As we travel on vacation, trying to get to our new destination, we look for signs along the way so we don’t lose time in getting there. We like signs. Great signage gives us the assurance that we are going where we planned to go. We believe in signs. We rely on signs. But our passage today reveals that asking Jesus for yet another sign to prove who He is reveals only our own unbelief in Him. Be careful asking for a “sign” from Jesus.
Jesus has already performed miracles for all to see. Isn’t that a sign of His power and deity? Jesus draws people from all walks of life to Him. He looks people in eye with mercy, compassion and grace. Isn’t that a sign of His love and character? Jesus teaches with authority like no one has ever heard…not even the Teachers of the Law at that time. Isn’t that a sign of His knowledge?
When the Pharisees ask for yet another sign from him, wanting to see an encore of his tricks actually, Jesus responds….
Matthew 12
The Sign of Jonah38 Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.”
39 He answered, “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40 For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 41 The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now something greater than Jonah is here. 
42 The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon’s wisdom, and now something greater than Solomon is here.
42 The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon’s wisdom, and now something greater than Solomon is here.43 “When an impure spirit comes out of a person, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. 44 Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. 45 Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that person is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this wicked generation.”
WHAT DO WE LEARN?
1. Prophet Jonah preached to a wicked nation and they repented.2. “From the ends of the earth, a Queen of another nation came to Solomon for wisdom and received it.
3. Jesus came to seek and to save lost people. The leaders did not believe. Rather they sneered, mocked, harassed, beat the Savior of the world and eventually nailed Him to a cross to die. Ah, but Jesus defeated death and rose to life giving all who believe blessed hope for eternity with Him. THERE’S your sign.
Jesus reveals to these wicked leaders how it will get worse in the end for all who do not believe. Jesus is the Victor. All who believe in Jesus will be victorious with Him forever. Those who do not believe and follow Him will receive destruction and eventual death.
YES, IT COULD GET WORSE FOR UNBELIEVERS
Jesus revealed the evil hearts of the religious leaders and teachers of The Law. We can connect these verses with Matthew 12:24–29. Satan’s “house” is the body of the person who is possessed by the demon. It appears that the demons are restless and seek bodies in which to reside (Matt. 8:28–31). When the demon left, this man’s life was changed for the better, but his life was still empty. When the demon returned, he brought others with him, and the man’s life ended in tragedy.The primary application is to the nation of Israel, especially that generation present when Jesus ministered on earth. The nation had been purged of the demon of idolatry, which had plagued them in the Old Testament. But reformation was not enough.
Reformation could cleanse, but it could not fill. The nation should have received the Savior and been filled with spiritual life. Instead, the people rejected Him, and the end was destruction.
There is a personal application. It is not enough to clean house; we must also invite in the right tenant. The Pharisees were proud of their “clean houses,” but their hearts were empty! Mere religion, or reformation, will not save. There must be regeneration, the receiving of Christ into the heart (see Rev. 3:20). We cannot be neutral about Jesus Christ.
HOLY PAUSE“CHOOSE this day whom you will serve” (Joshua 24:15). It’s a matter of life or death. Do not be merely impressed with Jesus and ask for signs to prove only our unbelief. Repent and ask Him to take charge of all, every detail, under His leading. Find Jesus. Follow Jesus.
Do we really believe that what we believe is really real?
A STORY IN THE STORY
Even Jesus’ family had trouble with fully believing in Him and His mission from God, the Father…
46 While Jesus was still talking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside, wanting to speak to him. 47 Someone told him, “Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you.”48 He replied to him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” 49 Pointing to his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. 50 For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”
Even our Lord’s earthly family did not fully understand Him orHis ministry (John 7:1–5). Some of His friends thought He was mad (Mark 3:21). But Jesus did not want the honor that comes from people. While He was not disrespectful toward His physical family, He did emphasize the family of God.
Note His use of the word whoever (Matt. 12:50). This paralleled His beautiful invitation in Matthew 11:28–30, where He encouraged all to trust Him. If the nation would not receive Him, at least individuals within the nation—and among the Gentiles—could trust Him.
Who will be in the promised kingdom?
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16
ALL who believe.
Dear Lord,
I believe. What would you have me do to help others find and follow you today?
In Jesus Name, Amen
30 “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. 31 And so I tell you, every kind of sin and slander can be forgiven, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. 32 Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.
“…a tree is recognized by its fruit”, Jesus teaches. 
God’s Chosen Servant
My hope is built on nothing less
Matthew 12
9 Going on from that place, he went into their synagogue, 10 and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Looking for a reason to bring charges against Jesus, they asked him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”
“Our leaders do not have enough faith or they would bring us all back to do church again.”
Jesus brought change in the ways people think about what God said in His Word. He taught God’s real intention for God’s Law. He came not to abolish or change the message that God gave but to fulfill it with His life while explaining what God really wanted from all of us. He wants us to love Him back and to love others like He loves us. All day, every day.
Jesus is not only Lord of the Sabbath, that time we take to focus ALL our being, hearts, minds and souls, on Him to worship and learn from Him, but as believers Jesus should be LORD of our thought life which leads to our behaviors.
As believing brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ, we should certainly speak up when leaders go against God’s Word, say they do not love God, no longer speak of the salvation of Jesus and only speak only of themselves while gaining more power for themselves. This is the filter through which our warning words should flow.
When we live our lives to please God in our obedience to “go and make disciples”, this is a grim reality for those who reject salvation. But remember, it is God’s work. We are invited by God to go and tell, teach and encourage others by telling what He has done for us. The responsibility for acceptance is up to the people. All of us have been given free will to choose life or death. This is God’s way. Although it is hard to see someone, especially a loved one, reject salvation through Jesus, it is between God and the person. 
20 Then Jesus began to denounce the towns in which most of his miracles had been performed, because they did not repent. 21 “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. 22 But I tell you, it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you. 23 And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted to the heavens? No, you will go down to Hades. For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Sodom, it would have remained to this day. 24 But I tell you that it will be more bearable for Sodom on the day of judgment than for you.”
We become the children of God through faith in Christ; we are disciples as we faithfully follow Him and obey His will. Sonship does not change, but discipleship does change as we walk 
The first two commands represent a crisis as we come and yield to Christ, but this step is a process. As we learn more about Him, we find a deeper peace, because we trust Him more. Life is simplified and unified around the person of Christ. This invitation is for “all”—not just the people of Israel (Matt. 10:5–6). 
Many leaders in our time and before our time have swayed people with their way of speaking, charisma, and political aspirations. They tell us they know what we need and what will happen next. They promise what they cannot possibly deliver. But they do this for their own rise to power. Most times what they say cannot be produced in deeds and actions.
4 Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: 5 The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. 6 Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.”
Jesus was the proof of John’s message from God. John was born to prepare the way of Jesus. What John said from God would happen, happened. John was a true prophet of God. John had a specific purpose from God. John obeyed. God fulfilled what John relayed to the people about Jesus. Proof.
WATCH ME WHILE I DO IT
Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out impure spirits and to heal every disease and sickness.
5 These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. 6 Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel. 7 As you go, proclaim this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give.
1. It’s not about you. It’s not about us. 
4. Tell who you know first, then go to others.
12. “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.”
“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” 
We agree the workers are few. So, how long has it been since we asked God for help in His work by sending more people to help in the harvest of souls?
“I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.” Philippians 3:12-14, NLT
While being imprisoned for doing this harvest work, the ministry explodes because of Paul’s tenacious instruction to the harvest workers outside the prison walls who will pass on this multiplication theology:
“The harvest is great, the workers are few”. The workers are clamoring for new ways and means, outside a building, to help people find and follow Jesus Christ…the MAIN FOCUS of our existence. 
27 As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, calling out, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!”
Two blind men SEE with their hearts. They know who Jesus is and address Him correctly, “Son of David!” They ask the One and Only to have mercy on them because they know he can heal them. These two blind men not only acknowledged Christ as the Son of David but persisted in following Him right into the house. (No doubt they had friends who helped guide them.) It was their faith that Christ honored. Their “Yes, Lord” was the confession that released the power for their healing, and their sight was restored.
Open my eyes, that I may see
There will always be unbelieving people in our lives who will go to great links to bring God down to a size they can manage as unbelievers so they can dispute the Truth of who He is and what He can do. It hurts worse when these people are close family members and friends because you love them so much.
Take heart when others mock the Truth that lives in you. Take heart when the virus hits your family with a vengeance. Take heart when finances are tight. Take heart when life is just not what you planned. 
TAKE HEART…
You hear me when I call
My strength is in your name
