Resurrection Encounters: The Sign of Jonah

Chris Wall •. Matthew 12:38-42

People often want to see signs from God. The request for signs give evidence to unbelief. In Matthew 12, the teachers of the Law came to Jesus, hoping he would show them a few tricks. They wanted Him to prove that He was the Messiah. Seriously, what more proof did they need? If they were real students of the Bible, they would have read about Him and noticed the prophets spoke of Him. If they would have looked deeply at His life, it would have been clear He was God in the flesh. But, these men came to Jesus to see a show. They came wondering if he could be impressive. Jesus chose not to cater to their unbelief by performing a miracle to please them. Instead, He offered a resurrection encounter through lesson from Jonah and a Queen. Jesus always had the ability to reveal hearts. Jesus revealed how the religious leaders rejected the wisdom of Christ standing right in front of them. The main lesson behind these history lessons is the tragic reality that people can be familiar with the resurrection of Christ and still completely miss it. To miss Christ is to miss God. In this passage, the heart of these religious leaders was revealed and their hearts were unwilling to yield. These leaders had a resurrection encounter and rejected it. When the resurrection is encountered, how foolish it is to turn it away.