The Pharisees also with the Sadducees came, and tempting desired Him that He would shew them a sign from Heaven. Matthew 16:1
The four Gospels record a total of 37 specific miracles that were performed by the Lord Jesus, beginning with the water being turned to wine at Cana and ending with the catch of 153 fish not long after the resurrection. These miracles included many healings, at least three people raised from the dead, the stilling of great storms on Galilee, the feeding of some 25,000 people with food broken from a small quantity, and many others. In addition to the 37 miracles specifically mentioned, the Lord Jesus healed many dozens of people whose accounts are not individually recorded. In the face of such an overwhelming avalanche of proof of His divine power, Jesus is asked by representatives of two diverse religious factions to give them a sign from Heaven. What more could they possibly ask for?
None are so blind, we are told, as those who refuse to see. This was surely the case with the Pharisees and Sadducees, as they ignored all the proofs that the Lord Jesus provided, and asked for more. To the disciples, and to many other people in those days, those miracles were certainly all the proof they needed. These saw the miracles and realized that none but God could perform them, and worshipped. But the opposers saw the miracles and doubted and questioned, seeing in those miracles that which conflicted with their own ideas and teaching. Too many people are like them today.
I have heard too many people say they don’t believe in God because if there was a God, He would not allow all of the crime and suffering and disasters that are occurring in the world. They say they will believe only if God shows them a sign by stepping in to prevent some of the bad things from happening. For one thing, they are looking in the wrong place for the cause of the crime and suffering and disasters. These are all a direct result of man’s sin and disobedience. As to their looking for a sign from God, they refuse to read and believe the Bible, which contains four accurate recordings of the life and ministry of Jesus Christ, including the details of His miracles and signs. The Bible also contains the record of man’s fall into sin and his continued decline into sinfulness and rejection of God. In the Bible, the sceptics can read of God’s plan and purpose through the ages to provide for a Saviour, and of the faithful patriarchs and prophets who lived in the anticipation of His coming.
All of the Word of God contains all that the sceptics need to find the proof of the God of love and of the God of miracles and signs. Just as the same book is the Christian’s constant reminder of the goodness of God that led us to repentance and faith in His Son. -Jim MacIntosh