“He answered them and said to them, “when it is
evening you 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 threatening.’
Hypocrites! You know how to discern the face of
the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the
times.”
Matthew 16:2-3

Jesus exhorts us to understand and discern the signs of the times. The context of His statement in this regard had to do with the failure of His generation to discern the times of His coming. The question we should ask is, “What should they have discerned and how does this impact us today?” I therefore submit to you the following thoughts:

1. They should have heeded the voice of the Prophets These fore-tellers clearly spoke of Israel’s exile and in particular of the fact that they would be conquered and dragged off to Babylon but in the very same breath they spoke of Israel’s return to Jerusalem. In this context they alerted Israel to the fact that the regathering of the exiles would bring them to a Messianic event. That is, the unfolding restoration would usher in the coming of the promised Messiah. The Prophet Micah is just one such Prophet who not only warned of judgment and exile but also of the arrival of Messiah. He even pinpointed the town of His birth; Bethlehem. (Micah 5:2) Isaiah did the same and Daniel, who lived through the exile, actually predicted the exact year of Messiah’s coming in his famous “seventy week” prophecy. (Daniel 9:24-27) The nation was then without excuse!

2. They should have heard the heart-beat of God Here I am talking about the national religious leaders, the local leaders of synagogues and the people who claimed to know God. A few like Simeon and Anna , the Priest serving in the Temple and a prophetess, did and so they knew that in their life-time they would see the Messiah before they died. They were right thus proving that God, by His Spirit, will give insight and warning concerning the times of Messiah’s coming. In fact Paul, writing to the Church at Thessaloniki, states that we do not need to be taught about the times of Messiah’s coming because God Himself will teach us about the times and season of this great event.(1 Thessalonians 5:1-6) that is, He will give us an inner intuition about these things just as He did to Simeon and Anna.

So, once again we find ourselves having to square up to Jesus’ challenge to discern the signs of the times. The question is; are we listening and indeed are we discerning anything at all? Consider the following:

1. Jesus told us that the return of the Jewish people to Jerusalem at a point in history, and after a global exile, would herald His second coming! (Luke 21:24) We are that generation that has witnessed this event.

2. The great Prophets of the Bible also talk of a global exile of the Jewish people that will be reversed by their remarkable return to their ancient homeland. This return will usher in the Messianic age by the coming of Messiah. (Ezekiel36:24-28) in fact Jeremiah speaks of a return of the Jews from the “north country” that will exceed that of Moses’ time when he brought the children of Israel out of Egypt. (Jeremiah 16:14-15and 23:7-8) We have witnessed this remarkable return as in the last three decades more than a million Jews have returned from the former Soviet Union to the land of Israel All of this is a herald of Jesus’ soon coming!

3. One would think that Church leaders everywhere would be discerning these “times” and consequently giving a clarion call to the people of God that the Bridegroom is coming. (Matthew 25:6) Sadly they are not and indeed many of them are scoffing at the idea of Jesus’ soon return. Given that Paul says that the Spirit of God will Himself warn us of the season of Jesus’ coming how close then are these leaders to the heart-beat of God and what does all this say about other aspects of their teaching? It is to be remembered that Jesus said that; if you are wrong about this you are probably a hypocrite. Peter, writing to the Church, warned that in the latter days scoffers would appear in the Church mocking the idea of Jesus’ coming. (2Peter3:1-9)These days are certainly here.

So, in the end Jesus’ words in Matthew 16 certainly hold importance for us today. We are just like the generation of His day happily, going along our way oblivious to the fact that the “signs of the times” are telling us that He is coming soon and quickly. Naturally we know not the day or hour but I tell you that we are living in the season of His coming and therefore every part of our spiritual lives should be healthy and strong as we await the breaking in of this great day. (2 Peter 3:10-13)  After all this is the blessed hope of the Church!

Maranatha!

Malcolm Hedding.

©Malcolm Hedding Ministries