PLEASE READ THIS FIRST: Matthew 16

What do you sense the Lord saying to you in this passage?

“A wicked and adulterous generation looks for a sign,
but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah.” (Matthew 16:4)
Everyone wants to know who Jesus is, and if he is the Messiah.
Jesus has performed many signs, and proven the gracious love of God.
The problem is not a lack of signs, but an unwillingness to accept them.
As we see in this chapter, even the disciples struggle to believe it.
A humble, gracious, suffering Messiah is not what they were expecting.
The sign of Jonah is how he was humbled by whale and repented.
He preached repentance (change your minds) and the Ninevites repented.
Jesus has made himself abundantly clear: will we accept him and his way?
The Jesus Way is the way of humility and grace, sacrificial love.
If we want comfort and power like the religious leaders, we won’t accept this.
Jesus is calling us to rethink our worldly loves, and choose his gracious love.
The cross is the sign of Jonah that Jesus gives us, and calls us to.
This sign makes clear what the Jesus Way is, but will we accept and follow it?
PRAYER
Lord Jesus, your way of humility and grace are abundantly clear. We don’t need any more signs to prove it. What we need to do is accept and follow it, to repent of our ways, and to embrace your way as our way!