When God Doesn't Answer

In Matthew 12:38-39 we see written, “Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.” But He answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.”

“If God is real why doesn’t He show up right now?” Haven’t you heard that before? “God, if you are who they say you are then do something to prove it!” I heard it a thousand times. It’s the words of a generation of people who not only find it hard to believe but they CHOSE not to believe! This is a faithless and evil world we live in.

I want you to ask yourself a question. Have you ever asked for these things? Have you ever asked for God to give you a sign so that He can prove Himself to you? Maybe you know someone who has said something like that? It isn’t uncommon these days. Just like it wasn’t in the days of Jesus.

People, maybe people like you or like those around you, want God to put on a show for them. Do you know what it can be likened to? It’s like saying to God “If you want be to believe you are really God and in control then put on this clown suit and start performing for me! Entertain me God! If you do what we want then we will believe you are God!”

“If you do WHAT WE WANT then we will believe YOU are God!” Did you catch that? Since when does a God have to follow the commands of the people He is God over?! Would that not make Him less than God? Isn’t the very request insulting to God?! Of course it is! It’s like saying to the cop, “If you let me drive your patrol car I will believe you’re a real cop.”

Now in these verses we find them ask Jesus to basically prove He is God. After all the miracles He had done and all they had seen they still wanted more. They wanted Him to put on a show for them. Today, we want God to put on a show for us. We have the testimonies of Christians from years past and from today, yet people want “a sign”.

Jesus said no to them in that day. Today God still is saying no. God still refuses to put on that clown suit and perform for us. He is still God and we are still not! People could not get Him to show off for them then, and we still can’t. I want you to know why. This is what I want you to remember today. God doesn’t refuse to show us signs because He doesn’t care if we believe or not, He refuses to do so because He knows even if He did… we still would not be satisfied. Because God has already done so much, and He knows that if what has been done isn’t enough then nothing will be.

Do you remember the story of Moses in the book of Exodus? How he went to the king of Egypt and told him God said to let His people go. The king asked for a miracle to know that Moses spoke for God. Ten plagues hit Egypt per the words Moses spoke. Fire raining from heaven, days becoming as night and the first born children no longer in the land of the living! Yet even with these miracles the king hardened his heart and chose not to believe.

He said, like the people of today, “show me a miracle”. Yet he did not change his mind after having what he asked for. Just as today we would not believe even if we had what we ask for.

The king of Egypt did as we do today. He looked for an excuse to explain why the things he had seen were not enough! He asked for a miracle, and still didn’t believe when he got them! In the same way Jesus had done all these miracles yet the people wanted more! When is enough, enough?!

Jesus healed the sick and they said he was breaking the law (Matthew 12:9-11), He even would cast demons out of people and they said He was the devil (Matthew 12:24-26). It sounds to me like they were explaining things away. They didn’t want a sign, they wanted another excuse to explain Jesus away!

Let me ask you another question. If God DID show up in front of you and lay His hands on you what would you think? Don’t be too fast to say you would believe. The next question is what would you think of someone who told you it happened to them? Would you call them crazy? Wouldn’t you call yourself crazy if you would call them crazy? Be honest with yourself. You would explain the sign away, just like the king of Egypt wouldn‘t you.