To Encourage You

Isaiah 7:14 “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”

Mark 8:11-12 “The Pharisees came and began to argue with him, seeking from him a sign from heaven to test him. And he sighed deeply in his spirit and said, ’Why does this generation seek a sign? Truly, I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation.’” 

It’s interesting in the verses above that the very God who gave us the great sign of the virgin birth rebuked the Pharisees for seeking a sign from heaven that Jesus was the Messiah.  It’s pretty clear from these verses that the signs God had given were enough – and seeking anything else wasn’t an indication of the Pharisees’ sincerely wanting to believe in Jesus, but proof that they wouldn’t believe no matter how much evidence was given to them.  What more incredible thing could happen than for a virgin to give birth to a child?  This has never happened in all of history, except in the case of Christ.  And it happened just as God said it would through the prophet Isaiah, over 700 years before Christ was born.  More than that, Jesus had proven who He was by numerous miracles – healing the sick, giving sight to the blind, turning water to wine, raising the dead, etc., etc.  And still the Pharisees refused to believe! 

People who refuse to believe today, despite all the evidence and signs pointing to the Truth of Christ, are no better than these hard-hearted Pharisees.  All that has been written to us about the uniqueness of Christ – about His divinity – is enough for us to believe, if we are willing.  We are told in John 20:30-31 that “Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” In other words, God has given us enough signs already. Not one person needs any more signs than they have already been given in the pages of the Bible. 

But you might say, if only I would see a miracle with my own eyes, then I would believe. This is the same argument the rich man made from hell as he cried out for God to give a miracle to his brothers so that they wouldn’t suffer the same horrible fate that he did.  He argued with Abraham that if someone would just be sent to them from the dead, they would believe. To this Abraham replied, “If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets (i.e., the words of the scriptures), neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead” (Luke 16:31). 

So, do you believe?  God has made it clear that if you don’t, it’s not because you just need more evidence, such as another sign.  Your unbelief is in spite of all the evidence – all the evidence that He’s already given and provided to us in black and white on the pages of His Word.  We have enough signs.  May God open our hearts to believe what we’ve heard, for nothing else is necessary for us to believe.  What He’s already given us is enough.  It makes no sense to wait for more evidence – today is the day to believe, while we yet can. Indeed, “Now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthian 6:2). 

So, what are you waiting for?