Apr 3 - The Sign of Jonah

Read Matthew 12:38-41

Context: Not too long after Jesus had sent out his twelve disciples to witness to surrounding towns, Jesus healed a man possessed by demons. The people were astonished and they were wondering if He were the Christ. The Pharisees quickly claimed he was Beelzebub

Text:
38Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, "Teacher, we want to see a miraculous sign from you."
39He answered, "A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40For 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. 41The 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 one[a] greater than Jonah is here. (NIV)
Footnotes:
Matthew 12:41 Or something; also in verse 42

The Pharisees wanted a sign? Where were they when Jesus healed the man with leprosy, the Roman centurion's son, Peter's mother-in-law, the paralyzed man, the demon-possessed man, and the man with the shriveled hand? How about when he calmed the storm, walked on water, or raised Jairus's daughter from the dead? Each of these miracles have happened before this conversation occurred.

It is really easy for me to look at the Pharisees with contempt...often because I hate those same traits in myself. I ignore the miracles and wonders in my own home hoping for something REALLY amazing. In this day of incredible special effects and easy access to amazing sights, I often downplay the miraculous things that God does in every day life. How about you?