Have you ever asked God for a miraculous sign or a divine confirmation to help strengthen your faith? If so, you’re not alone. Most Christians I know at some point in their faith journey look for some sort of supernatural coincidence and miraculous turn of events to confirm that God is really at work in a situation or in support of a decision.
Jesus encountered this in His day as well. In Matthew 12, the religious leaders come to Him and ask for a special sign to prove that they could really put their trust in Him to be their Messiah/Savior. Jesus gave a reply that left everyone puzzled…
“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.”
Jesus is saying here that the only sign we need in order to have strong faith is the sign of Jonah. So in what way is Jonah a sign pointing us to have faith in Jesus?
Well, both Jonah and Jessus sent by God to bring salvation to the world. Both were delivered to death by pagans. As Jonah was in the heart of the sea for 3 days, Jesus was buried in the earth for three days. Just as the fish could not contain Jonah but spat him out on the shore, the grave could not contain Jesus but gave him up after three days. Finally, the “resurrection” of both men would result in the repentance and salvation of many.
So the next time you are tempted to seek a miraculous sign or divine confirmation, remember that Jesus calls us to look beyond the spectacular and focus on the real miracle of His death and resurrection. It’s the only proof we need that we can put our trust fully in Him.
Jesus encountered this in His day as well. In Matthew 12, the religious leaders come to Him and ask for a special sign to prove that they could really put their trust in Him to be their Messiah/Savior. Jesus gave a reply that left everyone puzzled…
“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.”
Jesus is saying here that the only sign we need in order to have strong faith is the sign of Jonah. So in what way is Jonah a sign pointing us to have faith in Jesus?
Well, both Jonah and Jessus sent by God to bring salvation to the world. Both were delivered to death by pagans. As Jonah was in the heart of the sea for 3 days, Jesus was buried in the earth for three days. Just as the fish could not contain Jonah but spat him out on the shore, the grave could not contain Jesus but gave him up after three days. Finally, the “resurrection” of both men would result in the repentance and salvation of many.
So the next time you are tempted to seek a miraculous sign or divine confirmation, remember that Jesus calls us to look beyond the spectacular and focus on the real miracle of His death and resurrection. It’s the only proof we need that we can put our trust fully in Him.
Posted in devo