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

He answered, “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.” (Matthew 12:38-39)

Jesus’ statement is often used to criticize those who believe that God’s miraculous gifts and powers remain at work today. Labels are often misleading, because they tend to generalize and preserve stereotypes. But for the sake of convenience, let us call the two groups the cessationists and the charismatics, although not all cessationists and not all charismatics are alike.

The charismatics are portrayed as people who seek spectacular experiences and sensations instead of God and his truth. Thus they are likened to the wicked and adulterous generation that demanded a sign from Christ. However, those who use the text this way condemn themselves, for this strange and farfetched application exposes them as those who would do violence to Scripture in order to assert their own theological agenda and to mask their own unbelief.

Their interpretation makes no sense even when we note nothing more than the immediate context, and it is even more ridiculous when seen in the context of the Gospels and the whole Bible.

First, Jesus said that no sign will be given his generation (except the sign of Jonah). This could not be correct if he was referring to those signs sought by the charismatics, since both he and his apostles characterized his ministry by them (Matthew 11:4-5; Acts 2:22). If healing the sick, casting out demons, walking on water, and raising the dead mean that “no sign” is given, then the charismatics would happily accept no sign at all.

Second, numerous individuals asked Jesus for the same miracles that the charismatics seek, and he commended them. A woman who hemorrhaged came to touch his clothes, and he said, “Your faith has healed you” (Matthew 9:22). Blind men called out to him, and he said, “According to your faith be it unto you” (Matthew 9:29). Another came to seek deliverance for her daughter, and he said, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted” (Matthew 15:28). These are three examples out of thousands, perhaps tens of thousands. What happened to “no sign will be given”?

Third, Jesus sent out his disciples, and they performed the same miracles that the charismatics seek. This was not limited to the twelve, but he sent out many others who returned and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name” (Luke 10:17). And as recorded in the Acts of the Apostles, even ordinary believers who had no obvious connection to the apostles performed miracles.

Fourth, Paul told Christians to “eagerly desire spiritual gifts” (1 Corinthians 14:1), referring to the same gifts that the charismatics seek, including healing, powers, tongues, and prophecy.

Moreover, the cessationists often miss the motives connected to the working of miracles. They assert the God performed miracles to confirm his word, and that the charismatics continue to seek miracles because they are after the sensational. However, even if God performs miracles only to confirm his word, there is no reason to think that he would do this only to confirm new revelation. He could confirm his word by miracles whenever it is preached, even centuries after it has been revealed. That said, there is in fact no basis to suppose that the only reason for him to perform miracles is to confirm his word.

Jesus said in one place, “Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?” (Luke 13:16). He made no direct reference to the confirmation of any new revelation. Rather, he explicitly appealed to God’s blessing to Abraham, established centuries before, as the basis for her healing. Healing was her covenant privilege. In addition, Jesus was concerned to relieve suffering. The Gospels repeatedly state that Jesus healed because he “had compassion” on people (Matthew 20:34, Mark 5:19, Luke 7:13, etc.). Likewise, since Christians are the children of Abraham by faith (Galatians 3:7), why does it seem so strange to think that healing is a covenant privilege, and why is it farfetched to think that charismatics wish to relieve people’s suffering by God’s power? Or did Jesus’ statement applied to only a few dozen Sabbaths?

By their accusations, the cessationists seem to confess that if they were to desire miracles as the Bible commands, then they would do so only because they wish to enjoy the spectacular. It does not occur to them that God’s miracles may be useful to confirm his word – his old revelation – today. And it does not occur to them that his healing power may relieve people’s suffering and encourage them in their faith. They are concerned about an ancient confirmation – good! – but what about a modern compassion?

Therefore, even if the charismatics could be refuted by some other argument, our text cannot be used for this. It pertains to something else. Jesus said that his generation would be given the sign of Jonah. By this he referred to two things.

First, Jonah was swallowed by a huge fish and was released from its belly after three days. This prefigured the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. Thus he meant that his death and resurrection would be a sign to his generation (Matthew 12:40).

Second, Jonah preached to the Gentiles and they repented. But those who were supposedly God’s people refused to repent at the preaching of one greater than Jonah, and so the Gentiles would become witnesses against them (v. 41). He confirmed that he had this in mind when he added that the Queen of the South would also testify against this generation, since as a Gentile she traveled a great distance to hear the Christian wisdom of Solomon. Yet those who were supposedly God’s people now refused to hear one greater than Solomon.

Thus Jesus’ statement was directed at people who kept demanding signs as an expression of their unbelief, and as a challenge against him. This cannot be applied to the charismatics. The charismatics seek miracles as an expression of their faith, and as a means to confront concrete problems in life. The charismatics do not say that they refuse to believe in Jesus until they witness enough miracles; rather, they think that they can perform or experience miracles because they believe in Jesus.

Anyone who applies this text against the charismatics commit the sin of slander. This is serious, but those who are possessed by the spirit of the Pharisees would strain out a gnat but swallow a camel. If this text is applied to the charismatics, then it is much more easily applied to the cessationists, albeit not in a direct and exact manner, but by analogy. They often taunt charismatics by demanding miracles: “If you have the gift of healing, then why don’t you go to the hospital and heal everyone there?” Instead, they ought to have compassion and help the charismatics pray for sick people.

They are like the soldiers who mocked and tortured Christ. As they struck him, they demanded, “Prophesy! Who hit you?” However, although there are different schools of thought, a significant number of charismatics would insist that God is the one who determines the distribution and manifestation of the spiritual gifts. For example, God would withhold information even from someone with a strong prophetic gift like Elisha (2 Kings 4:27). It was not up to him to exercise the gift whenever he wanted. How come the charismatics believe in God’s sovereignty, and the cessationists do not? Then, in one place the Bible says of Jesus, “And he did not do many mighty works there, because of their unbelief” (Matthew 13:58, ESV). This means that God will not always perform miracles to comply with the cessationists’ challenge. In addition, charismatics admit that they often fail because of their own imperfect faith (Matthew 17:20). But this is better than total unbelief.

Like the Pharisees and Jews who despised the Gentiles, the cessationists often regard themselves as faithful theologians, elite believers, and guardians of the faith, and they regard the charismatics as uneducated, fanatical, and little children who lack sense and discernment. But God’s doctrines and powers have much freedom outside of their churches, seminaries, and traditions. Those that they consider uneducated, fanatical, and little children, and the people of Africa, India, China, and many other places that welcome the power of God will rise up and testify against the unbelief of this generation of cessationists.

The cessationists boast about their reverence for the Bible and their ability to handle it aright, but then they rape the passages that disagree with their traditions and that expose their unbelief. On the use of this text, they ought to repent of slander, apologize to the charismatics, and shut their mouths, lest in their murderous zeal to defend the faith, they defend themselves right out of the faith.