Sermon: A Generation’s Rejection

Celebrity atheists? It’s an odd age when people will pay to go hear someone tell them what they don’t believe in. In last Sunday’s sermon, Jason exposited Matthew 12:38-42, a passage in which Jesus is rejected by an entire generation.

Three ideas emerge from this passage…

1  The folly of mankind. The problem isn’t in the evidence but in the man. The scribes want a sign, but Jesus has just been doing sign after sign in plain sight of the pharisees. They didn’t believe. This was not for a lack of evidence but because their hearts were already hardened toward him. This was not for a lack of signs but for a lack of willingness to believe the signs. 

Why do people today not believe? Because the lost sinner doesn’t WANT to believe. This is the true folly of mankind. We want to make demands and to control. The root of unbelief is always “That’s not the God I expected, not the God I want.”

2  The firmness of our faith. Reason is an ally of faith. In Peter’s sermon in Acts 2, he says that the miracles were to show that Jesus is who he says he is. Jesus wants us to see that our faith has a sure foundation in God’s Word. He uses Jonah as an example. The human reaction to Jonah’s story is that it goes against all reason, that it’s unrealistic and can’t be true. When God does such miracles we say, “Untrue!” claiming we need more evidence. But Jesus is claiming that all these stories are true by making an historical argument. He treats the Old Testament as the complete, authoritative word of God. To disbelieve the Old Testament miracles is to disbelieve Christ. The Word is a firm foundation for our faith. Nineveh, filled with the foulest of pagans, believed with only the preaching of the Word.

3  The finality of the Resurrection. No other sign than this will or can be given: that the son of God came into the world, died, and rose again. We don’t have blind faith, but a reasonable one. Not that our faith is caused by reason, but that reason is an ally to our faith. Our faith is not foolish, so we can be confident and not be ashamed of the Gospel. The Christian faith can and will stand up to any attack. 

There is no greater sign that the resurrection of our Lord. Our entire faith hinges on this! If he didn’t rise, Christianity is a sham. If he did rise then we can have incredible depth in our assurance. In a human sense, NOTHING is more powerful or certain than death, and that is why his resurrection is the greatest evidence that he is who says he is. This is the super-miracle. This is the sign.