Still Seeking Signs
Or
The Sign Of Jonah Promised
Sunday Oct. 4, 2020
Scripture To Consider:
“And Jesus sent away the multitude, got into the boat, and came to the region of Magdala. Then the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and testing Him asked that He would show them a sign from heaven.”
“Jesus answered and said to them, ‘When it is evening you say, “It will be fair weather, for the sky is red”, and in the morning, “It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.” Hypocrites! You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times. A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.’ And Jesus left them and departed.” Matthew 15.39-16.4
Something To Consider:
Having miraculously provided food for four thousand men plus women and children, Jesus got into a boat and went to the region of Magdala. This was the second time Jesus provided food for such large masses of people. For the rational thinking individual these were a fulfillment of prophecies concerning the marvelous works that would be done in order to reveal the One in whom God would eventually send, the Holy One of Israel, Jesus.
And yet, the moment the Pharisees and Sadducees showed up on the scene, they came testing Jesus by asking Him for a sign from heaven. After all Jesus had done they were still seeking signs.
In 2 Corinthians 4.4, the Holy Spirit influenced Paul to write; “The god of this world [age] has blinded the minds of those who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.” Are we walking in the light, or are we being blinded by Satan, the god of this world?
Something Else To Consider:
Before the apostle Paul’s death he was a prisoner in Rome. In the last chapter of the book of Acts, Paul called for the Jewish leaders to speak to them once more about Jesus. Paul quoted from Isaiah 6.9-10; repeating the same words that Jesus spoke in Matthew 13, while speaking to some Jewish religious leaders.
Paul declared; “Hearing you will hear, and shall not understand; and seeing you will see, and not perceive; for the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, so that I [Jesus] should heal them.” As Paul spoke those words, some were persuaded and some still chose to not believe!
What has our own decision caused us to declare? Are we still seeking signs as do unbelievers? Or are we content with all that the Word of God has already proclaimed? According to Jesus, “The truth shall make us free!”
Something More To Consider:
And still today, so many generations later, there are those legalistic leaders so similar to the Pharisees and Sadducees, who would say, “Show us a sign from heaven.” To that, Jesus would once again say, “A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.”
When Jesus first spoke those words in Matthew 12.39, He went on to explain that as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a great fish, so will the Son of Man, Jesus, be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. Jesus was speaking of the time following His death and prior to His resurrection.
And so, the very sign Jesus promised was indeed fulfilled and spiritually missed by all those still seeking all the wrong signs. And even today, in this 21st century generation, the vast majority of earth’s occupants do not believe, do not hear, do not see, and do not understand the gospel message of Jesus Christ.
Therefore, we press forward either in belief or in unbelief! If in unbelief, then we claim allegiance with this wicked and adulterous 21st century generation. If in unbelief, we will continue to seek signs and wonders and therefore be deceived when the Antichrist displays end times signs and wonders as predicted in the Word of God! How shameful and eternally damning that wrongful allegiance with evil will be in the end.
Or, will we recognize all of the most evident and in advance warned of by Jesus and others end time signs of the end of this age? Will we wisely understand that the end of this age is fast approaching and prepare ourselves and others for what has biblically been revealed to lie ahead of all humankind? The sign of Jonah has been fulfilled. Jesus rose from the grave and is now at the right hand of the throne of God interceding on our behalf as true end time believers.
The bottom line is, that the truth has been written, preserved, and cherished by a few some, and rejected by many others! According to the Psalmist, “The Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting; and His truth endures to all generations.” What is also true is that God’s mercy to those who refuse to believe has a limit. Yes, God’s mercy to those who believe is everlasting. But to those who do not believe and still seek additional signs, their horrifying end is in sight!
A Few Final Words:
It is also true according to John 1.14, “The Word [of God, Jesus] became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory [in belief or in unbelief], the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” How we respond to that truth determines our eternal destination. Which will it be, heaven or hell?
The signs of the end times surround us! The identity of the Antichrist is soon to be revealed. The warnings of Jesus found in Matthew 24 are here and will continue to intensify. Do we believe, or have we been deceived?
Following Jesus is a spiritual matter of believing with a person’s heart, not a matter of needing to see more signs. Jesus affirmed in John 16.13; “However, when He, the Spirit of truth [the Holy Spirit], has come, He will guide you [and me] into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you [and me] things [end time events] to come.”
Jesus followed up in verse 15, by revealing; “All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore, I said that He [the Father] will take of Mine and declare it to you [and me as true end time believers].” In the final verse of John chapter 16, Jesus reported; “These things [things true believers need to know] I have spoken to you, that in Me [in Jesus who is the Word of God] you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”
A few verses later Jesus asked His disciples, “Do you now believe?” Jesus is still asking that same question of all of us. If we truly believe in Jesus and in His Word, we should not still be seeking signs! “Then the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and testing Him asked, that He would show them a sign from heaven.”
Prayer:
Our Father in heaven, have mercy on us, for we are able to determine the signs of the weather and yet we so often misinterpret the signs found in Your Word. In Him Always, Amen!
According to Jesus 