M16: SIGNS IN THE SKY
Matthew 16:1-4
#m16sermons
INTRODUCTION… childrensmn.org/educationmaterials/parents/article/7562 [adapted]
Old wives' tales are perhaps as old as language itself. They are part of our oral tradition, originating long before pen and ink, and books and movies. Many times, we still cling to such sayings about common ailments and life circumstances and our world even when we live in a world rich with medical expertise and proven treatments and cures and the ready information of the internet. Some old wives' tales are true and some are false. Most are harmless, but at the same time some are harmful. It is a mixed bag with these sayings.
Let’s see how many of these we might know:
> Cats can steal the [air] from a baby's mouth. False. This tale goes back hundreds of years to a time when cats were associated with witchcraft and evil spirits. Or just because they are mean.
> Feed a cold and [starve a fever]. False. Both high fevers and colds can cause fluid loss. Drinking plenty of liquids such as water, fruit juice, and vegetable juice can help prevent dehydration. And with both fevers and colds, it's fine to eat regular meals — missing nutrients may only make a person sicker.
> Wait an hour after [eating] before swimming. False. According to the American Red Cross, it's usually not necessary for you or your child to wait an hour before going in the water.
> Eating carrots will improve your [eyesight]. False. This tale may have started during World War II, when British intelligence spread a rumor that their pilots had remarkable night vision because they ate lots of carrots. They didn't want the Germans to know they were using radar.
> If you go outside with wet hair, [you'll catch a cold]. False. Cold weather, wet hair, and chills don't cause colds; viruses do.
> Cracking knuckles causes [arthritis]. False. However, habitual knuckle cracking tends to cause hand swelling and decreased grip strength, and can result in functional hand impairment.
> Red sky at night, sailors delight, red sky in morning [sailor’s take warning]. True. It has to do with dust and storm systems and pressure in the atmosphere, but yes, this is a common saying that is true even as weather often changes and shifts with the winds.
TRANSITION
I mention this last one because not only is a version of the saying: “Red sky at night, sailors delight, red sky in morning sailors take warning” in the Bible, but Jesus Christ says it in Matthew 16. I don’t know about you, but for me; if Jesus says it that settles it. This saying He uses is meant to make a point with some folks who were trying to trap Him in some questions and wanted to discredit Him before the crowds. We are in Matthew 16 today, but before we read the passage, we need a little context and background.
CONTEXT OF MATTHEW 16
Jesus is gaining some fame in His ministry and people are responding to His teachings and people all around are talking about Him. Jesus has been healing many people (Matthew 15:29-31). Lame folks are getting popular with their friends… no not that kind of lame… but physically lame people are physically walking. Mute people are speaking. Some with demon possession are healed. Blind people are seeing. Mothers-in-law are nicer. Jesus is performing miraculous healings and signs along with His teaching and preaching to show that He is Who He says He is… the promised prophet called the Messiah Who would bring salvation.
Not only has Jesus been healing, but He has also been doing other miracles like feeding 4,000 people (Matthew 15:32-39) with just a few loaves and a few fish. Not only did He feed all those people with the small food on hand, but there were leftovers. The feeding of the 4,000 is mentioned at the end of chapter 15 right before chapter 16 begins.
Jesus is gaining popularity among crowds of people and they are listening to Him about repentance and the Kingdom of God and forgiveness and love and holiness. While Jesus is doing all of this, He is also being monitored by religious leaders. In Matthew 16, we are told that Pharisees and Sadducees come and test Him and try to discredit Him because they felt threatened by Him. Pharisees were popular among the people as religious leaders and the Sadducees were politically powerful as religious leaders. Together they make up the religious leadership of the Jews and together they are a dangerous team.
TRANSITION
Now that we have a little context, let’s dig into Matthew 16:1-4. I am going to read it twice. Once from the ESV and once from the MSG.
READ MATTHEW 16:1-4 (ESV)
“And the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and to test Him they asked Him to show them a sign from heaven. 2 He answered them, “When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’ 3 And in the morning, ‘It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times. 4 An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.” So He left them and departed.”
READ MATTHEW 16:1-4 (MSG)
“Some Pharisees and Sadducees badgered Him again, pressing Him to prove Himself to them. He told them, “You have a saying that goes, ‘Red sky at night, sailor’s delight; red sky at morning, sailors take warning.’ You find it easy enough to forecast the weather—why can’t you read the signs of the times? An evil and wanton generation is always wanting signs and wonders. The only sign you’ll get is the Jonah sign.” Then He spun around and walked away.”
TRANSITION
So, in this passage, the Pharisees and Sadducees show up and want to get Jesus off His game and hope that the crowds lose interest in listening to Him. They start by asking for a miraculous sign.
DEMANDING AND UNDERSTANDING SIGNS
The Jewish leaders phrased their demand specifically when they ask for a “sign.” They are looking for an outward visible sign of Jesus’ power and they expect one in the sky. They want an ‘on-demand’ sign in the sky right then at their request for them that proves He is from God.
There are some interesting issues at play here. First, this is not the first time this exact situation has happened. We read about something similar in Matthew 12 when leaders show up asking Jesus to prove Himself in exactly the same way. Second, these leaders are not looking for another run-of-the-mill miracle since they already know He does miracles and heals for they confirm publicly that Jesus is doing them, but with the power of the devil (Matthew 12, Mark 3). Jesus had already done many miracles. He’d just fed 4,000 people!
What is going on exactly?
Many Jews in Jesus’ day as well as religious teachers believed that if a person was indeed a prophet from God and spoke on His behalf that signs and wonders would accompany this person as proof that they were in fact teaching on behalf of God. Also, many Jews in Jesus’ day as well as religious teachers believed that signs in the sky were an indication of judgment and doom and the rise and fall of political rulers. I think the Pharisees and Sadducees wanted Jesus to do something in the sky that they could twist against Him.
Jesus responds to the demand of the Pharisees and Sadducees by basically saying (to use a movie quote): “I'm disinclined to acquiesce to your request.” Jesus Christ criticizes the inability of the religious leaders to discern spiritual truths despite being able to predict weather based on natural signs. He contrasts their understanding of earthly signs in the sky with their blindness to the spiritual signs of the times. The signs of the times indicated that the promised Messiah and the kingdom of God had arrived.
Don’t forget the star in the sky at Jesus’ birth!
Don’t forget the prophet in the desert pointing out the Messiah!
Don’t forget the light from heaven at Jesus’ baptism at the Jordan River!
Don’t forget the voice from heaven at Jesus’ baptism at the Jordan River!
The Pharisees and Sadducees had access to these signs and they did not correctly understand that God’s Messiah had arrived. Jesus knows that even if He gives them another sign, on demand, that this will make no difference. They will not see Him for Who He is. They are blind to it. They have no faith. The refuse.
Jesus rebukes their demand for a sign as indicative of their unbelief and spiritual adultery. He points out that the only sign they will receive is the "sign of Jonah.” Jesus has said this to them before. When Jesus says the “sign of Jonah,” He means His death, burial, and resurrection. This is not a guess, but we know this from Matthew 12 where He explains it more fully:
READ MATTHEW 12:39-40 (ESV)
“But He answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40 For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.”
Jesus says to the Pharisees and Sadducees that the ultimate sign that He is Who He says He is and that He has come from God and that He brought the Kingdom of God with Him is His death, burial, and resurrection. This is proof that Jesus is the Christ. This is proof that Jesus is the Son of God. This is proof that we should place our faith in Him as our Lord and as our Savior.
Jesus uses an experience of the Prophet Jonah to explain what He would do as our Messiah. I was reading through Jonah again and want to share three verses from Jonah 2. Jonah 2 is the chapter where Jonah is spending his three days and nights “in the belly of the great fish” and he records for us his thoughts. They are significant.
READ JONAH 2:7-9 (ESV)
“When my life was fainting away, I remembered the Lord, and my prayer came to You, into Your holy temple. 8 Those who pay regard to vain idols forsake their hope of steadfast love. 9 But I with the voice of thanksgiving will sacrifice to You; what I have vowed I will pay. Salvation belongs to the Lord!”
What belongs to the Lord? Salvation.
Ultimately, the sign of Jonah leads us to thoughts of salvation.
What did Jesus bring us? Salvation.
Ultimately, the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus leads us to thoughts of salvation.
SUMMARY
What do we have in Matthew 16:1-4? We have the religious leaders of Jesus’ day coming to Him to demand a miraculous sign in the sky so that they can somehow twist it to discredit Him. Jesus says He will not do that because it would NOT help them believe. He does offer that His death, burial, and resurrection would be the proof they needed that He was indeed the promised Christ sent from God.
TRANSITION
What do we do with this passage?
APPLICATION FOR US
When I read through Matthew 16:1-4, I come to some pretty serious questions that we need to answer as we apply this passage to our lives.
First: Are we genuinely walking with Jesus in faith or do we merely want signs and wonders and a good life? It is very possible that our motivation for following Jesus is much like the Pharisees and Sadducees who said they would follow Jesus, but only if He met their demands. They would follow Him on their terms after He proved Himself. They would follow Him after He did what they wanted.
> We want access to God’s stuff so we say: “God, I believe in You so You save me out of Hell. That’s the deal.”
> We want access to God’s stuff so we say: “Jesus I believe in You so You bless my life and remove all my problems. That’s the deal.”
> We want God on our terms: “God I’ll follow You, but You have to accept my lifestyle first. That’s the deal.”
> We want God on our terms: “Jesus I will believe in You, but first you need to heal me. That’s the deal.”
Are we genuinely walking with Jesus in faith or do we merely want signs and wonders and a good life? It is very possible that our motivation for following Jesus is much like the Pharisees and Sadducees who said they would follow Jesus, but only if He met their demands. What is your motivation for following Jesus? Hopefully our motivation is a deepening faith relationship with Him.
Second: Do we recognize the signs of God's Kingdom that He has already done? I see Jesus being frustrated with the Pharisees and Sadducees because they were ignoring much of what He had already done and would not accept what He would soon do. What about us? Do we see what Jesus has already done?
When I think about this question, I think about a small section of one of Jesus’ parables in Luke 16. In Luke 16:19-31, Jesus tells a parable about a beggar named Lazarus and an unnamed rich man. They both die and the beggar is comfortable and the rich man is suffering. The rich man asks Abraham if he would send the beggar back to life to warn his brothers who were alive that they should change their ways. Jesus says in His parable:
READ LUKE 16:27-31 (ESV)
“And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father's house— 28 for I have five brothers—so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’ 29 But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ 30 And he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ 31 He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.’”
Do you catch the meaning? May we recognize the signs of God's Kingdom that He has already done as prophesied in the Old Testament and described in the New Testament. May we recognize the character of God in the past because He is the same in our lives now. Not only this, we indeed have someone Who has come back from the dead to convince us to live a life of faith rather than for ourselves.
Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection is proof of… God’s love and grace.
Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection is proof of… God’s wrath against sin.
Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection is proof of… Jesus’ identity as God’s Son.
Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection is proof of… forgiveness and redemption.
Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection is proof of… victory over sin and death.
Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection is proof of… the future resurrection of believers.
Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection is proof of… hope we should have by the Holy Spirit.
Do we recognize the signs of God's Kingdom that He has already done? Please do not forget or ignore what Jesus has already done for us in His life and on the cross and in the grave. Please do not forget for ignore what Jesus continues to do for us even now in Heaven. Please do not forget or ignore what Jesus has promised He will do when He returns.
SAME TRUTH
The Apostle Paul, in 1 Corinthians 15, mentions the same exact truth as Jesus in Matthew 16. The Apostle Paul is reminding the Corinthian Christians about the Gospel they heard and received and he wants them to stand firm in their faith. He says they have not believed in Jesus in vain. Paul summarizes the Gospel and the signs that the Gospel is true:
READ 1 CORINTHIANS 15:3-8 (ESV)
“For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, 5 and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6 Then He appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles. 8 Last of all, as to one untimely born, He appeared also to me.”
* The Apostle Paul says the message of the Gospel is: “Christ died for our sins.”
* The Apostle Paul says the proof of the Gospel is: Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection.
THE PROOF
The proof of Jesus' resurrection from the dead primarily relies on historical accounts documented in the New Testament, particularly in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
#1 We have the empty tomb: The Gospels record that after Jesus' crucifixion, His tomb was found empty by several women, including Mary Magdalene. Women were not considered reliable witnesses in Jesus’ day, but they were the first witnesses of His resurrection nevertheless.
#2 We have Jesus’ appearances: According to the Gospels and the Apostle Paul, Jesus appeared multiple times to His disciples and others after His crucifixion. These appearances are described as physical encounters where Jesus ate food, spoke, and allowed His disciples to touch Him.
#3 We have the transformed disciples: The transformation of the disciples from fearful to bold is seen as evidence of encountering Jesus after He rose from the dead.
#4 We have early Christian belief: The early Christian movement, starting just days after Jesus' death, centered its preaching and teachings on His resurrection. This was not something added later, but Truth from the start.
#5 We have the imprisonment, torture, and death of early disciples: Many early disciples and apostles were killed for their faith. We call this being a martyr. They were willing to die for their belief in the resurrection of Jesus.
#6 We also have the transformation of Saul: The conversion of Saul of Tarsus from an avid persecutor of Christians to a fervent believer of Jesus after encountering the risen Jesus on the road to Damascus is viewed as a significant personal testimony.
ILLUSTRATION… buzzfeed.com/aglover/old-wives-tales-that-are-actually-true
Old wives' tales are perhaps as old as language itself. They are part of our oral tradition, originating long before pen and ink, and books and movies. Many times, we still cling to such sayings about common ailments and life circumstances and our world even when we have no proof that they are true. We should believe something because it is true and there is proof.
> Thumb sucking causes buck teeth. True. If a child stops around the ages of 4 to 5, no harm will be done to the jaws and teeth, but thumb sucking after the age of 4 can contribute to buck teeth.
> Ammonia on a mosquito bite helps. True. Dab a bit of ammonia on a bite and in about 2-3 minutes the inflammation will have gone down.
> Redheads need more pain meds. True. Researchers have found there is a gene linked to red hair that increases resistance to some drugs and redheads metabolize others faster.
> Throw a frog in milk so it won’t spoil. True. There is a potential antibiotic in some frogs that really exists.
These are not just sayings, but there is proof that these ideas and thoughts are true. It is not unreasonable to believe them. Belief in Jesus is also quite reasonable.
CONCLUSION
The challenge for us today is: Do we believe in Jesus or not? Do we believe that Jesus died for us or not. Christians do not have blind faith, but it is reasonable based on the life of Jesus and His prediction of the “sign of Jonah” that He is Who He says He is and He did for us what He said He would do. Do you believe it?
PRAYER
INVITATION
READ LUKE 16:31
“He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.”
Jesus rose from the dead to prove He loves you.
