Whoever Does the Father’s Will / Matthew 12:38-50
If you have your Bibles, we are going to be in Matthew 12. It is so good to be back with you. I missed you last week. I was doing a men’s conference at a camp called Thousand Pines—I had never done anything with them before. It is great to do those kinds of conferences, but truthfully, it is kind of like when you travel: the bed can be comfortable, but it is not your own bed. These guys were great guys, we had a blast, and they do a really good job at that camp, but it is just not like home. So it is good to be back with you and back in our series.
The Miraculous Trifecta and a Heart Problem
Mike did a great job last week laying out the miraculous trifecta. Can Jesus heal a demon-possessed man? Yes. Can He heal a blind man? Yes. Can He heal a mute man? Yes. But in verse 22, can He heal a demon-possessed, blind, mute man? The answer is yes. Jesus is showing Himself to His audience in this text over and over to be exactly who He said He was. His miracles affirmed that He was not just a religious teacher; He was, in fact, the very Savior of the world.
Matthew 12:22-23 (NASB)
Then a demon-possessed man [who was] blind and mute was brought to Jesus, and He healed him, so that the mute man spoke and saw. All the crowds were amazed, and were saying, ‘This man cannot be the Son of David, can he?’
In verse 23, as you saw last week, the crowds are amazed. They are pretty impressed by what they are seeing. But the Pharisees are having a hard time acknowledging who Jesus is. The Pharisees, if you are new to the Bible, were basically the religious scholars of the day who had their paradigm firmly set: “This is what God is supposed to do.”
By the way, if God is obligated to function inside your parameters, He really is not God. He is just a functional savior. For them, they had their little parameters and boundaries, and this is what they expected. Then Jesus comes on the scene, and because He is very God of very God, He does not play by their rules. Boy, they cannot stand that, because everybody else plays by their rules or experiences the wrath of the religious leaders.
Jesus is outside their box and healing people. So they say, “Okay, there are one of two choices: either He is God and we cannot have that, or He is of Satan.” Sure enough, they claim that He does what He does by the power of Satan. In that moment, they run the risk of committing an unpardonable sin—rejecting the work of Jesus, done by the very Spirit of God, and attributing it instead to the spirit of Satan. In doing so, they miss a very special opportunity offered to them right here and right now.
In verse 37, Jesus says that by your words, you religious leaders who have rejected Me, you are both justified and condemned. Their actions reveal the real issue taking place: a heart problem. The problem has not changed. It did not matter in that day if you were religious or irreligious; it came down to a heart problem. Here we are today, two thousand-plus years later, and it is still a heart problem.
Matthew 12:37 (NASB)
‘For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.’
Demanding a Sign
In verse 38, these religious leaders ask for a sign. What is interesting is that we have four Gospel accounts—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John—that highlight different aspects of the life of Christ: King, Servant, Man, God. Matthew presents Jesus as King; Mark presents Him as Servant; Luke presents Him as Man; and John presents Him as God. Matthew is writing to a unique audience. The text we are looking at in verses 38 through 45 is unique to Matthew, written primarily to Jewish religious leaders and people, affirming and proving that Jesus is the Savior of the world.
It starts in verse 38 with these scribes and Pharisees. They say what seems to be almost a compliment: “Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.”
Matthew 12:38 (NASB)
Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Him, ‘Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.’
Now, that sounds fine, except: where have you been all day? We have been doing this for years now. Up until this point in the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus has performed at least seventeen distinct miracles for seventeen specific individuals. What hole did you crawl out of? Jesus has been putting on an undeniable display throughout His entire ministry, and you want another sign?
In every interaction these religious leaders have with Jesus, they are not really complimenting Him, and they do not truly want a sign. They are trying to find another angle, another Sabbath violation, another potential twisting of the Word of God so they can say, “We got You!” They are trying to set Him up. They do not have an evidence problem; they have a heart problem.
In the Gospel of John, Jesus says, “If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me. But if I do them, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in Me, and I in the Father.” Jesus is saying: if you do not believe what I say, at least believe what I do, because My works affirm that I am the Savior of the world.
John 10:37-38 (NASB)
‘If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; but if I do them, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, so that you may know and understand that the Father is in Me, and I in the Father.’
Yet they want more. They want another sign. The word “sign” here is not simply the word for miracle; it means proof. They want a magic trick to affirm He is God. “If You really are from God, pull a rabbit out of the hat. Show us a trick.”
Jesus has had enough. We are coming to the end of chapter 12, where Jesus pivots from the Jews to the Gentiles. In chapter 13, He will begin teaching in parables—truths thrown alongside. In verse 39, He answers these men who want a rabbit out of a hat and who had just accused Him of working for Satan. He tells them, “An evil and adulterous generation craves for a sign; and yet no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet.”
Matthew 12:39 (NASB)
But He answered and said to them, ’An evil and adulterous generation craves for a sign; and [yet] no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet;
They accused Him of being evil, and He flips it right back on them. He calls them an evil and adulterous generation that just wants a magic show. In some ways, it is like the classic line from Seinfeld: “No sign for you!” Jesus is saying, “I don’t work for you. I’m not going to perform on demand. You want a sign? No sign for you, except the sign of Jonah.”
The Sign of Jonah
Look at verse 40: “For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.”
Matthew 12:40 (NASB)
for just as JONAH WAS THREE DAYS AND THREE NIGHTS IN THE BELLY OF THE SEA MONSTER, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
Here is an interesting point to keep in mind, because people still get tripped up on this today. People say, “Wait a second, He said three days and three nights. If I do the math from Friday to Sunday, that’s three days and two nights. Jesus was wrong!” You are missing the point. In Jewish idiom and culture, any part of a day and night was counted as a whole day. Jesus went into the grave Friday, was there Saturday, and came out Sunday. That is the equivalent of three days and three nights. Do not get lost in the weeds and miss the point, which is exactly what the religious leaders were doing.
Who was Jonah? God told Jonah to go preach to a wicked city, Nineveh, the capital of the Assyrian Empire. Jonah said, “I’m not doing that.” God called him to Nineveh, and Jonah took a ship in the exact opposite direction toward Tarshish. God sent a storm, Jonah was thrown overboard, a great fish swallowed him, and eventually vomited him onto the shore so he would go do what God told him to do.
Why didn’t Jonah want to go to Nineveh? If you know biblical history, in 722 BC, the Assyrian Empire invaded the Northern Kingdom of Israel and obliterated it. The Assyrians operated with a level of cruelty that was horrific. Think about the worst war movies you have ever seen and multiply it by ten. They would flay people alive. They would capture men, force them to watch their wives and children brutalized, skin their sons alive, and impale people on stakes to line the roads as signs of conquest. They were utterly ruthless.
God told Jonah, “Go tell them about Me.” Jonah ran until he ended up in the belly of a fish. When he finally went, his sermon was about eight words long: “Yet forty days and Nineveh will be overthrown.”
Jonah 3:4 (NASB)
Then Jonah began to go through the city one day’s walk; and he cried out and said, ‘Yet forty days and Nineveh will be overthrown.’
That was his whole message! Jonah even went up on a hill afterward to pout, hoping God would destroy them anyway. But the entire city repented. The king issued an edict declaring a fast for everyone, even the livestock, so that they might turn to God in repentance. A wholesale revival took place.
Jesus says, “The sign of Jonah is the only sign you are getting. Just as Jonah spent three days and three nights in the belly of the fish and came out alive, so I will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. And just like Jonah, I will come out and proclaim salvation.”
Look at verse 41: “The men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation at the judgment and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.”
Matthew 12:41 (NASB)
’The men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation at the judgment, and will condemn it because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.
Jesus is telling the religious leaders, “Those pagan Ninevites will stand in judgment over you. In your arrogance, your pompous self-righteousness, you think you are better than everyone else, but those brutal pagans repented at Jonah’s preaching, and you are standing in front of the Son of God demanding a magic trick. Something greater than Jonah is right here!”
Greater Than Solomon
In verse 42, He adds: “The Queen of the South will rise up with this generation at the judgment and will condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, something greater than Solomon is here.”
Matthew 12:42 (NASB)
’[The] Queen of [the] South will rise up with this generation at the judgment and will condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, something greater than Solomon is here.
Who is the Queen of the South? In 1 Kings 10, the Queen of Sheba from Southern Arabia heard of Solomon’s fame. It was like she saw his massive following and thought, “I have to see what this is about.” She traveled north to investigate his wisdom, his palace, and the temple. She was completely blown away by what she saw, and she returned home praising the God of Israel.
Jesus says, “Something greater than Solomon is here.” Jesus offered these religious leaders the very kingdom of God, and they rejected it. Jonah went to Nineveh, and they believed. The Queen of Sheba took a massive journey, and she believed. Both Nineveh and Sheba were pagan, Gentile cultures. Jesus uses them intentionally because He is pivoting toward the Gentiles, showing that outsiders believed while the religious insiders refused.
The Danger of an Empty House
Verses 43 through 45 prove that the religious leaders did not have an information problem; they had a heart problem. They had the privilege of God’s revelation. God offered them His kingdom, cleaned up their religious traditions, yet they rejected Him. In doing so, they left themselves worse off than before.
“Now when the unclean spirit goes out of a man, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came’; and when it comes, it finds it unoccupied, swept, and put in order. Then it goes and takes along with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there; and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first. That is the way it will also be with this evil generation.”
Matthew 12:43-45 (NASB)
’Now when the unclean spirit goes out of a man, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and does not find [it]. ’Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came’; and when it comes, it finds [it] unoccupied, swept, and put in order. ‘Then it goes and takes along with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there; and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first. That is the way it will also be with this evil generation.’
Jesus is saying, “You had the opportunity to receive the King of kings and have the fullness of God dwell in you, but you said, ‘No thank you, we’ll handle this on our own.’” Moral reformation without spiritual transformation leaves you completely vulnerable. The last state is worse than the first because you know better, you are held accountable, and you have rejected the only true Savior.
Notice He says, “This is the way it will also be with this evil generation.” The word “generation” refers to a people of the same kind. Jesus is not just addressing the Pharisees; He is addressing everyone leaning on their heritage, assuming that because they grew up with the Scriptures, the temple, and the sacrifices, they had an automatic backstage pass into the kingdom of God.
Faith in God is personal. It comes down to placing your individual trust in Jesus Christ—not your heritage, not your upbringing, and not your family.
True Family
To illustrate this, look at verse 46. While Jesus was still speaking, His mother and brothers showed up outside, wanting to speak with Him.
Matthew 12:46-47 (NASB)
While He was still speaking to the crowds, behold, His mother and brothers were standing outside, seeking to speak to Him. Someone said to Him, ‘Behold, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside seeking to speak to You.’
Someone interrupts Him and says, “Hey, Your mom and Your brothers are standing outside wanting to talk to You.” You would think familial privilege would kick in: “Excuse Me, everyone, My mom is here.” But look at how Jesus responds:
“Who is My mother and who are My brothers?” And stretching out His hand toward His disciples, He said, “Behold My mother and My brothers! For whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven, he is My brother and sister and mother.”
Matthew 12:48-50 (NASB)
But Jesus answered the one who was telling Him and said, ‘Who is My mother and who are My brothers?’ And stretching out His hand toward His disciples, He said, ’Behold My mother and My brothers! ‘For whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven, he is My brother and sister and mother.’
Jesus makes it clear: there is no favoritism, no backstage pass through bloodlines. You individually place your trust in Jesus Christ, or you do not. As Mike said last week, you are either for Him or against Him. There is no neutral ground. There is no Switzerland in this fight. If you say, “I haven’t decided yet, I’m just gathering more info,” you have already decided. There is no middle ground, not even for physical family.
A Room Full of Miracles
These religious leaders in verse 38 asked for a sign, but their hearts were already set. They had already decided: “No matter what He does, no matter what Scriptures He fulfills, He is not our guy.” They had witnessed seventeen specific miracles for specific individuals—not even counting the passages where Jesus healed entire crowds. They saw people they grew up with, born blind, suddenly able to see. They saw the demon-possessed, blind, mute man completely restored. Yet they still said, “Show us a sign.”
It is just like the story of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16. The rich man in torment pleads with Abraham to send Lazarus back from the dead to warn his five brothers. Abraham responds that they have Moses and the Prophets; if they do not listen to them, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.
Luke 16:27-31 (NASB)
’And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, that you send him to my father’s house– for I have five brothers– in order that he may warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’ ’But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ ’But he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent!’ ’But he said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.’’
It is not an information issue; it is a heart issue. And nothing has changed today.
When Jesus told those leaders that no sign would be given except the sign of Jonah, they were confused. But we understand what He meant. We have the sign of Jonah fulfilled. Jesus died on the cross, was buried for three days, and rose bodily from the grave. He revealed Himself to believers and skeptics alike, ate with His disciples, let Thomas touch His wounds, and ascended to the Father.
Yet people today still say, “I need more information.” People read Genesis and say, “I don’t know if I can believe in God because of the creation days or the dinosaurs.” You are missing the point: In the beginning, God. What about two thousand years of the resurrected Christ transforming lives? What about the fact that the Gospel spread to the Gentiles and has swept across the globe, bringing dead hearts to life?
Look around this room. How many of you have trusted Christ, and He set you free from who you used to be? How many of you had a marriage on the brink of collapse, and Christ stepped in and restored it? How many of you tried to find satisfaction in alcohol, pornography, money, career, or possessions, and finally realized that true satisfaction is found in Christ alone?
Miracle after miracle after miracle. We are sitting in a room full of miracles! Yet skeptics still want Jesus to pull a rabbit out of a hat. You don’t have an information problem; you have a heart problem. You have already decided you don’t want to bend the knee.
I met someone the other day who said, “Hey, I went to high school with you!” Every time that happens, my stomach drops, because the next sentence is never, “You were such a great guy back then!” That is not how my story goes. But by the grace of God, old things have passed away, and all things are made new. Jesus is still redeeming and restoring.
Why Not Now?
Do not misunderstand me: you do not have to commit intellectual suicide to follow Jesus. But if you are a skeptic asking question after question, ask yourself honestly: will you ever have enough answers? If Jesus really did rise from the dead, what are you actually afraid of?
I will tell you what most people are afraid of, spoken by a guy who lived it for many years: if Jesus really is Lord, it means He is in charge, and I am not. It means how I live my life is no longer an open option. It means He is Lord of my present, my future, my relationships, my sexuality, my money, and my affections. He is Lord of everything.
That can feel terrifying. It is far easier to keep asking questions and kick the decision down the road. But the Apostle Paul reminds us of what matters most:
“Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.”
1 Corinthians 15:1-4 (NASB)
Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,
That is the Gospel. You do not need another sign. You do not need another magic trick. You do not even need an airtight theory on the dinosaurs. What you need to know is this:
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”
John 3:16 (NASB)
’For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.
Instead of making excuses to delay your decision, why not trust Him right now? Trust in Jesus Christ, who makes all things new. He has been transforming lives in the best possible way for over two thousand years. Why not yours?