What a
contrast!...
A Canaanitish woman has just shown her great faith in the Lord as Son of
David, then some 10,000 people have climbed a mountain for Jesus to heal and
feed them with just 7 loaves and a few small fish.
Now we have antagonists – Pharisees and Sadducees - joining forces to
trip up Jesus by demanding a sign from heaven. (Matt 16:1-12)
Hello?? We all know...
Red sky at night –
sailors delight.
Red sky in the
morning – shepherds warning!
What does Jesus
give them? A sign from the depths of the ocean instead – the prophet Jonas -
vomited out to go preach to Gentiles!...after 3 days and nights in the whale’s
belly.
How that
must have stung! Religious Pharisees are too ‘special’ to welcome Gentiles,
while rationalist Sadducees would ridicule God’s ability to bring Jonah back
alive. It’s time to abandon (kataleipo)
them.
Even the Jewish
disciples are rebuked as ‘ye of little faith’, forgetting
that Jesus could easily feed more people with less bread and fish and still
produce left-overs.
As the hymn says: ‘O
God, thy grace no limit knows’
What was
that sign from heaven?
Grace!...yup, undeserved favour.
Grace!...yup, undeserved favour.
Perhaps
there’s hope for Gentiles yet?
Jonah 1:17 ; 3:11
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