There’s a young man who has pursued one career his whole life — let’s say he’s trained for years to be a teacher. It’s not glamorous, nor the most financially rewarding, but it’s what he’s gifted at and called to do.
When he and his fiancée first got together, she was on board. She admired his passion and respected his calling. She also respected his biblical role to be the head of household and wanted to submit to his leadership.
But her father was really big on financial stability. Anytime he was brought up in conversation, her father would insist he pursue a different career and then one day go back to teaching once they were more stable.
But as the wedding drew closer, she began to say, “If you really loved me, you’d change careers. You’d get a more financially stable job — one that proves you’re serious about our future.”
For him, this was devastating. He had grown to love her deeply. But he also felt called by God himself to be a teacher. He felt as though he was between a rock and a hard place.
Her love for him wasn’t resting on the years of commitment, character, and sacrifice she’d already seen. It was now resting on a new proof — one that shifted the relationship from trust to conditions.
It wasn’t about whether he was trustworthy. It was about keeping the upper hand: “I’ll marry you if you meet my new standard.”
We like to make our decisions on a firm footing. Especially when we make big decisions, we like to have certainty that we are doing the right thing. Sometimes, this need comes out in our relationship with God. It feels good to have assurance before obeying what God said.
The danger comes in when our relationship with God shifts from trust to merely meeting my conditions.
Jesus constantly puts his clear authority out there. And today he addresses those who want him to meet their conditions.
So, turn to Matt. 12:38-50
38 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, “Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.” 39 But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40 For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 41 The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here. 42 The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here.Revelation
Remember the context so far: Jesus cast out a demon in such a clear demonstration that the crowd wonders about him being the Son of David; however, the Pharisees accuse him of doing this by the power of Satan. Jesus disproves this accusation and then warns them that they crossed a line. He then warns them to be careful of what they say because they will be judged according to their words.
It’s at this point where we see the “then. . .” and “answered him. . .”
Remember previously, it seems as though the Pharisees were going around spreading the rumor—not to his face—that he was doing miracles by the power of Satan. Now, they are speaking to his face. Their language is filled with the air of politeness. They address him as “teacher.” They say “we wish” to make their request not sound so demanding.
Jesus’s response is unexpected and astounding. He says initially, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah . . .”
A couple of things about this saying that I believe will be helpful in understanding it:
The term “generation” is purposefully used as a sign post. The term “evil generation” would have immediately pointed the listener to the wilderness journey where an entire generation is condemned to die in the wilderness because of their unbelief. God says of them:
Numbers 14:11 “11 And the Lord said to Moses, “How long will this people despise me? And how long will they not believe in me, in spite of all the signs that I have done among them?”
God proposes getting rid of the evil people and bringing up his own new people; however, Moses intercedes for the people and the Lord is merciful. And God says:
Numbers 14:20–23 “20 Then the Lord said, “I have pardoned, according to your word. 21 But truly, as I live, and as all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord, 22 none of the men who have seen my glory and my signs that I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and yet have put me to the test these ten times and have not obeyed my voice, 23 shall see the land that I swore to give to their fathers. And none of those who despised me shall see it.”
Jesus connects the attitude of the Pharisees to the wilderness generation who constantly saw God work yet still disobeyed.
2. The phrase “seeks a sign” is present gnomic, meaning it is definitional of the generation. In other words, they are always seeking a sign; that is what makes that generation what it is. They are never, for example, seeking the kingdom. Seeking the kingdom would require allowing God to reign in their hearts. But instead of allowing God to rule their hearts, they would rather have verification and allow their obedience to be on their own terms.Relevance
A company had been bought out a year ago. The new boss came in, and at first, everyone was cautious. But over time, he proved himself — he kept the business profitable, handled client issues well, and treated employees fairly. People saw he knew what he was doing.
Except for one employee. This employee was really close with the previous boss and was still hurt that he was gone. Whenever the new boss gave him an assignment, he’d smile and say, “Sure — but before I do that, can you show me one more example that this is the best way forward?”
And these weren’t wild, unreasonable requests. Sometimes it was, “Show me a report where this worked before,” or “Can you point to another client who’s happy with this strategy?”
It looked like diligence. But everyone knew what was really happening: By asking for a “sign” every time, the employee made himself the final judge. He kept the power in his hands — the boss could only lead if he agreed. The proof request wasn’t about trust; it was about control.Revelation
The Pharisees are used to casting lots to make decisions. It’s almost as if they say to Jesus, “I’m going to flip this coin. Heads means you are who you say you are, Tails means you’re not.” So, Jesus refuses to be the Pharisee’s cosmic coin flip. He shows the problem is not the signs (oh which Jesus has given plenty) but rather their heart condition.
The pharisee’s sign-seeking has revealed their hearts are evil and adulterous. Adultery was a common prophetic analogy for idolatry. And consider this: the sign-seeker is willing to go after anyone who gives the greatest sign, whether from a demon or not.
But Jesus says a sign will be given: the sign of Jonah. He connects this to his own death and resurrection. Just as Jonah was in the belly of the fish, so the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth.
Then, in vv. 41-42 Jesus gives two people who will rise up and condemn this generation. Both the Ninevites and queen of the South are pagan foreigners. Both received no signs yet displayed trust in God.
There are no recorded miracles that the Ninevites saw. All they got was this message: “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.” That was it. Then they repented. No signs necessary.
The queen of the South did not see any signs, she just heard reports of a wealthy and wise king. She decided to travel a great distance and see for herself, again placing trust without a sign.
Each time, Jesus concludes that he is greater than both Jonah and Solomon.
The implication is clear: if these people did not need a sign to trust, neither do the Pharisees (though they already had plenty).
The pharisees demand show they have based their obedience, their relationship with God on verification rather than trust—or faith. How can that change?Move 2Matthew 12:43–45ESV
43 “When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, but finds none. 44 Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when it comes, it finds the house empty, swept, and put in order. 45 Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there, and the last state of that person is worse than the first. So also will it be with this evil generation.”
This is a strange parable. Probably one skipped over a lot.
Let’s notice some things that will help us interpret it.
The demons aren’t really the main thrust of the connection for the parable as much as it is the person infected by the demons. The demon first leaves the person, returns, finds the person empty, and invites his demon friends, and the person ends up worse off.
Then Jesus concludes, “So also will it be with this evil generation.”
So the person in the parable is representative of the evil generation.
The person has something afflicting it that leaves. But the person remains empty. Then the person ends up worse off.
So, we can say, the generation has something afflicting it. That leaves. But the generation remains empty. And so, it ends up worse off.
This is the pattern, I believe of the wilderness generation. Moses took that generation out of Egypt but he did not take Egypt out of that generation. In other words, they are constantly longing to return to Egypt. God shows a wonder and they take a few steps forward, but in the face of any adversity they are ready to return to Egypt.
Jesus’s current evil generation is seeing his ministry. And it is that interest, or wonder, one might say that is connected to the parable in that the demon leaves the person. The demon leaves, but no transformation takes place. The evil generation remains skeptical, empty, and ultimately refuses to place trust in Jesus. The state of wonder and curiosity does not remain, rather eventually the person will trust in something. Eventually, he will decide to worship something. And when he reject Christ, he ends up worse off than when it all started. Why? Because he essentially doubled-down on the demonic oppression. he doubled down on the false worship that initially brought the problems into his life.
This is what sign-seeking reveals about the heart: there is no real transformation, just emptiness. The house is not indwelt by the Holy Spirit, transformed by Christ, but rather it is empty.Relevance
Imagine a church that wants to draw in as many people as possible, so they focus almost entirely on attraction. They have donuts and coffee in the lobby as people come in. They greet everyone with a friendly smile. They have excellent music that’s heard on the radio, stunning visuals, impressive stage effects. Every Sunday is a production designed to wow.
Charismatic churches spiritualize the production by focusing on the individual’s experience with the Holy Spirit. They’ll say things like “let the Spirit move you,” and do things to get people to feel in their emotions.
People start coming to these churches in droves, because they’re sign seekers. The atmosphere is electric, but no one is actually learning the Bible, no one is being called to repent, and no one is being discipled.
Over time, the same people who are thrilled with the lights and music start asking for more. “Can we make the set bigger? Add more special effects? Bring in bigger-name guest speakers?”
The signs keep getting bigger, but the hearts remain empty. There’s nothing filling the house. The moment wears off, many drift away because there was never transformation, just entertainment.
That’s exactly what happens in Matthew 12. The Pharisees wanted more signs to maintain control, not to know God better. They were sign-seeking, not kingdom-seeking. And without God’s rule filling their hearts, all the signs in the world only reveal how empty their hearts are.
A church can put on the biggest show in town, but if Christ himself is not dwelling in the hearts of his people, all the signs are just smoke and lights over and empty stage.
The Pharisees say, “Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.”
They’ve already seen healings, exorcisms, and authoritative teaching, but they demand more on their terms.
In our modern seeker-friendly culture, some churchgoers say, “I’ll really engage if the service moves me, if the music is next-level, or if the sermon makes me laugh and cry.” How did churches move the center of attention from the Bible to a stage? Because they listened to the Pharisees’s demands.
These modern churchgoers have already heard the gospel, but they want proof every week that its worth their time.
Jesus calls them “an evil and adulterous generation” not because they’re curious, but because their demand is a way of avoiding surrender and placing trust.
The attraction-focused attender may keep coming, but their heart is still in charge, “I’ll keep showing up as long as you keep meeting my expectations.” It’s church on probation, the same control game the Pharisees played with Jesus.
The parable of the swept but empty house is outward change without the indwelling of God. The leaves a life open for a worse bondage.
A church full of activity and production can look “swept clean.” That is, it had no obvious doctrinal scandal, no glaring immorality. But still is spiritually hollow if Christ’s Word and Spirit aren’t filling people. When the novelty fades, the emptiness is exposed.
And I think this is where we get it all wrong. We have the head knowledge of the truth then want the proof, we want the emotional or spiritual experience to validate the head knowledge.
If sign-seeking is a sign of emptiness, what is a sign of transformation?Move 3Matthew 12:46–50ESV
46 While he was still speaking to the people, behold, his mother and his brothers stood outside, asking to speak to him. 48 But he replied to the man who told him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” 49 And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! 50 For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”Revelation
Notice this begins with “While he was still speaking . . .” which is a clear sign that this text relates to the previous in context. Again, I base a good bit of my interpretation on the fact that Matthew choses his words and order of story carefully.
Jesus redefines his family as those who do the will of his Father.
Obedience from the heart is the very thing that sign-seeking avoids. Sign-seeking reveals that the heart is empty and susceptible to be tossed to and fro by every wind of doctirne.
But what is the sign of the heart indwelt by the Holy Spirit? One that does not simply seek verification after verification? The visible sign of being transformed into the family of God is doing what God wills. Obeying from the heart rather than from the sign.Relevance
Obedience from the heart means we want what God wants. It’s not longer begrudging, experience-driven obedience.
I said before and emphasized something about churchgoers who seek signs. These churchgoers, I said, already heard the gospel, but they want proof every week that its worth their time.
Consider this question for a moment: Is the gospel worth my time?
I think this is a sign-seeker question. This is not a question from a transformed heart.
Is God worth my time? is a question asked by an empty heart.
The empty heart wakes up Sunday morning and says “there’s a cloud in the sky over the sun, I cannot go to church this morning.
The empty heart says, “God’s word does not really match that person’s story. . .maybe its all wrong.”
But I don’t think there’s just sign seekers out there.
There may be some right in this room. Perhaps your faith is ready to self destruct at any moment. Perhaps you have already gathered the explosives and attached the fuse; you’re just waiting for the one thing to get on your last nerve to light the fuse.
If you’re gathered here this morning only so long as its a benefit to you, guess what? You identify with the evil generation in this text. Your heart may be swept and in order while you sit here pretty in this room, but it’s empty.
And let me say that again clearly: if your only motivation for being in this room is how this benefits you: your image, your prestige, your experience with God.
Here’s the thing: the Pharisees wanted a sign, a supernatural thing to take place.
But we all have things that we want Christ to accomplish for us. We want a peaceful homelife, to not be so depressed, to have spiritual experience, to have life fulfillment. We do the same thing the Pharisees did!
We go to Jesus and say, “Good teacher, we wish to have life fulfillment”
“Good teacher, we wish for world peace”
Good teacher, we wish to have a spiritual experience.”
This is when Jesus turns to us and says, “A wicked and adulterous generation seeks a spiritual experience.”
Why? Why is that adulterous? Because if all we want is a spiritual experience, we will go to anyone to get it. Jesus is just one on our list of possibilities.
What we want is not fulfillment, not peace, not harmony, not a good life, not prestige, not social credit, we want Christ!
So listen, you may be in here with an empty heart. You careen from experience to experience. You’ve set up things for Jesus to meet so you can be happy with him. What you need is not a new sign! You need transformation! You need the Spirit of God to fill your heart! Put away your old wretched thoughts and desires, repent of them and turn to Christ. Surrender your life to him!
Do you want to know why there’s so many deconstructin from the faith nowadays? It’s because we’ve created a sign-seeking religion. And all the sign-seekers have realized they can find their signs somewhere else. We’ve told people to live for fulfillment rather than Christ! What adulterous people we are!
But let me say this as well.
There are many in here whose hearts burn for Christ. You want, like God said in Numbers 14, his glory to fill the whole earth. Let me give you a salve. Your heart is full. You yearning is genuine. Don’t fall for the temptation to fill it with something else.
Is there some matter of obedience to Christ that you’ve been waiting on because you wanted a sign? Settle the matter today. Being a part of Christ’s family is not looking for a sign, its obeying. Do not delay obedience searching for mystical things Christ never commanded. Instead trust him, not on the basis of your life experience or your future hopes, trust him on the basis of his word. Only there you will find solace, fulfillment, and peace. True life is not found in the striving for it, but rather in its surrender to Christ.
