Hey everybody! Thank you for joining me in daily Bible reading as we seek to glorify Jesus, know Him more, and interpret the truth of His Word.
If this is your first time going through the Bible, I am incredibly excited to have you here. If this is your 5000th time, I am humbled that you are here and hope you grow in your relationship with Jesus along with me. May we all seek to know Him more and apply what we learn to further our mission of spreading the gospel. If you missed a day and want to catch up, visit the archives page HERE! But there is no shame if you start today! Day 182, Matthew 16:1-4 — Jesus Confronted Matthew 16:1-4 (NASB1995) “The Pharisees and Sadducees came up, and testing Jesus, they asked Him to show them a sign from heaven. 2 But He replied to them, “When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’ 3 And in the morning, ‘There will be a storm today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ Do you know how to discern the appearance of the sky, but cannot discern the signs of the times? 4 An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign; and a sign will not be given it, except the sign of Jonah.” And He left them and went away.” Discussion Yesterday, we read about the feeding of the four thousand. This crowd was so great that Jesus spent three entire days working miracles amongst the people. He healed the crippled, blind, mute, deaf, and many others suffering from various ailments, demonstrating the power and love of God. But after three days, the crowd became weary and starved. Jesus could not send the crowds away without food, so He fed them. This scenario is nearly identical to the first miraculous feeding of the five thousand (Matt. 14:15-21). The disciples probably expected Jesus to have no issue replicating that miracle but questioned how Jesus could find food in the wilderness. It was as if the disciples completely forgot about the first miracle—or maybe they assumed Jesus would figure it out like usual. In the end, Jesus uses the seven loaves and fish to feed the entire crowd and then sends everyone home satisfied with leftovers. Today, we read about Jesus’ confrontation with the Pharisees and Sadducees. Following the feeding of the four thousand, Matthew writes, “The Pharisees and Sadducees came up, and testing Jesus, they asked Him to show them a sign from heaven.” Jesus has encountered the scribes and Pharisees many times to this point, but this is His first interaction with the Sadducees. We know the Pharisees as the teachers of the Law, while the Sadducees held more political influence.[1] Normally, these sects were not cordial, as they differed in most matters. A primary difference between the groups was the Sadducees' skepticism of Pharisaic traditions and supernatural emphasis on angels, spirits, and the afterlife.[2] Furthermore, “Messianic beliefs about the end times or revolutionary demands for change challenged the stability of their own [authority].”[3] Thus, the unity of these groups in approaching Jesus shows how big a threat He is to their way of life. Previously, the Pharisees asked Jesus for a sign after He rebuked them for blaspheming the Spirit (Matt. 12:38-39). In that passage, Jesus sternly rebuked their unbelief because of all the miracles they had just witnessed—casting out demons, healing blindness, healing muteness, and teaching with authority. Yet, they had almost reached the point of no return because of their hard hearts as they asked Jesus to perform more signs for them. But just as they asked insincerely then, they also ask insincerely now. They do not genuinely care to see Him perform further miracles. They simply want to see Him fail or catch Him in error, so they can further accuse Him of blasphemy. Jesus does not cater to their evil request, though. Instead, He replies with a common expression describing the weather, saying, “2 When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’ 3 And in the morning, ‘There will be a storm today, for the sky is red and threatening.’” Notably, Luke’s account provides a different example. In Luke 12:54-55, Jesus says, “When you see a cloud rising in the west, immediately you say, ‘A shower is coming,’ and so it turns out. 55 And when you see a south wind blowing, you say, ‘It will be a hot day,’ and it turns out that way.” Luke’s example fits “a Palestinian context where a cloud in the west comes off the Mediterranean and carries moisture with it, [while the] wind from the south comes from the hot desert.”[4] In Matthew’s example, “evening and morning correspond to the Jewish pattern of beginning the day in the evening.”[5] Regardless of the varying accounts, the point Jesus is making reveals the simplicity of understanding weather patterns. There is no secret formula or hidden knowledge to understanding the obvious coming of storms, rain, or heat waves, so there is no need to seek further signs or clear evidence of Jesus’ divinity. As Jesus adds, “Do you know how to discern the appearance of the sky, but cannot discern the signs of the times?” Jesus is challenging these religious leaders to reflect on their own logic. Despite their elementary ability to discern weather patterns, they have ignored the obvious “signs of the times” through Jesus’ many miracles and other displays of power. Jesus then repeats a rebuke from a previous encounter with the Pharisees and offers them one sign verbatim before leaving: the sign of Jonah (v. 4). We detailed the sign of Jonah on Day 142—you can read it HERE. In conclusion, the Pharisees and Sadducees confronted Jesus about giving them a sign of His divinity. But Jesus knows their insincerity, so He refuses. He has already revealed the truth to them via miracles and logic, yet they mockingly ignore every sign given by dismissing all existing evidence and demanding further proof. At this point, it would be a waste of time for Jesus to throw pearls to swine. God does not need to prove His glory at the demand of an unbeliever. Application The persistence of the Pharisees to see Jesus fail reminds me of the same persistence many unbelievers have about finding error in believers. The difference is Christians fail at times, while Jesus never did. It is in our failures that we rest in the grace of Christ and humbly recognize our need for Him. There is also persistent unjust judgment amongst professing believers that can be reflected here. While calling out error is biblical, many do so out of pride, arrogance, and ignorance. We will save further discussion on that topic for another time, but I see the same prideful ignorance found in the ancient religious leaders in many who profess Christ today. So many judge and condemn without understanding the position of those they seek to rebuke. This happens on all sides of the fence, causing further division and confusion amongst baby believers. There is always room for correction, and we must extend grace to those who need understanding. I say this because I hope the body of Christ becomes humble enough to recognize the need for unity, correction, and genuine understanding before judging unjustly. May we be people who do not seek the demise of others but seek to correct in love. May we be people who humble ourselves in our error and receive correction with a teachable heart. May we avoid being like the ignorant and arrogant Pharisees who seek signs over logic and ignore the evident truths of God’s word over the feelings conjured from experience. May we praise, worship, honor, and glorify Jesus every day in all that we do while continually pursuing righteousness, holiness, and forgiveness as He forgave us. Looking Ahead Thank you for joining today’s daily Bible reading! Next, we read Matthew 16:5-12. I hope you join me! I have made commenting available, so please feel free to discuss the reading and ask questions. If you do not want to discuss publicly, you can reach out to me privately. We are on this journey together. References [1] Craig Keener, “IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament, Second Edition.” [2] Ibid. [3] Ibid. [4] Doug O’Donnell, “New International Greek Testament Commentary.” [5] Ibid.
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