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Once again the Pharisees are met with heavy criticism in response to their question to Jesus. It is important to remember the character of the Pharisees when we consider Jesus’s words. They are very often seeking to trap Jesus with His own words in order to accuse Him of breaking their law. When the Pharisees as Jesus a question, more often than not they have devious intentions.
They’re met with the words “evil and unfaithful.” Dang. Heavy criticism indeed. Jesus goes on to say that “no sign will be given except the sign of Jonah the prophet. Just 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.” Jesus isn’t here to cater to the miracle-demands of the Pharisees, but He won’t let them get in the way of His plans either. He says no sign will be given it except one, but that one sign is the single most important event in human history. Jesus was killed, and by His own power, together with the Father and the Holy Spirit, He rose again from the dead. Jesus didn’t need to do this to prove that He is God, but He did it to show us. He did it to save us.
What do we make of the other miracles that Jesus did? I’m neither a biblical scholar nor a theologian, but I wonder if He intended them to be signs at all. Jesus worked countless miracles during His time on earth and He continues to do so. If His glorious resurrection was to be the only sign given us, then why did He do these other miracles too? I think He did them out of sheer love and mercy for us. We need to be healed: physically, emotionally, spiritually. Every ounce of our soul that is separated from Jesus is an ounce that is broken, and Jesus wants us to be healed. The miracles shouldn’t replace our faith in the resurrection. God is not a gumball machine where we put in a prayer, turn a crank, and get our wish. No, God is a loving Father. He gives us what is good for us out of love for us and so that we would be reminded of that sacred cross and that glorious resurrection.
-Amanda Benner, Director of Evangelization