O Ye Hypocrites; Ye Can Discern the Face of the Sky But Can Ye Not Discern the Signs of the Wicked?- Part 1617

"Then understood they how that [Jesus] bade them not beware of the leaven of the bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees." (Matthew 16:12)

Herein, the Pharisees and the Sadducees came, desiring to tempt Jesus that He would show them a sign from heaven. Jesus answered and said unto them, "When it was evening, ye say it will be fair weather, for the sky is red. And in the morning, it will be foul weather today; 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 seeks after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas." (Matthew 16:1-4)

[For those who may not know of Jonas [or Jonah] on the old covenant side, the Word of the Lord came unto him saying, "Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city and cry against it; for their wickedness is come before Me." But instead, Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish away from the presence of the Lord. We then learn that Jonah went to Joppa and paid the fare for a ship to take him to Tarshish. Once on the ship, the Lord sent out a great wind into the sea, bringing a mighty tempest into the sea, so that the ship was like a vessel about to be broken. Certainly, this caused the mariners to be afraid, and cried every man unto his god, to the point that they cast forth the wares of the ship into the sea to lighten the load.

In the mayhem that was clearly evident from the waves thrashing all around them, there remained Jonah fast asleep in the belly of the ship. The ship master came to him and said," What meanest thou, O sleeper? Arise, call upon thy God, if so be that God will think upon us, that we perish not." They then said everyone to his fellow, "Come and let us cast lots that we may know for whose cause this evil is upon us." So they cast lots and the lot fell upon Jonah. No surprise there, particularly when Jonah actually thought he could escape the presence of the Lord but we know better.

Then said they unto him, "Tell us, we pray thee, for whose cause this evil is upon us. What is thine occupation? And whence comes thou? What is thy country? And of what people art thou?" Jonah replied, saying, "I am an Hebrew; and I fear the Lord, the God of heaven which hath made the sea and the dry land." And the men were exceedingly afraid, and said unto him, "Why hast thou done this?" For the men knew that he fled from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them.

Throughout, the sea was wrought and tempestuous. Jonah tells them to cast him into the sea so that the sea could be calm again for them. At this time, the men did not heed him, rowing hard to bring the ship to the land; but they could not; for the sea wrought, and was tempestuous against them. So these cried unto the Lord, and said, "We beseech thee, O Lord, we beseech thee, let us not perish for this man's life, and lay not upon us innocent blood; for thou, O Lord, hast done as it pleased thee."

Then these took up Jonah and cast him forth into the sea, and the sea ceased from her raging. This caused the men to fear the Lord exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice unto the Lord and made vows. As for Jonah, the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah in the belly of the fish for a period of three days and three nights. As one can imagine, when the Word of the Lord came unto Jonah a second time saying, "Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee" Jonah did not think twice about his mission.

Rather, he went into the city and told the people that in forty days Nineveh shall be overthrown. "So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth from the greatest of them even to the least of them." Of course, there is much more to learn of Jonah, but the point herein being that God saw their works -- that they turned from their evil way; and God relented from the looming disaster, that He had said that He would do unto them, so that He did it not.

And Jonah? He prayed unto the Lord and said, "I pray thee, O Lord ..." that Thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repents Thee of the evil. (Jonah 1:1- Jonah 4:11)]

Now, returning to the original message, we see Jesus telling the Pharisees and Sadducees that by reason of either "you as teachers" of the people, OR, conversely, simply because of "your teachers," ye have become a generation that greatly errs in doctrine. In fact, it appears that entrenched religious traditions have become more authentic than the Word of God. But when someone like Paul points to the hypocrisy of this stance (in much the same way that Jesus did), these born again observers are considered contentious by the religious. [Note herein that Jesus also referred to spiritual pride and the traditions of men which -- like the leaven -- caused men and women to be led astray. This is why Jesus states that their compromise FROM the truth of the Lord has (and will continue) to spread far and wide.]

This may provide some insight as to why apostle Paul was so adamant when he asked, "O, foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you?" (Galatians 3:1)

Because there is a truth -- an absolute -- that is unshakable. Certainly, we see this wholehearted attachment to the Rock which is Christ on the day of Pentecost, when Peter (standing with the eleven) was asked, "What must we do?" Peter told the first 3,000 souls to be saved that these had to first repent, and then be water baptized in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, so that they could receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. (Acts 2:36-47)

We see another example when Saul witnessed Stephen -- one of the chosen seven full of the Holy Ghost being stoned. (Acts 6:1-15; Acts 7:1-60)

Stephen told those condemning him that God spake on this wise -- "that His seed should sojourn in a strange land; and that they should bring them into bondage, and entreat evil four hundred years .... [and that] this is He that was in the church in the wilderness with the angel which spake to him in the mount Sinai, and with our fathers: who received the lively oracles to give unto us ..." (Acts 7:6-38)

So, what are the principles of the doctrine of Christ? The foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God; of the doctrine of baptisms; and of laying on of hands, and of the resurrection of the dead; and of eternal judgment." (Hebrews 6:1-2)

This is combination with the one accord on the day of Pentecost provides the basis for truth. "Thy Word is truth!" (John 17:17)

"And being made perfect, He became the Author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey Him, called of God an high priest after the order of Melchisedec, of whom we have many things to say and hard to be uttered ..." (Hebrews 5:9-11)

"And for this cause, He is the Mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance ... for where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of a testator. For a testament is of force after men are dead; otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator lives ... whereupon neither the first [testament] was dedicated without blood." (Hebrews 9:15-18)

Line upon line and precept upon precept!

Thus, while the hypocrites remain busy discerning the face of the sky, in an attempt to lead people away from the mystery that was held in the bosom of the Father from the very beginning, we as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ by faith can stand assuredly on the Rock which is Christ. Standing fast in the liberty in the freeing gospel of Jesus Christ -- the King of kings and Lord of lords, Alpha and Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the ending. (Revelation 1:8, 11)

Stand in the offering plate.