seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Matthew 16:1 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.
The "sign of Jonah" caught my eye this morning. I had to figure out what He meant saying "the sign of Jonah" so I "Binged" it. [I used to google but now I bing.... lol]. Jesus was talking about the three days. Jonah was in the whale for three days. Three days will be spent in the tomb. Oh, and this response from Got Questions also answers the question about the three days and three nights.Jesus dealt with human idiots every day. The idiots in these verses called themselves the Pharisees and Sadducees. I find it interesting that the Sadducees wanted a sign from Heaven.... when they don't believe in Heaven at all. That's what I think made the Sadducees so "sad you see".
One of the stories in the Old Testament was about priests who cheated. They did whatever they wanted. The Levites [priests] in chapter 16 of Numbers in the Old Testament decided they could make their own laws. They accused Moses of taking them into the desert to die. Moses stood up for them when God wanted to do all the idiots who followed them, but Moses pointed out that the priests were the ringleaders. So God told Moses and Aaron to "back away from their tents". And then the corrupt ringleader priests were swallowed up by the earth.
With that story of the swallowed-up priests in mind, it makes some sense that the Pharisees and the Sadducees would question Jesus. He knew the scripture better than they did. He quoted them line and verse. That only drew their attention. He healed the sick and judging by the size of the potlucks He put on, He must have healed them by the hundreds every single day. Still, the Pharisees and the Sadducees didn't want to be swallowed up by the earth like their predecessors, so they had to be very careful. They could explain the healings away by calling them magic.... not miracle.
Maybe Jesus was just too good to be true. Maybe the intonation of their questioning was in awe rather stubborn opposition. Nope.... based on Numbers 16 a good Levite [priest] would question Jesus because He was too good to be true. AND the government was corrupt. AND there was a conquering army in control. AND they would get in trouble for allowing Jesus to continue drawing those huge crowds. He was making them look bad.
Jesus was too good to be true.
