“The Pharisees and Sadducees came
to Jesus and tested him by asking him to show them a sign from heaven.” Matthew
16:1
In a way, it is hilarious – the Pharisees and Sadducees, at odds in so many ways, now conspiring together to approach Jesus. To him, it must have borne all the subtlety of the aggravating Emergency Alert System signal and its dispassionate “This is only a test.”
But that’s about where the humor ends, for in their ploy, they met only rebuke from God. Face to face, no less. And their brief encounter ended in the saddest of ways: “Jesus then left them and went away.”
Why? What is wrong with asking for a sign? Haven’t so many of us sought from God the assurance of his presence? Haven’t we looked for signs of guidance and confirmation?
The issue is not in the seeking of a sign, per se, but the heart behind the ask. Were the leaders truly seeking guidance in God’s ways, or was it justification of their own? Did they approach God with humble hearts bending low before him, or prideful hearts rising up against him?
I think God gives us far more guidance and assurance than we realize, for his heart toward us is proactive love and purposeful care.
So we do well to look for the signs that guide us along his ways, and avoid the ones that loop us back to ourselves. For his ways lead to life – abundant and eternal life.
Holy Spirit, open my eyes today to seek the signs of your direction and the assurance of your ways. Call me away from my own paths and guide me in yours. Be glorified in and through my life today.
[Read today’s scripture in Matthew 16:1-4.]
In a way, it is hilarious – the Pharisees and Sadducees, at odds in so many ways, now conspiring together to approach Jesus. To him, it must have borne all the subtlety of the aggravating Emergency Alert System signal and its dispassionate “This is only a test.”
But that’s about where the humor ends, for in their ploy, they met only rebuke from God. Face to face, no less. And their brief encounter ended in the saddest of ways: “Jesus then left them and went away.”
Why? What is wrong with asking for a sign? Haven’t so many of us sought from God the assurance of his presence? Haven’t we looked for signs of guidance and confirmation?
The issue is not in the seeking of a sign, per se, but the heart behind the ask. Were the leaders truly seeking guidance in God’s ways, or was it justification of their own? Did they approach God with humble hearts bending low before him, or prideful hearts rising up against him?
I think God gives us far more guidance and assurance than we realize, for his heart toward us is proactive love and purposeful care.
So we do well to look for the signs that guide us along his ways, and avoid the ones that loop us back to ourselves. For his ways lead to life – abundant and eternal life.
Holy Spirit, open my eyes today to seek the signs of your direction and the assurance of your ways. Call me away from my own paths and guide me in yours. Be glorified in and through my life today.
[Read today’s scripture in Matthew 16:1-4.]
