The Demand for Signs

Jonah and the Whale (1621) by Pieter Lastman

THE DEMAND FOR SIGNS

The demand for signs from Jesus should be understood in the context of the development of the Jewish religion. The religion of Abraham was not born a finished product. Like the Roman Catholic religion, it developed and changed over time. The curse of three or four generations (Exodus), for example, was removed by the prophet Ezekiel (Chapter 18). The Jews demanded signs because the witness of signs to confirm the words of prophets was part and parcel of their oral history, and their Scripture testified many times to this way of verifying God's word. Not only Moses, we can also cite Elijah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, and many other prophets, including the unnamed. Through Isaiah, God even tells Ahaz, the king of Israel, “Ask for a sign!” So it was not “evil” or “wrong” to ask for a sign from Jesus to support his claims. By the time of Jesus, it was practically a canon of their Jewish religion that the prophet should work signs.

What then does Jesus mean when he says, “An evil generation asks for a sign?” He means that he had already worked many, many signs at that point, and yet multitudes, the Jewish authorities particularly, refused to believe. Moreover, possibly more important, the many wondrous signs of Jesus were joined to his sublime teaching and to the witness of his impeccability and virtue. The generation Jesus condemns is evil, therefore, not because it asks for a sign but because it refuses to believe despite the signs all around. Notably, Jesus confirms his claims by working what is possibly the greatest sign of all: the Resurrection.

So it is not “evil” to ask for a sign, and it is not “evil” even if the challenge stems from disbelief. Notably, the Roman Catholic Church today continues to ask for signs. What is “evil” is not to believe the signs that God works.

In at least some cases, signs are not necessary to confirm that prophecy is genuine. What is vital is the veracity of God’s message, and in these cases it is not essential for signs to play touchstone of truth. The revelation of the Trinity, a doctrine which cannot be verified at all by human means, requires the witness of signs and divine power. But in other cases, such as the call of Saint John the Baptist to repentance and conversion, truth witnesses through its own power.

“The truth cannot impose itself except by virtue of its own truth, as it makes its entrance into the mind at once quietly and with power.”—Vatican Council II, Declaration on Religious Liberty (1965)

Therefore, let us acknowledge that disbelief might also be grounded in want of veracity and not necessarily arise from a proud heart that refuses to submit.

Does a purportedly prophetic message come from God? With respect to this question, the preceding post is relevant, DISCERNMENT OF PROPHECY:

https://oddsandendsgonzalinhodacosta.blogspot.com/2018/06/discernment-of-prophecy.html