A sign

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW

A SIGN

Matt 16:1-4

16:1 The Pharisees and Sadducees came to Jesus and tested him by asking him to show them a sign from heaven. 2 He replied, "When evening comes, you say, 'It will be fair weather, for the sky is red,' 3 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. 4 A wicked and adulterous generation looks for a miraculous sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah." Jesus then left them and went away.

NIV

Certainly this speaks to so many people today who look for some supernatural or paranormal event in an effort to prove something exists greater then themselves, or at least outside the physical realm of man. The Pharisees surely had the knowledge of those types of things happening in the past by their prophets of old. Samuel called down rain and thunder to prove God to the people with a great sign from heaven.

1 Sam 12:16-18

16 "Now then, stand still and see this great thing the LORD is about to do before your eyes! 17 Is it not wheat harvest now? I will call upon the LORD to send thunder and rain. And you will realize what an evil thing you did in the eyes of the LORD when you asked for a king." 18 Then Samuel called upon the LORD, and that same day the LORD sent thunder and rain. So all the people stood in awe of the LORD and of Samuel.

NIV

Isaiah proved the power of God by making the sun reverse course, or as we know now the earth actually reversed it spin. Either way a great sign from heaven.

Isa 38:7-8

7 "'This is the LORD's sign to you that the LORD will do what he has promised: 8 I will make the shadow cast by the sun go back the ten steps it has gone down on the stairway of Ahaz.'" So the sunlight went back the ten steps it had gone down.

NIV

Moses also brought great signs from heaven. God provided manna from heaven for the people. So it was actually not unreasonable in the minds of the Pharisees and Sadducees to ask for a sign from heaven from Jesus which would prove he was also a prophet. We are not sure if they wanted to prove he was the Messiah, although that idea was certainly spreading throughout the land. Yet they were wanting to test him for themselves, have him prove himself by bringing a sign from heaven as other prophets had done. Jesus rebukes them in no uncertain words. He calls them a wicked and adulterous generation. They could read the signs of the sky which lead them to know what the weather would bring, but could not read the signs which brought them the Messiah, and their salvation. It is not much different today. Mankind can not only read the sky, but has created great technical aids to predict the smallest change in weather patterns forecasting temperatures, rain, wind, barometric pressures and the such but refusing the signs of God in all creation. Yet how do we perceive this in a more personal way? Do we ask for signs? Do we want God to prove himself to us by some miracle from heaven? We have heard some believers wish God would do something for them, like he has for others. Are we like them? Do we see God acting on behalf of others, blessing them in some material way, while we are in the midst of a struggle? Do we wonder why God does not heal us when we hurt? Are we always looking for something, a sign from God? Surely Jesus would not call us a wicked and adulterous generation. We love the Lord with all our heart, our mind, our spirit and our strength. Yet do we also have an affair with the world? We want, we desire the good life, at least what is defined as the good life here in the world. Is that bad? It would seem so. But is that what the Pharisees and Sadducees were doing that he would call them adulterous? Maybe it had more to do with their worship of the law, their religiosity, their self-righteousness, their adherence to tradition rather than the truth of God. This would make more sense to be able to apply the words of Jesus to our lives. Could we get distracted by just doing church? Could we become adulterous by looking to the denominational traditions rather than the truth of God? Still we might be looking for God to prove himself with a sign, a miracle. We say we believe, but it would be nice if God did something big. We have to come to terms with the facts, God is who he is because he said so. We just need to believe, period. Certainly we can look back at great things God has done in our life. Certainly we could expect that God does not change and therefor there are still more great things he will do in our life. But we need not have him to prove it, as the Pharisees and Sadducees were doing. Jesus told them the only sign they would have is that of Jonah, the fact he would be in the ground three days and be returned to life. We know all that, we are aware how true all that is. We believe and do not need any more signs to continue our faith in God. How could we live any other way, yet we still need to be careful not to fall into the trap of having an affair with the world. It is a temptation that may never go away, so we need to be vigilant in our trusting God for all aspects of our life. For we too one day will enter the ground, but only to rise again just as Jonah, just as Jesus. This is our road sign.  We have the greatest road sign of them all, the scriptures which point us to the right path. What more of a sign do we need?