Cheryl Schatz

Don,

The sign was given to the evil generation yet they rejected the sign. The Pharisees understood the sign but they did not believe it. Matthew gives the account to show us that the Pharisees understood the sign that was given to them:

Matthew 27:62 Now on the next day, the day after the preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered together with Pilate,
Matthew 27:63 and said, “Sir, we remember that when He was still alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I am to rise again.’
Matthew 27:64 “Therefore, give orders for the grave to be made secure until the third day, otherwise His disciples may come and steal Him away and say to the people, ‘He has risen from the dead,’ and the last deception will be worse than the first.”

So the sign was indeed given to the evil generation and those who refused to accept Jesus as the Messiah understood the sign and tried to fight against it by sealing the tomb.

There is no contradiction at all since the sign was given yet “not given” since it was not only not accepted but no unbeliever saw Jesus after his resurrection.