His Word Today

²¹ “From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. ²² And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.” ²³ But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.” (Matthew 16:21–23 ESV)

“This phrase (From that time) marks a new phase of Jesus’ public ministry. Matthew turns from Jesus’ public proclamation of the kingdom’s near approach to His careful instruction of the disciples that the kingdom must come through His death and resurrection,” explains Dr. R. C. Sproul.

Following Peter’s confession and Jesus’ commission to not only Peter but also the other disciples, the Lord from that time on began to personally, actively and infinitely show them what awaited Him. He made known to the disciples three primary truths.

First, Jesus made known to the disciples that He must go to Jerusalem. However, His reason for going to Jerusalem was not for a vacation or to visit friends and family. He had to go to the capital city. Jesus used the word must (δεῖ; dei) meaning absolutely necessary.

“He (Jesus) must satisfy the demands of the law, that is, He must pay the penalty for His people’s sin in perfect obedience to His Father’s will and in fulfillment of prophecy (Matt. 20:28; Mark 10:45; Luke 12:50; 13:33; 22:37; 24:26, 27, 44; John 1:29; 17:4; 2 Cor. 5:21; Isaiah 52:13-53:12),” states Dr. William Hendriksen.

Second, the reason Jesus had to go to Jerusalem was to suffer many things from the elders, chief priests and scribes. To suffer (πάσχω; pascho) means to undergo an experience of pain. Jesus knew what was before Him. The elders, chief priests and scribes refer to the Jewish religious leaders of the day and they were going to make Jesus suffer.

Third, Jesus told His disciples that He would be killed (ἀποκτείνω; apokteino). This does not refer to a natural death from a disease or old age. Rather, it means to die by the forceful action of another. Jesus knew He would be the passive recipient of the Jews and Romans forceful, active and murderous behavior against Him (Acts 2:22-23). They were going to kill Him.

Finally, Jesus told His disciple He would rise from the dead. To be raised (ἐγείρω; egeiro) means to be restored to physical life. This would be by the active action of the Holy Spirit upon the passive corpse of Jesus Christ (Romans 1:1-4; 6:10-11).

“Jesus had made clear to The Twelve that He was indeed the long awaited Messiah. Therefore the next lesson was now very definitely in order. He must now convey to this little company the shocking truth, which at first seemed entirely unbelievable, that this Messiah must suffer and be killed,” explains Dr. Hendriksen.

“To be sure, Jesus added ‘and the third day be raised up’ but it is doubtful whether His first clear announcement of the resurrection even fully registered in the disciples’ minds, so utterly painful and inconceivable did the news of their Master’s fast approaching suffering and death seem to them.”

What would be even more shocking was Jesus’ next statementto Peter. We will examine this next time.

Soli deo Gloria!

¹⁷ “And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. ¹⁸ And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. ¹⁹ I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” (Matthew 16:17–19 (ESV)

Following Peter’s confession of Christ (Matt.16:13-16), Jesus pronounced an oracle of weal, or blessing, upon His disciple. Simon received not only a unique commissioning from the Lord, but also a significant name change. It was then Jesus gave Peter, and the other disciples, four promises.

First, Jesus promised He would build His church and the gates of hell would not prevail against it. To prevail (κατισχύσουσιν; katischysousin) means to dominate and overpower.

Second, Jesus promised to give Peter the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Jesus stated He would appoint Peter, and also the other apostles, an important foundational responsibility as He built His church. What did the Lord mean by using this metaphor?

Keys (κλείς; kleis) is normally an instrument for locking and unlocking doors. It is a means of entrance or the power of entrance. Metaphorically, Jesus used this term to refer to the entrance to the kingdom of heaven. Jesus gave Peter a singular responsibility that would involve people entering into a covenant relationship with Christ as Savior and Lord.

Thirdly, involved in having the authority of the keys, Jesus further instructed Peter that “whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Binding and loosing respectively mean forbidding and permitting.

“This metaphor specifies how the apostles are foundational to the church. They have been given binding and loosing powers of ‘keys’ which lock and unlock doors. The apostles open the kingdom to those who share Peter’s confession and exclude those who will receive their testimony to Christ (Matthew 10:14-15),” explains Dr. R. C. Sproul. “The apostolic foundation of the church is laid in the written Word of God., the Scriptures, which are now the keys of Christ’s authority in the church (Ephesians 2:20; 3:5), through the power of the Spirit (Matt. 18:18).”  

“The one who ‘has the keys’ (Rev. 1:18; 3:7) of the kingdom of heaven determines who should be admitted and who must be refused admission. That the apostles as a group exercised this right is clear from the entire book of Acts. All did this on an equal basis (Acts 4:33): there was no boss or superintendent. Nevertheless, as has already been shown, the influence of Peter was outstanding. By means of the preaching of the Gospel he was opening the doors to some (Acts 2:38-39; 3:16-20; 4:12; 10:34-43), closing them to others (3:23),” states Dr. William Hendriksen.

Peter was the first apostle to share the Gospel to the Jews (Acts 2), to affirm the Gospel preached to the Samaritans by Phillip (Acts 8), and the first apostle to preach the Gospel to a Gentile (Acts 10). Peter led the way in exercising the power of the keys.

This divine responsibility remains for each and every believer in Christ. The church is God’s witness (Acts 1:8). May each of us be found faithful and never ashamed of the Gospel (Romans 1:16-17).

Soli deo Gloria!

¹⁷ “And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. ¹⁸ And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. ¹⁹ I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” ²⁰ Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ.” (Matthew 16:17–20 (ESV)

Following Peter’s confession of Christ (Matt.16:13-16), Jesus pronounced an oracle of weal, or blessing, upon His disciple. Simon received not only a unique commissioning from the Lord, but also a significant name change. It was then Jesus gave Peter, and the other disciples, four promises.

First, Jesus promised He would build His church and the gates of hell would not prevail against it. To prevail (κατισχύσουσιν; katischysousin) means to dominate and overpower. Dr. Wendall G. Johnston, the second president of Detroit Bible College renamed William Tyndale College, preached this text in chapel one year. He remarked that while Jesus promised the gates of hell would not prevail against the church, Jesus didn’t mean that Satan wouldn’t try. I have always remembered that observation.

“Gates of Hell, by metonymy represents Satan and his legions as it were storming out of hell gates in order to attack and destroy the church. What we have here is an oft-repeated promise to the victory of Christ’s church over the forces of evil,” explains Dr. William Hendriksen. (See John 16:33; Romans 16:20; Ephesians 6:1-13; Revelation 12:13-16; 17:14; 20:7-10).  

“Jesus promised that He would always cause His people to triumph over the devil and his army. The promise is given to Christian soldiers.”

 “When Peter confessed that Jesus is the Christ, Peter clearly affirmed that Jesus is Israel’s Messiah, the One of whom the prophets foretold throughout the Old Testament. Peter also grasps the fact that Jesus is the Son of God and the one in whom all of Israel’s hopes are fulfilled. While Jesus responds to Peter’s confession of faith with words of blessing: “blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah,” Jesus goes on to extend His blessing to His people. This can be seen in the fact that Jesus promises that the “gates of hell” (the power of Satan) will not prevail against His church,” explains Dr. Kim Riddlebarger, pastor of Christ Reformed Church, Anaheim, CA.

How great to know Jesus prevails over the world, the flesh and the devil. Have a blessed day in the Lord.

Soli deo  Gloria!

¹⁷ “And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. ¹⁸ And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. ¹⁹ I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” ²⁰ Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ.” (Matthew 16:17–20 (ESV)

Following Peter’s confession of Christ (Matt.16:13-16), Jesus pronounced an oracle of weal, or blessing, upon His disciple. Simon received not only a unique commissioning from the Lord, but also a significant name change.

First, Jesus said, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.” Jesus wanted Simon to understand that it was not his innate ability that permitted him to comprehend and confess Jesus as Lord. Rather, it was through a sovereign revelation from God the Father.

“Jesus emphasizes that ‘flesh and blood,’ that is, merely human calculation, cognition, intuition, or tradition, could never have produced in this disciple’s heart and mind the insight into the sublime truth that he had just now gloriously professed,” explains Dr. William Hendricksen.

“To this disciple, and to all those similarly minded, He, this Father in heaven, had revealed (Matt. 11:25-26); and this not necessarily directly, by whispering something into the ear, but by blessing to the heart the means of grace, not the least of these means being the lessons which issued from the words and works of Jesus.”

Second, Jesus exclaimed, “And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church.” What did Jesus mean by this statement? There are many interpretations, but only one true meaning.

Some scholars say the passage is unauthentic and was never in the original text. Others argue this is biblical evidence that Simon/Peter was the first pope. Still others explain that Jesus’ statement does not implicate Simon at all.

The preferred interpretation is that Jesus said to Simon that he was a petros (little rock). Then, on this petra (large rock or bedrock), referring to Jesus, the Son of God, who God the Father revealed to Peter and who he confessed, the Lord would build His church.

“The word for “Peter,” Petros, means a small stone (John 1:42). Jesus used a play on words here with petra, which means a foundation boulder (cf. Matt. 7:24–25). Since the NT makes it abundantly clear that Christ is both the foundation (Acts 4:11–12; 1 Cor. 3:11) and the head (Eph. 5:23) of the church, it is a mistake to think that here he is giving either of those roles to Peter. There is a sense in which the apostles played a foundational role in the building of the church (Eph. 2:20), but the role of primacy is reserved for Christ alone, not assigned to Peter. So Jesus’ words here are best interpreted as a simple play on words in that a boulder-like truth came from the mouth of one who was called a small stone. Peter himself explains the imagery in his first epistle: the church is built of “living stones” (1 Pet. 2:5) who, like Peter, confess that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Christ himself is the “cornerstone” (1 Pet. 2:6–7)” states Dr. John MacArthur.

We will examine what else Jesus had to say to Peter when next we meet. Have a blessed day in the Lord.

Soli deo Gloria!

¹³ “Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” ¹⁴ And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” ¹⁵ He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” ¹⁶ Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” ¹⁷ And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 16:13–17 (ESV)

The question Jesus posed to His disciples was a continuation of His teaching ministry to them. He previously taught them about meeting the needs of others (Matt. 15:21-39) and to be cautious of the teachings from the Pharisees and Sadducees (16:1-12). Peter’s confession of Jesus Christ’s deity is also found in Mark 8:27-30 and Luke 9:18-21.

The district of Caesarea Philippi was approximately twenty-five miles north of the Sea of Galilee, bordering the country of Syria. Situated near one of the sources of the Jordan River, with 9,232 feet high and snow-covered Mt. Hermon in the background, it was a beautiful and picturesque location of serenity, quietness and privacy. It was also the ideal place for an all important question.

It is obvious from the grammar of the text that Jesus began to continuously ask His disciples “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” The phrase Son of Man is not a reference to Jesus’ humanity but rather His deity. In other words, Jesus asked His disciples what people were saying about Him. Who did they think He was?

The disciples responded that ““Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” Some had also called Jesus an ally of Satan (Matt. 10:25; 12:24-26), but the disciples only reported the complementary opinions. The people apparently believed that Jesus was not the Messiah but rather a resurrected Old Testament prophet.

“Jesus asked the disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” In so doing, He set up a contrast between what His closest friends thought about His person and work and what those outside of the group, those who did not know Him, thought about Him. Their responses are instructive—first-century Jews, by and large, placed Jesus in the same class as the greatest prophets, a class including John the Baptist and Elijah (v. 28). As one commentator notes, the people saw our Lord not just as a prophet but as one of the prophets, those whose influence set them apart from everyone else who exercised a prophetic ministry,” states Dr. R. C. Sproul.

Jesus then asked, ““But who do you say that I am?” This was a far more important question. It was then that Simon Peter replied, ““You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

The disciples previously had exclaimed that Jesus was God’s Son (Matt. 14:33). This would in effect mean that Jesus was God (John 5:18). Perhaps it was at this point that the disciples’ conviction as to Jesus’ identity had taken hold in their minds, emotions and will.

“When Peter declared Jesus to the “the Christ” he means the long awaited Anointed One, the One who as Mediator was set apart or ordained by the Father and anointed with the Holy Spirit, to be His people’s Prophet (Deut. 18:15-18; Isaiah 55:5; Luke 24:19; Acts 3:22; 7:37); Highpriest (Psalm 110:4; Rom. 8:34; Heb. 6:20; 7:24; 9:24) and eternal King (Psalm 2:1-6; 11:15; 12:10-11; 17:14; 19:6),” explains Dr. William Hendriksen.

Jesus’ response to Simon was commendable. He said, ““Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.” Simon did not understand this truth because of his own mental ability. Rather, God the Father providentially illuminated Simon and gave him insight and understanding as to Jesus’ true identity.

“The confession of Jesus as Christ, as Messiah, as the “Anointed One,” is the fundamental Christian confession. Prophets, priests, and kings were anointed under the old covenant (Ex. 40:12–15; 1 Sam. 16; 1 Kings 19:16). So, the confession of Jesus as Messiah recognizes that Jesus is the Prophet who reveals to us God’s will, the Priest who sacrifices Himself to atone for our sin, and the King who is Lord over creation,” explains one commentator.

“The church stands strong and unconquerable as long as it remains committed to its confession that Jesus is the Christ. . . . A loss of confidence as to the identity of Jesus does not disrupt merely the external trappings of the church; it disrupts the church’s foundation. We who confess the name of Christ must remain firm in our conviction that He is God in the flesh,” concludes Dr. Sproul.

Soli deo Gloria!

⁵ “When the disciples reached the other side, they had forgotten to bring any bread. ⁶ Jesus said to them, “Watch and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” ⁷ And they began discussing it among themselves, saying, “We brought no bread.” ⁸ But Jesus, aware of this, said, “O you of little faith, why are you discussing among yourselves the fact that you have no bread? ⁹ Do you not yet perceive? Do you not remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? ¹⁰ Or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? ¹¹ How is it that you fail to understand that I did not speak about bread? Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” ¹² Then they understood that he did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” (Matthew 16:5–12 (ESV)

Jesus used leaven as a spiritual and theological metaphor for ungodliness and hypocrisy. He directed this illustration toward the Pharisees and the Sadducees. However, as they often did, Jesus’ disciples did not immediately understand the Lord’s object lesson. They thought He was literally talking about leaven and bread.

In a display of His omniscience, Jesus said to His disciples, “O you of little faith, why are you discussing among yourselves the fact that you have no bread? ⁹ Do you not yet perceive? Do you not remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? ¹⁰ Or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? ¹¹ How is it that you fail to understand that I did not speak about bread?”

In today’s passage, Jesus alludes to this phenomenon of yeast’s making dough rise in order to teach a spiritual lesson. It is a natural image to use because our Lord has just fed four thousand people with seven loaves of bread, and the disciples are noting how they forgot to bring enough bread for a meal with them in the boat (Mark 8:1–10, 14–15). Jesus issues this warning: “Watch out; beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod,” explains Dr. R. C. Sproul.

“Since it only takes a small amount of yeast or other leavening agent to transform an entire lump of dough, Jesus must mean that it takes only a little bit of what the Pharisees and Herod have to offer to ruin a person. We say “ruin” because Christ is giving a warning statement and because leaven almost always represents sin in the New Testament; only Jesus’ parable of the leaven uses leaven in a positive sense (Matt. 13:33; Luke 13:20–21).”

The warning Jesus gave is as follows. “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” Twice the Lord gives this command to His disciples. He is placing strong emphasis to pay careful attention to the teachings of these legalistic, religious teachers.

As it was true in Jesus’ day, legalistic teaching still pervades the church. While licentiousness takes truth from God’s Word, legalists add to the Scriptures. Pastors and parishioners alike must be on their guard for both people groups (Acts 20:17-35; Jude 1-25). Pray for your spiritual leaders as they guard over your soul (Hebrews 13:17; I Peter 5:1-3).  

Soli deo Gloria!  

⁵ “When the disciples reached the other side, they had forgotten to bring any bread. ⁶ Jesus said to them, “Watch and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” ⁷ And they began discussing it among themselves, saying, “We brought no bread.” ⁸ But Jesus, aware of this, said, “O you of little faith, why are you discussing among yourselves the fact that you have no bread? ⁹ Do you not yet perceive? Do you not remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? ¹⁰ Or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? ¹¹ How is it that you fail to understand that I did not speak about bread? Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” ¹² Then they understood that he did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” (Matthew 16:5–12 (ESV)

In light of Jesus’ use of leaven as a spiritual and theological metaphor for ungodliness and hypocrisy, today’s installment concerns the biblical use of the word leaven. The following information is taken from the Tyndale Bible Dictionary.     

“Leaven is any substance that produces fermentation when added to dough. Leaven may signify the dough already infected by leaven, which was put into the flour so that the leaven could pass through the entire mass before baking, or it may refer to dough that had risen through the influence of the leaven. The early Hebrews apparently depended on a piece of leavened dough for transmission of the leaven; not until much later were the lees of wine used as yeast.”

“The ancient Israelites regularly ate leavened bread (Hos 7:4), but in the commemoration of the Passover they were forbidden to eat leavened bread or even to have it in their homes during the Passover season (Ex 13:7). This annual observance ensured that the people would not forget their hasty exodus from Egypt, when God’s command gave no time for the preparation of leavened bread. The people were forced to carry with them their kneading troughs and the dough from which they baked unleavened cakes to sustain them as they journeyed (Ex 12:34–39; Deut 16:3).”

Possibly because fermentation implied disintegration and corruption, leaven was excluded from all offerings placed on the altar to be sacrificed to God (Ex 23:18; 34:25). It was also not permitted in grain offerings (Lev. 2:11; 6:17). Scripture does not tell us whether or not the showbread (or bread of the Presence) was unleavened, but the historian Josephus states that it was unleavened (Antiquities 3.6.6).

“Two exceptions to this rule should be noted. Leaven could be used in offerings that were to be eaten by the priests or others. Leavened bread could accompany the peace offering (Lev. 7:13), and it was sacrificed at the Feast of Weeks (Pentecost) because it represented the ordinary daily food that God provided for his people (23:17).”

“The slow working of the leaven proved to be a problem during the agricultural stage of Hebrew development, especially during the first busy days of harvest. Unleavened dough, therefore, became increasingly common for ordinary baking. This practice was encouraged by the growth of the idea that leaven represented decay and corruption, as did other fermented things. This view excluded leaven as inconsistent with the concept of the perfect holiness of God. Plutarch was expressing a long- held belief current also among other people when he wrote, “Now leaven is itself the offspring of corruption and corrupts the mass of dough with which it has been mixed.” The apostle Paul quotes a similar proverb in 1 Corinthians 5:6 and Galatians 5:9.”

“The significant thing about leaven is its power, which may symbolize either good or evil. Usually, though not always, leaven was a symbol of evil in rabbinic thought. Jesus referred to leaven in the adverse sense when he used the word to describe the corrupt doctrine of Pharisees and Sadducees (Mt 16:6, 11–12) and of Herod (Mk. 8:15). The leaven of the Pharisees is elsewhere identified as hypocrisy (Lk. 12:1; cf. Matt. 23:28).”

“Paul applies the same concept to moral corruption, warning that “a little leaven leavens the whole lump” and admonishing his readers to clean out the old leaven, that is, the vestiges of their unregenerate lives, and to live the Christian life with the “unleavened bread of sincerity and truth” (1 Cor. 5:6–8).”

“On the other hand, Christ uses the concept of leaven’s effect upon dough in its good sense to provide his disciples with a brief but memorable parable (Mt 13:33; Lk 13:20–21), wherein leaven illustrates the cumulative, pervasive influence of the kingdom of God on the world.”^[1]

More to come. Have a blessed day in the Lord.

Soli deo Gloria!

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^[1] Walter A. Elwell and Philip Wesley Comfort, Tyndale Bible Dictionary, Tyndale Reference Library (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2001), 807–808.

“And the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and to test him they asked him to show them a sign from heaven. ² He answered them, “When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’ ³ And in the morning, ‘It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times. ⁴ An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.” So he left them and departed.” (Matthew 16:1–4 (ESV)

At this point in Matthew’s narrative, Jesus has performed many public miracles (Matt. 8-15). In fact, Jesus healed a man with a withered hand on a Sabbath (Matt. 12:9-14). However, instead of acknowledging Jesus as God Incarnate, the Pharisees sought to destroy Him. For these religious leaders, seeing did not result in believing.

1 Corinthians 1:20–25 (ESV) says, “²⁰ Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? ²¹ For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. ²² For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, ²³ but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, ²⁴ but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. ²⁵ For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.”

While the Pharisees and Sadducees opposed each other religiously, they united themselves in their hatred of Jesus. While they witnessed many of Jesus’ miracles, they continued to demand more proof of His deity. While they could correctly interpret the upcoming weather by the sky’s appearance, they refused to correctly interpret Jesus identity by His many observable works.

“The demand for a sign ‘from heaven’ expresses a stubborn refusal to acknowledge the heavenly source of the many miracles that Jesus has performed. Jesus notes the irony that the Pharisees and Sadducees can interpret the heavens –that is, the sky—to predict weather but fail to grasp what His miracles signify about the spiritual weather; that is the times in which they live. It was the time of the Messiah’s coming. The problem was not a lack of evidence but an unwillingness to accept its significance.” explains Dr. R. C. Sproul.   

Jesus condemned the religious leaders for their hypocrisy. He rightly evaluated their spiritual condition. They were an evil and adulterous generation. Their demand for miraculous signs evidenced this fact. Jesus furthered stated the only sign to begin would be the sign of Jonah.

“As in Matt. 12:38-41, Jesus again cites the prophet Jonah’s ‘resurrection’ from entombment in the sea and the great fish as a preview of His own resurrection from death itself, which is the greatest sign of His messiahship,” states Dr. Sproul.

“By means of that sign, Christ’s atoning death and glorious resurrection from the grave, He would triumph completely over them, and would prove Himself to be the Messiah (Rom. 1:4). This was going to be the ;sign’ of His complete victory over all His enemies (Matt. 26:64; Mark 14:62) and a forecast of His triumphant return upon the clouds of heaven (Phil. 2:9-11; 3:20; Rev. 1:5-7),” explains Dr. William Hendriksen.

May we resolve to not demand supernatural signs from the Lord, but rather be observant to the many daily evidences the Lord displays of His person, power and presence to each of us. Have a blessed day in the Lord.

Soli deo Gloria!

This is the concluding article about the subject of Knowing God. You would think that after this many blogs and posts, I would have exhausted the subject of what it means to know God. Hardly!

However, I have a profound sense of inadequacy regarding this particular subject. I know there is so much more to say and has been said better by pastors and authors much more gifted than myself. As another author writes, “Man cannot know himself without knowing God. And God cannot be known unless God freely reveals Himself to man. God has done this in the gospel of Jesus Christ.”

I hope by now that you understand that knowing God is much more than just reciting facts about His character and His work through the Incarnate Son of God, Jesus Christ.  Knowing God is not about knowing about God.

Knowing God is understanding who He is, what He likes and dislikes in this interpersonal relationship He has created with sinners by grace alone, through faith alone in the person and work of Jesus Christ alone. Let me explain by using a personal example.

My wife Diana and I will celebrate our 48^th wedding anniversary this year. Where has the time flown? When I first met Di when we worked together at a grocery store, I became aware of certain facts about her. The longer I spent time with her in conversation, the more facts I learned. However, when our friendship turned to love for each other, I became strangely aware that knowing her was so much more than just knowing facts.

I can tell you when she is happy, sad, frustrated, troubled, joyful, contented and a whole range of other emotions. I know what she likes, and dislikes. I know that the few times in our marriage that she has called me on the phone crying, it is a big deal. Di doesn’t cry easily, but when she does, it is huge. I need to immediately drop what I am doing and attend to the matter at hand.

Here’s the question: do we have that same inert sense of God? Do we immediately sense what pleases Him and what does not? Does the Word of God immediately come to our minds when we face the circumstances of life? Do we understand and comprehend about how God thinks about such circumstances? We should!

Begin this discipline: when faced with a decision, ask yourself what God, in His Word, says about the subject. If you do not immediately know the answer, then find the answer. Ask your pastor, mentor, or spouse about the issue at hand. Seek godly and biblical counsel. After a while, you won’t have to guess what God thinks, you’ll know because you are coming to a greater knowledge of God.

Dr. Michael Horton writes, “As with ourselves, God is best known by his involvement in personal relationships to which he attaches his authority. In other words, God is known as he reveals himself in Scripture, not as we “find” him ourselves. The question is not, “What should God be like, given our experiences or philosophical premises?” but “What has God actually shown himself to be like?”

May the Lord bless you as you continue to seek to know Him more.

Soli deo Gloria!