Jesus had performed many miracles during the early years of his ministry and stood condemned for them by the religious leaders. They even attributed his authority as coming from Satan himself. Then in Matthew, Chapter 12, we read this dialogue between the religious leaders and Jesus: “Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you. 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. “
Jesus has already expressed his knowledge of what was in the hearts of the religious leaders. It wouldn’t make much difference if he’d given them another miracle as evidence. They had already decided what they would believe. I’ve had several people say to me that they would believe if they saw this or that special sign. But I’m convinced that those demanding a further sign today have already decided not to believe. What kind of evidence would it take? I’m convinced that if God rearranged the stars at night to spell out “Jesus is my Son in whom I am well pleased,” most people would look at the starts and marvel at the coincidence and say “isn’t that unusual, I wonder how the stars arranged themselves in that way.”
The evidence for Jesus death, burial and resurrection is evidence that demands a verdict, as Josh McDowell puts it. Boice writes, “God has provided perfectly adequate evidence of the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. The evidence consists of the claims of those who saw Jesus between the day of his resurrection and the day of his ascension into heaven, the empty tomb, the changed character of the disciples, the authenticity of the records, and the evidence of the undisturbed burial garments. The evidence is there, and the evidence of the grave clothes alone was sufficient to quicken faith… We conclude that if men fail to believe, it is because they will not believe, not because the evidence is lacking.”
Chuck
“He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” Matthew 11:15