Living
...
Matthew
11:1-19 - Jesus Eases Doubt of John the
Baptist
Matthew
11:20-30 - Rest for the
Soul
Matthew
12:1-14
- Jesus
and Working on the
Sabbath
Matthew
12:15-37 - Pharisees Accuse Jesus of Being Under
Satan - The Unpardonable
Sin
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