“The Pharisees and Sadducees came up, and
testing Jesus, they asked Him to show them a sign from heaven.” – Matthew
16:1
When my oldest daughter Cherilyn had
received her learner’s permit from the DMV, I would regularly take her out
driving. One evening, she approached a
“Yield” sign and drove right through it, nearly getting into an accident with a
car to which she should have yielded the right of way. When I asked her if she had seen the “Yield”
sign, her response was that she did see the sign but did not know what it
meant.
Our lives are full of signs. Many are easily recognizable and eagerly
awaited, like the first signs of spring.
Other signs and their meanings are not so easily recognized, such as the
animals all quickly moving to higher ground just prior to Tsunami that struck
South Asia in 2004.
During Jesus’ ministry He provided many
public signs that He was truly God’s Son, through His miracles and
teaching. Yet, the religious leaders of
that time failed, or even refused to recognize the meaning of Jesus’
signs. Time and time again, they would
ask Jesus to give them an explicit sign that demonstrated the truth of His
ministry. Jesus never gave them an
explicit sign. Rather, He would question
their ability to recognize some signs, such as weather’s relation to the color
of the sky, but not recognize other obvious signs (Matthew 16: 2-4). He also directed them back to the Old
Testament, referring to the “sign of Jonah” (Matthew 12: 38-45) which was yet
another sign to the Pharisees that predicted both His rising from death in
three days and the destruction of Jerusalem in 70AD.
Just as is shown throughout the Bible, God
continues to communicate to us through signs. Through signs, He gives us answers,
guidance and comfort. Unlike my daughter
and the “Yield” sign, we need to open our hearts through this Lenten season and
beyond, to recognize and understand God’s signs to us.
Arnold Schuff
Very good Arnold. I really enjoyed reading this.
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