Day 39: March 6

MATTHEW 16: 1-12

SCRIPTURE HIGHLIGHT
OBSERVATION
The Pharisees and Sadducees wanting to test Jesus reminds me of the temptation of Jesus in Matthew 4. “Prove yourself!” In that passage Jesus tells them, “Don’t test the Lord your God.” Here he says, “You’re clever enough to look at the sky and predict the weather, but you’re too thick to see what’s right in front of your eyes.” He calls them evil and unfaithful. That’s a total slap in the face for people who pride themselves on rigorous observance of the Law of Moses and exceptional personal righteousness.

Jesus refuses to give them any sort of proof. His identity is already as discernable as a red sky at night or gathering storm clouds. “You won’t receive any sign except Jonah’s sign.”

So what’s Jonah’s sign? The obvious answer is Jonah 1: 17: “Jonah was in the belly of the fish for three days and three nights,” an allusion to Jesus’ coming death and resurrection. Chapter 2 is a beautiful prophetic poem about being in “the belly of the underworld” and God’s miraculous deliverance.

Also, because I haven’t read any commentary, I wonder if there might be more to Jonah’s sign. The Book of Jonah is an unfinished story about a foot-dragging Drama Queen (aka prophet) who calls the people of Nineveh to repentance and then gets angry when God decides to not wipe them out. Chapter 4 details Jonah’s sulking over a vine (or shrub) that miraculously grows up to give him shade, “saving him from misery.” He’s furious when God arranges for the vine/shrub to die.

Jonah 4: 8-11; “. . .the sun beat down on Jonah’s head so that he became faint. He begged that he might die, saying, “It’s better for me to die than to live.” God said to Jonah, “Is your anger about the shrub a good thing?” Jonah said, “Yes, my anger is good—even to the point of death!” But the Lord said, “You ‘pitied’ the shrub, for which you didn’t work and which you didn’t raise; it grew in a night and perished in a night. Yet for my part, can’t I pity Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than one hundred twenty thousand people who can’t tell their right hand from their left, and also many animals?” The End.

It's a cliffhanger. We don’t know what happened next. We don’t get Jonah’s answer. He’s more upset about his own lost comfort than the impending destruction of thousands of people. Jonah doesn’t want those foreigners to repent and he doesn’t want God to show them compassion and mercy. Could Jesus be suggesting that the Pharisees and Sadducees also have misplaced “righteous anger” just like Jonah? Are they also guilty of being merciless and cruel, selfish and unforgiving?

Matthew 16: 12 - “Then they understood that he wasn’t telling them to be on their guard for yeast used in making bread. No, he was telling them to watch out for the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” What exactly were the Pharisees and Sadducees teaching? How were they distorting God’s words? What were they modelling that would corrupt those who listened to them?

Verses 8-9 – “You people of weak faith! Why are you discussing among yourselves the fact that you don’t have any bread? Don’t you understand yet? Don’t you remember the five loaves…” The disciples are panicking over not bringing supplies. Jesus has to remind them that he can feed crowds from crumbs. He can make enough for everyone. They don’t need to worry.

APPLICATION

• Do I ever want God to prove himself to me?
• How do I really feel about those people who need to repent?
• Do I secretly wish people would get “what they deserve?” Do I relish their suffering or downfall?
• Am I more worried about my own comfort than the fate of others?
• Am I merciful? Compassionate?
• Is my God merciful and forgiving, or a harsh taskmaster? How do I stack up on his chart? Do I have a chart for measuring myself and others?
• Is my faith weak? Do I really believe that God can provide everything I need for life?
• What do I worry about? When do I panic about not having “enough”?
• Am I listening to Pharisees and Sadducees? Have I been corrupted by supposedly righteous rhetoric that doesn’t reflect God’s word or character?

PRAYER
Dear Father, please help me to see what you’re doing around me. Give me discernment so I can see how your Holy Spirit is working, Show me how I can be part of what you are doing in the world. Give me your compassion and mercy. Help me to love people like you love them. Don’t let me get led astray by fast-talking people who don’t really know you. Help me not to worry about having enough for today and the future. Strengthen my faith when I’m weak. Thank you for being all I need!