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Gospel: Matthew 12: 38-42
Some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Jesus,
“Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.”
He said to them in reply,
“An evil and unfaithful generation seeks a sign,
but no sign will be given it
except the sign of Jonah the prophet.
Just as Jonah was in the belly of the whale three days and three nights,
so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth
three days and three nights.
At the judgment, the men of Nineveh will arise with this generation
and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah;
and there is something greater than Jonah here.
At the judgment the queen of the south will arise with this generation
and condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth
to hear the wisdom of Solomon;
and there is something greater than Solomon here.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
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“Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.”
Throughout the Old Testament, it was common for the prophets to perform miracles – such as Moses parting the Red Sea or Elijah calling down fire from heaven – to prove that they were, in fact, God’s instruments.
But herein lies the distinction between the prophets and Jesus.
Jesus is not an instrument of God; he is God. The fact that God has taken on flesh, fulfilling nearly 300 Old Testament prophecies, and is now standing in the midst of his people is itself the miracle.
(Not to mention all of the healings that Jesus had already performed).
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Doubling-down on his position, Jesus mentions two Old Testament figures whom people recognized as being God’s instruments without having to perform miracles.
The Ninevites recognized God’s warning in Jonah, and the queen of the south recognized God’s wisdom in Solomon.
In both cases, it was the person who was accepted as being a divine representative; not any miracle they performed. “And there is something greater than Solomon here,” Jesus says.
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So, what does this mean for us?
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If we want to understand God, then we must understand Jesus. Study his teachings. Live his Word. Emulate his heart. Place your life in his hands.
This would be the greatest “miracle” of all, which God desired for the crowds that day, and for us – not some physical healing or parting of the skies – but developing a friendship with his Son, “who has loved us and given himself for us.”
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Image credits: (1) Grace Evangelical Society (2) Christ and the Pharisees, Ernst Zimmerman (3) Pantocrator, Sinai