“Signs, Warnings and Relationships”

Series: The Gospel Truth

Text: Matt 12:38-50

Introduction: (What?)

Most of us remember our parents giving us warnings regarding things like crossing the street, taking candy from strangers and the kind of people we should not hang out with. Often we would reply with that dreaded question; “Why?” Also our parents always wanted us to to a complete job whenever we were given a task to do. In the passage today, Jesus took the role of parent and dealt with issues that both believers and unbelievers face.

Examination: (Why?)

1. I’ve Already Told You; (vv 38-42)

Mt 12:38-42 “Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.” He answered them, “An evil and adulterous (spiritual adultery) generation demands a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was in the belly of the huge fish three days and three nights, so the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights. The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at Jonah’s preaching; and look—something greater than Jonah is here. The queen of the south will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and look—something greater than Solomon is here.”

In yet another attempt to disparage Jesus and His earthly ministry some of the scribes and Pharisees requested a “miracle on demand” to validate His ministry, even though they had personally seen many miracles of Jesus already. As usual when questioned by the scribes and Pharisees, Jesus took them to OT scriptures that they were very familiar with. However, they had no idea of the implications of those scriptures to the life and ministry of Jesus. In essence Jesus was saying to them, “I’ve already told you all you need to know, you just need to understand it fully.” The bottom line though is that Jesus did not and does not perform miracles on demand. He has no need to present evidence of who He is. The scriptures are adequate proof of who Jesus is and what He does.

Looking back to Jonah’s story, the part that Jesus was referring to was Jonah’s perceived death, burial in the belly of the fish for 3 days and “resurrection” in being delivered from the fish’s belly. This reference to 3 days in the tomb is a stumbling block to some people who don’t understand the Jewish mindset. When we think of 3 days we think of three 24 hour periods. Therefore some people think that Jesus was crucified on either Wednesday or Thursday. To the Jew 3 days meant any part of a 24 hour period, thus Friday afternoon until Sunday morning represented 3 days.

The request of the scribes and Pharisees was designed to back Jesus into a corner. In their minds, if He didn’t deliver by performing a miracle, then He was not the Messiah. Jesus’s reply took them back to the past and forward to the future. The prophetic implications of Jonah’s experience would not be fulfilled until the resurrection of Jesus. Hopefully these people remembered what Jesus said after His resurrection.

Then Jesus declared His position in history when He said, “something greater than Jonah is here” and “something greater than Solomon is here.” When Jonah preached, all of Nineveh repented. When the Queen of Sheba saw the glory of Solomon first hand, she was blown away. Yet the scribes and Pharisees, who had seen Jesus’s miracles, still demanded more evidence. I’ve heard, as I’m sure you have, testimonies of people who challenged God by saying, “God, if You are who You say you are, prove it by doing thus and so”. That is just like the Scribes and Pharisees. There are times when, in His grace, God does respond to sincere questions of those who need a nudge to put their faith in Christ, but it is a dangerous thing to do if you are already aware of the revelation of God through His Word. In this instance Jesus knew the intent of their request and refused to play their game.

2. The Danger of Incomplete Repentance (vv 43-45)

Mt 12:43-45 “When an unclean spirit comes out of a person, it roams through waterless places looking for rest but doesn’t find any. Then it says, ‘I’ll go back to my house that I came from.’ Returning, it finds the house vacant, swept, and put in order. Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and settle down there. As a result, that person’s last condition is worse than the first. That’s how it will also be with this evil generation.”

When Jesus cast a demon out of someone, their lives were transformed by their faith in Him as Messiah. Rather than being possessed by a demon, they were possessed by Christ from that point on. However, when the Jewish exorcists cast out demons, there was no full repentance on the part of the person who had been set free. John McArthur notes that this describes a person who attempts “moral reform” without being made new through complete repentance followed by faith in Christ. It is like a person going to the doctor because of their breathing problems. He prescribes medicine to help with their problem, but warns, “You’ve go to stop smoking, or these problems will just come back.” There are many who “clean their lives up” through adopting better habits but refuse to give up their old habits. Pretty soon their condition is worse than it was originally just as the the demoniac who’s life was “cleaned up” but not filled with anything good was then filled with the original demon plus seven more.

Incomplete repentance is simply being sorry for your present life-style and, with human effort, trying to be better. Complete repentance results in “regeneration” or new birth…being born again and being occupied by the Holy Spirit. Paul explained it this way in 2 Cor 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, and see, the new has come!” Jesus is not an “add-on”, He is a replacement. I read somewhere that when those who believe in pan-theism (many gods) hear about Jesus they often say, “I’ll add Jesus to the list of gods I believe in so that I’ll have a better chance for a good life.” Consequently many of the so-called conversions recorded by evangelists who preach to pantheistic crowds are not really conversions at all. Unless their “decision” is followed by discipleship and abandoning all other “gods”, there is no regeneration. To the “evil generation” of those who rejected Jesus, His warning was that the darkness in their lives was about to get even darker, just as with the demoniac.

3. Who Is My Brother? (vv 46-50)

Mt 12:46-50 “While he was still speaking with the crowds, his mother and brothers were standing outside wanting to speak to him. Someone told him, “Look, your mother and your brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you.” He replied to the one who was speaking to him, ‘Who is my mother and who are my brothers?” Stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.’”

The people who were outside when Jesus was teaching and ministering were His biological mother and His half-brothers. It may seem that Jesus was repudiating His earthly family, but that was not the case at all. Instead He was emphasizing the fact that the bond between believers is often stronger than the bond between blood relatives. At this particular time, the brothers of Jesus did not believe in Him as Messiah.

One commentator wrote that “serving Christ and belonging to the fellowship of faith transcends all physical relationships.” I once had a woman who was married to an unbeliever tell me that although he was a good husband, father and provider, she could not share with him the most important thing in her life; her relationship with Jesus. She said, “If I had it to do over again, I would never have married him.”

The point that Jesus was making is that commitment to Him and His cause creates a stronger bond and higher loyalty to one another than does human family ties. Some of you understand this because you have spiritual family members that you are closer with than those in your human family who have not surrendered to Christ.

Application: (How should I respond to this message?)

Are you guilty of constantly asking God to prove Himself to you by some miraculous sign? If so, then you most likely have never been saved.

Is you repentance complete? By that I mean are you filled and controlled by the Holy Spirit, or did you just have a “religious experience” that changed very little in your life?

Do you find that you Christian brothers and sisters are closer to you than your human siblings who have not surrendered to Jesus? That should spur you to continually pray for and look for opportunities to share the gospel with them.