Text: Matt 16:1-12
In the name of + Jesus. Amen.
The Pharisees and the Sadducees had the Word of God, the Old Testament: the Law and the Prophets and the Psalms that spoke of the Christ to come. And they also had the Christ right in front of them: the Word of God made flesh (John 1:14). His life and His preaching conformed to the pattern of prophecy, and confirmed His Messiahship. And just to make sure there was no ambiguity, Jesus did perform signs by the thousands. His miracles were public and unexplainable by ordinary means. They were impossible to work by trickery. But the Pharisees and Sadducees had the most to lose by confessing Jesus as the Christ. So they always demanded just one more sign.
Jesus told them that they have signs all around them. We can all look at the signs in the sky and figure out when it’s going to rain. “You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky,” says our Lord, “but you cannot interpret the signs of the times.” For the fullness of time had finally come. It was all around them like water in the sea. They don’t believe because they don’t want to believe, so they always demand one more sign. This is why Jesus says: “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.” So they left. They got what they wanted. They could now tell their allies that they asked for a sign, and it was refused to them. And so they thought life would return to normal.
People today also want signs. They pray that God would give them a sign. They think cardinals and pennies are signs of their dead loved ones sending them messages. Some people – even Christians – seek out signs from fortune tellers and mediums and tarot cards and other such forbidden things. But Jesus has already given us many signs. We already have His Word – both the Old Testament prophecies and the New Testament fulfillments. And best of all, we have the sign of Jonah, that is, the sign of Jesus as the New and Greater Jonah, who re-emerged from death on the third day, and then evangelized the Gentiles.
And that is our sign, dear friends. The resurrection of Jesus, “the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep,” (1 Cor 15:20) is a greater sign to us regarding our beloved dead than coins and birds and yammerings from some card reader. In Eastertide, we joyfully confess: “Christ is risen, He is risen indeed!” And we also say this when a Christian dies. For “we were buried therefore with Him by baptism into death” (Rom 6:3), and “if we have been united with Him in a death like His, we shall certainly be united with Him in a resurrection like His” (Rom 6:5). Baptism is a miracle of Jesus – a sign – one that is given by our Lord, since it is also the sign of Jonah: death, burial, and resurrection.
This lusting after signs is an indication of weak faith. “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees,” warns our Lord. For they place their trust not in the Word but in their works. They seek not Christ as the fulfillment of prophecy, but signs of their own making to confirm their own manmade religion. Their faith is weak because it is in themselves rather than in the Word. “Faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the Word of Christ” (Rom 10:17).
So let us throw off the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees and stop demanding signs. Let us be content with the Word of Christ, with the sign of Jonah in Holy Baptism and its connection to our Lord’s death and resurrection. And let us boldly make the sign of the cross as we give our hearty “Amen” – for this is a confession of faith: “Yes, yes, it shall be so” as we confess in the Small Catechism. Let us interpret the signs of the times and be prepared for our Lord’s return in glory.
Amen.
In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment