Sign of Jonah

Luke 11:29-32
In this passage, the crowds are beginning to increase and so Jesus gives them a stern warning that should strike fear in all of us.  He tells them that their generation is an evil generation that is seeking a sign, but that their seeking will not be fruitful, they will not find what they seek for.  Instead, a subtle reminder will be given in the same spirit as that of Jonah in regards to Nineveh (vs. 29).  He clarifies this in verse 30, reminding them that Jonah was the sign Nineveh needed, and Jesus is the sign this evil generation is seeking for.  They are wanting some kind of incredible, other-worldly, parting of the clouds, booming voice from heaven, sort of experience.  They are wanting something clear and precise that they can understand and apply, without doubt, not open for interpretation.  But the sign they seek, the uncanny happenstance is Jesus himself, his teaching, his warnings; this is their sign, in the same spirit that Jonah's warnings and chastisements were the sign for the people of Nineveh.  This is our sign today.  God has sent modern-day prophets to us today to warn us of our wandering and to bring us back to him as our source of everything.  We find ourselves constantly analyzing our lives and then asking, "What's wrong with this?"  "Where does it say that I can't do this, or watch this or have this, or be involved in this?"  Is this not us simply asking for a sign?  Is not the spirit behind the questions the same?  The motivation and spirit behind their sign-seeking is the same as ours as we ask these questions of what's wrong with this.  We want proof before we endure hardship and start to change our lives, because we desperately want to hang on to our "treasures" in this world (our worldliness and materialism), and if we can find a way around having to give them up, then we will jump at it.  After all, is he really worth giving up all these things for?  We want proof that he is, or else we will not change.  Jesus labels this thinking as "an evil generation" and warns that we will not find the proof we seek after, because the proof is already there, contained within his teachings and warnings.  The signs they seek and proof we want are already there, they and we just cannot see them or understand them because of hard-hearts and selfishness.  This is the same warning that is given in the instance of the rich man in hell, imploring Abraham to send a representative from the dead back to his brothers to warn them of hell.  Abraham tells him that if they will not listen to the prophets and the scriptures then no other sign will convince them either (Luke 16:29-31).  This is our sign, our warning.  God has given us his word and it is appropriated by faith, not signs.  We render faith useless if we demand proof through signs, and without faith everything is useless and impossible (Hebrews 11:6).  The truly scare reminder though is that if we continue to ignore these modern-day prophets, and continue to ask for proof of our wandering hearts, then God will hold us accountable for the blood of every prophet he has sent since the beginning (vs. 49-51).  This is not an overstatement, it is scriptural truth, and it is possible because the spirit that caused them to ignore prophets and Jesus is the same spirit that causes us to ignore.  We may be more modern and civilized in our ignoring scripture, but our hearts are aligned with that of the "evil generation" in this passage.  We must heed the warnings and teachings of scripture against worldliness and greed and materialism and love of money and appropriate God's word by faith and stop asking for proof.  How dare we read God's word, justify our ways, and then look him and his prophets in the face and say "Oh yeah, well prove it!"  Because the proof is already there, more will not be given.  I wonder if those who stand before God condemned on that day will still be asking the question "What was wrong with that?" (Matthew 7:21-23)?