A Red Sky

Matthew 16:1-12

Immanuel – 9/15/24

          Things have become so troublesome in Galilee that Jesus skipped town for a multi-week or even multi-month journey into Gentile lands. From His former home base of Capernaum, Jesus traveled some 70 miles north into Syria. Then, He and the disciples walked more than 100 miles, continuing to keep to Gentile territory, and returned to the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee.

          Along this journey people continued to flock to Jesus – all of them Gentiles (as we saw last week). According to Jewish traditions, all of them were regarded as unclean dog. Even still, Jesus loved and served them. It was a foreshadowing of how His kingdom will one day be filled with people from every tribe, tongue, and nation.

          After Jesus feeds the 4,000, He and the disciples sail back across the lake and return to Jewish lands. Far from a warm reception, they are immediately met with hostility. And this isn’t the resistance they left behind, however many weeks or months ago, this is a far more escalated and deadly hostility.

          Purpose

          Here’s the main point of today’s message, and it’s a simple one: Trust Jesus. They are words that are much easier to come out of a mouth than they are to come out of a life. Trust Jesus.

          Read vs 1

          An Unlikely Alliance

          There is an enormous amount of context beneath that first verse. First, let’s consider this coalition that’s confronting Jesus.

          Back in Matthew 3, we saw John the Baptist calling the Pharisees and Sadducees a brood of vipers. Since then, we have seen the Pharisees many times, but the Sadducees haven’t made an appearance. And this strange coalition of Pharisees and Sadducees has not yet approached Jesus.

          It is indeed a strange coalition, because the Pharisees and Sadducees were not friends. In fact, they were strongly opposed to one another. Since it’s been 10 months since we last encountered Pharisees and Sadducees cooperating, let me take a moment to remind you why this is such a strange alliance.

The Sadducees were the ruling party in the temple. They were the elites, the Levitical high-priestly aristocrats. Because of their privileged bloodline, they considered themselves superior to the common Jew. In their hunger to maintain and wield political power, they were not afraid to cooperate with the Romans. And they were also not afraid to use the temple system to get wealthy off the backs of their fellow Jews.

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In strong opposition to the Sadducees were the Pharisees. The Pharisees despised their Roman overlords and saw the Sadducees as collaborators and traitors. Unlike the elitist Sadducees, the Pharisees saw themselves as the party of the people. In a sense, they were; because if you worked hard enough, and the right opportunities came your way, any Jew could become a Pharisee.

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But as we know, the teaching and traditions of the Pharisees piled up over the centuries, getting increasingly detailed, getting increasingly impossible to obey. Inevitably, people could not meet their rigid standards, so the Pharisees began to see themselves as a cut above.

          The Sadducees outright rejected the traditions and teachings of the Pharisees, claiming only to follow God’s law. Additionally, the Sadducees rejected the idea of an afterlife while the Pharisees adamantly believed in heaven and hell. And as I have mentioned, the Pharisees and Sadducees were radically opposed to one another politically.

          And yet here there are, together; come from Jerusalem to oppose Jesus. They are united by their opposition to Jesus, it binds them together. And what is even more amazing is that, very likely, they have been waiting quite a while to confront Jesus.

          The coalition of Pharisees and Sadducees has come from Jerusalem. That’s about 75 miles as the crow flies. When Jesus returned from His trip, and landed the boat in Magadan, it’s not like the Pharisees and Sadducees made a quick trip from Jerusalem to see Him. They were waiting. They were probably waiting for weeks.

          And why have the Pharisees and Sadducees been camped out, waiting for Jesus’ return?

When Chapter 15 opened, a delegation of scribes and Pharisees came from Jerusalem to confront Jesus. They had heard how Jesus taught people they did not need to adhere to the Pharisees’ teachings about ceremonial cleanliness and they were likely looking for a way to justifiably condemn Him – like the false teacher they assumed He was.

Jesus refuted the scribes and Pharisees, publicly called them hypocrites, and then dropped this bomb on them:

          “It is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person.”                                            -Matthew 15:11

          In the very next verse, we learned that the Pharisees were rather offended by Jesus. It appears that they then sent word to Jerusalem to the effect that Jesus was leading the people astray.

          Thus Jerusalem’s religious establishment sends a final delegation of the highest authority, this time with the ruling party of the temple: the Sadducees. If this delegation condemns Jesus, Jerusalem would be forced to find a way to eliminate Jesus.

          I go into all of that detail to show the gravity of what Jesus has just retuned to: this is a very dangerous ambush. All that behind the words in verse 1, the Pharisees and Sadducees came…to test Him.

          And their smug test was dripping with contempt: show us a sign from heaven.

          This means they have clearly heard that Jesus performed powerful miracles – miracles that could only have come from heaven. Cleansing lepers, healing the sick, restoring sight to the blind, opening the mouths of the mute, restoring cripples, miraculous feedings; what more did they want?

Even if they hadn’t seen it with their own eyes, the law of Moses stated that two or three witnesses were the basis for a reliable testimony. Undoubtedly, they had heard of Jesus’ miracles from more than two or three people; why else come all this way. What did they want to see, Jesus make the Sea of Galilee part in two, like Moses; call down fire from heaven like Elijah; make the hand of God write a message on the wall like with Daniel? What more could they possibly want from Jesus?

The test of the Pharisees and Sadducees is entirely insincere. They don’t actually believe Jesus can produce miracles. They are trying to lay a trap for Jesus. They are trying to discredit Jesus. Again, their question drips with contempt.

          Read vs 2-3

          This reminds me of the old nautical adage: Red in the morning, sailors take warning. Red at night, sailors delight. Anyone can look into the sky and make a pretty safe bet about the type of weather they’ll be experiencing that day.

          Jesus’ logic is as follows: any person knows enough to read weather patterns; as Jews, you know enough to read the signs of the times.

          By “signs of the times,” Jesus is not referring to the end of history. He is talking about the time of Israel’s visitation by the Messiah, the Son of God. The Old Testament is filled with prophesies about the Messiah, and so many of them were being fulfilled in Jesus. I hardly have time to show you these, but there is one to quickly consider: Daniel’s 70 weeks (Daniel 9:24-27).

          Without getting too deep into it, Daniel’s 70 weeks foretold the coming of the Anointed One, or Messiah. And with this Anointed One would also come salvation and judgment. More pertinent to our passage, Daniel’s 70 weeks laid out a very specific timeline foretelling when the Messiah would appear: the year 31 AD, give or take a couple of years.

I am not just arbitrarily saying this. Messiah fever had gripped the Jews in those years – it was the hope of the Jewish zealots, it’s why they tried to crown Jesus, it’s why more false-Messiahs arose in that time than at any other point in history. The Jews knew that Daniel’s 70 weeks was coming to a close. And more than that, remember how Magi from the east traveled all the way to Bethlehem, convinced that Israel’s messianic King had arrived.

          And guess when most scholars indicate that Jesus’ public ministry began. 31 AD. Do you remember what Jesus said when His public ministry began? Here are Jesus’ first words in the Gospel of Mark:

          “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”                                                                              -Mark 1:15

          The times that Scripture pointed towards, the consummate times of Daniel’s 70 weeks, the time of Israel’s visitation, had been fulfilled in Jesus of Nazareth, Messiah-God. Anyone who looked at the Scriptures in good faith, and looked at the miraculous signs surrounding Jesus, would be able to understand with crystal clarity that the ages were shifting and the Messiah had come. And we know this is true, we saw it last week. Even a non-Jewish woman, living in a different country, knew enough to call Jesus “Lord” and “Son of David.” She had never met Jesus before, though she certainly heard of the signs He performed.

          What a contrast she is with the Pharisees and Sadducees. They should have had a better understanding of their own Scriptures. Jesus’ miracles were performed in their land and among their people. They should have understood the prophetic timing.

          Instead of seeing the compassion and humility of Jesus’ life, and seeking to understand His power and purpose, they hardened their hearts towards Him, resented Him, wanted to eliminate Him. It is the epitome of wickedness!

          Read vs 4

          For their contempt towards Jesus – the hope of Israel, their only Savior and Lord, their God become flesh – for their contempt towards Him, Jesus calls that generation of Jerusalem’s leaders, evil and adulterous. For what greater evil is there than to look into Jesus’ face and despise Him?

          When Israel began to worship other gods in the Old Testament, the true and living God described it as adultery. Through the prophet Jeremiah, God said.

          “Have you seen what she did, that faithless one, Israel, how she went up on every high hill and under every green tree, and there played the whore? And I thought, ‘After she has done all this she will return to me,’ but she did not return, and her treacherous sister Judah saw it. She saw that for all the adulteries of her faithless one, Israel, I had sent her away with a decree of divorce.”                                        -Jeremiah 3:6-8

          Israel worshipped foreign gods and Yahweh compared their folly to adultery. Ultimately, it would lead to the destruction of Jerusalem’s temple and the Babylonian exile. There was fire on the horizon for Israel in those day, for they could not see that they had abandoned the only true God.

          But the generation of Jews that saw Jesus face-to-face, could not see the face of God. They worshipped gods of self, of religiosity, of money and power. They were committing spiritual adultery, even as the bridegroom stood before them and watched.

          It is no wonder the so-called religious leaders angered Jesus.

          Jesus would give them no sign that might feed into their lusts for power. For if Jesus really could perform signs, and they could get Him to perform for them, then they might be able to control Him. No!

          No sign will be given to [that evil and adulterous generation] except the sign of Jonah.

          Jesus said these same words to the Pharisees before, and here we learn what Jesus means by the “sign of Jonah.”

          “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.”                                                         -Matthew 12:39-40

          The sign of Jonah is Jesus’ death and resurrection. But even after this confrontation with the Pharisees and Sadducees, Jesus will perform many more miracles. So why does He tell them that they will receive only one sign? I think it is because the sign of Jonah will only be given when the Pharisees and Sadducees get what they want, and through their vile collaboration they murder the Hope of Israel.

          But their evil accomplishment will be overcome when, like Jonah spit from the whale, Jesus burst from the grave! Death defeated and the foes of Christ under judgment.

          If only the religious establishment looked upon Jesus with open minds, perhaps they would have been able to read the signs of their time. For those who believed, the signs brough glad tidings of great joy. For those who refuse to believe, it is only a red and threatening sky of judgment.

          Indeed, ominous clouds were brewing on the Jews horizon. For Jerusalem’s adulteries, a destruction was coming – in fire and blood. The temple would fall again. The Scriptures also foretold such warnings. Jesus will spend all of chapter 24 foretelling of such destructions. But as the religious establishment could not see their Savior, neither could they see their Judge.

          But in these days before the cross and the crackling thunder that followed, Jesus left the religious leaders to their own hardhearted machinations. Jesus gets back into the boat and leaves just as He came.

Presumably the Pharisees and Sadducees think they have been proven right – Jesus performed no sign. And without a doubt they are fuming at the implication that they are evil and adulterous. This leads in only one direction. When this coalition returns to Jerusalem, they will begin planning how to kill Jesus. It is no wonder that in only a few more verses – for the first time in Matthew – you will hear Jesus speak of His death and resurrection.

          Read vs 5-7

          Crumbs

Mark tells us that when Jesus and the disciples left the Pharisees and Sadducees, they rowed to Bethsaida. Jesus, twelve disciples, and no bread. With the schedule they have just kept, you can imagine they were quite hungry. Perhaps they were speaking about their hunger it sparked an illustration in Jesus’ mind: “Watch and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”

          The disciples have a whole discussion amongst themselves – which, on a boat, couldn’t have been hidden from Jesus – and the result of their discussion is, “We brought no bread.” Did the disciples think that Jesus was warning them about a poisoned loaf of bread the religious leaders secretly slipped onto the boat?

          But based on what Jesus says to them next, it is clear they are hungry and can only think with hungry stomachs. They are guided by their base desires.

          Read vs 8-10

          Again we hear Jesus tell the disciples they have little faith. His first concern is not that the disciples missed the point, it is that they don’t trust Him to meet their needs. They are far from the great faith of the Canaanite woman. She trusted Jesus even though, presumably, she never met Jesus before. But the disciples have seen more than enough. Take the two feeding miracles together: the disciples have watched Jesus fed at least 18,000 people with next to nothing. Would it be any trouble at all for Him to feed His hungry disciples?

          We have now seen the theme of bread throughout chapters 15 and 16. Then Jesus effectively scolds the young men.

          Read vs 11-12

          There is an answer to Jesus’ rhetorical question. Take a moment. What is the answer to: How is it that the disciples failed to understand that Jesus did not speak about bread?

          Because they couldn’t see beyond their base desires. All they can think about are their material needs. You know what it is like when you are hungry and all you can think about is food. Fasting is the practice of looking beyond your base desire to see how much your soul hungers for Christ. The disciples are still so slow to see beyond their base desires.

          But after Jesus scolds them, and reminds them of the dangerous leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees, it finally dawns on the disciples that Jesus was not talking about bread. He was warning them about the toxic teachings of the religious leaders.

          Their teachings are toxic because they are overbearing and legalistic. They are toxic because they teach self-righteousness. They are toxic because they want signs more than they want Jesus.

          I have spoken much about the dangers of legalism and self-righteousness from this pulpit. Let me now address the danger of seeking signs. There are large sections of Christianity that are sign seekers, obsessed with seeing miracles, not satisfied unless something spectacular happens. I was caught up in this type of Christianity for years.

          Brothers and sisters, let the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees not spread in this church. Instead of constantly seeking signs from Jesus, simply trust Him, follow Him, obey Him. Remember, as we saw in the Sermon on the Mount, your daily bread comes from His hand. And more than this, He feeds you with His own presence, in the mundane moments, the mournful moments, the joyful moments. He is the satisfaction your soul starves for! Simply trust Him!

          There are many ways to grow in your trust in Jesus. One of the most important ways is to spend time in prayer. Spend time asking Jesus to increase your faith.

          Another practice I have already mentioned: fasting. Deprive yourself of something your body craves (food, screens, entertainment), so that you can focus your mind on the things your soul craves. Whenever your body is deprived, you feel your weakness. It’s hard. You get moody, lethargic, your breath smells, it hurts. And so you come to Jesus with all that weakness and struggle and seek for Him to meet your needs. You cry out, “I am this hungry for you! Feed me with yourself! Increase my faith!” He will. He delights to give you more faith. Trust Him!

          Let’s return to the disciples having been recently scolded. Matthew is setting us up for a climactic moment in his Gospel. As the disciples realize that Jesus is not talking about bread, they will soon express another – far greater – realization. They are beginning to understand, really understand, who Jesus is. The sky on their horizon was looking increasingly beautiful.

          For the Pharisees and Sadducees, the horizon was far more ominous. The next time Jesus will clash with these two groups will be in Jerusalem. It will be His final week. But before the cross Jesus will tell them of the ruin that will storm down on them. He will declare that all the righteous blood shed upon the land will come upon that generation (Matthew 23:35-36), that evil and adulterous generation.

          The horizon was glowing red for the Jews. For some it meant salvation and life. For others is meant judgment and destruction.