Signs

Passage: Matthew 15:29-16:20

In this passage Matthew records a series of stories in rapid succession that deal with the debate about Jesus’ true identity.

In the first story Jesus is surrounded by a crowd of people longing for his healing touch. We’re told that people have brought their sick and disabled loved ones, and Jesus has healed them. At a certain point the practical matter of feeding all these people comes up. Jesus gathers what food they have (seven loaves of bread and a few fish) and distributes it. Miraculously more than four thousand people are fed abundantly.

Immediately following this story we’re given the account of a confrontation between Jesus and the Pharisees and Sadducees (two parties that together represent the local authority on all things religious). They demand that Jesus give them a demonstration of his power. He refuses. This raises two questions. First: Why doesn’t Jesus just give them a sign? I mean, how easy would it be for him to put their questions to rest once and for all? This leads to the second question: Why do Jesus’ opponents need a sign? If they’ve spent any time around Jesus, they’ve either encountered witnesses, or witnessed his miracles themselves. Chances are at least a few of them were there when he fed the four thousand. How much more do they need?

This is precisely why Jesus refuses to cater to their demands. His argument is that they’ve seen all they need to see. He can’t do anything that will convince the Pharisees and Sadducees that he is who he says he is: the Messiah; God in the flesh. They have already seen ample evidence to support this. But they have been unwilling to accept the conclusion indicated by the evidence. They are unwilling to entertain the possibility that Jesus is the Christ.

Throughout the Gospels we see two things happening. The first is that Jesus is either unwilling, or unable, to perform miracles in the presence of unbelievers. A stunning example is found in Mark 6, when Jesus pays a visit to his hometown. The second is that Jesus almost invariably waits to administer healing until people have demonstrated faith in him. Some great examples are his healing of the woman with the flow of blood; his healing of the Canaanite woman; and his healing of the centurion’s servant.

The net testimony of these passages is this: Jesus is not primarily concerned with healing people’s physical maladies. He’s not primarily concerned with improving people’s lives here and now. Jesus is preoccupied with people’s ultimate salvation. No one can enter into a saving relationship with God the Father except by believing in Jesus Christ.

What Jesus communicates in his conversation with the Pharisees and Sadducees is that he can’t help them. He cannot change their minds. They’re already convinced that he can’t possibly be God in the flesh. Any evidence he offers to the contrary, no matter how miraculous, will be dismissed or explained away.

In the final story of this passage, Jesus asks his disciples what conclusion the evidence has led them to draw. Only one of them – Peter – answers: “You’re the Christ!” Even among those who have spent every day with Jesus, few are ready to come to this conclusion.

The question we’re left with is this: What evidence do you need? What do you have to see and hear to believe that Jesus is who he says he is? If you’ve already decided he can’t be the Savior; can’t be God in the flesh, then nothing is going to change your mind – even a personal visit from Jesus himself. If you already believe, then you don’t need more miracles than those he has already shown you.