HOME OF ARTICLES
“A wicked and faithless generation are eager for a sign; but none shall be given to them except the sign of Jonah.” and He left them and went away.” (Matthew 16:4 WNT)
After the Lord Jesus Christ had miraculously fed four thousand hungry men besides women and children with seven loaves and fish, the Pharisees and Sadducees came to Jesus. They requested a sign from heaven from Him to prove to them that He was indeed the Messiah they had been waiting for.
How did Jesus respond to their request for a supernatural sign before they would believe and receive Him as their Messiah?
Did Jesus jump at, seize, or grab the opportunity to perform supernatural signs and wonders to prove to them that He was indeed the Messiah, the Anointed One? Not at all!
Rather than granting the request of these religious men or gratifying their desire for a supernatural sign, the Lord Jesus rebuked them bluntly, saying, “A wicked and faithless generation are eager for a sign; but none shall be given to them except the sign of Jonah." and He left them and went away." (Matt. 16:4 WNT).
The Lord Jesus undoubtedly had and still has the power to perform great signs and wonders as He wills. The Scripture is replete with miracles, healings, signs, and wonders Jesus performs. Not all the mighty works Jesus did were recorded in the Bible (John 20:30, 21:22).
The miraculous works of Jesus recorded in the Bible confirm and testify that Jesus is indeed the Christ, the Son of God. They are undoubtedly sufficient evidence for anyone to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and, through believing, receive everlasting life in His name ( John 20:31).
Many Old Testament prophets had to perform great signs and wonders before the people authenticated their calling, ministry, or message. They had to prove or demonstrate to the unbelieving Jews that God sent them.
Moses and Aaron had to perform many signs before the children of Israel to believe and receive them as God's servants sent for their deliverance ( Exo. 4:29-31).
Elijah had to call down fire from heaven to consume the water-soaked sacrifice on Mount Carmel to demonstrate to the backsliding nation of Israel that he was indeed God's servant and was acting on God's instructions ( 1 Kings 18:36).
Samuel also had to call down rain and thunder during the wheat harvest so that the children of Israel would know they had sinned against God by asking for a king ( 1 Sam. 12:16-18).
Why would the Lord Jesus not perform any sign or wonder to authenticate or validate His person and ministry when the religious leaders requested a sign from Him so that they may believe in Him?
It is wisdom for us to find out!
First, the Lord Jesus refused to perform any new sign for His skeptics to believe and receive Him as their Messiah because they already had ample signs that He was indeed the Messiah, the Son of God.
Before the birth of Jesus, God had sent many prophets or messengers to the Jews who gave many prophecies about Jesus Christ and performed ample signs and wonders before the people to authenticate their messages and ministries (Isa. 7:10-14, Hebrew. 2 :1-4).
The last prophet God sent to Israel was John the Baptist. He unmistakably bore witness to the person and purpose of Jesus. Before the entire country, He called Jesus “the Lamb of God,” sent to carry away the world’s sin ( John 1: 29-32).
Besides the prophecies and miraculous signs given by the prophets of old to prove to the Jews that Jesus Christ was the Son of God, God the Father also spoke clearly from heaven to confirm that Jesus was indeed His Beloved Son.
Matthew 3:16-17 – NKJV
16 When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him.
17 And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
Nevertheless, the Jewish religious leaders would not believe and receive Jesus Christ as the Son of God and their Messiah.
The Lord Jesus bluntly refused to perform any supernatural sign to convince the Jewish religious leaders that He was indeed the Messiah because the Lord knew that no new sign or wonder would cure their unbelief or melt the hardness of their hearts.
Second, the Lord Jesus did not grant the request of the Jewish religious leaders, whom He referred to as a wicked and faithless generation, for a supernatural sign from Him before they would believe in Him because He would not have their faith be based on any miraculous signs, but on God's Word alone.
The Word of God is the only tried, tested, firm, and sure foundation for a victorious Christian life!
Psalms 12:6-7 – NKJV
6 The words of the LORD are pure words, like silver tried in a furnace of earth, Purified seven times. You shall keep them, O LORD,
7 You shall preserve them from this generation forever.
Signs and wonders offer no solid foundation upon which to build your Christian life, for they don't endure forever, "but the word of the LORD endures forever" (1 Pet. 1:25 NKJV) .
Therefore, if you base your Christian life upon some spiritual experiences, miraculous signs, or wonders, you will become unstable and eventually fall into errors.
Finally, the Lord Jesus would not encourage seeking signs and wonders because they could be misleading, for the devil and his agents can also perform great signs and wonders.
The Scripture sternly warns that many false “christs” and false prophets will arise in the last days and perform great signs and wonders to deceive many people.
Matthew 24:23-25 – NKJV
23 “Then if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or 'There!' do not believe it.
24 “For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.
25 “See, I have told you beforehand.
Beloved, seeking supernatural signs and wonders before you believe, receive, and obey God's Word is unwise and unsafe.
Seeking supernatural signs and wonders to validate God's Word will make you vulnerable to deception, exploitation, and manipulation of false prophets and apostles parading themselves as God's servants today.
It is unsafe to conclude that God is present wherever and whenever you see miracles, signs, and wonders. Today, many false prophets and apostles perform signs and wonders but not by God's Spirit (Rev. 16:13-14) .
We are now in days of subtle deceptions!
Therefore, if you seek miracles, signs, and wonders, you may be deceived, defiled, defrauded, and dominated by false prophets and apostles, transforming themselves into prophets and apostles of Christ to deceive and defraud the gullible and the undiscerning ( 2 Cor. 11:13-15).
So, don't be deceived!
Stop seeking after signs and wonders!
Prayer:
My Dear Holy Spirit, teach and help me to discern and escape the subtle deceptions, manipulations, and exploitations of false prophets and apostles parading themselves as prophets and apostles of Christ in these last days, in Jesus' name. Amen.
Our mandate is to preserve the faith of the Apostolic Generation.
Eniyekpemi Fidelis Oyinpreyebi.
AWH, Blogs.
Share this:
Comments
Post a Comment