Matthew 16:1-4

Matthew 16:1-4

And after the Pharisees and Sadducees drew near while attempting to entrap Him in a mistake, they requested for Him to show a sign out of heaven for them.  And the one who answered them said, “After becoming evening you all say, ‘Fair weather, for the heaven is red.’ And early in the morning you all say, ‘Stormy weather today, for the heaven is red while becoming dark.’  On one hand you all know to judge the appearance of heaven.  But on the other hand, are you all not powerful enough to judge the signs of the time?  An evil and adulterous generation seeks a sign.  And a sign will not be given to it except the sign of Jonah.”  And while leaving them, He went away.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

The Pharisees and Sadducees come to Jesus and demand a sign.  They just want Him to do something amazing so that they can pick it apart and show why Jesus can’t be the Son of God.  They aren’t looking for the power of God to be put on display in their life.  They are looking for a way to denounce Jesus according to their own human logic and reasoning.  How often does this happen in the world today – and how often I am even guilty of this myself!  We see the power of God on display, but because it is coming from a source we don’t like we seek to discredit the act.

Are you guilty of trying to discredit God’s power put on display through someone that you don’t think should be wielding God’s power?  Why is humanity like this?

Second Thought:

Using this thought, we can move forward to another deeper thought.  What is the purpose of signs?  Signs don’t usually change people’s minds.  Signs simply verify what a person already presupposes.  For example, if a faithful person sees Jesus healing someone of a disease, it will be proof in their eyes that Jesus is who He says He is.  But if someone who despises sees Jesus heal someone of a disease, it becomes proof that Jesus is in league with Satan.  For this very case, see Matthew 12:22-32; we studied it not too long ago on this blog.  But Jesus’ point here is that people see things and those things merely confirm what they already know.  A red sky at night is good.  A red sky in the morning is bad.  We know that.  So when we see a red sky, we see it as confirmation of what we already believe.  This is an important thought to realize.  we as human beings like to think that if God’s power was on display more often and miracles were more common then more people would believe in God and the world would be a better place.  But we fail to remember the human element.  Most people will take external input and process it in their head in such a way as to support their presuppositions.  You don’t change hearts by external revelations of power.  You change hearts by modeling why a changed heart leads to a better life.  You don’t make Christians by performing miracles.  You make Christians through discipleship.

Have you ever wish for God’s power to be on display more often?  After reading Jesus’ reaction to a request for more miraculous deeds, do you think more miracles would actually help anything?

Third Thought:

The last sentence is pretty profound.  Jesus leaves them.  He just flat out leaves them.  They came to harm Him.  They came to trap Him.  They came with evil intent, so Jesus leaves.  He doesn’t stick around and try to win them in debate.  He doesn’t stick around to try and win them over through love.  He leaves them and moves on to a people who do want to learn and who are willing to listen.

Have you ever been guilted into doing something for someone because another person tried to convince you that “God doesn’t leave anyone?”  How can God always be present for anyone who turns to Him yet at the same time leave people who aren’t ready in order to focus upon the ones who are?  How can you mimic this quality in your life?

Passage for Tomorrow: Matthew 16:5-12