Signs

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW

SIGNS

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

What do we do with this? We know that which the Pharisees and Sadducees did not. We have accepted Jesus as our Messiah, our Lord, and Savior by faith. Whether we have seen any sign or wonder matters not because we believe by faith. We know what the sign of Jonah means. So how do we make sense of this narrative that could impact our lives? There are other passages that have been more difficult to garner a complete truth about, such as the events yet to come as described for us in the revelation that was given to John. Although, as we know, this is the revelation of Jesus to John and therefore to us, there are also future events that we are told must happen. It is interesting the world does not see this truth, but they are more like the Pharisees and Sadducees, looking for some supernatural or paranormal signs to indicate there is some kind of spirit world that exists outside the realm of God. There are within the church believers who want to interpret the signs of the revelation to John by the known physical evidence of our modern day. They want helicopters and nuclear bombs, airplanes, or jetpacks to explain away some of what John saw. However, John only knew of what he knew of his day and could only describe in the words of his day. So it is with wanting signs in order to believe. We do not need signs, we do not need to find signs for we have faith in God, faith in Jesus, and faith in the Spirit, that he will lead us into all truth. But it is the wicked and adulterous generation, those who are having an affair with the world, or the things of the world who want that sign, a proof of what is. Therefore, they make up proof to say they have a sign. They invent proofs for evolution so they can say they have a sign of how and when the earth came into existence alone with how man evolved from a single cell blob. They invent proofs of global warming so they can say they have found signs that man is at fault, that they have the knowledge of how to fix it. They show us signs of glacier calving, which is a normal process that has and will happen continuously, as signs that man has caused the earth to heat up and the ice is melting endangering nature. Man is always looking for or making up signs and yet the real sign is found in the word of God, and we cannot make that up, but merely accept it by faith. Thanks be to God, for even our faith is a gift from him.