The Sign of Jonah - Pt 2

Yesterday we began a series in the Gospel of Matthew dealing with The Sign of Jonah. Today we continue. Notice the Scripture again: And the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and to test him they asked him to show them a sign from heaven. He answered them, “When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’ And in the morning, ‘It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times. An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.” So he left them and departed. (Matthew 16:1-4 ESV). Jesus tells them the greatest of signs will be given to them. It will be his resurrection. We’ll see that specifically taught in Matthew 12 later in this series. For now, I want us to concentrate on the scathing reprimand and judgment Jesus pronounces. He says, An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign.” The Greek word for “evil” is ponērós . It is an adjective which is also used substantively, derived from pónos, "pain or laborious trouble." It can be translated pain-ridden, emphasizing the inevitable agonies or misery that always go with evil. The other word, here translated as “adulterous” is moichalis. It is used in many places in the Septuagint and the New Testament. The heart of its meaning is found in the marriage covenant God has entered into with his people. To chase after these signs and wonders is the same as a spouse who seeks love and acceptance from someone other than their spouse. It is simply adultery. John Calvin said that the human heart is an “idol factory.” As we examine our lives and detect the idols that we love more than God, we will see that Calvin was correct. We ask God to bless us with certain things in our lives. If we receive those things from God many times we turn around and elevate them above Him. We begin to find our happiness and security in them. This is spiritual adultery. God must not become our spiritual vending machine. He does not arrange the provision of things and people for us to satisfy our desires. Even when those things seem to be so good, we can fall into the subtle sin of spiritual adultery. When we do, we soon find that our idols leave us empty. The satisfaction that we find in them wears off. Augustine said, “You have made us for Yourself, Lord. Our hearts are restless, until they rest in You.” No one and nothing will ever satisfy our hearts besides the One who created us – God. Jesus speaks clearly to us today. When we find ourselves ignoring the extraordinary daily gift of the presence and provision of God in our daily routine and seek that which has been pronounced “greater” or “higher,” we commit spiritual adultery and become evil. We become a people who are tiresome to our God who loved us enough to sacrifice His only begotten Son on our behalf and call us into an eternal covenant with Him that will deliver us from sin and death into an eternal home prepared by Him for us. Don’t miss the greatness of His grace looking for any other sign than that which has already been graciously given. He is risen!