Hide or Seek
Matthew 16:3 And early morning, Today stormy weather, for the heaven is a gloomy fiery red. This face of heaven, you know to discern, but these signs of the times, you are not able.
Jesus didn’t back down from the religious know-it-alls. They were trying to yank the chain by demanding a sign from heaven. Jesus retorts that their limited vision can only see the sky before them, not the actual ‘signs of the times.’ There was a storm coming, and make no mistake, but this storm didn’t require an umbrella.
What exactly were the ‘signs of the times’ to which Jesus referred, and does His reference have any theology that you or I can make from it? Observing the immediate details of the scene, Jesus knew His audience. He knew of their pride and ego, that they weren’t really seeking any Messianic proof or theological insights. They tried to hide it, but He could see right through their self-serving, hypocritical agendas that couldn’t see past the look of the clouds.
Painfully, this same reality can be true for Bible readers today. Starting with a simple question or two before approaching God’s Word can help identify motive. The Pharisees approached the word incarnate with an agenda to outwit this imposter claiming to be the Messiah. Can Bible readers today have less-than-pure motives when approaching the one claiming to be the Savior of the world and Solver of all problems?
Sometimes, out of pride, Bible readers seek Scripture as sort of a prize to be won, adding to their own level of intellectual ability so that their academic prowess can be put on display for anyone in the vicinity willing to listen.
Another motive is ego. Ego is a Greek word meaning, I. Self-serving agenda is a popular motive for biblical excursion. When there is a particular, personal problem that needs fixed or solved for, Jesus is called upon like Ghostbusters. Prayer can be used like a Genie Bottle wish, maybe because other forms of prayer haven’t been learned.
Biblical pursuits don’t even need to be spiritual. The Bible is a literary collection full of interesting and ancient history laced with sociological fodder for the studier. Anthropology against the backdrop of cultural landscapes can keep any Bible studier busy for decades.
And then there is the true seeker of God. The motive may be pure, but the method might be incomplete. What does a true seeker of God seek? The religious leaders of Jesus’ day sought Him out to discredit Him. They believed themselves to be ‘true seekers of God’ and needed to discredit the One who was discrediting their positions.
In an effort to shift those gears, Jesus began with a long discourse to supplant the law of Moses. Difficult but necessary, God’s people no longer represented a people of God. The Jews became ego-centric: demanding, entitled, corner-fighting and corner-protecting. Crowds who may have desired spirituality had nowhere else to turn. Jesus’ ‘new wine’ gave them another option. But if you chose His option, that option came with commands, not suggestions. And therein lies the crossroads. You could call this moment in time the first church-split.
Jesus ominously foretold the blindness of the religious leaders, that they were not able to discern the signs of those times. In fact, they didn’t know what hit them. Humility was going to be the new uniform for this ecclesia (Greek term for, assembly), humility that would ultimately replace pride and ego. The new commands that came with this uniform included the methodology that could and would circumcise a heart, not human flesh. This new system would guide a new rule of life (Galatians 6:2) to represent the walk of Jesus and eliminate box-checking, self-serving religion which does not honor God.
Jesus gave definition to the true seeker of God, the one who worships in spirit and Truth (John 4:23). Seeking the spirit in prayer, not for self-serving purposes but to keep strict the commands of Jesus, giving the term ‘seeker’ a whole new definition.
Jesus’ Big Sermon brought Moses’ Ten to fruition. Jesus wasn’t defaming or insulting Moses. The signs of the time were in labor pains. The time had come for a new law that began with generous concern (agape), which in turn would value God (agapao) and value neighbors, still keeping true to the original two greatest commands (Deuteronomy 6:5).
Like The Fall of Genesis, the temple had fallen and was in great need of reconstruction. Jesus, the original construction worker, came with a tool belt full of twenty Greek imperatives that would brick and mortar any temple seeking to house the spirit of God (1 Corinthians 3:16). Now that’s what you call worship.
