The Desire for Signs

What can we learn from the scribes and Pharisees that Jesus called an "evil and adulterous generation?" Jesus had been performing incredible miracles: healing lepers, raising the dead, healing the mute and blind, and casting out demons. He was doing things and saying things with unbelievable authority, an authority that the Pharisees attributed to Satan! In fact they even said, "This man casts out demons only by Beelzebul the ruler of the demons." Their judgment against Jesus was wrapped in so much hypocrisy that Jesus immediately called their bluff...answering back, "If I by Beelzebul cast out demons, by whom do your sons cast them out?" There were those from within their ranks who made a profession out of performing exorcisms. Jesus made a strong argument that a house divided against itself will not stand, and if they had any ability to claim Jesus was using the power of darkness to defeat darkness, then they would need to seriously examine their own sons! The point Jesus was making was this: Messiah had come with all authority! These signs that Jesus was performing were fulfilling prophecy. Jesus was living Isaiah 35 and 61! The time to recognize that Messiah had come was now upon them and they couldn't see it! An often misunderstood idea in scripture is this: The blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. What does it mean? It means exactly this: It is an indictment against the Pharisees for their rejection of Messiah. Jesus tells them that they will not be forgiven, yet after their indictment, they still desire signs! They say, "Teacher, we want to see a sign from You." Incredible. After they attributed Messiah's earlier signs to Satan and officially begin rejecting Him, they ask for a sign! They were wanting Jesus to perform more spectacular healings and miracles, but Jesus gives the first allusion to his death saying, "An evil and adulterous generation craves for a sign; yet no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet; for just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the monster, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth." There seems to be every indication that a desire for signs when the Messiah is so obviously already providing them is an expression of rejection in itself. What does a request for Jesus to constantly "prove" himself mean other than to bear witness to overwhelming doubt? Jesus' response is clear: He will meet constant desires for signs with a single act, the resurrection from the grave! The choice to accept or deny that particular sign will be the deciding factor as to whether a person experiences forgiveness or not! Simple Application: What thing are you doubting? What thing is God doing that you are asking for sign after sign after sign for Him to "confirm"? I'm by no means throwing you in the same category as the Pharisees...just some things to think about.