The three things lacking from Jesus’ disciples
Matthew chapter 16 records the incident when the religious leaders seek signs from Jesus.
The word signs in Chinese characters combine the words “external” and “footprint” to mean “traces revealed externally.” The religious leaders asked for signs from Jesus in chapter 12. However, Jesus says, “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah” (Matt 12:39). Just prior to the event in chapter 16, Jesus fed 4,000 with seven loaves of bread and two fish, and had seven baskets left over (Matt 15:32-39). And before that Jesus fed 5,000 with five loaves of bread and two fish, and had twelve baskets left over (Matt 14:13-21). What is the difference between these two incidents? We can’t just confess with our lips that we believe in Jesus if we don’t know this. Just after the incident in chapter 16 when a sign is sought, Jesus warned the disciples, “Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” The disciples foolishly answered, “It is because we didn’t bring any bread.” Jesus then laments, “You of little faith, why are you talking among yourselves about having no bread? Do you still not understand?” (Matt 16:5-10). Though they witnessed countless signs and miracles during their three years following Jesus, they understood nothing and their hearts were completely filled with worldly things.
We do not understand because we lack godliness in our lives.
We must read the Bible and pray in order to understand.
The thoughts of the world all lead to death(Rom 8:5). Mankind lives chasing after material wealth, lustful desires, and the boastings of life. One without understanding is like a beast (Ps 49:20). Though we are like this, God gave us the Bible so that we would listen with our ears, see with our eyes, and understand with our hearts (Rom 10:10). Therefore, we must read the bible. Yet why do we fail to do so? Blessed is the man who reads, hears, and keeps the Word (Rev 1:3). Why don’t we pray? When we pray, our lives, families, and businesses will flourish. We fail to believe the Word, so we don’t read the Bible and we don’t pray. The Prophet Samuel never committed the sin of ceasing to pray (1 Sam 12:23). The Apostle Paul charged us to pray continually (1 Thes 5:17). We must be awake and pray in thanksgiving (Luke 18:1, 21:36, Rom 12:12, Col 4:2-3). We can’t pray because we lack thanksgiving. Prayer changes heaven and earth. Prayer is the miracle among miracles.
Reading the scriptures and prayer are the blessing among blessings (Ps 1:1-2). It’s not a difficult thing to do, so why do we fail to do so? When you fall in love, you will go to any length to meet your lover even if you have to pass through a cemetery in the middle of the night. When you become obsessed with the Word of grace, it causes you to pray. When you pray, miracles occur.
You hear these words thousands of times, yet you fail to pray. This is because grace has not come upon you. When you are filled with grace, your whole world is turned upside down. Even your heart that was as turbulent as the sea becomes calm and is put at ease.
I have never rested a single day from reading the Bible and praying four to five hours a day. We need to read the Bible in order to correctly know Jesus and the end times (Rev 9:39-41, Matt 13:14-15, 17, Rom 10:10). We need to earnestly pray that we would not let go of the Word until we enter His Kingdom and that His Word would reign in our hearts. Most pitiful and wretched is the man who hears the Word and yet cannot understand it. The people during the time of Noah failed to understand the Word even till the moment they drowned in the waters of the flood (Matt 24:39). Even now people fail to realize they are losing the most precious and valuable thing and pass the days chasing after the shadows of the world (Ps 39:6, 1 Cor 7:31).
“Will you realize who He is only after He has been crucified?”
It is better to utter five words with a discerning heart than to speak ten-thousand words in tongues (1 Cor 14:19). There are not many in this world who truly understand. There is no one who is righteous, no one who understands, and none who seek God. They have become narrow-minded and in short they have become vain and not one who does good can be found (Rom 3:10-12).
Listen to God’s tearful Words as He laments that the ox and the donkey understand but Israel does not know. They betrayed God ceaselessly and committed spiritual adultery. Yet so that they would understand, God had the prophet Hosea take a prostitute for his wife to reveal a sign to the Israelites. Think of God’s heart as this took place (Hos 5:1, 7:9, Isa 1:3). God laments because though they receive such grace and love, they did not understand and chose to walk the immoral path that leads to destruction and judgment. He rebukes them saying, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he” (John 8:27-29). We cannot understand because we don’t know how to hear the Word (John 8:43, 10:39-40). “For the heart of this people has become dull, With their ears they scarcely hear, And they have closed their eyes, Otherwise they would see with their eyes, Hear with their ears, And understand with their heart and return, And I would heal them.’” (Matt 13:11-15).
We must know the mystery of godliness in order to understand.
My fellow brethren, why do we fail to understand? This is because we are lacking godliness in every aspect of our lives. If we learn the mystery of godliness we can understand. “By common confession, great is the mystery of godliness” (1 Tim 3:16). Because they are not godly, the eyes, ears, and hearts of the world are plastered over and they are unable to see God, the true treasure(Isa 44:18). My husband, my wife, my children, material wealth, businesses, power, social status, these are the things that cover our eyes. The visible things of the world pass away but the Word of God is eternal (1 Pet 1:23-25). We need to know to hear the Word (John 8:43). If we pray for the grace and blessing to hear the Word, then He will give us understanding. Mankind has been seared in their conscience. They have grown numb and are unable to understand the Word (1 Tim 4:2).
Yet God says, “Listen, that you may live” (Isa 55:3).
God’s grace in giving us understanding through the signs of the times
Since human beings will not incline their ears and listen, God instead says, “Listen, O heavens, and hear, O earth” (Isa 1:2). It means that heaven and earth know. Peter heard the rooster crowing and repented; the Prophet Balaam received understanding through the lips of a donkey. Jesus rebuked the Jews saying, “When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’. . . Do you know how to discern the appearance of the sky, but cannot discern the signs of the times?” (Matt 16:2). Jesus also told us to learn from the parable of the fig, the national flower of Israel (Matt 24:32). The reformer Martin Luther decided to become a minister when in his youth he saw his friend get struck down by lightning.
The grace of God to afflict even His people in order to bring them to understanding
When the tower in Siloam fell and killed eighteen people, people started asking whose sins caused this accident to happen. Jesus replied saying that those people did not die because they have more sins than others; rather, if you do not repent, you will all likewise perish (Luke 13:4-5). God would even afflict His own people to bring them to understanding (Jer 10:18). God grants grace but sometimes hardships are the grace.
Do not be proud but repent saying, “it is my fault.”
Those who have an understanding of the Word of God must not be proud. But they must let grace and virtues rule. Pride goes before destruction (Prov 16:18). At the moment when King Nebuchadnezzar said “I have accomplished all this by the might of my power,” he became a madman (Dan 4:29-33). God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble (James 4:6). Please do not be proud, but pray. Without prayer we cannot do God’s work; and without prayer our marriage, our children and even our business will not work out. Pray for wisdom, understanding and knowledge to realize God’s will. Also, pray for the ability to make wealth so that we can be upright and not greedy thereby earning wealth without any sorrows attached to it (Deut 8:18, Prov 10:22).
When Jonah was going against the will of God by running away from Him on a ship, he came upon a storm. That is when Jonah confessed, “this great storm has come on account of me” (Jonah 1:12). We need to be able to say “it is on account of me” in regard to the problems at home, at church and in our country; then we need to repent about them. Then, God’s blessing and grace will rise up like a rainbow and all problems will turn into success. However, there are some people who do not come to church because of hardships. People who do not understand will perish (Hos 4:14, Matt 24:37-39). Even if you are at the brink of destruction due to sin, even then, if you could repent, then you will avoid destruction. However, even at that moment the people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, buying and selling, and had fallen into carnal pleasures.
It is because sinning is very pleasurable. And when you’re having fun, you forget about your parents, your children and even your spouse. The scariest thing in the world is not being able to understand.
Those who find God understand everything (Prov 28:5, Ps 119:100, John 7:17, 1 Cor 2;15, James 1:5, 1 John 2:20, 27), but the wicked do not understand justice (Prov 82:5).
We need to read the Bible to understand. It’s not thathard so why aren’t we reading?
What is God’s sign?
The Israelites who did not have the eyes to see, the ears to hear and the heart to understand requested a sign from Jesus. Jesus Christ?who was in the bosom of the God who is greater than all?put on human form for our sins and came into this unseemly land in the Palestine area. And through His blood, He established the church. The church that can receive Jesus Christ is the sign of Jesus Christ (Act 20:28). The church is the body of God (Col 1:18). Jesus Christ is the head and it is God’s body and the temple of the Holy Spirit. The church can be a sign for demons and the forces of darkness. The entire world is the sign of the living God.
The true church has the power and authority of the Word and the Holy Spirit (Heb 4:12). Our church has the sword of the Word. It is a sword that can divide soul and spirit as well as joints and marrow. It can even pierce the invisible powers of the demons. God’s Word is living and active.
The church that has the Word of God working within it is full of grace, thanksgiving and the Spirit.
The Word of God is bound to grow and flourish. The Bible, from cover to cover, is the record of redemptive history, which is God’s salvation of mankind by paying the price of sin. Satan mobilizes all of his forces to prevent the Word of Redemptive History from being proclaimed. But the Word of God will crush the head of Satan. Our church, which Jesus purchased with His blood, and the Word of Redemptive History, which was given through grace?these are the signs of the times that will brightly illuminate this darkened world. They are the lamp of Korea.
All we need to do is light up the lamp of our faith. In this wicked and adulterous generation, please take pride in the fact that you are the sign for the nations and be faithful to your given duties. Please read and listen to the Word of Redemptive History and share them so that we can win many souls for God. Jesus is the hope of glory and the mystery of God. Understand that He is in your heart and proceed onward boldly. Be thankful always, and be faithful unto death. Pray and believe, then great things will happen. Even if you lose out on everything, always embrace the Word of God in your hearts, and as you walk with Him, I pray that you and your family will prosper in all that you do.
Preached during the Lord’s Day service, September 1, 2013
