Matthew 12:38(NLT) tells us, “One day some teachers of religious law and Pharisees came to Jesus and said, “Teacher, we want you to show us a miraculous sign to prove your authority.” It is important for us to understand the mindset of anyone that would ask the Son of the Living God a question like this. During the time in which our Lord and Savior walked the earth, the Pharisees were a religious group of men that were considered the upper echelon of the Jewish community. They were leaders, teachers, lawyers, and other men of high rank and wealth. Through his unfathomable wisdom, power, and goodness, our Master Jesus agitated their base of authority and influence, and they tried to trip him up and discredit him in any way they could.
They were always unsuccessful in their attempts. Jesus Christ knew exactly who they were. He knew their motives. So, in Matthew 12:38, when they asked him for a sign to demonstrate his heavenly authority, he knew they were an evil generation who refused God’s Son and didn’t have God’s love in their hearts. He had already performed many miracles. They witnessed some of them and heard about others, but they still would not believe in him and give him his rightful place of honor and authority.
God tells us in 1Thessalonians 5:5(NLT), “For you are all children of the light and of the day; we don’t belong to darkness and night.” Our identity is in Christ because we have given our lives to God through him. God has saved us from the kingdom of darkness through His beloved Son. 2Corinthians 5:19-20(NLT) states, “19 For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. 20 So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” We have the privilege and duty to share the Good News about Christ with others, and he has empowered us to do this with his boldness and authority.
Jesus Christ gave his life on the cross to save us from death and darkness. His love came into our hearts because we had faith in him. We weren’t here when he walked the earth. We have faith because we believe and trust God’s Word. The earth is spinning. It rotates on its axis relative to the sun every 24 hours, and it takes us with it. We don’t feel the earth spinning, because God designed the laws of the universe in such a way that we feel our feet firmly planted on the ground. However, none of us require a sign to know that the earth is moving. We have faith that it is doing exactly what God designed it to do, regardless of how and what we feel.
In like manner, our salvation in Christ isn’t dependent on what we feel. It is dependent on what God has told us in His Word. When Jesus Christ was tempted by satan in the wilderness, Matthew 4:4(NLT) tells us, “But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’” God’s Word is life to every believer, and we must be ever so careful that we do not behave as the Pharisees did, and want signs to affirm and confirm the greatness of God’s promises. 2Corinthians 1:20(NLT) declares, “For all of God’s promises have been fulfilled in Christ with a resounding “Yes!” And through Christ, our “Amen” (which means “Yes”) ascends to God for his glory.” We must believe God’s Word and trust it with all our hearts, and that is all the guarantee we will ever need. ■
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
“The Greatness of God’s Promises”, written by KLizzie, edited by Reverend Fran Mack, for Sundie Morning Sistas ©2022. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord! SMS is dedicated to inspiring and encouraging Christian Women through the Word of God.