The Gospel of Matthew

This devotional is written by Antony Ung. 40 yr old, Chinese ethnicity, French nationality, married w/ two kids, design engineer.

The sign of Jonah

38 Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, 'Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.'

39 He answered, 'A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40 For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 41 The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now something greater than Jonah is here. 42 The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon's wisdom, and now something greater than Solomon is here.

43 'When an impure spirit comes out of a person, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. 44 Then it says, "I will return to the house I left." When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. 45 Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that person is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this wicked generation.'

Jesus' mother and brothers 46 While Jesus was still talking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside, wanting to speak to him. 47 Someone told him, 'Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you.'

48 He replied to him, 'Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?' 49 Pointing to his disciples, he said, 'Here are my mother and my brothers. 50 For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.'

There are times when one will have doubts and ask for reinsurance that God exists. These are the times when they should not be looking for signs or evidence but give their all to God and trust in him alone. Their faith should not be justified by the amount of miracles they witness but know and trust that God will be their provider no matter happens in their lives. We may hear many voices talking and teaching us about God. How we should live our lives according to one's interpretation. However, our ears should not only go to the ones who are most persuasive or good at preaching but to the Truth itself, our Father in heaven who has open his door to us. Some people may think that they will be at peace if they do not act immorally or do bad things to others, that this will free them from bad spirits or troubles in life. However, if their hearts are not open to God, if they do not invite him or reach for him to be their only teacher. These people may be more susceptible to host stronger evil spirits within them that will in turn worsen their lives that they had to begin with. Jesus treated his mother and brothers the same way as he treated his disciples. The reason for this is that they were all obeying his heavenly Father's will and were all considered as important as his mother or brothers. Spiritual relationships can be even stronger than blood as we all are sons and daughters of God.