16th Monday - The Sign is the Resurrection of Jesus

The scribes and Pharisees said, “Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.” Let us ask the question what sign were they seeking?

There were seeking signs from heaven, such as thunder and rain, as exhibited by Samuel (1 Samuel 12:18), or fire from heaven, as done by Elijah (1 Kings 18:38), or Elijah when he was taken up into heaven (2 Kings 2:11), or manna to be rained down like Moses, or the parting of the sea by Moses, or the sun which stopped in midday course, like Joshua.

Jesus responded by stating, “An evil and unfaithful generation seeks a sign, but no sign will be given.

They were demanding an immediate sign and wanted Our Blessed Lord to prove, He is the Son of God. However, Jesus would not give them a sign upon their request. He did give several signs in His life. One sign was the voice of His Father, at His baptism, and at the Transfiguration. Other signs were the 3-hour eclipse from noon, until 3pm, when He hung on the Cross, as well as the earthquake, when He died.

Our Lord also compared Himself to “The sign of Jonah the prophet.” In pointing out the difference between Jonah and Himself, our Redeemer points out the different fruits resulting from Jonah’s preaching, and His own, and therefore, He shows in the clearest light, the obstinacy of many Jews.

The prophet Jonah’s sign was the people of Nineveh repented, and were converted. But the Jews, have the true Son of God, who is infinitely greater than Jonah, and greater than Solomon, for whom the Queen of the South traveled because of his wisdom. So what sign would Jesus give them? But His resurrection. Our Lord said, just as Jonah spent three days and three nights in the belly of the whale, so He would spend three days and three nights in the belly of the earth. This comparison refers to His being placed in the tomb after His death, and His resurrection, three days later. This was the sign He would give, but even after He would give the sign of His death and resurrection, many of the Pharisees and Scribes would not believe and not repent. They were blind to the sign, He would later give them.

Today, Our Lord desires we repent, like the people of Nineveh. He desires that we place our faith, in the sign of His Resurrection, for we have someone greater than Solomon, or Jonah, or Moses, here with us, we have the eternal High Priest, Jesus Christ present among us in the Eucharist.

Let us put our faith in His real, and true Eucharistic presence. It is the greatest visible sign, that Our Lord is truly with us, and will come to dwell within our heart in Holy Communion.