Ember Wednesday of Lent

The scribes and Pharisees came to Jesus demanding to see a sign. Is this an honest request? Not at all. Only a few verses earlier Jesus had amazed the multitudes by healing a demon-possessed man who was also blind and mute. The Pharisees were being wicked and deceptive, pretending that God had not spoken clearly, when He had. “Show us a sign. Perform a miracle. We’d like to believe that you are the Son of God, if only you would present us with some actual evidence.” These words might sound pious, but they come from a stubborn heart that is firmly resisting God and His Word.

Jesus rebuked the Pharisees, saying, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah” (12:39). They had already been given dozens of signs. They had literally witnessed miracle after miracle. Yet their blind eyes refused them all. At the baptism of Jesus, God the Father spoke from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased” (Mt 3:17). Could He have been more clear? And yet the Pharisees claimed, “If you would only give us proof, we’d believe that you are the Son of God.”

The Roman Church makes a similar claim: “We would believe and follow God’s Word, if only it could be understand. But it’s not clear. No one except the pope can properly interpret the Scriptures.” And why does the Roman Church claim that the Bible is not clear? So that it can hold to doctrines and practices that are contrary to what God has spoken.

But let’s not stop with the papists. Lutherans do this too. We often pretend that God has not spoken clearly on any number of issues so that we’re free to do as we please. “Of course, God’s Word is true, but it really doesn’t say anything about marriage, or the roles of men and women in society and the Church, or tithing, or contraception, or divorce, or abortion, or any other contentious issue. God, if only you had told us Your will, we’d be happy to do it, but since You haven’t given us a sign, we’ll just have to live however we want…”

And then we are free to adopt the worldview of the surrounding culture. Instead of swimming against the current and incurring the wrath of our demonically inspired world, as the Church is called to do, we are more often content to drift along with the cultural tide. It’s easier to blend in than it is to be light and salt to this dying world. It’s easy to echo the cultural platitude, “Keep the Church out of politics!”, as though the Word of God only has bearing on our lives for the hour or two we spend in church. And even as we court the praise and approval of our perishing world, we could excuse this away saying, “If God had only given us a sign… If only His Word had anything to say about how I live the other 167 hours of every week.”

Jesus answers, “No sign shall be given except the sign of the prophet Jonah.” What is the sign of the prophet Jonah? It is the death and burial of our Lord Jesus, crucified and raised for sinners such as you and I. This sign is a call to repentance. God has spoken clearly. We can’t claim that He hasn’t. With his death, our Lord Jesus purchases every part of our lives, waking and sleeping, from the power of Satan. There is no corner of our lives that belongs only to us. God’s Word has bearing and rule in every sphere of our lives, including our jobs, marriages, finances, and every other aspect. And this Word can be known and understood by any person who has the Holy Spirit, the same Spirit you received when you were baptized. It is the Holy Spirit who breaks through your sinful and stubborn heart and gives you the desire to believe in Jesus and live according to His Word.

No sign will be given except Christ and Him crucified. Why? Because no other sign is necessary. Salvation is from Jesus alone, and even if you were once wicked as the pagans of Nineveh, this sign is given for you. Amen.