More Signs

Matthew 15:39-16:4

³⁹And after sending away the crowds, he got into the boat and went to the region of Magadan.

^16:1And the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and to test him they asked him to show them a sign from heaven.

²He answered them, “When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’

³And 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.

⁴An 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.

When I was a kid, our family spent many hours traveling up to the farm. We went there often so dad could help out during the really busy times of the planting/harvesting seasons. I can still remember driving into the setting sun watching a brilliant red and purple sunset and my dad saying, “Red sky at night, sailor’s delight; red sky at morning, sailor’s take warning.” Of course at the time, he had to explain the saying. It meant you could tell the weather for the next day by the color of the sunset. At the time I didn’t know that the phrase was actually a stripped down version of Matthew 16:2-3 and I still hear words in my head when I see a red sunrise or sunset.

If the words from today’s reading seem a little familiar to you, it’s because we had a very similar reading a few weeks ago in Matthew 12. In that passage, the Pharisees came to Jesus seeking “a sign”. He told them basically the exact same thing that time that He tells them in today’s reading. The only “sign” you’re going to get is the “sign of Jonah.” [Just to review – the sign of Jonah was Jesus upcoming death, three days in the tomb, and resurrection just as Jonah had been three days in the belly of the great fish.] The Pharisees didn’t like it that answer, just as they didn’t care for it the first time. But Jesus is done with them. He has no intention of massaging their need for further proof that He is the Son of God, the Messiah send to save His people. Even if He had capitulated and given them a sign they wouldn’t have believed in Him anyway. A “sign” wasn’t going to change their already hard hearts.

I see a great deal of “proving” God’s existence going on today as people try to get non-Christians to agree that God is God and Jesus is the Savior. That just isn’t how the Gospel works. Ultimately, we are motivated in God’s direction by love. So prove that God’s is real and serve your neighbor. For those who already know and love Jesus, these words of the “sign of Jonah” move us to remember the entire story and remember that it ends very well for us.

“Matthew’s hearers/readers race in mind and heart to the end of the story. Christians of all times, when they are confronted by their own weaknesses, doubts, and fears, race to the end of the story. Is it all true? Can Jesus really be who the Scriptures say he is, and who we, on that basis, believe him to be? Against all expectation and with no human participation or contribution whatsoever, God by his grace alone has acted to reign mercifully in Jesus. God raised him from the dead. When all else seems untrustworthy, this is the definitive sign that disciples of Jesus trust. He is risen indeed!”

Gibbs, J. A. (2010). Matthew 11:2–20:34 (p. 799). Saint Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House.