Days of variety, Father – what a blessing! Rain, sun, home, away, normal, special – there is so much to rejoice about in life! May I be grateful for whatever lies before me. Amen.
Luke 11:29-30 (<<click to read the passage)
There is a comedian that runs the country circuits by the name of Bill Engvall. I’ve heard some of his stuff but one routine that he is known for is his “Here’s Your Sign” standup routine. It is based on people asking stupid questions. He laughingly says it would make things a lot easier if people would wear “I’m stupid” signs, it would save time and maybe help them to not do stupid things, if people saw it.
Here’s an example from one of his shows.
I was driving around, and I had a flat tire. I pulled my truck into one of those side-of-the-road gas stations. The attendant walks out, looks at my truck, and looks at me and…he went, “Tire go flat?” I couldn’t resist, I said, “Nope. No, I was driving around and those other three just swelled right up on me!” And without missing a beat, he goes, “Well, the heat’ll do that.”
Sometimes people don’t say smart things. They ask things or demand things and often they don’t even know what they are saying or asking for. From a comedic side of things, we could say, “Here’s your sign!”
In today’s passage, there is absolutely no humor intended or implied. Jesus is totally serious when the people ask Him for a sign – a miraculous sign – and He basically says, “You want a sign? Here’s your sign!”
Why were they asking for a sign? Were they selfishly motivated? Were trying to trip Him up? Were they just wanting to be entertained? Maybe… but overall, they were not looking at who Jesus really was. For many, He was just there to meet their need. “Hey, man, jump through this hoop! Hey, man, do what I say!”
Jesus had no intention of doing their bidding. He wasn’t some kind of circus act. He wasn’t there to entertain or perform on command. He was there to change lives. He was there to bring salvation, where the only option available was damnation.
Jesus said, “…the only sign I will give them is the sign of Jonah.”
So, what is the significance of the prophet historically swallowed by a giant fish?
(The story is laid out in a most excellent way by an online video ministry, called BibleProject. Click here to see their website. Click here for the video of the book of Jonah – you won’t be sorry that you did!) (I also put the Jonah video at the bottom of the blog.)
Watching the above-mentioned video does a much better job of explaining things but let me just say, Jonah was sent to call an enemy nation to repentance and he did everything he could to avoid saving them – he wanted them to die. He wanted them all to die. He sailed the other way, got thrown overboard, got swallowed by a giant fish, got spit out, prophesied (sort of), and was still ticked at God because He didn’t take out His enemies but forgave them because they repented.
Jesus came for all people, not just a chosen few. He came to save the world.
In John 3:16-17 Jesus proclaimed for all to hear…
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” (NKJV)
He came to save us but it would involve Him being in the “belly” of the earth for three days, only to be brought back to life by God’s almighty power, conquering death and in that act, He made available to us eternal life…instead of eternal death.
Lord Jesus, may we seek to save the lost. May we be all about showing the lost around us the sign of your salvation. There’s nothing stupid about that…
June 22nd, 2020, Mon, 8:47 pm
