From the desk of Pastor Ben

Cursing the Light – Part 1

The Pharisees and Sadducees came up, and testing Jesus, they asked Him to show them a sign from heaven. But He replied to them, “When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’ 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?”
                                    (Matthew 16:1-3)

The Jewish elite did not want to find truth from Jesus but only wanted to discover His “falsehood.” They demanded a sign (miracle) they believed was beyond Jesus, seeking to prove that He was not from God. That way they could publicly discredit Him and vindicate themselves.

In their blindness, the Jews could not recognize that Christ Himself was “a sign from heaven.” This refusal to accept God’s ultimate Sign meant they already had rejected Jesus’ lesser signs, even in the face of irrefutable evidence of their validity. As Abraham warned about the brothers in Jesus’ story of the rich man and Lazarus, “If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead” (Luke 16:31). Like Pharaoh, the more the Jews witnessed divine power, the more they hardened their hearts against it (Exodus 7-11). God will display more heavenly signs in the future (Matthew 24:29-30; Luke 21:11;
Revelation 15:1), but they will indicate the end of the age.

The famous French philosopher and atheist Voltaire once declared, “Even if a miracle should be wrought in the open marketplace before a thousand sober witnesses, I would rather mistrust my senses than admit a miracle.” Unbelief always finds a way to reject God’s truth, even if it must deny the undeniable. How much better a heart that is open to the truth, receives it, and rejoices to obey it.

Ask Yourself:
Rather than getting frustrated with the lack of spiritual soundness around you, make today a day when you begin asking God to reveal Himself to those who are resisting Him. How could you make yourself ready to answer others’ question with His sure Word of truth?