God chose Gideon to save Israel in a particular political situation. As anyone else might do in a similar situation, Gideon did not accept the call with alacrity and joy, but began bargaining with God for a true sign that it was indeed the Lord who was assigning him to the task.

In his time, Jesus faced a similar demand for a sign and he responded by affirming that "It is an evil and unfaithful generation that asks for a sign!" (Mt 12:38-39, 16:4). Though Jesus replied in this way, he prefaced his words by referring to the signs of nature: "In the evening you say 'it will be fine; there is a red sky'." He then suggested that as they could read the signs of nature, so those who demanded a sign should be able to read the signs of the times. In refusing to give any special sign of his own, Jesus taught us not to bargain with God. In comparison with Gideon, we should look to Mary, who did indeed see a difficulty but responded to God with great willingness, a willingness that brought her much joy on her visit to Elizabeth.