Psalm 34:8 says “O taste and see that the Lord is good; how blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!” I kind of think there is truth here. But if this is true, why do so few people take refuge in Yahweh? Can it be that all of those doubters; those deserters of the faith; or those who just plain refuse to believe, have never, none of them, tasted God – or put him to the test? Maybe there is a difference between tasting and testing. Sometimes people put others to the test, not to discover truth, but to bolster their doubts. This kind of testing does not tend to bring about trust. Kind of like when a child has already made up their mind that something is going to taste bad. They might nibble, they may even swallow, but with mind made up, they don’t truly taste – they test so that their parents will leave them alone. People can be such children in their tasting of God.
Luke 11:29-32 is about the wrong kind of testing. In verse 16 we were told that some were testing Jesus by demanding for a sign from heaven. As the crowd begins to press in on him, Jesus said, “This generation is a wicked generation; it seeks for a sign.” But is it wrong to seek out some kind of evidence; something that will help your faith along? Maybe the problem is not the seeking in and of itself. Maybe it is a seeking for a sign, when the sign was already there, walking, teaching, breathing God all around them. It is a demand that God do more than create all things and save our souls. It is saying, “If you heal my wife, I’ll believe in you.” Or, “If my mom gives up drugs and takes care of me, I’ll believe.” Or maybe even an “If you submit to my idea of who God should be, why then we can be best friends.” But if you will just taste, you will see that Yahweh is good. I am convinced of that.
Jesus tells this gathering in upon him crowd that they will receive no sign but the sign of Jonah. Is he saying that they will be given no sign except the sign or is he saying that they will not be given the kind of sign they are looking for but rather the sign that is Jonah? That is the question and the wording could be taken either way. From the context it seems likely that he is letting them know that they are seeking the wrong kind of sign so he will give them the correct kind. Jonah didn’t work miracles; he did nothing that the Ninevites could look at and declare that he was from God. He showed up and pronounced a message of judgment. The sign of the Son of Man will be the same. Again, Son of Man most likely takes us back to Daniel 7, back to the prophesy about the one like the Son of Man who will go up to the Ancient of Days and receive an everlasting kingdom – you know, Jesus. The sign of Jesus is Jesus himself and the message of the coming of kingdom of God authority.
Sandwiched between the discussion of Jonah and Nineveh, is the example of the Queen of Sheba. The story of the Queen of the South traveling to discover for herself the wisdom of Solomon is found in 1 Kings 10:1-29. She will rise up at the judgment and condemn the wicked generation. Why? Because she traveled all that distance (ends of the earth is hyperbole and common biblical idiom for a great distance) based on what she heard. She didn’t wait for a sign. She didn’t demand evidence. She went. And someone greater than Solomon and all his wisdom was galivanting all around their own lands and they were sitting around demanding a sign.
In the same way the people of Nineveh will stand up to judge and condemn them because they repented of their evil without miracles or signs. As a matter of fact, Jonah didn’t even preach repentance. He proclaimed God’s coming judgment and they responded. They tasted and decided to do something about it. So, the Ninevites – wicked Gentiles that they were – acted more honorably than the Jews of Jesus’ day. They heard Jonah and believed his message. Jesus is greater than Jonah boys and girls.
God is good. Taste and see. Really taste. C. S. Lewis set out to disprove the Bible. But as he tested, he began to taste. And his doubts turned into beliefs. Unfortunately, there are many who never taste. O, to be sure they have read the stories; they may even know the Bible more than many a Christian. But they have never really tasted. It is even possible for someone to forget the taste of God. They are so hopped up on the cotton candy of the world, that they can no longer taste the meat of Yahweh’s word. Spit out the sickly-sweet message of Satan. Rinse out your mouth and taste anew. Let your taste buds dance with God-flavor. God is good – all the time. All the time – God is good. Taste and see. Grace, Walter