The Sign of Repentance

"As the crowds increased, Jesus said, "This is a wicked generation. It asks for a miraculous sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah. For as Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites, so also will the Son of Man be to this generation'" (Luke 11:29 - 30).

Humans are obsessed with spectacle . . . if you don't believe me, just think about the last accident that you witnessed. By the time people were finished rubbernecking, you probably arrived at your destination later than planned. How about America's sick penchant for reality shows? Especially the ones in which people are being confrontational (like violent talk shows or chicks fighting over Flava Flav? Yuck! Are you serious?). Yep, it's all about the spectacle, the sensational.

In the passage above, Jesus is rebuking the people about this issue of yearning for sensationalism. As the crowds grew larger, they clamoured around Jesus just to see miracles. Jesus called them wicked, not because He was opposed to miracles. As we know, Jesus performed miracles throughout the Gospels. He even said that, "These signs shall follow them that believe: In my name, they will drive out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands . . . they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well" (Mark 16:17 - 18). Therefore, it wasn't the miracles that Jesus confronted them about
-- it was the lusting after miracles -- the lusting after the spectacle, the hype that He condemned.

To support His argument, Jesus used the prophet, Jonah as a model. Both Jesus and Jonah were sent to their generations to speak a word of repentance -- a change of heart, a transformation of life. Both spent three days and three nights in a realm of "burial" -- Jonah in the belly of a fish (although he didn't die) and Jesus in the heart of the earth. Both emerged from those places of darkness. After Jonah was spit out of the fish's belly, he obeyed God by preaching repentance to the Ninevites. As a result, the Bible tells us that, "they believed God" (Jonah 3:5). Herein, Jesus is saying, lies the difference. The Ninevites went into mourning over their sins, declared a fast, and even the king of the city joined in by declaring a national time of repentance. These people weren't looking for hype. The Ninevites concluded that judgment was imminent, and they determined that a heart-change, a transformation was what God was looking for; they aligned themselves with this. Unfortunately, the crowds trailing after Jesus didn't share this vision. They were only looking for what tantilized their senses, what felt and looked good; they weren't looking for the real Jesus. Jesus even said that He was greater than Jonah! . . . the living Messiah was in their presence in flesh and blood, but they still didn't get it.

What about us? Have you ever wanted to go hear this preacher or that preacher because of the spectacle? Because of the hype? Admittedly, there was a time when I was there. It's easy to get lost in the Church of the Sensational -- it's exciting, dynamic, and appeals to our flesh. It's actually interesting sit and watch people blow on or lay hands on other people and see them fall to the ground, only to, many times, awaken in their original state. Or how about the people who stand in a line that stretches around the church to hear a speaker without any real substance or correct theology hyping up the congregation to the point in which the people are timed during a praise break (cough!). Or lastly, how about the people who fly across the world to watch the latest "miracle" preacher lay hands on them or knock other people's teeth out in the name of miracles?

But the essence of our walk with Jesus is about the transformation -- the change. That's what repentance is all about. It's allowing God to deal with our hearts and allowing Him to revolutionize our mindsets and our lifestyle. What difference does it make if I solely seek after miracles, I see them, and still I end up with the same stubborn, rebellious, hardened ground in certain areas of my heart and life? Jesus said that that mindset is wicked. I am now at the point in my walk with Jesus where if it doesn't birth repentance and transformation, I'm not interested. I want the one who is greater than Jonah and every other human put together. I'm not clamouring after Jesus for His miracles, I'm clinging to Him for Himself and because He is.

Kimberly Rae Ross