“Signs and Wonders: The Sign of Jonah” by Rev. Cody Sandahl – August 28, 2016
Introduction
This is our last week in our series looking at the signs and wonders of Jesus. Next week Dave Blackburn will be preaching, and then we’ll start a new series looking at how God shaped the Israelites and how God is shaping us as well.
Last week we looked at the raising of Lazarus from the dead, and we were reminded that death doesn’t win because Jesus is the resurrection and the life. This week the scribes and Pharisees come to Jesus asking for a sign. And listen to Jesus’ response to their request.
Matthew 12:38-45
38Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to him, “Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.” 39But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation asks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so for three days and three nights the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth. 41The people of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the proclamation of Jonah, and see, something greater than Jonah is here! 42The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to listen to the wisdom of Solomon, and see, something greater than Solomon is here! 43“When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it wanders through waterless regions looking for a resting place, but it finds none. 44Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ When it comes, it finds it empty, swept, and put in order. 45Then it goes and brings along seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and live there; and the last state of that person is worse than the first. So will it be also with this evil generation.”
More, More, More
If you talk to football players, deep down many of them harbor a feeling of disdain for the athletic prowess of kickers. They don’t generally get hit. If you see a linebacker in public, you might wonder if they play football. If you see a kicker in public you probably won’t notice them as being different from anyone else.
In high school our kicker was trying to impress upon everyone else how difficult it is to kick a field goal. There was probably a girl he liked standing nearby or something. Now my brother had never kicked a field goal before, but he is a competitive guy, and he wasn’t buying the argument. So the kicker challenged my brother to kick a 30-yard field goal and see how hard it really is. They went out to the right yard marker. They set the ball. My brother stepped into the kick and let it fly! It tumbled end over end toward the goalpost and…missed badly. The kicker smugly set it all up again. “Give it another shot.” Once again my brother stepped into the kick more determined than before, the ball flew toward the goalpost and…it’s good!
Having a 50% field goal percentage without ever training is pretty good, right? Except for one small problem. The kicker, now not so smug, said, “Fine, but can you do it again?” I asked my brother this week about what happened next, and in retrospect he said, “I SHOULD HAVE dropped the mic and walked off.” But what actually happened? Miss after miss after miss. Never hit it again.
But isn’t that how it always goes? We see or do something amazing and what’s the reply? “Fine, but can you do it again?”
We were talking in our staff meeting this week about how nice it would be if God would show us more than one step at a time. If we could see three, four, or preferably twelve steps in advance it would be so much better. But someone also noted that of course at some point we would be complaining that we could only see twelve steps out.
We are on some level just like my son Caleb sitting at the dinner table saying, “More…more…more” with a panicked look on our faces even after we’ve just had cheese and crackers and chicken and eggs and avocados.
The scribes and the Pharisees are perfect exemplars of this attitude. Including our text today, the religious leaders ask for a sign from Jesus on three separate occasions. Twice they asked for a sign right after a miraculous feeding of a crowd. And our text today comes right after Jesus cast demons out of a tormented man. Right after witnessing a miraculous sign, they demand another one. “Can you do it again, Jesus?” We want, “more…more…more.”
Have you ever demanded more from God? Have you ever wanted more proof, more assurance, more emotional connection, more tangible presence, more, more, more? Have you ever asked God to do it again, preferably better or clearer this time?
I’ve shared before the clearest sign I’ve ever received personally. At the end of college I was about to go to seminary and I told God, “I think you’re calling me to seminary, and I don’t think you want me to delay. So I’m going to start seminary next semester, but if I’m wrong about that give me a job offer from National Instruments, and make it from the machine vision group.” And the next day I got a job offer from National Instruments, the machine vision group. Pretty clear. But God has never again been that clear with me! When I asked “Should I marry Becca,” there wasn’t such a clear sign. When I asked “Should I become a pastor in Bethlehem, PA,” there wasn’t such a clear sign. When I asked, “Should I go to First Pres Littleton,” there wasn’t such a clear sign. I was still very sure about all three of those things – don’t worry Becca – but I didn’t get a heaven-parting obvious sign either.
So let me ask you: if God does something amazing once, but then doesn’t do it the next time, has God left the building? If God heals your father’s mother’s sister’s cousin’s former roommate but not your spouse, not your child, not your parent, not your best friend, has God stopped caring?
Sign of Jonah
Jesus gives a fascinating reply to these questions. When the scribes and Pharisees keep asking for “more…more…more,” he gives them the sign of Jonah. We just spent a lot of time on Jonah this year. You probably are NOT wanting “more…more…more” of that prophet. But you know the story.
The fascinating thing about Jonah is that he never did a sign. No miracles. He just walked through the city of Nineveh prophesying destruction. And even that destruction never happened because the Ninevites repented and God didn’t destroy them. The sign of Jonah is that this person who should have been dead is still walking around pointing people to God. The sign of Jonah is about a person, not calling down fire or hurling thunder bolts or raising the dead. Here Jesus is saying, “I am God’s sign among you. You don’t need anything more. I’m enough.” That’s the sign of Jonah.
So if you’re wondering if God has forgotten about you because you haven’t seen anything miraculous in a while, Jesus is still who he has always been. And he says, “I will be with you always.” If you’re wondering if God has stopped caring about you because other people are getting answers from God and you aren’t, Jesus is still who he has always been. And he says, “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you.” If you’re wondering if God has given up on you because of what you’ve done this time, Jesus is still who he has always been. And he says, “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.”
We don’t need “more…more…more” to know these things. Jesus is who he has always been.
Triggers of Hope
In fact, Jesus gives a fascinating story here at the end to illustrate what happens when we’re reliant on sign after sign after sign from God to keep our faith strong.
He starts off with a miracle – an unclean spirit has been cast out of a person. Praise be to God! Then when it can’t find a new home it returns to the same person and finds everything tidied up – all the more move-in-ready. In fact it’s so move-in-ready that the spirit brings in more evil spirits and they trash the place. What does this mean?
Jesus is saying that those miraculous moments, those signs and wonders, those moments of extreme clarity, they are an opportunity to change. They are an opportunity to do far more than just pick up the house. They are an opportunity to change the locks on the past, to re-decorate everything, to fill your heart with something new. But if the locks never change, if the house gets picked up but remains empty, if the heart doesn’t change, then the cycle will continue.
Have you ever had one of those carpet cleaner salesmen come to your house? They offer to clean a section of your carpet for free to demonstrate their product. That one section looks really nice. But imagine that I then decide to stop cleaning my carpet because I’m just going to wait for one of those salesmen to come by and do the job again. Is that going to work? My carpet’s going to be gross!
So when we notice that our lives are getting cluttered and covered in dust, we can pray for that traveling carpet cleaner salesman. But that’s also a good time to remind ourselves that God is already with us, ready to help us change the locks and break the pattern.
A former student of mine struggles with feeling abandoned by God, feeling unworthy, feeling hopeless. So one day we sat down and listed out the people God had placed in her life who unequivocally cared about her. And we listed out the things in life that remind her of God’s presence and love. That list was for her to pull out when she felt abandoned and unworthy and unloved. We called them “triggers of hope.” Some of them were serious – people who had been with her through tough times. Some of them were funny, like the one that said, “babies…unless they are ugly.” It’s been a few years since we came up with that list, but she texted me recently that they were still helpful.
What are your triggers of hope? Who are the people who God has placed in your life who unequivocally care about you? What are the things in life that remind you of God’s presence and love? Those triggers of hope are how we can change the locks of our hearts so that the old spirit can’t move back in. Maybe those triggers of hope are serious. Maybe they’re funny. What are your triggers of hope for those dark seasons of life?
Summary
Sisters and brothers, we don’t need “more…more…more” with Jesus. Jesus is who he has always been. He’s the one who is always with us, the one who always loves us, the one who always forgives us. That’s enough.
We can fill our heart with these triggers of hope. We can change the locks of our hearts so that the old spirit can’t come back in. Or we can wait for the traveling carpet cleaner salesman to show up so we don’t have to clean our carpets any more.
How will you fill the house of your heart? Amen.
