A SERIES OF DEVOTIONS BASED ON THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW 

 HOW GREAT DOES THE MIRACLE HAVE TO BE?     

Matthew 12:38-40 “Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to Him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.” He answered, “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 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.” 

The Pharisees and teachers of the law asked Jesus to perform a miracle (“we want to see a sign.”) By this time Jesus had performed many miracles including giving sight to the blind, giving back speech to a man who had none, and giving life back to a young girl who had died. The list was quite extensive. One would think that anyone of these miracles made a significant, positive impression upon those who witnessed them. How many more did Jesus need to perform before the Pharisees and other Jewish leaders would believe in Him? 

One would think that Jesus’ critics would have been dumbfounded at the miracles He performed. Jesus rebuked these men for their attempts to discredit Him. He preached and taught them the Gospel. Yet, they kept asking for Him to conduct His ministry exactly as they wanted. Jesus, with great exasperation said to them, “You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.” (Matthew 23:24)  

What does it take for you to believe what you hear in a Christian sermon or taught by a Bible class teacher? When even miracles do not soften a hardened heart, how do you believe that Jesus came to “seek and to save the lost?” (Luke 19:10) Luther’s answer is this: “I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith.” (Small Catechism, Explanation for the 3rd Article of the Apostle’s Creed.) Romans 10:17 answers: “Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.”  

Prayer: O Lord, grant me ears to hear Your word and Your Holy Spirit grant me faith to believe it. In Jesus’ name. Amen. 

God’s Word is our great heritage  
And shall be ours forever;  
To spread its light from age to age  
Shall be our chief endeavor.  
Through life it guides our way,  
In death it is our stay.  
Lord, grant, while worlds endure,   
We keep its teachings pure  
Throughout all generations.  

God's Word Is Our Great Heritage // LSB 582