The living dead

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW

THE LIVING DEAD

Matt 12:38-42

38 Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, "Teacher, we want to see a miraculous sign from you." 39 He answered, "A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40 For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 41 The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now one greater than Jonah is here. 42 The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon's wisdom, and now one greater than Solomon is here.

NIV

Because we believe and have the complete record of all that has happened from the creation of all that has been created to what is to come some day in the future, we understand what Jesus says here. But it would also seem Jesus spoke plainly enough in terms the Pharisees should have understood that he was talking about them being condemned. They certainly should have gotten the message they were a wicked and adulterous generation. The one part of this narrative which leads to some confusion is when Jesus compares himself to Jonah and the three days and nights. By our method of reckoning Jesus was put in the grave on Friday before sunset, which was the beginning of their Sabbath, Saturday. He was in the tomb all day Saturday, but rose early on Sunday morning. This is our Easter Sunday Celebration. That would make part of three days, but only two nights. The scholars indicate the Jews reckoned time differently than we do as a part equals a whole to them. But still we cannot grasp the three nights, yet they considered the days and nights as one so then if he was in the tomb part of a day it was also part of the night. We don’t get it, but they did. Yet because we know the scripture is true and the words of Jesus contain all truth, we have to believe the three days and three nights meant that in the way the Jews thought about days and nights. Although that could be a lesson for us, in that we should or need to see the scripture in light of the time is was recorded, our lesson is about faith. Some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law wanted to see a miraculous sign. Were they just trying to trick him? Were they possibly considering he was telling the truth about being the Son of God, that he was the awaited Messiah? Maybe they were beginning to believe he was the one greater then Jonah and Solomon. Maybe they were considering they might be the ones condemned because they were not listening to his words. But because they wanted proof, he rebuked them. He had been doing miraculous signs all along. He already had healed hundreds, perhaps thousands. He had driven out demons, if fact all this conversation is a result of his driving out the demons which made a man mute and blind. The man could now speak and see and the crowds were astonished, yet they still are asking for a sign. This is not much different than some people of this generation. Some people are looking for the supernatural. They seek the paranormal, the spooky stuff rather than the truth of God. They look for answers about life after death within the paranormal, but only find the spiritual realm of darkness. There is no doubt demons occupy the realm of the supernatural and paranormal. They present themselves in various forms to trick this generation into believing there is something, but it is not. When people find this illusion and it has nothing to do with God, it proves they do not have to believe in God to find life after death. That is why the seek it, search for it diligently. They do not want the truth, they want to find that which they can live with, while remaining their own way of living. Because the Pharisees and teachers of the law wanted a sign, they were condemned. They could not believe on faith, although they could have seen many signs. If people are looking for signs today, they too will be condemned. We do not need signs to believe, although we have received miraculous healings, and the divine hand providing in a supernatural way, outside the realm of possibility of the norm. We have witnessed miracles that defy science, physics, and chemistry. Yet Jesus tells us that we are blessed if we believe yet have not seen. Many believers may not have seen all the miraculous events we have, yet still they faith is as strong as, maybe even stronger as, ours. But the point is the Pharisees had all the opportunity to see signs, and yet they refused to believe and wanted a sign. We do not need a sign, but some people want us to show them proof of God, with a sign. They say God is dead, but in reality they are the living dead. This is what Jesus was telling the Pharisees and teachers of the law. This is what this generation is as well. The living dead. But we who believe have life and life more abundantly. We who were once dead in our sin, are now alive in Christ. How grateful we are that God intervened in our lives, and brought us out of the darkness into his wonderful light. How is it that we were saved and so many will not find the truth? Why us and not them?  It has to be because they refuse to believe, as did the Pharisees and teachers of the law, and thus are a generation that is condemned, unless they find the truth. How can they find it unless someone shows it to them? Who will he sent? Could it be us? Unless we our someone else tells them the truth, they are the living dead.