Have you ever heard an unbeliever say, “If God is real, why does He not show Himself?” Paul tells us the Jews were notorious for requesting a sign. When the Lord appeared to Moses in the bush, Moses expressed doubt that the people would believe him, so God gave him signs to perform (Ex. 4:1–9). At the end of the chapter we read, “Then he did the signs in the sight of the people. So the people believed” (vv. 30–31).

Asking for a sign is not in itself wrong if the attitude is right. When coupled with disbelief it becomes sinful, but when done to ascertain the source of the message it can, in fact, be prudent. How were the Israelites to know that Moses was sent of the Lord—remember, he tried to rescue one of their own in his own strength forty years earlier. They did not need a sign to tell them they had forsaken the Lord. Similarly, we do not need a sign to know we are sinners, but how are we to know how God would save us?

God sent prophets in advance to tell of the coming of the Lord Jesus; and during Christ’s ministry, He was “attested by God … by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him” (Acts 2:22). The empty grave, followed by over five hundred who witnessed Him after His crucifixion, are facts going even further than a staff turning into a serpent. The only question remaining is whether Jews accept the sign.

God did “show Himself,” and Christ is the One all signs pointed to; the source of the message of salvation can be verified by looking at the Son of God (Heb. 1:1–2). Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God. It is irrational to reject Him and wait for some other revelation of God, because it all culminates with Jesus Christ.