Show Us A Sign

The Jews then said to Him, “What sign do You show us as your authority for doing these things?” Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” (NASB) John 2:18-19

On that occasion, Jesus refused their request and offered them the future sign of His return to life after His death on the cross. The next time the word “sign” appears in the gospels occurs when Nicodemus comes to Jesus. Here is Nicodemus’ statement.

Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews; this man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.” (NASB) John 3:1-2

When Nicodemus says that Jesus has been performing signs, he was referring to the miracles that Jesus had already performed. After Jesus healed the royal officer’s son, John 4:54 refers to that event as a sign.

This is again a second sign that Jesus performed when He had come out of Judea into Galilee. (NASB0 John 4:54

A large crowd followed Him, because they saw the signs which He was performing on those who were sick. (NASB0 John 6:2

Then in John 7:31 we read that many people believed in Jesus because of all the miracles that He was performing such as healing the blind, deaf, and mute. He had raised the dead, turned water into wine, fed 5,000 men, and cast out demons. All of these were called signs in John 7:31,

But many of the crowd believed in Him; and they were saying, “When the Christ comes, He will not perform more signs than those which this man has, will He?” (NASB) John 7:31

Therefore some of the Pharisees were saying, “This man is not from God, because He does not keep the Sabbath.” But others were saying, “How can a man who is a sinner perform such signs?” And there was a division among them. (NASB) John 9:16

Therefore the chief priests and the Pharisees convened a council, and were saying, “What are we doing? For this man is performing many signs. (NASB) John 11:47

But though He had performed so many signs before them, yet they were not believing in Him. (NASB) John 12:37

This quick survey reveals that the religious leaders had already seen signs. We discover even later in Jesus’ ministry that the Pharisees asked for a sign once again (Matt. 16;1-4) after they had seen many more miracles. So what were they asking for when they asked for a sign? The answer is that they were looking for a very significant sign such as the sky opening up, fire coming down from heaven, or the appearance of angels in the sky. They wanted an extraordinarily unbelievable sign and not just healings, raising the dead to life, or the multiplying of bread and fish.

Jesus responded by denying the explicit request that they were seeking.

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 but the sign of Jonah the prophet; for just as JONAH WAS THREE DAYS AND THREE NIGHTS IN THE BELLY OF THE SEA MONSTER, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. (NASB) Matt. 12:39-40

He called them an evil and adulterous generation because they had already witnessed enough signs to motivate them to believe. But because of the evil treasure in their hearts, they refused to believe. They were evil. Yet Jesus did promise them a sign. It would be a future sign. It would be the sign of His own return to life. His body would die, be buried for “three days and three nights” and then return to life.

It is important to note that the phrase “three days and three nights” as a Jewish idiom was a general term. Any part of a day was regarded as a day or night. In 2007, it is common for someone to say that they might be on travel for two days, but they do not mean that they will be on travel for exactly 48 hours. If they travel by an airline, they may leave in the early morning hours and then return in the late afternoon on the next day. Neither day would be a full 24 hour period. The same was true with Jesus. He left this world Friday afternoon and returned Sunday morning. The Jewish idiom agrees with our cultural usage even today. It is a mistake to force “three days and three nights” to fit some arbitrary mold of an exact 72 hours period. But a bad tree or an evil heart will want to ignore this realty in order to discredit Jesus.

Nineveh Believed. Jesus already knew what would happen to Him. He knew that the vast majority of the crowds as well as the religious leaders would ultimately reject Him. They would not believe the many signs that He had already performed and would perform. So Jesus pronounced judgment.

The men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation at the judgment, and will condemn it because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, something greater than Jonah is here. (NASB) Matt. 12:41

Have you ever wondered if signs would motivate someone to believe in God? Many today seek a sign as proof that Jesus was God. Yet, many saw Jesus perform signs who did not believe. Signs do not guarantee that people will believe.

Why did Jesus introduce Jonah and Nineveh? Jonah was the prophet who did not want to obey God and preach in the city of Nineveh. He was the prophet who was thrown out of a boat and into the Mediterranean Sea and was then swallowed by a huge fish. Jonah eventually yielded to God, was spit out onto a beach, and later preached to the people in the city of Nineveh. He did not do any signs. He just simply preached a call to repentance and the people repented. Yet, Jesus performed signs and preached and only a few in comparison were repenting. Therefore in the future judgment, the men of Nineveh will condemn the unbelieving generation of Jesus’ day.

The Queen of the South will rise up with this generation at the judgment and will condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, something greater than Solomon is here. (NASB) Matt. 12:42