LEARNING DAILY

Matthew 16:1-3, Then the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and testing Him asked that he would show them a sign from heaven. He answered and said to them. “When it is evening you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red’; and in the morning, ‘It will be foul weather today for the sky is red and threatening.’ Hypocrites! You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the times.

We listen every day to see what the weather will be like – hot or hotter, rain (unlikely), a cold front (usually spoken of when the temperatures dips into the 70s). Even when the forecast for rain is possible it either dissipates before it gets here or goes around where we live. But the forecast for hot is usually adequate for where we live. It is pretty easy at times to look at the sky and say bad weather is coming our way. You get the picture right!?

A group of Pharisees and Sadducees came to Jesus and wanted Him to give them a sign from heaven to prove He was who He said He was. I wonder what sign would be proof for them. They had already chosen not to believe what they had witnessed. The deaf were able to hear. The blind were able to see. Demons were cast out, the lame walked, and the dead had come back to life. There does not seem to be any lack of evidence for who Jesus was! The religious leaders were insincere with their request and Jesus refused to give a performance; they would not believe it anyway.

What was significant about a sign from heaven? Jesus was the sign from heaven the Jewish people were looking for, the Messiah. He called the religious leaders hypocrites for being able to discern the weather and said they were representative of a “wicked and adulterous generation” who had a spirit of disbelief that He was the Messiah.

Today, early warning devices have been set up to give warning of dangerous weather and to help save lives. The Bible gives us an early detection system that warns us of the man-made dangers all around us. We live in days that are “like the days of Noah”. The days we live in are wicked and evil, full of disbelief, and people find it easier to predict the weather than know the signs of the times we live. People are certainly “scoffers, walking according to their own lusts and mocking the return of Jesus” (2 Peter 3:3-4). Deception and false teaching are all around us, captivating people’s thoughts and causing many to follow what is right in their own eyes. Paul’s warning to the people of Thessalonica is reminding us that the “day of the Lord” will come suddenly, as a thief in the night; know that when world leaders cry out “Peace and safety” that sudden destruction is coming. Jesus, in the Olivet Discourse (Matthew 24), warns us that wars and rumors of wars, ethnic and territorial conflicts (?) and famines, epidemics, and earthquakes are all signs of what is to come. If you have not read Matthew 24 and 25 in a while, please take time to do so.

Do you see and discern the signs of the times we live in? Is your discernment challenging you to walk closely with the Lord on the narrow way? The words of Jesus found in Luke 21:36 are very important for every Believer today. “Watch therefore and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.” As Believers and faithful followers of Jesus Christ we must be on watch against sin and every form of deception. We must walk close to the Lord Jesus and pray that our love and faith in Him will not diminish, in order for us to be strong and be able to persevere in Him when terrible things come our way. We must stay strong in God’s Word and be committed to walking the narrow way with Him. Are you willing to take the time and commitment necessary?