Hypocrites! You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times

Then the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and testing Him asked that He would show them a sign from heaven. He answered 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. A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah." And He left them and departed.

Now when His disciples had come to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread. Then Jesus said to them, "Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees." And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "It is because we have taken no bread." But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, "O you of little faith, why do you reason among yourselves because you have brought no bread? Do you not yet understand or remember the five loaves of the five thousand and how many baskets you took up? Nor the seven loaves of the four thousand and how many large baskets you took up? How is it you do not understand that I did not speak to you concerning bread?--but to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees." Then they understood that He did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

- Matthew 16:1-12

In yesterday's reading, Jesus continued in Gentile territory, after His meeting with the woman of Canaan. He went up to the mountain, and the multitude followed Him, and received all kinds of healings, so that the lame walked, the maimed were made whole, the mute spoke, the blind saw. These are all signs of the Messiah, among Gentiles. Later, as with the five thousand men before, Jesus fed four thousand men (and there were women and children in addition). But, this time, the difference is that there are also Gentiles in this crowd upon whom Jesus takes compassion. See And He took the seven loaves and the fish and gave thanks, broke them and gave them to His disciples, and the disciples gave them to the multitude.

Then the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and testing Him asked that He would show them a sign from heaven. He answered 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." In our recent readings, we've read of many signs of the Messiah. All of His healings, the feedings in the wilderness, all of these things are not merely miracles, as we might think of them, but rather they are signs that point to the Messiah and to Jesus' Messianic and divine identity. Those who are expert in scripture and in prophecy should recognize them. My study bible says, "A sign from heaven implies some spectacular evidence proving Jesus' messiahship. All acknowledge that the time of the Messiah will be a time for signs. But they do not understand the signs already performed, for their hearts are hardened in disbelief. They can predict the rain and storms, but they cannot understand the Law, which points to Christ, even though they are supposed to be experts in it." There's a kind of play on words here in what Jesus says: a sign from heaven is asked, and He points to their understanding of signs in the sky -- the word in Greek for heaven and sky is the same. But what He implies is that their minds are "worldly" -- not understanding the things of God, though they are experts in their study. Looking to the heavens, all they can see are clouds -- they recognize the face of the sky, but not that of the kingdom of heaven. In speaking of the signs of the times, there is a prophetic note here. They are unaware, when they need to watch. They are the blind leaders of the blind.

"A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah." And He left them and departed. To be wicked and adulterous is to be not of God's people, disloyal to the covenant with God. For those who fail to see, He will not provide a sign in compliance to their demands. There is only here a veiled hint to His death and Resurrection. Jonah was delivered from the belly of the great fish of the waters of the deep, and Jesus will rise from the grave of death -- a kind of baptism for all the world.

Now when His disciples had come to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread. Then Jesus said to them, "Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees." And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "It is because we have taken no bread." But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, "O you of little faith, why do you reason among yourselves because you have brought no bread? Do you not yet understand or remember the five loaves of the five thousand and how many baskets you took up? Nor the seven loaves of the four thousand and how many large baskets you took up? How is it you do not understand that I did not speak to you concerning bread?--but to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees." Then they understood that He did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees. An interesting contrast -- the Sadducees and Pharisees fail to see, but here we see that the disciples also fail to see and to understand Jesus' words. They take them quite literally and in a worldly sense, just as we can see a parallel in the understanding of the face of the sky, but not of heaven. And their conclusion about forgetting the bread comes despite the repeated feedings in the wilderness! But there is a clue here in Jesus' words, "O you of little faith." They are the same words Jesus said to Peter in the boat, just before all the disciples confessed their faith that Jesus is the Son of God. The key here is in the word "little" -- a little faith goes a long way, it opens the door, it's like the mustard seed from which great things can take root and grow. And, perhaps wonderfully poetically (as is so often the case), a little faith is like the leaven that can season the whole of the meal. (Matthew's gospel delightfully presents us with these two parables of the kingdom of heaven together here.) So much depends on what kind of leaven we're speaking about!

In recent readings, Jesus has given us teachings on the state of the heart, and the importance of guarding the heart, taking care what we nurture within ourselves. Here we have a great illustration and contrast: the Pharisees and Sadducees, leaders of the community, experts in the Law. Outwardly their faith is great, but inwardly they demand signs and fail to exercise spiritual eyes and ears. Their hearts are set a certain way, their doctrine is highly worldly, they are unaware of the signs that are already present to them. And then there are the disciples, whom Jesus calls "you of little faith." They are just that -- disciples -- they are learning from their master, so that their faith may grow, and we know that it certainly will. My study bible contrasts the two: "The leaven of the Pharisees is their doctrine and their hypocrisy. The disciples are painfully slow to understand, for they have little faith. They do not fully understand Jesus' teaching until Pentecost, when the Spirit is given." So much depends on the state of the heart, where we have our minds and faces set, so to speak, what direction we're facing. Jesus' teaching was called by the earliest apostles His Way. On what way is your heart set? Do you need to turn it around? The leadership are religious experts, the disciples much more simple men. It all depends on which direction you're going, not necessarily where you are. The key here is that if we're facing the wrong way, now is time to turn around and wake up to the signs of the times, before we find ourselves unable to see at all where we're going. We may even be blind to what is right in front of us.