What Will Convince People About Jesus? Matthew 12:38-45
The use of the spectacular to gain a following has been common practice for centuries. Crowds will always draw crowds. A claim that the supernatural is going to be witnessed is a great draw.
One of the great advocates of the charismatic movement in the 1960’s, John Wimber, later acknowledged that some of the two of the main spectacular features that were promoted by that movement as signs of God’s working, the ‘Baptism of the Spirit’ and ‘Speaking in Tongues’ were wrong.1 He ackowledged that children with Down’s syndrome that he had prayed for had not been healed. Yet still today there are those who offer this service to those in need. Similarly no amputees have had their limbs restored in such meetings and the results for Alzheimers disease and blindness are similarly very poor. Things were very different in Jesus day, real miracles were occuring, the blind did see.letters
Yet, even then, there were some who were not convinced. A group of senior Jewish men asked Jesus to show them a miraculous sign, in spite of the fact that if they had followed him around they could have witnessed many extraordinary miracles. The Greek word used for ‘miraculous sign’ here is semeion which literally means a ‘sign’ or token. This could be a miracle or anything spectacular that would convince people that the extraordinary was present. What Jesus said to them is very relevant to those who are seeking answers to the big questions of life in the wrong place, in a search for the spectacular or supernatural. Jesus replied,
“A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign! But none will be given it except the sign of Jonah.” Matthew 12:38
Miracles and spectacular signs are not the answer - elsewhere we read,
“Even after Jesus had done all these miraculous signs in his presence, they still would not believe in him.” John 12:37
Jesus refuses to oblige them by demonstrating a sign – he could have struck them dead as a sign of future judgment! Jesus himself is the most important sign that God has entered his world to save people – it is he they should be looking at. His character, his teaching and his fulfilment of Scriptural prophecies as well as his miracles all point to him as someone very special indeed. Jesus knows full well that any who follow him because of any signs they witness will be spurious disciples as their interest is probably self-centred. Jesus knew that unfortunately there would be those who go down this spectacular route, even today, to gain followers:
“For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.” Matthew 24:24
Instead Jesus cites three ways that help an honest seeker after the truth - to be convinced about him.
1. The Sign of Jonah – historical evidence
“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.” Matthew 12::40
Jesus is clearly using the story of Jonah as a prophecy about what will happen to him after his death. Incidentally the Greek word translated here as a ‘fish’ can mean to any ‘sea creature’. Jesus had repeatedly told his disciples, when they were on their way to Jerusalem, that he would be killed and would rise again after three days.
“He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again. He spoke plainly about this . . .” Mark 8:31-32
Jesus is alluding to two sorts of evidence about himself. The first is the fact that he was about to rise from the dead after three days. That should be enough to convince anybody, particularly as there were so many witnesses to this fact. The second is the evidence from the Old Testament Scriptures about the coming Messiah. Over 330 of these prophecies have been fulfilled in Jesus and anyone can verify these. His human family background, his place of birth, his miracles, his death by crucifixion, his resurrection, the content of his teaching and also his status of being equal to God are all foretold.
2. The Response at Nineveh – evidence of conscience
“ 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 something greater than Jonah is here.” Matthew 12:41
The people of Nineveh were very depraved but when they were told that if they repented and turned back to taking God seriously they could be forgiven, they responded gratefully. Jesus compares them with the religious Jews he was talking to. The Jews had so many advatages but could not see their own need. They thought they were alright before God because they were religious. How many religious people make the same mistake? They think God will accept them because of their religious affiliation. In contrast Jesus taught that without a personal commitment to him and a determination to live as he wants, there can be no salvation.
If any reader has still not turned back to rely on the Lord Jesus for salvation, they must act before it is too late. The word ‘belief’ in the Bible does not simply mean agreement with a doctrine or involvement with a church but is a personal commitment to follow Jesus.
“Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him.” John 3:36
The evidence that godless people can repent and become godfearing individuals, should be a wake up call to people’s consciences and strong evidence that this path is right.
If the Ninevites could respond to a simple moral challenge, how much more should people who have the full revealtion of Jesus repent and turn to him. His message is indeed compelling but there is so much more evidence for him being the hope of the world. He is much greater than Jonah!
3. The Queen of Sheba – evidence of ‘wisdom’
Truth is a wonderful idea and all people should seek the truth is all areas of life but especially when trying to answer the big questions of life. The search for wisdom is the search for truth.
“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 something greater than Solomon is here.” Matthew 12:42
There really is a judgment when each of us will stand before God and Jesus uses the example of the Queen of Sheba as yet another reason that people must believe in and follow him. She was attracted by accounts of the wisdom of Solomon and travelled a long way to understand life, as Solomon taught and demonstrated this. One of Solomon’s early Proverbs was,
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.” Proverbs 1:7
A search for truth involves an intellectual rigour but honest questioning will draw people to the truth and so to faith in Jesus as the Christ. Questioning is not the opposite of faith but should be the route to faith. My books, ‘Cure for Life’ and ‘Stepping Stones to Faith’ both outline the types of evidence there is for belief in God and in the Christian faith, evidence that would win in any court of law.
Atheism is a faith but how few have honestly investigated the origins and consequences of that faith’s claims. The same goes for any faith system.
It is staggering that so many people follow Islam when there is much evidence that it cannot be true but was a late invention that suddenly appeared around 692 AD. Muhammed was said to have been born in 570 AD, dying in 632 AD. So why is there no mention of an Arab leader Muhammed, either on coins, on rock engravings or in the 7th century court documents of the Caliphs prior to 692 AD? Why did the direction of the Qibla of mosques change so late?why are there no quotes from the Quran prior to 692 AD if the seventh century Arab expansion was the result of this? Why was Mecca largely unknown until the 8th century. Similar investigations concerning the origins of Mormonism and Jehovah’s Witnesses reveals that they are based on shakey evidence.
The search for wisdom or truth should a vital ingredient if people are to find God’s way. I was surprised to hear a member of the Jehovah’s witnesses who came to my door admit that she had never investigated the origin of her faith – they are not encouraged to ask such questions. What a disaster a faith without wisdom is. Any true faith must be evidence based and this will require intellectual rigour.
Jesus finishes this summary about the best evidence by returning to the essential focus of any quest.
“ . . . now something greater than Solomon is here.” Matthew 12:42
The ‘something’ is clearly everything to do with Jesus. He claimed to be the only Son of God who was equal to his Father in heaven. This was such a staggering claim. The most important question anyone seeking for ansers to life should be asking is:
“Who is Jesus and why should I follow him?”
In this short section Jesus has outlined the sort of evidence we should be looking for.
The Solution is in a Person
At first I was puzzled why Jesus goes on to talk about an ‘impure spirit’ in this context.
“When an impure spirit comes out of a person, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that person is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this wicked generation.” Matthew 12:42-45
Up to this point he has been emphasising that the answer to life rests in himself. A commitment to him means that impure spirits will leave. However if that person does not coninue to live in a close relationship with the Lord Jesus then their fate is worse than ever. A temporary clean up of a person’s life will not bring salvation. If a person’s life does not continued to be filled by the Lord Jesus, then impure spirits will return and again take over. It is them much harder to repent and turn again to Christ.
The story is told about Billy Graham, the great evangelist in the second half of the twentieth century. He was walking along a street one evening and saw a drunkard propping up a lamp-post. This man recognised Mr Graham and called out. I am one of your converts. Billy Graham replied,
“You may be one of my converts but you are clearly not one of Jesus Christ.”
The greatest evidence anyone can have is to walk daily with the Lord in control. Jesus himself said,
“If anyone chooses to do God’s will, he will find out whether my teaching comes form God or whether I speak on my own.” John 7:17
A real sense of assurance that we are on the right path will only be known by those who have repented and are choosing day by day to live as Jesus and the rest of Scripture teaches.
BVP
July 2023
1http://thebriefing.com.au/1990/04/john-wimber-changes-his-mind/
