Seriously?

One day the Pharisees and Sadducees came to test Jesus, demanding that he show them a miraculous sign from heaven to prove his authority.

He replied, “You know the saying, ‘Red sky at night means fair weather tomorrow; red sky in the morning means foul weather all day.’ You know how to interpret the weather signs in the sky, but you don’t know how to interpret the signs of the times!  Only an evil, adulterous generation would demand a miraculous sign, but the only sign I will give them is the sign of the prophet Jonah.” Then Jesus left them and went away.  Matthew 16:1-3

My eleven year old daughter really makes me laugh at how she tries to get out of the obvious. This phenomenon is not unfamiliar to any of you who have parented a child. The other day, an ice cream bar that I had been saving suddenly was missing. I asked my wife if she had eaten it, and she said no. Being that there are only three of us in the house, the finger naturally goes to my daughter. We asked if she had eaten the ice cream, and she said emphatically, “No!” My wife and I look at each other, and say, “Seriously?” While we had to hold her accountable and reinforce the importance of telling the truth, we continue to laugh about how ‘creative’ she was in trying to explain for the unexplainable.

This brings me to how we as believers encounter people who choose not to believe in Christ. We must without hesitation be able to confirm both His existence and truths. We encounter those who choose not to believe even though the signs are right there in front of them. The verses today refer to such a instance where the elite and knowledgeable sects of the Jewish faith questioned Jesus’ authority . . . dare I say again. This was after Jesus had (get this) fed 5,000 people with five loaves of bread and two fish (Matthew 14:13-21) and then another 4,000 with seven loaves and a few small fish (Matthew 15:32-39)! So in reading Jesus’ response, we get the impression of ‘what the heck does He have to do to convince these people?!?!?’ Seriously? Rather than appeasing them, Jesus, the master that He is, tells them of the sign of Jonah, which referred to His own resurrection. This would be proof beyond all doubt of Jesus’ divinity. We are often presented with things where people will question the existence of the true living God. We must answer with a sound mind and heart not focusing on what we do not know (i.e. why a tragedy occurs). Instead, we must focus on what we do know (His grace, His word, the transformative changes in our lives). Only then are we able to be advocates for Him.

Our personal relationship with Christ answers all doubts of His existence. While nonbelievers may come up with evidence of His nonexistence, we know beyond question how real He is. Our mission is not to convince others of His existence. Ours is to be knowledgeable of it and present the evidence to them for their spirit within cannot deny it. Where do you doubt Christ’s existence and how will you address it? How will you without hesitation tell of Jesus’ existence in your life? My prayer is that we confirm our truths so when questioned of Christ’s existence, we simply say to ourselves, “Seriously?” Amen.