SEEKING FOR SIGNS IS EVIL
Jesus had words of harsh rebuke for people who wanted to see signs and wonders. They were challenged by what he said, but they still had a very human need to see something physical and tangible before they would put their trust in him. Jesus called these people an “evil and adulterous generation”. This rebuke is an important message for all generations of religious people.
It is impossible to understand how God views physical signs unless we first understand the differences between faith and religion. With these differences in mind, we can better grasp the truth of the following scriptures: Mark 8:11-21; Matthew 16:4.
Matthew 12:38-41: Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to him, “Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.” 39 But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign; but no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40 For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the whale, so will the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 41 The men of Nin’eveh will arise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.
COMMENTARY: Jesus harshly rebukes the Pharisees for wanting to see a physical sign. His reply is that the sign of Jonah (i.e. spiritual death and resurrection) is the only sign that God is at work. Because spiritual death and resurrection occurs in the heart, it cannot be directly observed in outward appearances (e.g. clothing, speech, behaviors, etc.).
Reference to an evil and adulterous generation is not to a unique, singular generation or time such as the time of the Pharisees represented in the New Testament. Pharisees symbolically represent all religious leaders and false prophets in all time periods — even including modern times. See Pharisees and Scribes for understanding of how to interpret these religious leaders.
Matthew 24:1-28 Jesus left the temple and was going away, when his disciples came to point out to him the buildings of the temple. 2 But he answered them, “You see all these, do you not? Truly, I say to you, there will not be left here one stone upon another, that will not be thrown down.” 3 As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will this be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the close of the age?” 4 And Jesus answered them, “Take heed that no one leads you astray. 5 For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray. 6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars; see that you are not alarmed; for this must take place, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places: 8 all this is but the beginning of the birth-pangs. 9 “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation, and put you to death; and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. 10 And then many will fall away, and betray one another, and hate one another. 11 And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. 12 And because wickedness is multiplied, most men’s love will grow cold. 13 But he who endures to the end will be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, as a testimony to all nations; and then the end will come. 15 “So when you see the desolating sacrilege spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), 16 then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains; 17 let him who is on the housetop not go down to take what is in his house; 18 and let him who is in the field not turn back to take his mantle. 19 And alas for those who are with child and for those who give suck in those days! 20 Pray that your flight may not be in winter or on a sabbath. 21 For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be. 22 And if those days had not been shortened, no human being would be saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened. 23 Then if any one says to you, ‘Lo, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. 24 For false Christs and false prophets will arise and show great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. 25 Lo, I have told you beforehand. 26 So, if they say to you, ‘Lo, he is in the wilderness,’ do not go out; if they say, ‘Lo, he is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. 27 For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of man. 28 Wherever the body is, there the eagles will be gathered together.
COMMENTARY: Jesus warns people against listening to false claims that God might be found in special physical locations. God cannot be anticipated to appear in any location any more than lighting can be anticipated. The reason, of course, is that evidence of God at work only exists in the heart of New Covenant disciples who follow his spiritual laws.
Luke 17:20-24 Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God was coming, he answered them, “The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed; 21 nor will they say, ‘Lo, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.”
COMMENTARY: Jesus says very clearly that God will not come with any observable signs. This is consistent with the fact that the Kingdom of God is within the hearts/spirits of people and cannot be seen.
Modern day Pharisees (i.e. religious leaders) still think in terms of natural time. They do not understand that God uses time symbolically. This stronghold of wrong thinking predicts that Jesus will return at a unique time in the future and ignores what this scripture says about the present day location of the kingdom of God within people.
22 And he said to the disciples, “The days are coming when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of man, and you will not see it. 23 And they will say to you, ‘Lo, there!’ or ‘Lo, here!’ Do not go, do not follow them. 24 For as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of man be in his day.
COMMENTARY: These verses anticipate the time when individual disciples will become New Covenant disciples. They come with a clear warning not to look for physical evidence of the kingdom of God anywhere. The reference to lighting in the sky is to hearing God’s spoken voice — not to physical lightning.
What Jesus is saying, therefore, is that evidence of the coming of the kingdom of God is found only when an individual person is able to hear God’s voice. That is a unique event and time for that individual but only that person knows that it has happened. But hearing God’s voice is not, and should not be, a one-time event. It is an ongoing process in which the spirit of God speaks to the heart of a New Covenant disciple.
John 4:46-54 So he came again to Cana in Galilee, where he had made the water wine. And at Caper’na-um there was an official whose son was ill. 47 When he heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went and begged him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death. 48 Jesus therefore said to him, “Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe.” 49 The official said to him, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” 50 Jesus said to him, “Go; your son will live.” The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and went his way. 51 As he was going down, his servants met him and told him that his son was living. 52 So he asked them the hour when he began to mend, and they said to him, “Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.” 53 The father knew that was the hour when Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live”; and he himself believed, and all his household. 54 This was now the second sign that Jesus did when he had come from Judea to Galilee.
COMMENTARY: The sign that Jesus gave was consistent with the sign of Jonah which is that people will be spiritually resurrected from death. Since this all occurs within the hearts/spirits of people, it cannot be observed with eyes or ears.
This is discussed in detail in Death, Resurrection and New Life.
Jesus was not the first to warn about following signs and wonders. God also spoke to Israel about them through Moses and Isaiah in the following scriptures:
Deuteronomy 13:1-8 “If a prophet arises among you, or a dreamer of dreams, and gives you a sign or a wonder, 2 and the sign or wonder which he tells you comes to pass, and if he says, ‘Let us go after other gods,’ which you have not known, ‘and let us serve them,’ 3 you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or to that dreamer of dreams; for the LORD your God is testing you, to know whether you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. 4 You shall walk after the LORD your God and fear him, and keep his commandments and obey his voice, and you shall serve him and cleave to him. 5 But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has taught rebellion against the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, to make you leave the way in which the LORD your God commanded you to walk. So you shall purge the evil from the midst of you. 6 “If your brother, the son of your mother, or your son, or your daughter, or the wife of your bosom, or your friend who is as your own soul, entices you secretly, saying, ‘Let us go and serve other gods,’ which neither you nor your fathers have known, 7 some of the gods of the peoples that are round about you, whether near you or far off from you, from the one end of the earth to the other, 8 you shall not yield to him or listen to him, nor shall your eye pity him, nor shall you spare him, nor shall you conceal him;
COMMENTARY: False prophets encourage people to look for signs and wonders that can be observed in one way or another. For example, most say that the pleasant experience of going to church or synagogue and engaging in fellowship and singing with others is evidence that God is present in the building where the worship happens. Others anticipate the coming of the Messiah at a unique future time. In God’s view, all of this is evil, and idolatry. He warns people that they should not listen to such prophets or practice what they preach.
Isaiah 7:10-16 Again the LORD spoke to Ahaz, 11 “Ask a sign of the LORD your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven.” 12 But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, and I will not put the LORD to the test.”
COMMENTARY: This scripture says clearly that asking for a sign is equivalent to putting God to the test — something God has commanded that we should not do.
All these warnings about seeking physical, observable sign and wonders will be hard for religious people to accept because they have been taught that signs, wonders and miracles are evidence of God at work and that it is good to look for evidence of God through his works of physical creation and miracles.
The desire to see God perform miracles is the reason why people pray for miracles when there seems to be no other way to resolve an impossible circumstance (e.g. physical healing, financial need, etc.). Thus people resort to asking God for a miracle when they have a problem that cannot be resolved through human effort or through use of tools (e.g. medicine, etc.) that man has created. That is why they will get excited when a seemingly spontaneous miracle occurs or when they see prayers answered.
Lacking other visible evidence of God, people need something they can hold on to. Signs and wonders satisfy that need, but they are not evidence of faith which is the substance of things that cannot be seen.