Seeking a Sign
Notes
Transcript
Introduction:
How many of you like magic tricks? I remember as a child I got a book of magic tricks. Most of them were some form of card trick and the key to it was to get really good with slight of hand. I was nothing like the magicians that we see on TV or in the shows people go to see.
Some of you may have gone to one of these shows before. They can do some spectacular tricks like sawing people in half, making whole buildings disappear, and even levitating people.
Some people don’t care for these shows because they know they are fake. Others, despite knowing this, still love them to try to figure out how the trick is performed. We even have a whole show called Pen and Teller: Fool Us where people try to trick the magicians and they try to see if they can figure out the trick.
People want to be entertained and it was no different during Jesus ministry. To be clear, Jesus was not performing parlor tricks, but was doing impossible things. We call them miracles because they are supernatural in nature. Yet, despite the numerous signs that Jesus performed, the Pharisees wanted more. They were seeking a sign, not to believe in Jesus, but to condemn him.
A lot of people today will do the same. They will never believe, no matter what the evidence points to. However, for the one who truly is seeking proof, there is one sign that points to the true identity of Jesus that shines above the rest.
38 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, “Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.”
39 But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.
40 For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
41 The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.
42 The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here.
1. The Demand for a Sign (v.38)
1. The Demand for a Sign (v.38)
38 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, “Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.”
Jesus has performed a ton of miracles
These miracles are indisputable. The Pharisees had been left with no other explanation than that Jesus was doing this by Satan’s power
No matter what miracles Jesus performed, they would not accept the possibility that Jesus was who he said he was
Our culture looks at Jesus and the Bible and the proof of Christianity the same way. They have started with the presupposition that there is no possibility that Jesus is the Savior of the World or that Christianity could be true. They would rather believe that life on this planet was seeded by aliens or that random chance and millions of years produced the incredible design that we see.
What about you? Do you believe? John’s gospel is one that was written based on the major signs or miracles that Jesus did that prove the identity of Jesus. If you will look at the gospel and come with as much of a blank slate as you can, you will see that Jesus is who He says He is.
2. The Response from the Word (vv. 39-40)
2. The Response from the Word (vv. 39-40)
39 But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.
40 For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
Jesus is the Word of God and He turns not to another miracle, but to the Bible and an account that took place long before He came to this earth.
He essentially is saying, if you will not believe me and what I’ve already shown you, you will not get any other sign but the one already given in the Bible.
The Sign of Jonah is the sign of Jesus death, burial, and resurrection. Jonah was a type that pointed to Christ.
Jesus affirms the historicity of the story of Jonah
Jonah was in the belly of the great fish for 3 days and 3 nights. This is an idiom that did not literally mean a full 72 hours.
We use these expressions when we say, “I would walk 500 miles for you.” We don’t mean that we would not walk 501 or that we would ever get to 500 in the first place!
Jews counted days from sundown to sundown so when Jesus is placed in the tomb on Friday before sundown, he is counted as being in the tomb on Friday as the first day.
Think about the parallels in the account of Jonah and Jesus
Jonah and Jesus were sent to a lost people to proclaim judgment and salvation in God
Jonah had disobeyed, but Jesus had fully obeyed God
Jonah and Jesus were both sent to lost, wicked people
The only salvation for the sailors was for Jonah to be thrown overboard. Jesus also had to die for the sins of the elect
Both Jonah and Jesus were in the heart of the earth for 3 day.
Both Jonah and Jesus were brought back from the grave. Jonah may or may not have died in the belly of the fish, but Jesus most definitely died in his humanity. Both were brought back to the living demonstrating their revelation
Nineveh saw Jonah and the signs of his resurrection (the stomach acids probably bleached his skin) and they repented. Jesus demonstrated his resurrection, yet many people refused to believe.
3. The Coming Judgement (vv. 41-42)
3. The Coming Judgement (vv. 41-42)
41 The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.
42 The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here.
Jesus warns anyone who will not believe that judgment is coming
Think about why Jonah didn’t want to go to Nineveh. They were so wicked and he didn’t want them to repent and for God to relent. The Jews that Jesus was sent to were far better morally speaking, and yet they were more hard hearted than the wicked people of Nineveh.
The illustration of the Queen of Sheba coming to hear the wisdom of Solomon at first seems out of place. How does it fit with what Jesus is talking about?
Jesus is completing the trifecta in identifying himself.
He has said something greater than the temple is here in v. 6.
He has said something greater than the prophet Jonah is here v.41.
He finishes by saying something greater than King Solomon is here v.42.
When you add these all up, you get the message that Jesus is better than prophet, priest, and king?
Conclusion
What is left is for you to look at the signs. Look at the evidence and heed the warning.
Will you trust in the revealed identity of Jesus as the Son of God?
Jonah preached his message and went outside of the city to wait and watch. He was hoping they would not repent and that God would bring judgement on them.
We are called to be different. We are called to preach the message of the gospel and pray that God would lead the nations to repentance.
We need the gospel more now than ever. Without the gospel our world is doomed. Jesus has come and given us signs that point to who He is. The only question is will we we believe him?