THE SIGNS OF TIMES

By J. Morillo

Text: Matthew 14: ¹ The Pharisees and Sadducees came to Jesus and tested him by asking him to show them a sign from heaven. ² He replied, “When evening comes, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red,’ ³ and in the morning, ‘Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times.⁴ A wicked and adulterous generation looks for a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah.” Jesus then left them and went away.

Intro: In one of the public ministries of Jesus, He was confronted by some religious leaders representing the sects of Pharisees and Sadducees with the aim to do harm. Having been exposed, the Lord rebuked and cursed them. Two religious organizations of sharp distinction but united in opposing the Lord Jesus Christ. Actually, this was a continuous harassment of the devil to Him who left Him for a while after the first temptation. During the first temptation, He was to prove “If You are the Christ” (Matthew 4; Mark 1:12; Lk 4:1). Now, the temptation persists using the very people that serve "His temple". They asked Him to prove if He is the Christ by saying “...Give us a sign.”

In this reflection, the ineffectiveness of religious leaders to understand the Lord’s words and accurately interpret the signs of times due to corruption of power and selflessness, is the focus.

A sign from heaven; a sign to do harm v.1. These religious leaders are relentless in their opposition to Jesus. They follow Him anywhere by disguising themselves as genuine believers of His teachings as if ready to get any responsibility from Him to advance His cause. Actually, they are not. In verse 1, we are told of their true color - they “…tested Him by asking Him to show a sign….”

The word “tempt” is a transitive verb. This verb transfers its meaning to the object, “Him”. This verb has another form – it is a “state-of-being” verb. It means that the verb does not carry an outward manifestation of behavior. Instead, it is an act from within. There is something “being processed inside,” “from the inner self,” “from the mind,” the psyche. Their being with Jesus for many days was a deliberate act. Something planned. Something orchestrated. This is to gain His trust so they could entice Him and do harm in return.

Was this because they are afraid to lose their hard earned position in the society? They are afraid that somebody is exposing their true motive because they wrongly impose tradition and laws for purposes of manipulating people and making them blind followers of God? Yes, it's all the reasons behind so they could gain followers out of fear by making people guilty of religious shortcoming. Actually they themselves (religious leaders) are incapable of observing their own self-imposed rules. By demanding to “show us a sign” they actually would like to pressure the Lord to act carelessly and so they can twist the facts and make it appear that He is in connivance with the devil. There is no doubt that the Lord can actually make signs and wonders just like the old days when He would bring manna, quails (Exo.15:13), water in the waterless region, show thunder (Exo.19:16), bring down fire from heaven and make angels to suddenly appear (cf. Matt 3:11). But the Lord Jesus knows what they are “hiding” from that mind. 

In the final analysis this is a continuous harassment of Satan (cf. Lk.4:13) so the Lord could be forced to use His power out of anger and aggrandizement. This would in turn become a violation of the nature of His humble obedience. Thus, it is a contemptuous act. It will deviate from the Father’s plan, a“…Knowledge of the divine plan of salvation previously hidden.” (1 Cor.1:30). Power must only be used according to the predetermined purpose of helping the human race break free from sin. The use of power is to please the Father in heaven and not to serve one’s purpose and self-interest. This is what He promised to come here on earth, “…To do the will of my Father in heaven.” (Jn.5:43; John 6:40; John 15:10). We all have to check our motives. Remember that “…The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.” (Psalm 19:7)

Weather forecasters; weathered minds v.2, 3. What happened next was a rebuke given to them. How is it that they could predict weather condition and not understood Christ? The sun is 149 million kilometers from earth or 152 million kilometers during the month of July. The nearest stars from the solar system are 16.308 light years away. These people can understand their movements even if they are too far from earth. They are a bunch of “weather forecasters.”

But why can’t they understand the Lord who is using their own language of probably, Greek, Hebrew, or Aramaic? He is in front of them talking. They are good in observation but poor in understanding. They are good in attending the Lord's activities but poor in collecting truths. They can hear but could not figure out. They can see but could not notice the form. They can calculate but could not reach the total value of facts. They have selective understanding and poor objective research outcome. Their listening skills are too subjective and the organization they belong is too sensitive to apply self-corrective measures. This reveals who they are. Many if not all know that the hierarchy of four different types of knowledge starts from common sense to science and then to philosophy and theology. The school of philosophy has been in used for 400 years up to the time of this event. Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, lived from 450 to 300 BC; while theirs, Jesus’ time, was probably between 27AD to 33AD, a span of 460 years of studying philosophy, letters, and theology to both university (Greeks) and religious (Judaism) curriculum. These people are professionals and trained to the highest standard of academic discipline. But what is going on? They couldn't even figure out “the signs of time.” Even the Lord was wondering why “You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times.” (v3)

All underlined words - “know,” “can,” “interpret,” are again state-of-being-verbs which tell that there was tremendous inner activities in these people but had been missing the genuineness of their religious existence. What they’ve been practicing was pure nonsense, senseless, and acts that are deplorable.

It challenges the application of our religious beliefs. Our theology must find subjects and objects. What good would it bring in serving Him if we are irrelevant and ineffective to address the social cry of our present time? What good would it bring in serving Him if we cannot even uplift the souls of our people and strengthen the weak? What good would it bring if we don’t know how to listen to His words and put them into practice? 

In the end, the Lord decided to give them a sign, yes, a sign of "Jonah". There is parallelism here of Jonah and Jesus. They both came from "death" from the "grave" - belly of fish for Jonah and the tomb for Jesus. Both preached judgment and repentance. Jonah preached judgment, and during the Pentecost, the Disciples made their first ever attempt to preach the Good News of salvation using a historical presentation of facts about Jesus of "whom ye crucified."

In verse 3, the Lord challenged these Pharisees and Sadducees to “…interpret the signs of the times.” There is an obligation to study our faith and grow from it. We must become an ever growing believers. Although God provides wisdom, it is given only to those who are earnestly seeking His will “in order to make this world a better place to live in” (Bishop N. Lazaro).

Only those with selfless ambition and godly-intention can honestly address the social maladies brought about by ignorance. Socrates once said, “Ignorance is the root of all evil.” And if the Church ceases to understand the signs of times, she must kneel before God and ask for forgiveness. Being His heralds, let us listen to our Lord and minister to one another with sincerity. Let us make the church relevant and effective agency of truth and change so that “…His will…” could be”…done on earth as it is in heaven.”

Lord, grant us the understanding to know thy words and open our eyes to see the needs of Your people. Help us not to be selfish in using the power you gave us "to open and close the gates of heaven;" but, rather, use it to help the poor and the oppressed; the little ones and the weak. Help us to be responsible of our faith; to study and grow so others may benefit. Help us to interpret the signs of times and use our days productively for Your glory; so Your church could be an effective agent of Your words in achieving peace, justice, unity, and worship. - Amen

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