From the desk of Pastor Ben

Jesus Answers the Jews

But He answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation craves for a sign; and yet no sign will be given to it.”     (Matthew 12:39a)

The very request the Jewish leaders placed before Jesus, represented the wicked expectation of most of the nation of Israel: “An evil and adulterous generation” that had strayed far from fellowship with God and from trust in His Word in favor of a superficial, self-righteous religion. This unbelieving generation was spiritually adulterous because it had violated its vows of their unique covenant relationship to God, so often described in Scripture in marriage terms (Psalm 73:27; Jeremiah 3:6-10; Hosea 9:1).
Believing Jews who served the Father faithfully under the Mosaic covenant would accept His Son and the Messiah because anyone obedient to the Father would by faith recognize and embrace the Son — as did Simeon and Anna (Luke 2:25-38), John the Baptist (Matthew 3:14), and the apostles, except Judas Iscariot; (Luke 5:27-28; John 1:41, 49). Because those godly people knew the Father, they did not need a sign to verify the Son’s identity and believe in Him.
Because of their unbelief, Jesus told the scribes and Pharisees “no sign would be given” to them. He could not possibly perform the kind of miracle they wanted — not because He was powerless to do so, but because such a sign would be completely contrary to His moral nature and sovereign plan. God did not then and does not now bend Himself to please the whims of evil people who don’t know Him.

Ask Yourself:
How well do you deal with the silences of God; those times when in His wise Fatherhood, He forces you to exercise your spiritual muscles of faith and perseverance? If you’ve been going through one of these seasons, be encouraged today that your unseen God is ever-present.