Latest / Reformed Thinking / The Only Sign That Matters: Selective Discernment and the Sign of Jonah (Matthew 16:1–4)

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The Only Sign That Matters: Selective Discernment and the Sign of Jonah (Matthew 16:1–4) · Reformed Thinking

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  Hello and welcome to Reformed Thinking.
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  I'm really looking forward this session.
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  Today we are taking a stack of theological sources, some pretty
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  serious scholarship, and analyzing them to find the most
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  significant insights. And just to establish our
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  framework for you right out of the gate, we are approaching
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  this entire deep dive from a distinctly Protestant Reformed
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  perspective. We are looking at these texts
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  through the lens of the Westminster Confession.
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  Right, because that framework dictates how you read the Bible.
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  It dictates how you understand the human heart and the solution
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  God provides. Spot on.
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  So the text we are zeroing in on today is Matthew chapter 16
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  verses one through 4. It is a short passage, just 4
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  verses, but it carries immense weight.
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  It really does. It sets the scene for a massive
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  confrontation between Jesus and the religious elite of his day.
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  It is a clash of kingdoms. You have the religious
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  establishment on one side and the king of kings on the other,
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  and the central conflict here is a demand for a sign from heaven.
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  Which, you know, on the surface sounds somewhat reasonable.
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  Just show us a sign. But the context is everything
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  here. They are asking for this sign
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  despite the fact that the landscape is already saturated
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  with miracles. I mean Jesus literally just
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  finished feeding 4000 people. Yeah, the feeding of the 4000 is
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  fresh in the rearview mirror. So the issue is not a lack of
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  evidence. That is a critical point from
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  our sources, and it is why this deep dive matters for you
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  listening today. Right, This is not just a
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  history lesson about some men in robes 2 millennia ago.
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  No. IT diagnosis the blindness of
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  unbelief. IT diagnosis what the sources
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  call selective discernment. And I have to tease the ending
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  here a bit, because the sources point out that this text ends
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  with what might be one of the most terrifying sentences in the
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  entire Bible. Jesus leaves them.
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  It is a chilling moment, the absolute silence of God.
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  To help us unpack this, we're looking at analysis from 2
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  primary articles today. One, it's called the blindness
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  of unbelief and the other is the only sign that matters.
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  These sources are going to guide our theology here, so let us
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  jump in. The very first thing that jumps
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  out to me in verse one is the group that approaches Jesus.
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  It says the Pharisees and Sadducees came right.
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  Now I have read this 100 times and I usually just gloss over
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  the names to a modern year. Pharisees and Sadducees just
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  sounds like the generic villains like say the Empire in Star
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  Wars. Yeah, just a monolith.
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  And that is the danger of reading with modern eyes.
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  If you were a 1st century Jew standing there, seeing these two
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  groups walking together would be absolutely jarring.
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  It would be, well, one of the sources describes it like seeing
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  a die hard Marxist and a laissez faire libertarian walking into a
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  room holding hands. It would not just be, oh, here
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  come the bad guys. It would be confusing.
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  That is a highly vivid image. Marxist and libertarian break
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  that down for us. Why is the gap that wide?
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  I know they disagree on theology, but was it really that
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  visceral? It was cultural, political and
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  theological warfare. Let us take the Sadducees first,
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  because we usually skip over them.
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  These are the aristocrats. If you are in Jerusalem and you
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  see a man in imported silk speaking Greek, probably cozying
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  up to the Roman governor. That is Sadducee.
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  That is him. They controlled the temple,
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  which means they controlled the local economy.
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  So they are the establishment, the secularized elites.
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  Precisely. And this is a mass of detail.
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  Scripture says in Acts chapter 23 that the Sadducees say there
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  is no resurrection, neither Angel nor spirit.
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  Wait. I need to stop you there.
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  How do you act as a priest and not believe in the supernatural?
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  That seems counterproductive to the entire job description.
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  You would think so, right? But for them, religion was not
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  about the afterlife. It was about ritual, ethics and
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  frankly maintaining political stability.
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  They looked at the Bible, specifically at Pentateuch, the
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  first five books, and they said we do not see a clear doctrine
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  of resurrection here, so we reject it.
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  OK, so they are rationalistic? Highly rationalistic.
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  So when they look across the aisle at the Pharisees, they see
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  something totally alien. Because the Pharisees are the
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  men obsessing over every single letter of the law, adding fences
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  around the law. Yes, the Pharisees are the blue
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  collar populist movement. They are out in the synagogues
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  teaching the Khan people, not running the elite temple
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  operations. They absolutely believe in
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  angels, they believe in the resurrection, and they despise
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  the Roman occupation. It is a complete contrast.
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  Complete The Sadducees are collaborating with Rome to keep
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  the peace and keep their wealth. The Pharisees are praying daily
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  for a Messiah to show up and crush Rome.
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  They despise each other. So this is not just a polite
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  debate club. This is a cold civil war.
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  It really is. And yet, here is the absolute
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  genius of Matthew's narrative. Who do they hate more than Rome?
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  And who do they hate more than each other?
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  The man claiming to be the sovereign King.
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  Right. They put aside their bitter
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  theological and political rivalries because they found a
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  common enemy, the unholy alliance.
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  It is a dynamic we see throughout church history.
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  Our sources point out that human logic represented by the
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  Sadducees, and religious tradition represented by the
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  Pharisees. When they are separated from the
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  Holy Spirit. Yes, when separated from the
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  Spirit, they will always unite to oppose Scripture.
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  That is a heavy thought for you to consider that legalism and
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  liberalism would seem like total opposites end up in the exact
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  same place if they are not bowing to the authority of
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  Christ. Because they both want to retain
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  control over their own lives. That is the common denominator.
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  The Pharisee wants to control God through rule keeping.
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  The Sadducee wants to control God through human reason.
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  Jesus threatens both systems. So.
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  They show up together, this totally odd couple, and the text
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  says they came to test him. No, the analysis makes a massive
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  deal about this word test. It is not an honest inquiry.
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  No. The Greek term here is
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  parasontis. It is a highly loaded word.
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  It means to test, but it is very often translated as tempt and it
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  is actually the exact same root word used back in Matthew
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  chapter 4. When Satan is tempting Christ in
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  the wilderness. That connection is entirely
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  intentional. Matthew is showing us the dark
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  spiritual reality behind this request.
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  These men are not honest skeptics.
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  They are not seekers who are just struggling with a few
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  intellectual doubts and need a little pastoral help.
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  The sources call them theological predators.
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  Theological predators. They are setting a snare.
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  The goal is not to find the truth.
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  The goal is to man a pretext for rejection.
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  They want Jesus to fail their specific tests so they can
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  legally dismiss him. So they ask him to show them a
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  sign from heaven. We touched on this briefly in
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  the intro, but let us look a bit closer.
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  What are they actually asking for here?
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  Because as we said, Jesus has been healing lepers, casting out
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  demons, feeding thousands of people with a few dinner rolls.
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  Are those not signs? They are miraculous signs,
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  definitely, but they're not the kind of sign these men wanted.
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  When they say a sign from heaven, they are demanding A
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  bespoke cosmic parlor trick. Like what?
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  Like fire coming down from the sky, or the sun standing still
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  in its orbit, or a booming voice from the clouds.
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  They want a celestial light show that meets their specific
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  criteria. Right.
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  They want something undeniable, but notice the sheer arrogance
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  in that posture. They are ignoring the earthly
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  miracles, the compassion, the healings, the bread, and they
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  are saying that is not good enough for us.
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  Do a trick that fits our parameters.
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  It is a strategy to preserve their autonomy.
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  Yes, it is saying show us what we require and then maybe we
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  will consider if you are Lord. One of the sources uses CS
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  Lewis's imagery here. It is an attempt to keep God in
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  the dock like a criminal on trial while the Sinner sits
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  comfortably on the judge's bench.
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  The creature demanding the creator prove himself.
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  But let us look at the theological implications of this
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  from a Reformed perspective, because a lot of people might
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  hear this and think, well, if God wants them to believe, why
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  not just write I am God in the clouds?
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  That is the natural human reaction.
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  Right, it seems like a reasonable request.
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  If I saw that, I would believe. Why do our sources take such a
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  hard line on this? Because it forces us to ask a
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  critical question about the nature of humanity.
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  What is the actual problem with the human heart?
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  Is it just a lack of sufficient evidence or is the internal
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  processor completely broken The? Sources bring in the doctrine of
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  total depravity here. Right, they do, and with total
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  systematic clarity. The issue is not that the
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  evidence is lacking. The blind see the lame walk.
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  The problem is a lack of a new heart.
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  Think of it like a blind man standing in front of the sun.
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  You can make the sunburn twice as bright, but it does not
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  matter. The unregenerate will is bound.
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  Without the internal call the Holy Spirit, even a fiery sign
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  from the sky remains invisible to the darkened mind.
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  They would just rationalize it away.
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  Precisely, they would say, oh it is a weird weather anomaly or it
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  is mass hysteria. This is a direct refutation of
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  Arminianism. Unpack that connection for us.
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  Well, Arminianism suggests that man has this inherent capacity,
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  this free will, to look at the evidence objectively and simply
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  choose Christ on his own. A neutral observer.
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  But the Reformed view, based on texts like this, says the
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  neutral observer, does not exist.
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  Man does not have the inherent capacity to choose Christ apart
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  from sovereign grace. The will is enslaved to sin.
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  And the sources draw a massive modern parallel here, which I
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  think is fascinating. They compare this 1st century
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  demand for signs to the modern seeker sensitive movement and to
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  charismatic pursuits of extra biblical revelation.
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  It is a highly relevant application for you today.
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  The analysis argues that demanding fresh words from God,
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  or new visions or tailored emotional experiences is
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  actually a form of spiritual adultery.
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  Spiritual adultery because it mimics the exact posture of the
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  Pharisees. Yes, it is a refusal to rest in
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  the sufficient closed Canada Scripture.
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  The Westminster standards are incredibly clear on this point.
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  The former ways of God revealing his will through dreams,
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  visions, direct voices, those have ceased.
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  We have the completed Word. So when people say God, I need
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  you to give me a sign so I know what job to take, or I need a
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  fresh revelation. They are doing what the
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  Pharisees did. They are saying the Bible is not
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  enough for me, the historical work of Christ is not enough.
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  I need a customized experience. Which is an affront to the
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  sufficiency of Scripture. It is.
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  It mimics the Pharisees perfectly.
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  OK, so Jesus, here's this demand.
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  He sees the trap and he does not perform the trek.
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  Instead, he gives them a lesson in meteorology.
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  Let us look at verse 2 and 3. Yes, the rebuke.
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  He uses a common meteorological observation.
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  Red sky at evening means fair weather.
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  Red sky at morning means a storm is coming.
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  Which is something we still say today.
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  Exactly, but we need to catch the tone here.
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  Jesus is not giving a polite weather report.
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  This is biting sarcasm. You have the religious elite of
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  the nation standing there, arms crossed, demanding A cosmic
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  miracle, and Jesus essentially gives them the local Evening
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  News forecast. He's granting their premise
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  though, right? He is saying you are competent
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  at reading the physical world. Yes, he validates their earthly
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  intelligence. A sailor or a farmer looks at
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  the horizon, processes the subtle tint of the clouds,
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  applies a rule of logic and accurately predicts the future.
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  It requires observation and intellect.
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  But then he hits them with the devastating contrast.
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  Selective discernment, he says. You can interpret the sky, which
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  is entirely trivial and temporal, but you cannot
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  interpret the signs of the times, which are eternal and
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  redemptive. And the Greek word there for
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  cannot is our dynast. Right.
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  It is not just that they choose not to see it, it is that they
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  are structurally incapable. It is a moral and spiritual
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  inability. This analysis exposes the total
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  hypocrisy of earthly intelligence.
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  It really does. Think about our modern world.
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  A person can split the atom, map the entire human genome, predict
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  global stock market trends with algorithms, and yet be totally
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  theologically illiterate. Blind to the glory of Christ.
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  Utterly blind. So what were the signs of the
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  times that they were missing right in front of their faces?
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  They were missing the messianic prophecies being fulfilled in
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  real time. Isaiah predicted the blind would
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  see, the demonized would be freed, the gospel would be
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  preached to the poor. All of that was happening in the
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  dirt streets of Galilee. The Kingdom of God was literally
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  breaking in right in front of him.
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  But they wanted a sign that flattered their intellect rather
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  than a Savior who demanded their repentance.
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  Which brings us to a key insight from the text.
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  Unbelief is rarely a shortage of information.
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  It is a refusal of authority. That is the core issue.
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  We hide behind intellectual objections.
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  We say we just need more evidence or we need a sign, but
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  the root is a refusal to bow the knee.
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  So Jesus delivers the verdict in verse four.
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  He calls them an evil and adulterous generation.
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  He does not mince words. He diagnosis the root cause.
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  It is not healthy caution. It is not academic skepticism.
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  It is sheer wickedness. Let us dig into that word
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  adulterous. That feels like a strange
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  accusation of theological debate.
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  Why bring adultery into it? He is drawing directly from Old
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  Testament prophetic metaphors. Throughout the Old Testament,
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  God's relationship with Israel is described as a marriage
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  covenant. Right, like in Hosea.
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  Exactly when Israel professed loyalty to Yahweh but gave her
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  heart to other gods or to her own self righteousness, the
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  prophets called it adultery. Adultery equals idolatry.
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  So seeking a sign outside of God's prescribed word is
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  spiritual adultery. Because it is covenant
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  infidelity. You're supposed to trust the
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  word of your covenant Lord. When you demand outside
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  verification, you were stepping out on him.
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  You are looking for validation from a mistress, essentially.
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  And he calls them a generation. He is grouping them together.
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  Yes, it is a representative posture of people who have
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  massive amounts of light but firmly reject it.
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  And the sources point out a terrifying reality here.
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  Greater exposure to truth actually increases your
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  responsibility. To stand near the furnace of
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  Revelation, which is Christ Incarnate, and to remain cold is
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  a mark of high handed rebellion. It is much worse for the
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  Pharisee who sees Jesus raise the dead and calls it a trick
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  than for a Pagan who never heard the name of God.
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  So Jesus refuses their cosmic spectacle, but he does give them
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  one sign, the only sign that matters, the sign of Jonah.
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  This is where the Gospel Center comes into full view.
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  Let us unpack the typology here. We all know the Sunday School
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  story of Jonah and the big fish. How does Jesus map that onto
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  himself? It is a direct parallel.
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  Jonah was in the belly of the fish for three days and three
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  nights, and then he was delivered.
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  Christ is saying He will be in the heart of the earth for three
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  days and three nights. Pointed to his death, burial and
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  resurrection. Exactly.
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  But there is a second layer to the typology.
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  Jonah was delivered from the fish.
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  To go. Do what?
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  To preach a message of repentance to the Gentiles.
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  In Nineveh. Christ is raised from the dead
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  to offer salvation to the entire world.
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  The resurrection is the objective ground of our
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  justification. It is the supreme sign.
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  If the tomb is empty, no other parlor trick matters.
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  If the doom is full, no parlor trick can save you.
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  Which points us right back to the sufficiency of Scripture.
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  Jesus points back to the Old Testament narrative of Jonah to
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  explain the present reality. Our sources emphasize the
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  sufficiency of the empty tomb here.
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  We do not need fresh fire. We do not need new subjective
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  miracles. We need the historical reality
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  of the resurrection. Now, one of our sources brings
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  up a really fascinating polemic application regarding this.
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  It compares the Roman Catholic view of the Mass with the
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  Reformed view of the sacraments. How does the sign of Jonah
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  intersect with that debate? It is a brilliant connection.
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  According to the sources, the Roman Catholic view of the Mass
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  involves the doctrine of transubstantiation.
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  This is the belief that the bread and wine literally
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  transform into the physical body and blood of Christ.
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  So it is viewed as an ongoing, repeated miracle.
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  Right. It is a sign that happens
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  physically on the altar every time.
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  But the Reformed view, leaning heavily on the sufficiency of
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  Christ's once for all sacrifice and this concept of the sign of
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  Jonah says something completely different.
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  We have the visible word. Yes, the bread and the cup act
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  as seals. They point us back to the
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  finished historical work of the cross in the empty tomb.
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  We are not demanding A repeated physical miracle.
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  We are feeding by faith on the Christ who has already died and
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  risen. So the true church has the
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  visible word as a seal, not as a continuous parlor trick.
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  The true Church rests in the supreme sign already given.
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  That is a critical distinction for you to grasp.
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  So Jesus gives them this Riddle, the promise of the resurrection,
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  and then we hit the final phrase of the text, verse 4, part C.
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  So he left them and departed. It is just a few words.
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  You could easily gloss right over it, but the theological
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  weight is staggering. It is not just a geographical
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  relocation. He did not just decide to walk
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  to the next village. No.
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  The sources identify this as a judicial abandonment.
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  Judicial. It is the most severe judgement
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  God can bring upon a person in this life.
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  It is God granting the Sinner their ultimate desire, which is
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  to be left alone. Just handing them over to their
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  own autonomy. Yes, it perfectly illustrates
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  the second use of the law. It shows the absolute
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  hopelessness of the unregenerate state.
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  If Christ departs, there is literally no other source of
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  light. None.
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  Christ does not cast pearls before swine.
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  He does not sit there and debate them endlessly.
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  This is the terrifying silence that follows.
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  Reject Revelation, which? Brings us to the outro of our
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  deep dive today. We have to apply this.
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  We cannot just leave it as theological theory.
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  Our sources break the pastoral application down into head,
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  heart and hands. Which is a classic reformed way
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  to process application. Right, so let us start with the
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  head. What do you, as the listener
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  need to wrap your mind around? You need to believe firmly in
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  the sufficiency of the resurrected Christ.
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  You must reject the sheer pragmatism of our modern
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  religious culture, reject the demand for extra biblical signs.
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  The empty tomb is sufficient. The closed Canon of scripture is
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  sufficient. What about the heart?
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  How should this text shape our affections?
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  It should cultivate a deep, abiding affection for the Word
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  of God. Find your ultimate rest in the
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  Sign of Jonah rather than constantly chasing after
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  subjective emotional highs or experiences.
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  And the sources mentioned feeling a holy dread.
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  Yes, a holy dread at the thought of Christ departing.
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  That should make us cling to Him all the more fiercely.
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  Finally, the hands, the concrete obedience.
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  Govern your life by scripture, not by cultural trends.
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  Do not be like the Pharisees, expertly reading the cultural
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  weather but completely missing the Kingdom of God.
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  Let us offer a final call here for the believer listening
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  today. There is tremendous assurance in
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  this text. Absolutely, because while Christ
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  judicially left the arrogant Pharisees, He never forsakes
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  those who are resting in His finished work.
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  He stayed with his bumbling, stumbling disciples because they
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  possessed genuine faith. But for the unbeliever or the
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  skeptic who might be tuning in, this text is a glaring warning.
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  It is a warning not to bargain with God.
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  The evidence has already been supplied.
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  The tomb is empty. You cannot sit on the judge's
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  bench and demand more. The world constantly says show
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  me and I will believe. But the Gospel says here is the
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  empty tomb, repent and believe. I want to leave you with one
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  final provocative thought to chew on as we we wrap up.
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  We talked heavily about Jesus leaving the religious elite.
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  He walked away from them, but think about where he was
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  ultimately heading. He was walking toward the cross.
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  He was going to provide the very sign they rejected.
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  And ironically, the sign of judgment for those hardened
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  Pharisees became the definitive sign of salvation for the rest
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  of the world. That is the beauty of the gospel
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  right there. Well, thank you for joining us
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  on this deep dive into Matthew 16.
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  Keep pressing the sufficiency of the word.
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  We will catch you on the next deep dive here on Reformed
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  Thinking. Celia.
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  Dio, Gloria.