Cute sign!!! Says a lot, but frankly, I like what Jesus says a whole lot better...
Matthew, Chapter 12 (NASB)
Mat 12:38 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Him, "Teacher, we want to see a sign from You."
Mat 12:39 But He answered and said to them, "An evil and adulterous generation craves for a sign; and yet no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet;
Mat 12:40 for just as JONAH WAS THREE DAYS AND THREE NIGHTS IN THE BELLY OF THE SEA MONSTER, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. Mat 12:41 "The men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation at the judgment, and will condemn it because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.
Mat 12:42 "The Queen of the South will rise up with this generation at the judgment and will condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, something greater than Solomon is here.
Mat 12:43 "Now when the unclean spirit goes out of a man, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and does not find it.
Mat 12:44 "Then it says, 'I will return to my house from which I came'; and when it comes, it finds it unoccupied, swept, and put in order.
Mat 12:45 "Then it goes and takes along with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there; and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first. That is the way it will also be with this evil generation."
Mat 12:39 But He answered and said to them, "An evil and adulterous generation craves for a sign; and yet no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet;
Mat 12:40 for just as JONAH WAS THREE DAYS AND THREE NIGHTS IN THE BELLY OF THE SEA MONSTER, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. Mat 12:41 "The men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation at the judgment, and will condemn it because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.
Mat 12:42 "The Queen of the South will rise up with this generation at the judgment and will condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, something greater than Solomon is here.
Mat 12:43 "Now when the unclean spirit goes out of a man, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and does not find it.
Mat 12:44 "Then it says, 'I will return to my house from which I came'; and when it comes, it finds it unoccupied, swept, and put in order.
Mat 12:45 "Then it goes and takes along with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there; and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first. That is the way it will also be with this evil generation."
Show me a sign, a wonder, or perhaps a miracle and I will believe; statements like these indicate a lack of faith. Jesus answered his questioners with a revelation of his own future- the resurrection. Then HE goes on to chastise them for their disbelief with the examples of Nineveh and the Queen of the South. What struck me today was the importance of verses 43-45. His adversaries had been given a law to live by (the law of Moses) and if one kept it, he would be clean- if not, then being unclean was the result. If evil left (through the law of Moses) and then returned (through disbelief in the words of Jesus) then those who heard were worse off than before. It is interesting to me that the Scribes and Pharisees asked for a sign and Jesus gave them one- his own resurrection. But, it a way, they, THEMSELVES, BECAME A SIGN- BECAUSE OF THEIR DISBELIEF!!! Not exactly, what they expected!!! Good lesson here- don't go around arguing with God; there is no way you can win!!!
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