A Resurrection Promised

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Scripture: Matthew 12:38-40 (NIV)

38 Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.”

39 He [Jesus] 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.

Devotion:

            The passage of scripture we are looking at today is brief and to the point. Jesus is asked for a sign but Jesus refuses to perform on queue for his questioners. He speaks of the sign of Jonah. A mystery whose meaning only became clear after Jesus death and resurrection. We know that even the early church thought this passage was a prediction of his death and resurrection.

            We have turned Jesus terse reply to his questioners into a great promise for the church. We know that Jesus was simply refusing to behave like a tame and domesticated animal who performs tricks on command to show off his power. The teachers of the law and the Pharisees were not seeking a sign for honest reasons. They just wanted to see Jesus do their bidding. Jesus knew their hearts were not open to his claims to be the Messiah. They would never genuinely believe in him no matter what Jesus did.

            The sign he did promise them and us was greater than anything they would think to ask for. The phrase “three days and three nights” was a Hebrew figure of speech that could refer to any three day period. As with all figures of speech this one loses something in translation to our modern language. This idiom speaks of the mystery of Jesus being buried and raised on the third day. An event that changed the course of human history, divided the calendar into B.C. and A.D., and still is changing lives today.

            Jesus’ disciples probably had no idea what he was referring to at the time when he said it. They were as clueless as the questioners were as to the greatness of what was being promised here. That the Holy Spirit caused Matthew to remember this part of the Jesus story is truly a sign of the divine inspiration at work in the forming of our scripture. The only other gospel to record this saying of Jesus is Luke in chapter 11 verses 29-32. It gives one a reason to pause and ponder the miracle of scripture and the wonder of the Holy Spirit’s inspiration of it.

            Let us pray for God to open our eyes to the wonders of Jesus death and resurrection.

            Prayer

            Holy God, we thank you for the gift of your son to us. We are sometimes a blind and clueless race. We do not honor your word just as the Scribes and the Pharisees did not honor Jesus when they had the chance. Help us open our eyes to the wonders of your love for humanity. You have gifted us with so many good things, yet we do not give you thanks and praise. Turn our hearts toward you in love and adoration. Amen.

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