1. Sign: This word does
not simply mean miracle, since Jesus had already supplied many of them, it must
refer to some assurance or authentication that Jesus is truly from God. Around
the year AD 45, man called Theudas arose claiming to be the Messiah. He
persuaded the people to follow him out to the Jordan with the promise that he
would cleave the river in two and give them a pathway through it to the other
side. He failed miserably and was dealt severely by the Romans. People expected
Jesus to perform some feats of this sort.
2. Evil and Adulterous
generation – the term is used as a metaphor to describe infidelity with respect
to God. God’s relationship with his people is that of a marriage covenant (Hos 1-3,
Is 57:3, Jer 3:9)
3. Sign of Jonah:
According to St. Luke, the sign of Jonah is Jesus’ preaching of repentance to
the marginalized as Jonah preached to the Pagan people of Nineveh, with
reference to death and resurrection. The point in common is return to life
after apparent/real death not so much to do with the number of days (three days
and night in the belly of the fish and three days in the tomb).
4. The Pagan Ninevites
who repented at Jonah’s preaching will condemn people of Jesus’ generation for their
failure to repent in response for Jesus’ preaching. They repented even though
they were pagans and had a lesser preacher (Jonah)
5. Queen of South:
Queen of Sheba (Saba in South West Arabia) came to hear Wisdom of Solomon from
a great distance, People of Jesus’ own generation failed to respond to his
preaching to them.
Asking for a proof or a
sign is a very normal thing. The world is full of signs and miracles which our
Lord Jesus performs every moment but we fail to take notice of it. If something
bad happens we blame it on God and if something good happens we think, it is by
chance. We are in no way different from people who lived in Jesus milieu. When
sometimes we see the people of other religions praying in our Churches with
deep reverence, it make us bit uncomfortable and Jesus tell us today that the
people who have faith in Him irrespective of their religion will be the first
ones to taste salvation. It naturally leaves a warning for us Christians who
take salvation for granted!
Courtesy
Sacra Pagina Series
Life Application
Commentary
William Barclay’s
Commentary
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