Let’s start with the Jesus quotes.
Matthew 12.38-40 KJV - 38 Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee. 39 But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: 40 for as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
Matthew 16.1-4 KJV - 1 The Pharisees also with the Sadducees came, and tempting desired him that he would shew them a sign from heaven. 2 He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red. 3 And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowring. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times? 4 A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. And he left them, and departed.
These are among various bible passages Christians will trot out as evidence we should never, ever seek
I’ve heard many a
After you die, or after
Now, is this really what Jesus means by his statements to
If you’ve read enough of this blog, you’ve already guessed I’m gonna say no.
Remember John the baptist?
If you lived in Jesus’s day and wanted to see him perform something miraculous, it wasn’t hard to do! Just follow him around, like his students did. At some point people were gonna come to Jesus with one of many ailments, and Jesus’d cure them. This happened all the time.
Whenever people quote these passages where Jesus rebukes sign-seekers, I remind ’em of
Luke 7.19-23 KJV - 19 And John calling unto him two of his disciples sent them to Jesus, saying, Art thou he that should come? or look we for another? 20 When the men were come unto him, they said, John Baptist hath sent us unto thee, saying, Art thou he that should come? or look we for another? 21 And in that same hour he cured many of their infirmities and plagues, and of evil spirits; and unto many that were blind he gave sight. 22 Then Jesus answering said unto them, Go your way, and tell John what things ye have seen and heard; how that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, to the poor the gospel is preached. 23 And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.
They’ll object (because they’re looking for anything to object with) because neither John the baptist nor John’s students asked Jesus for a sign. They simply asked, “Are you the guy we’re looking for?” and Jesus volunteered the miracles, and pointed to them as his signs. Their issue isn’t with miracles; it’s with asking for miracles. John didn’t ask. He knew better; he wasn’t part of the “evil, wicked, adulterous generation” who’d ask.
Fair enough; so if I do the same as John, and ask Jesus whether he’s the guy I’m looking for, and not ask him for miracles, shouldn’t I still get some kind of response?
Well no, they’ll say;
I have read the bible, and not only is there no evidence God decided to stop speaking to people once bible times were over, but there’s plenty of evidence Jesus had the regular habit of responding to people by voluntarily dropping a miracle on ’em.
Mark 2.10-12 KJV - 10 But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (he saith to the sick of the palsy,) 11 I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house. 12 And immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went forth before them all; insomuch that they were all amazed, and glorified God, saying, We never saw it on this fashion.
Or when Thomas said he wouldn’t believe Jesus is risen unless he could touch him, so Jesus obliged:
John 20.27-28 KJV - 27 Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing. 28 And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.
See, Jesus’s miracles work to convince these guys. Worked on all the people visiting Jerusalem
“This generation” was a bad generation.
Whenever Jesus refers in the gospels to “this generation,” he specifically meant the people of his day. The people who got to see him… and who chose to reject him, and had him crucified. The people who’d eventually
That generation saw Jesus at work. Saw him cure people, sometimes right in front of them. Chose not to believe their own eyes;
That generation asked Jesus to show ’em again. To explain why he wasn’t gonna bother with them any longer, Jesus pointed to two other signs they were familiar with. In English we have the saying, “Red sky at night, sailors’ delight; red sky at morning, sailors take warning.” That was this. Everyone was familiar with this rather common trick for predicting weather. Jesus compared this to “the signs of the times”—other things that were happening in their day, and they should be likewise able to deduce the future from them. Yet they didn’t… because they were evil and adulterous.
Matthew 11.20-23 KJV - 20 Then began he to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done, because they repented not: 21 Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. 22 But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you. 23 And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.
Tyre, Sidon, and long-ago Sodom, would’ve easily been able to recognize the “signs of the times”—the miracles Jesus performed in the local cities of (to use
In contract, Jesus’s miracles work on believers and followers. They work on those who are intellectually curious, and open-minded enough to accept Jesus might really be living and active among us Christians. If you’re willing to accept the conclusions these signs are meant to confirm—that Jesus is alive, and he’s Lord—the Holy Spirit has zero problems with showing you something.
But y’know who has big problems with the Spirit showing you something: Those who aren’t willing to accept any such conclusions. Who prefer the idea of a distant, powerless God who doesn’t intervene and interfere. Whose entire power structure kinda depends on it.
Exactly like the wicked, adulterous generation Jesus had to deal with. Jesus didn’t show those guys any sign, because there’s no point. They were only going to respond, “That’s a trick,” or “That’s Beelzebub.” They didn’t wanna believe in him. They didn’t want to accept the conclusions these signs confirm.
As then, so today. Those who insist, “Don’t ask for signs!—God doesn’t do them, and those who claim to see signs are either deceived by the devil, or deceive others in collusion with the devil”: Yep, they likewise are a wicked and adulterous generation.
I’m not saying there’s no such thing as con artists and fake miracles. There are; there’s plenty. Nor am I saying we should mindlessly embrace every miracle story we hear: Test stuff. Confirm stuff. Prove they happened. And if they did, believe! And if not, don’t. Though I’m pretty sure
If God’s real, if Jesus is alive, and we’re actively trying to follow him, we’re gonna see stuff. Our faith shouldn’t be based on wishes and dreams, and maybe a little apologetic logic, but
