Matthew 16:4 KJV
A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. And he left them, and departed.
What an ominous phrase; "... He left them and departed."
The Pharisees had asked Christ for a sign. He responded that they had observed natural signs of the weather. He also told them that there would be no sign but the resurrection and that to seek any sign other than that would be wicked.
And then He left them and departed.
In His physical sense His leaving may not seem that significant. Jesus did not stay in one place His whole life and going to minister to another community did not mean He was finished with the one He left. Jesus did not stay all the time, for instance, with Mary and Martha and Lazarus, but when He left them and departed to another place, it was not in any way a sign of judgment against them.
But we have the full body of Scripture and
• We know that He did depart from Israel to call out his church, a unique body of believers composed of both Jews and Gentiles
• We know Jesus did leave the Pharisees and their religion
• We know that He nailed the ordinances of their system to the cross and took them out of the way
And
• We know that in some cases the Holy Spirit leaves a person and departs, never to convict them of sin righteousness and judgment again
And
• We know that that is a judgment no man should want to experience
A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. And he left them, and departed.
What an ominous phrase; "... He left them and departed."
The Pharisees had asked Christ for a sign. He responded that they had observed natural signs of the weather. He also told them that there would be no sign but the resurrection and that to seek any sign other than that would be wicked.
And then He left them and departed.
In His physical sense His leaving may not seem that significant. Jesus did not stay in one place His whole life and going to minister to another community did not mean He was finished with the one He left. Jesus did not stay all the time, for instance, with Mary and Martha and Lazarus, but when He left them and departed to another place, it was not in any way a sign of judgment against them.
But we have the full body of Scripture and
• We know that He did depart from Israel to call out his church, a unique body of believers composed of both Jews and Gentiles
• We know Jesus did leave the Pharisees and their religion
• We know that He nailed the ordinances of their system to the cross and took them out of the way
And
• We know that in some cases the Holy Spirit leaves a person and departs, never to convict them of sin righteousness and judgment again
And
• We know that that is a judgment no man should want to experience
No comments:
Post a Comment