Title Can't Believers Seek Signs?
Can a believer not seek a sign?
“Jesus answered and said to them, “If the sky is red in the evening, you say it will be a good day, and if the sky is red and cloudy in the morning, you say that today will be a bad day. The adulterous generation asks for a sign, but they have no sign to show it except the sign of Jonah.
The Pharisees and Sadducees asked Jesus to show him “a sign from heaven.” Prove that you are the Messiah through supernatural signs, signs, and signs. For example, it was asked if Elijah could pray and do something like sending fire from heaven. Otherwise, he was going to spread rumors in the neighborhood that Jesus was not the Messiah, nor Elijah who would cry out for the Lord's coming in the wilderness before him. It was a trump card that they took out to test the Lord, becoming anxious as more and more people followed Jesus.
It was quite a subtle test in its own way, but there is no way that the Lord, God, cannot penetrate or have a countermeasure against such a sinister scheme. Whenever he was subjected to a similar test from the Jewish privileged class, he threw back a serious question that could not be answered, completely nullifying the first test. Rather, they made them shoulder the new homework that they had to solve.
Again, this is no exception. He asked, "Why can't you discern the signs of the times while you know how to discern even the heavens?" They also scolded us for being an evil and adulterous generation that only seeks signs. It is not that you should seek a sign from me, but that you have to discern the times by yourself. Finally, he prophesied that if you really want to see the signs that God shows in me, you will see the signs of Jonah rather than Elijah. Then he left without any more dealings with them.
Then, can the believer not be able to seek the signs that God shows? If I ask, will I become an evil and adulterous sinner? Not necessarily. You must carefully read the words of Jesus in the text. He scolded me for not being able to discern the signs of the times. Conversely, doesn't that mean that we must be able to discern the signs of the times? If so, then you have to look into the reason for the indistinguishment.
The fact that the Jews were able to discern the heavenly qi does not mean that they had extraordinary supernatural powers. It's about the extent of predicting the next day's weather by looking at the morning or evening glow. This is common sense realized through real experience for a long time in a primitive farming system that relied only on rain from the sky. On the other hand, what is the sign of the times? It does not mean predicting what will happen in the future, but rather the direction and mode of the present age. It is a socio-cultural characteristic that determines the era.
The sky is a phenomenon that is clearly visible to the eye, so it can be distinguished well as it is. However, since the characteristics of the times are the total flow of human society, they cannot be identified with the naked eye and cannot be tested by collecting scientific data. You can't really know without spiritual insight.
This is why Jesus rebuked the Pharisees and Sadducees. It's not just about seeking a sign from heaven. They are the religious and political leadership to lead the Jewish masses. In other words, they are the ones who should carefully look at the signs of the times rather than the heavenly flags. It is that they have a responsibility to discern in which direction God is leading history and guide the masses to obey His will, but they failed to do so.
What were the signs of Jesus' day, especially from God's point of view? It was a period of silence after the prophet Malachi, when God's revelations were cut off for a long time. They were thirsty for the word of God and did not know Him properly. Inevitably, people were engulfed in sin and lost their faith in the true fear of Jehovah God. Temple sacrifices have been turned into zealous competitions for real blessings. They were repeating formal, hypocritical, pretentious, and ups and downs religious practices.
They were waiting for the Messiah, but that was also the only real reason to ask for deliverance from Roman oppression. Even if the reason was wrong, if you truly waited for the Messiah, your attitude toward Jesus should have been different. With sincerity and purity, the Lord's teachings, work, personality, and miracles should have been carefully examined and compared with the prophecies of the Old Testament.
But in order not to lose sight of their vested interests, they were only looking for excuses to hold Jesus back, no matter what they did. Without really seeking a sign from heaven, he asked for it only in words. They were blinded by wealth and power, and in reality, they did not even wait for the Messiah. Jesus, who saw through their hearts, told them to come to you after discerning them well from the flow of the times. If you do, you will be able to fully realize that you are the Messiah.
Because some of them had already asked Jesus to show him a sign before this happened, and then the Lord gave the same answer that he could only see Jonah's sign. Since it was the first time, he did not get scolded like he is now, and he kindly (?) explained Jonah's sign. (Matthew 12:38-45)
In other words, if you had understood the explanation, you would have realized the purpose of the Messiah's coming and what he is doing. Even if you don't understand it, at least you shouldn't try to test it with the same question. It is said that he committed an act of disrespect that could not be performed even for ordinary people. Of course, it's not that you're being humiliated. People who are discerning of heaven and earth but do not know the signs of the times are leading the masses, so they had no choice but to accuse them of being an evil and lewd generation.
What was previously described about the sign? “Just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh will rise at the judgment and condemn this generation, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah, but one greater than Jonah is here” (12:40, 41).
They may not have known about Jesus' death and resurrection three days later. Even the disciples did not understand. But, at least, after hearing the gospel of the kingdom of Jesus, they should have repented. Hearing Jonah's preaching, Nineveh, the sinful city of worshiping idols, also repented, but you, who have received the holy law, are God's chosen people, why not do this?
In other words, the Messiah will not come to perform the miracle of bringing down fire from heaven, but will convert sinners to repentance and turn them back into children of God. Since you have delivered so many messages of repentance anytime and anywhere, you may not know that the Messiah is the one you are trying to test in front of your eyes, but at least you should know how this age is going.
The spiritual leaders of that time did not try to deliver the message of repentance to the public at all, but only to fill their stomachs through religious games. The meaning of Jesus is that even though Jonah disobeyed God's command once, and Nineveh had repented, he was angry, but there was a wrath that sin must be judged. But you don't even have that kind of zeal, so aren't you an evil and adulterous generation?
1/6/10