Seeds for 10/09/2023 - Matthew 16:1-4
Scripture: The Pharisees and Sadducees came to Jesus and tested Him by asking Him to show them a sign from heaven.
He replied, “When evening comes, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red,’ and in the morning, ‘Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times. A wicked and adulterous generation looks for a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah.” Jesus then left them and went away.
Observation: The request for a sign is ill-timed. After all, Jesus has fed two separate enormous crowds with only a few loaves of bread and a handful of fish somewhat recently. He has a well-established reputation as a healer too. All of these activities were signs that revealed God’s kingdom and pointed to Jesus as God’s promised Messiah. They point to Jesus as the One the Jewish people, and indeed the whole world, were waiting for—as the worship leader Chris Tomlin put to song. All one needs to do is observe the already abundant signs aimed directly at Jesus. There is no need to ask for another.
Yet, the Pharisees and Sadducees (two distinctive groups of religious establishment leaders in the first century) do ask. Why? Matthew reveals their motivation: to test Him. Not to gain insight, but to test Jesus.
If they haven’t put two and two together thus far, Jesus says, they’re not likely to now. The healings, restoring of the lame and blind, miraculous provisions, casting out of demons, in addition to His preaching and teaching amount to casting pearls before swine in the case of the Pharisees and Sadducees. They know how to recognize weather signs in the natural world, but they are unable or unwilling to see the signs that point to Jesus.
Jesus is emphatic. Those who ask for a sign will receive none other than the “sign of Jonah,” who was sent to the Ninevites to preach a strict message of conviction and repentance, not unlike that of John the Baptist. Both the Ninevites and the ordinary Jews of Jesus’ day responded to that stark message. Will the Pharisees and Sadducees? Will we?
Application:
When do you see people become more focused on miraculous signs than ordinary conviction and repentance?
What else might the Holy Spirit be speaking with you about in the text today?
Prayer: Lord, give me eyes to see how you are making yourself known in the world. Lead me to true and fresh repentance. Amen.
“But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.” (Matthew 13:23)
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