A Sign

Matthew 12:38-42

"Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him,'Teacher, we want to see a miraculous sign from you.' He answered, 'A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign!" (Matthew 12:38,39).

I've been puzzling over this text since I read it earlier today. What's wrong with a sign? Why did Jesus call the Pharisees wicked and adulterous for asking for a sign?
Didn't the angels tell the shepherds, "This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manager" (Luke 2:12)?

As I thought about asking for a sign, I was struck by a contrast. The Pharisees asked for a sign out of unbelief. They were undermining Jesus ministry and even plotting his death. Why would they ask for a sign? They wanted to draw a line, "We will not believe you unless you give us a sign."

Others who were given miracles didn't even ask for a sign:they asked for help. They wanted a child to be healed or a servant to recover; they wanted to be free from leprosy or the chance to see. They came to Jesus because they believed he could do something to help them.

This is not to say that signs can't be used to build up faith. When John was discouraged in prison he sent his disciples to ask Jesus, "Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?" (Matthew 11:2,3). Jesus responded, "Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the good news is preached to the poor" (Matthew 11:4,5).

The Pharisees were echoing the devil's temptation. "If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread" (Matthew 4:3). Jesus wouldn't give them the sign they wanted, but he told them to look for a sign, he would be in the ground three days. They would provide this sign.