The Demand for a Sign

Today's Reflections

The Demand for a Sign 

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Mt 12:38-42

³⁸Some of the scribes and Pharisees said to [Jesus], “Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.” ³⁹He 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. ⁴⁰Just 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. ⁴¹At 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. ⁴²At 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.”

Reflection:

No sign will be given it. With the coming of Jesus, there are signs that we are being taken good care of by God, that we are loved, that we are being saved. There are signs that God is merciful and compassionate toward us.

Why do the scribes and Pharisees, and people like them, still want a sign from Jesus? They want to be sure about him, if he is really the Son of God. Moreover, their malice gives them away. They want to blackmail Jesus. They want to see spectacular things to satisfy their curiosity and mundane character. They cannot accept Jesus as he is.

With faith, there is no need for a sign. Jesus himself is more than a sign. With love of God, no signs are necessary to believe in him.

Do we wait for some “special sign”

before we decide to change,

before we become contrite?

The signs of God’s love are countless;

name some of them.