Simple Sign
38 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, “Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.” 39 But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40 For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 41 The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here. 42 The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here. —Matthew 12:38-42
1. We want a sign. (vv. 38-39)
2. God has given a sign. (vv. 39-40)
The Resurrection:
1. Proves Jesus is who He said. Every other religion follows a person who is now dead. The beauty of Christianity is its claim that Jesus is alive.
2. Give credence to the hope that one day God will raise us. Why do you believe in eternal life? Because the New Testament demonstrates that God has the power to raise the dead body of Jesus. Because of that you can trust that the New Testament’s claim that one day your body will be raised can also have veracity.
3. Verifies the Scriptures. If Jesus is alive, then this book suddenly is much more important than originally thought.
4. Explains the spreading of the church. Why would these men go talk about it? There is no other logical explanation. You could potentially explain ONE of them doing itinerant, martyr-driven preaching, but you could never see it happening across the board.
What’s the point? The Resurrection is a POWERFUL sign.
3. Don’t miss the sign from God. (vv. 41-42)