And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowering. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?
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.
(Matt 16:2-4 KJV)
I was very young when my mother began teaching me some pretty cool things. She taught me how not to get lost in the woods when picking wildflowers by observing the position of the sun or the moon and what side the moss grows on a tree. She taught me how to track, at least well enough to follow my own trail back out of the woods. She also taught me how to forecast the weather by watching the leaves on the trees or the color of the skies. She taught me "red skies at night, sailors delight; red skies in the morning, sailors take warning."
When the Pharisees and Sadducees asked Jesus to show them a sign from heaven he told them there would be only one sign for them. That sign would be the sign of Jonah. The prophet Jonah, you might recall, had spent three days floating around in a watery abyss in the belly of a big fish. He had thought at the time that this would be his grave; his final resting place. But, it was not. Jonah lived to serve the Lord.
The sign that Jesus was referring to was that he, himself, would repeat the sign of Jonah. But, this time it would be for the salvation of all people; for all who would believe him. Three days he spent in the grave. He descended into hell. (1 Pet 3:18-20) And... just as Jonah was spit from the mouth of the fish to go and proclaim God's message to those nasty Ninevites that they might be saved and live; on the third day Jesus rose from the grave so that all who believe him would be saved and inherit eternal life.
God gave us many signs in creation to assist us in our daily lives. But, Jesus, is the only sign that we need for eternal life.
God's Peace - Pr. J
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