Matthew 12:38-45
The Sign of Jonah
38 Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, “Teacher, we want to see a miraculous sign from you.”
39 He answered, “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40 For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 41 The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now one greater than Jonah is here. 42 The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon’s wisdom, and now one greater than Solomon is here.
43 “When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. 44 Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. 45 Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this wicked generation.”
Luke 16:19-31
The Miracle of Rising from the Dead
19 “There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. 20 At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores 21 and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.
22 “The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 In hell,[c] where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. 24 So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’
25 “But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. 26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’
27 “He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my father’s house, 28 for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’
29 “Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’
30 “‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’
31 “He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’”
1 Corinthians 15:12-14
The Resurrection of the Dead
12 But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.
The Pharisees and teachers of the law wanted to see a modern miracle...They wanted to see a miracle or miracle with their own eyes...The confusing thing is that they did see some of Jesus' miracles...I think most non-believers want to see a modern miracle with their own eyes...I even think many believers would like to see a miracle today or when they lived...I think if most people, in fact, I would go to far to say, if all the people were offered somehow a Godly-type miracle they would gladly accept that miracle...I believe this because it is our best offer in finding meaning to life...But we have to recognize and more importantly believe that we did see a miracle...
I believe our minds have problems with miracles...If and when we see one, we think about it, study it, and try to rationalize what that miracle was...We might ask, what really happened?...Can I believe what I just saw?...We might think or say, that was just that happening (and this means the miracle had or has nothing to do with God)...I also think that all the discoveries in science has hurt our belief in miracles, and maybe at no fault of their own...Time and science maybe changing how we view miracles...But maybe our thinking about miracles have changed somewhat when the Pharisees asked for one (much time has passed and we have more knowledge about the universe)...
But today (more than ever) we seem to have a dependency and belief in science that lesson the impact of something new and unexplainable (in my opinion)...For example, if in the 1700's or the 1800's and even the first part of the 1900's if you would have told someone that the world would build a large Hadron Collider to find a very, very small particle -called the Higgs boson -they might think that a miracle...An author would even write about this particle and call it the "God particle."...Higgs boson was called the God particle because it is very important (to scientists and physicists), very elusive, seems to be in everything, and very powerful (in the sense of supporting their Standard Theory)...If you would have asked someone in the 1700 or 1800's that people would build a seventeen mile cylinder to find a particle, some would be dismayed, some would say what are you talking about, while others would say -yes, now that would be a miracle...Today, it seems we are more dependent on science and their learning these new things (over time) for our miracles...I would bet if you ask someone as late as the 1940's that man would land on the moon (many times) they would think that was a miracle...So we have a great expectation for our modern scientists to find out things over time for us today...But the great findings of Pasteur, Edison, and Einstein were from men all born in the 1800's...I would expect the people of the 1700's thought what they did would be miracles...These men are now history...So the time element of what we did not know and now do now affects one's beliefs and thinking...All the great things that the great scientists have done in the past allowed future scientists to build on their past history and successes...
But, to me, to pursue knowledge, just to have more knowledge is meaningless, if life has no purpose...Science and all its knowledge gives us great knowledge and great assistance in health, and the knowledge of atoms and bosons, but does it seek to give us any meaning in life...Science seems to be working for on finding new knowledge and more information for us, far more than it concerns itself with the meaning of life...Now these things are earthly and alright, but if I have all the knowledge in the world what do I have, if I do not have faith, hope, and love (1 Corinthians 13:8-13)?...
God chose the perfect time to send His Son to earth...I think, not having the number of scientists, in Jesus time worked to His advantage...But, Jesus could answer and have answered any number of scientific questions if He had been asked...But Jesus did not come to earth to give us a science lesson...He came to teach us about His Father, die for our sins, and give everyone -believer and unbeliever the "Sign of John"...He gave us all the miracle of the resurrection of the dead...But as Jesus teaches us in the Parable of the poor man, Lazarus, and the rich king -even if someone sees a miracle (or reads about it) they will not be convinced it is even a miracle -if they do not believe in the Bible...
To me the most important fact (and historical fact) in the world ever, is the resurrection of Jesus...If we were ask to give Jesus or list His occupations, He was not a scientist (but He could have been and taught us all how to walk and run on water)...I think many would say His occupation was carpenter, prophet, healer or doctor, rabbi, minister, and/or a Great Teacher...But back to the resurrection, without it we have no eternal life...And agreeing with St. Paul -all of His teachings and the other Bible authors teachings are also in vain and useless...The eternities which Jesus teaches us, forgiveness, charity, faith, hope, and love is the overarching story of life...He and His teachings gives life its meaning...