We Want More Proof!

“One day the Pharisees and Sadducees came to test Jesus, demanding that he show them a miraculous sign from heaven to prove his authority.”
Matthew 16:1 NLT

The religious leaders wanted Jesus to prove who he was by demanding a miracle or miraculous sign. In so many areas of life we ask people to give proof that they are who they say they are.

• Passports or Enhanced Driver’s Licenses for travel are needed as proof of who we are.
• It is part of a competition; prove you are the best competitor by winning the race.
• DNA is considered irrefutable proof that is used in trials, ancestry, and the like.

With Jesus, something was vastly different. He was healing people. He was offering forgiveness. His teaching had real authority. He was doing things that no one else was doing. He kept saying he was the Son of God.

The religious leaders are more than skeptical. They were looking for ways to discredit him, if not kill him. He had become a real threat to them. They were not interested in; repentance of sin offered by Christ, the miraculous healings that have been going on for some time, or the feeding of thousands with very limited food supply. None of these seemed to move them closer to God.

Jesus had a clear response to their demand.

“He replied, “You know the saying, ‘Red sky at night means fair weather tomorrow; red sky in the morning means foul weather all day.’ You know how to interpret the weather signs in the sky, but you don’t know how to interpret the signs of the times!”

Jesus was saying they had a good grasp on things like the weather. I find this kind of humorous, knowing, with all our technology today, how often we still get the weather wrong, even when we think we have it right. In effect, Jesus is saying, they are confident in reading the weather, but they are not able to read the signs of the times going on all around them.

“Only an evil, adulterous generation would demand a miraculous sign, but the only sign I will give them is the sign of the prophet Jonah.”

The sign of Jonah is something Jesus spoke about earlier in Matthew. It is recorded in chapter 12: “But Jesus replied, “Only an evil, adulterous generation would demand a miraculous sign; but the only sign I will give them is the sign of the prophet Jonah.”

“For as Jonah was in the belly of the great fish for three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights. The people of Nineveh will stand up against this generation on judgment day and condemn it, for they repented of their sins at the preaching of Jonah. Now someone greater than Jonah is here—but you refuse to repent.” Matthew 12:39-41 NLT.

Jesus will be providing a miraculous sign through his death and resurrection. What he said to them now will be recalled later, when they see him die and hear of his resurrection. He is also highlighting the significance of repentance. If the people of Nineveh repented of their sin through Jonah’s preaching, why is it the people of Israel will not repent of their sins when it is the Messiah, the Living Son of God, who is inviting them?

In effect, he is saying, “I am right here with you now, in person. Why won’t you respond to me?”

“Then Jesus left them and went away.” Matthew 16:2-4 NLT.

There is a time to walk away, when nothing else productive can be said or done.

I suspect every one of us following Christ have at one time or another, asked God to prove himself to us. We need help and we want to be sure. The difference is when we try to prove who Christ is on our terms and for our own agenda. This was the case with the religious leaders. While Jesus loves us, he is not interested in playing our games or contributing to our schemes. At a certain point, he just walks away from this nonsense.

Jesus does invite us into repentance. He wants to forgive our sin. He longs to give us his righteousness. He is more than willing to heal people. He is happy to feed people. His goal is to draw us into a saving relationship with him. Christ asks us to trust him and believe in him by faith. Faith opens our eyes to see Christ as the Living Son of God.

Ed McDowell, C.E.O.
Warm Beach Camp Ministries