[Day 172]
Matthew 16.3-4
Jesus answered them, “You know how to read the appearance of the sky, but you can’t read the signs of the times. And evil and adulterous generation wants a sign, but no sign will be given to it…”
We like to be given signs, don’t we? Signs that someone else loves you; signs that you’re going in the right direction; signs that the clothes we’re going out in will be the most suitable ones for the weather.
A couple of weeks ago, we went off to the beach. When we set off it was cold and rather grey, but within an hour or so the sun had come out and we were sweltering in our thick trousers rather wishing we had had the foresight to bring swimming shorts and towels. If only we had had a sign!
“Ah”, some people might say. “The signs were there all along, you just couldn’t read them. If we had looked at the forecast, or read the signs in the sky or heard the birds singing in a particular way, we would have known all along.”
The Pharisees ask Jesus for a sign from heaven to prove that He is God. But Jesus mocks them – “You know how to read the appearance of the sky, but you can’t read the signs of the times.”
To have read the signs of the times would have meant that the Pharisees would have had to be aware, through the Holy Spirit, of the reality of the invisible spiritual realm. But, blinded by their religious arrogance and pride, they were spiritually incapable of reading the signs of the times. And yet, it was precisely the time that the prophets had forecast, a time when Jesus, the saviour of the world, would walk among men. The signs were there all along, they just couldn’t read them.
Today we have the chance to read the times spiritually. Through God’s eyes, we can see what it going on spiritually in our communities and nation. And amazingly, God invites us to be a part of His transforming Kingdom building work.
What is God saying?
I believe that God is saying:
Picture of a ball of fire. People gather round it and warm themselves around it. They invite their friends to do the same. But it is still fire, still powerful. The fire is the Holy Spirit, but we must never believe that God is somehow just for a nice warm glow – He is powerful and awesome