SEEKING A SIGN MATTHEW 12: 38-42

How many of you like magic tricks? I remember as a child I got a book of magic tricks. Most of them were some form of card trick and the key to it was to get really good with slight of hand. I was nothing like the magicians that we see on TV or in the shows people go to see.

Some of you may have gone to one of these shows before. They can do some spectacular tricks like sawing people in half, making whole buildings disappear, and even levitating people.

Some people don’t care for these shows because they know they are fake. Others, despite knowing this, still love them to try to figure out how the trick is performed. We even have a whole show called Pen and Teller: Fool Us where people try to trick the magicians and they try to see if they can figure out the trick.

People want to be entertained and it was no different during Jesus ministry. To be clear, Jesus was not performing parlor tricks, but was doing impossible things. We call them miracles because they are supernatural in nature. Yet, despite the numerous signs that Jesus performed, the Pharisees wanted more. They were seeking a sign, not to believe in Jesus, but to condemn him. 

A lot of people today will do the same. They will never believe, no matter what the evidence points to. However, for the one who truly is seeking proof, there is one sign that points to the true identity of Jesus that shines above the rest.