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The Pharisees came forward and began to argue with Jesus,
seeking from him a sign from heaven to test him.
If the Pharisees had really been looking for a sign there had already been many that they ought to have noticed. But they were insincere. They wanted to retain their own prestige and power no matter who Jesus turned out to be. Their testing him was not because they expected or would even accept affirmative results. Rather it was to justify their lack of obedience to Jesus. They had so many reasons that they rehearsed to themselves about why he could not possibly be the messiah. But most of these stemmed from their own pride and envy. Jesus had already validated his claim to be the messiah to anyone holding him to a reasonable standard of proof. But the Pharisees made up their minds to never be convinced.
He sighed from the depth of his spirit and said,
“Why does this generation seek a sign?
Amen, I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation.”
They were like the generation that wandered in the desert following the exodus from Egypt. No matter how much God showed them his providential care and protection they refused to put their trust in him. They complained about what he did offer and thought wistfully about what they left behind in Egypt. Their hearts were never entirely free from Egyptian gods and the slavery that resulted from belief in them.
Abel became a keeper of flocks, and Cain a tiller of the soil.
In the course of time Cain brought an offering to the LORD
from the fruit of the soil,
while Abel, for his part,
brought one of the best firstlings of his flock.
God desires that we be both sincere and whole hearted. He loves a cheerful giver (see Second Corinthians 9:6-7), as he loved Abel who held nothing back and gave him, "one of the best firstlings of his flock". Cain, by contrast, was only halfway committed, and offered to God, not nothing, but certainly not the best of what he had. Cain was insincere when he invited Abel out into the field with him. He was insincere with God when God held him to account for the murder of Abel. When he was asked where Abel was and responded that he didn't know. In his own way he was testing God because he did not want to concede to God's rule over his life.
Cain said to the LORD: “My punishment is too great to bear.
Rather than realizing the severity of what he had done, Cain could only bemoan his own punishment. He, guilty of murder, was now worried that he might be killed by any passerby. He, who had not truly desired the presence of God complained, "I must avoid your presence". He, who couldn't live in harmony with his brother, complained that he must now become a restless wanderer. None of this sounded much like repentance.
We are like the Pharisees in that we often insist if only God just do this one more thing we will finally give him our whole hearts. We are like Cain in that we don't give him our best, act surprise when that fails, and then envy those who are blessed because they do so. We are like both the Pharisees and Cain because we don't speak with God honestly or express our true motivations. We tend to complain more than we tend to repent. But when we look at the punishment of Cain there might be something like a sign of hope. Cain was given the safety to wander the earth and hopefully eventually to learn his lesson. The Pharisees too were given more time to reconsider. Not only that, they were given all surpassing sign of the death and resurrection of Jesus as proof of his identity.
When God comes down hard on someone like Cain or like the Pharisees we tend to be more sympathetic with the one being punished while they are being punished. Even Cain, who obviously deserved some kind of justice, might elicit our sympathy when we hear God's judgement. But as the medicine is ordered to the cure so too is punishment always oriented toward conversion. God desires all to be saved (see First Timothy 2:4) gives up on no one who does not entirely and definitively close his heart to him.
When you do these things, shall I be deaf to it?
Or do you think that I am like yourself?
I will correct you by drawing them up before your eyes.
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