Today's Reflections
The Demand for a Sign
Lk 11:29-32
29While
still more people gathered in the crowd, [Jesus] said to them, “This
generation is an evil generation; it seeks a sign, but no sign will be
given it, except the sign of Jonah. 30Just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so will the Son of Man be to this generation.
31At the judgment the queen of the south will rise with the
men of this generation and she will condemn them, because she came from
the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and there is
something greater than Solomon here. 32At the judgment the
men of Nineveh will arise with this generation and condemn it, because
at the preaching of Jonah they repented, and there is something greater
than Jonah here.”
THE SIGN OF JONAH. The
contemporaries of Jesus in general do not accept him as the Messiah. As
John’s Prologue puts it, “He came to what was his own, but his own
people did not accept him” (Jn 1:11).
Jesus
describes his people as “an evil generation,” principally for their
unbelief, for their rejection of his preaching, and for their
stubbornness to heed his call for repentance. The people want to see
signs, some spectacular displays that will back up his claim that his
works are God’s.
Jesus
tells the people that he will give them a sign similar to that of
Jonah. The prophet’s sign was his preaching that converted the
Ninevites. Like Jonah, Jesus calls for repentance, but his hearers are
not converted. Jesus says he is greater than Jonah and wiser than
Solomon. Despite his credentials, the people do not accept him, for they
belong to an evil generation.
Moreover,
just as Jonah stayed in the belly of the fish for three days, Jesus
will be buried for three days, after which he will rise from the tomb.
This sign is Jesus’ resurrection. People who do not believe in Jesus’
resurrection belong to an evil generation.
What kinds of signs do you seek to believe
in God’s presence and power?
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