Thursday, July 13, 2006
THIS GENERATION
Vv39-40. But He answered and said to them, "An evil and adulterous generation craves for a sign; and yet no sign shall be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet; 40. for just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
Jesus response to the request for a sign draws a rebuke that publicly embarrassed the religious elite as He publicly labels them as an evil and adulterous generation. The tables are turned; the religious envision Jesus as easy prey and He publicly sets them back on their heels as He first calls them evil.
Evil would apply to anything outside of God’s will. This label would be effectively demonstrating that His assessment these demanding conversationalists was that they were outside the will of the very One that they professed to represent.
Adulterous is a term used of those who prostituted themselves outside the vows that they had sworn. Israel was often referred to as the betrothed of God and still the worshipped the idols of their captors Is. 50:1 Thus says the Lord, "Where is the certificate of divorce, By which I have sent your mother away? Or to whom of My creditors did I sell you? Behold, you were sold for your iniquities, And for your transgressions your mother was sent away. The adultery of this generation was the love that they had given to their own fabricated religious practices that had usurped the law of God and had become their idol.
An evil and adulterous generation craves for a sign and this generation determined that Gods coming Messiah would have to be filtered through their prescribed scrutiny before authentication could occur. In other words, God would have to subject Himself to the scribes and Pharisees’ permission before He could be operative in His creation. Religion had “de-throned” God.
And, with respect to the requested sign, Jesus says “No sign shall be given to it (the demands of the evil and adulterous generation),” but the sign of Jonah the prophet.
Here again Jesus teaches in a parabolic method through His rapid fire examples that just continue to come at them. He demonstrates that He will not succumb to their tradition and embarrasses them in that He publicly humiliated them. Mac Arthur says, “It was not possible for Jesus to perform a miracle of the sort the scribes and Pharisees wanted – not because He did not have the power to do it, but because it was utterly contrary to God’s nature and plan. Jesus could easily have performed it from the standpoint of His omnipotence, but not from the standpoint of His moral nature – because God is not in the business of bending Himself to satisfy the whims of evil people who have no relationship to Him.”
Jesus would provide a sign for them, but it would be of a parabolic nature and of His Father’s will. This would be a sign that they all were familiar with; no sign shall be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet.
This would be an ultimate defeat to those trying to destroy Him and His ministry.
He then explains the attesting miracle, or sign, that would be of His own demonstration; for just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. It is at this point we must become familiar with the circumstances of the prophet Jonah and how his disobedience made his life difficult.
Jesus response to the request for a sign draws a rebuke that publicly embarrassed the religious elite as He publicly labels them as an evil and adulterous generation. The tables are turned; the religious envision Jesus as easy prey and He publicly sets them back on their heels as He first calls them evil.
Evil would apply to anything outside of God’s will. This label would be effectively demonstrating that His assessment these demanding conversationalists was that they were outside the will of the very One that they professed to represent.
Adulterous is a term used of those who prostituted themselves outside the vows that they had sworn. Israel was often referred to as the betrothed of God and still the worshipped the idols of their captors Is. 50:1 Thus says the Lord, "Where is the certificate of divorce, By which I have sent your mother away? Or to whom of My creditors did I sell you? Behold, you were sold for your iniquities, And for your transgressions your mother was sent away. The adultery of this generation was the love that they had given to their own fabricated religious practices that had usurped the law of God and had become their idol.
An evil and adulterous generation craves for a sign and this generation determined that Gods coming Messiah would have to be filtered through their prescribed scrutiny before authentication could occur. In other words, God would have to subject Himself to the scribes and Pharisees’ permission before He could be operative in His creation. Religion had “de-throned” God.
And, with respect to the requested sign, Jesus says “No sign shall be given to it (the demands of the evil and adulterous generation),” but the sign of Jonah the prophet.
Here again Jesus teaches in a parabolic method through His rapid fire examples that just continue to come at them. He demonstrates that He will not succumb to their tradition and embarrasses them in that He publicly humiliated them. Mac Arthur says, “It was not possible for Jesus to perform a miracle of the sort the scribes and Pharisees wanted – not because He did not have the power to do it, but because it was utterly contrary to God’s nature and plan. Jesus could easily have performed it from the standpoint of His omnipotence, but not from the standpoint of His moral nature – because God is not in the business of bending Himself to satisfy the whims of evil people who have no relationship to Him.”
Jesus would provide a sign for them, but it would be of a parabolic nature and of His Father’s will. This would be a sign that they all were familiar with; no sign shall be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet.
This would be an ultimate defeat to those trying to destroy Him and His ministry.
He then explains the attesting miracle, or sign, that would be of His own demonstration; for just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. It is at this point we must become familiar with the circumstances of the prophet Jonah and how his disobedience made his life difficult.
Tuesday, July 11, 2006
THE SIGN
V38. Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered Him, saying, "Teacher, we want to see a sign from You."
Dripping with sarcasm these religious charlatans address Jesus as “Teacher.” This is the same group that He has just called a brood of vipers who would be so assured of their own interpretations of God’s Law that they never would condescend to asking His interpretation or advice within their own field of expertise. The scene is set and the public would surely side with the exalted orthodox religious leadership. They are certain that they have Jesus backed into their trap.
With the multitude listening in, they fire their predicted death blow at Jesus by their request, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.” This was an official mandate from the recognized leadership for Jesus to prove Himself to be the Messiah.
Jesus had been healing the afflicted out of His compassion but the religious leadership could only see that He would not subscribe to their regulative additions and silly mandates to His Father’s Law. The proud scribes and Pharisees had no compassion for the very people that God’s Law was to protect.
The sign that the religious sought was of a magnitude on a worldwide scale. This would be like rearranging the star constellations or causing rivers to flow backwards. We compare the parallel passage in Matt. 16:1-4 And the Pharisees and Sadducees came up, and testing Him asked Him to show them a sign from heaven. 2. But He answered and said to them, "When it is evening, you say, `It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.' 3. "And in the morning, `There will be a storm today, for the sky is red and threatening.' Do you know how to discern the appearance of the sky, but cannot discern the signs of the times? 4. "An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign; and a sign will not be given it, except the sign of Jonah." And He left them, and went away. Barclay states, “They desired to see God in the abnormal; they forgot that we are never nearer God, and God never shows Himself to us so much and so continually as in the ordinary things of everyday.” This was not uncommon for these people as Paul tells us in 1Cor. 1:22 For indeed Jews ask for signs, and Greeks search for wisdom.
Dripping with sarcasm these religious charlatans address Jesus as “Teacher.” This is the same group that He has just called a brood of vipers who would be so assured of their own interpretations of God’s Law that they never would condescend to asking His interpretation or advice within their own field of expertise. The scene is set and the public would surely side with the exalted orthodox religious leadership. They are certain that they have Jesus backed into their trap.
With the multitude listening in, they fire their predicted death blow at Jesus by their request, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.” This was an official mandate from the recognized leadership for Jesus to prove Himself to be the Messiah.
Jesus had been healing the afflicted out of His compassion but the religious leadership could only see that He would not subscribe to their regulative additions and silly mandates to His Father’s Law. The proud scribes and Pharisees had no compassion for the very people that God’s Law was to protect.
The sign that the religious sought was of a magnitude on a worldwide scale. This would be like rearranging the star constellations or causing rivers to flow backwards. We compare the parallel passage in Matt. 16:1-4 And the Pharisees and Sadducees came up, and testing Him asked Him to show them a sign from heaven. 2. But He answered and said to them, "When it is evening, you say, `It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.' 3. "And in the morning, `There will be a storm today, for the sky is red and threatening.' Do you know how to discern the appearance of the sky, but cannot discern the signs of the times? 4. "An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign; and a sign will not be given it, except the sign of Jonah." And He left them, and went away. Barclay states, “They desired to see God in the abnormal; they forgot that we are never nearer God, and God never shows Himself to us so much and so continually as in the ordinary things of everyday.” This was not uncommon for these people as Paul tells us in 1Cor. 1:22 For indeed Jews ask for signs, and Greeks search for wisdom.
Monday, July 10, 2006
THE TRAP
V38. Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered Him, saying, "Teacher, we want to see a sign from You."
Some of the scribes and Pharisees likely refers to a special committee appointed from Jerusalem to set Jesus up so that He could be publicly discounted by those who were of the highest moral fiber. The scribes were the lawyers of authority in interpretation of God’s Law. The Sadducees had their scribes in their party but they were the aristocracy who cared little about the little people who Jesus identified with. The Pharisees were regular folks who swore an oath to uphold the law as interpreted by the scribes. This is why the scribes and Pharisees are so closely related. Paul was a Pharisee and also a blue collar tent maker: Acts 18:1-3 After these things he left Athens and went to Corinth. 2. And he found a certain Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, having recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome. He came to them, 3. and because he was of the same trade, he stayed with them and they were working; for by trade they were tent-makers. 23:6 But perceiving that one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, Paul began crying out in the Council, "Brethren, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees; I am on trial for the hope and resurrection of the dead!"
Jesus was drawing large crowds to His attention by explaining God’s truth and proclaiming the arrival of His kingdom. The scribes and their student Pharisees were at odds with the teachings of Jesus and sought to put Him down once ad for all.
Dripping with sarcasm these religious charlatans address Jesus as “Teacher.” This is the same group that He has just called a brood of vipers who would be so assured of their own interpretations of God’s Law that they never would condescend to asking His interpretation or advice within their own field of expertise. The scene is set and the public would surely side with the exalted orthodox religious leadership. They are certain that they have Jesus backed into their trap.
Some of the scribes and Pharisees likely refers to a special committee appointed from Jerusalem to set Jesus up so that He could be publicly discounted by those who were of the highest moral fiber. The scribes were the lawyers of authority in interpretation of God’s Law. The Sadducees had their scribes in their party but they were the aristocracy who cared little about the little people who Jesus identified with. The Pharisees were regular folks who swore an oath to uphold the law as interpreted by the scribes. This is why the scribes and Pharisees are so closely related. Paul was a Pharisee and also a blue collar tent maker: Acts 18:1-3 After these things he left Athens and went to Corinth. 2. And he found a certain Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, having recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome. He came to them, 3. and because he was of the same trade, he stayed with them and they were working; for by trade they were tent-makers. 23:6 But perceiving that one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, Paul began crying out in the Council, "Brethren, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees; I am on trial for the hope and resurrection of the dead!"
Jesus was drawing large crowds to His attention by explaining God’s truth and proclaiming the arrival of His kingdom. The scribes and their student Pharisees were at odds with the teachings of Jesus and sought to put Him down once ad for all.
Dripping with sarcasm these religious charlatans address Jesus as “Teacher.” This is the same group that He has just called a brood of vipers who would be so assured of their own interpretations of God’s Law that they never would condescend to asking His interpretation or advice within their own field of expertise. The scene is set and the public would surely side with the exalted orthodox religious leadership. They are certain that they have Jesus backed into their trap.
CONFRONTATION
80. Request for a sign refused
Matt. 12:38-45
38. Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered Him, saying, "Teacher, we want to see a sign from You."
39. But He answered and said to them, "An evil and adulterous generation craves for a sign; and yet no sign shall be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet;
40. for just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
41. "The men of Nineveh shall stand up with this generation at the judgment, and shall condemn it because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.
42. "The Queen of the South shall rise up with this generation at the judgment and shall 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.
43. "Now when the unclean spirit goes out of a man, it passes through waterless places, seeking rest, and does not find it.
44. "Then it says, `I will return to my house from which I came'; and when it comes, it finds it unoccupied, swept, and put in order.
45. "Then it goes, and takes along with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there; and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first. That is the way it will also be with this evil generation."
Matt. 12:38-45
38. Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered Him, saying, "Teacher, we want to see a sign from You."
39. But He answered and said to them, "An evil and adulterous generation craves for a sign; and yet no sign shall be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet;
40. for just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
41. "The men of Nineveh shall stand up with this generation at the judgment, and shall condemn it because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.
42. "The Queen of the South shall rise up with this generation at the judgment and shall 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.
43. "Now when the unclean spirit goes out of a man, it passes through waterless places, seeking rest, and does not find it.
44. "Then it says, `I will return to my house from which I came'; and when it comes, it finds it unoccupied, swept, and put in order.
45. "Then it goes, and takes along with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there; and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first. That is the way it will also be with this evil generation."
