“He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red. And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowring. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?” (Mt 16:2-3 AV)
Relax. I won’t be accusing anyone of being a hypocrite this morning. This was an extreme case of those who claimed an elevated relationship with God but could not discern His hand among the affairs of men. That is why they are referred to as hypocrites. The fault lies in not knowing God well enough to see how He might work. The context is knowing the Son of God who came to earth is preparing to die for their sin and usher in the kingdom promised to their forefathers. The gathering storm is the storm of judgment upon Israel’s enemies for rejecting God and hating on His people. If Israel would only see the obvious and believe, then God can work miracles. What the Pharisees were guilty of, the saint can also falter. Not to the degree they failed. But in principle, we can do the same. We can miss the indications God sends our way to assure us He is working on our behalf. We can become so overwhelmed by the trial at hand that we miss the little things He gives us to reassure us He is in control. We are temporally or carnally minded if we miss the hand of God because the things of this world are too large they captivate and demand our attention.
I am reminded of the prophet's ministry to one of his trainees. An enemy army had surrounded the city in which the prophet sought refuge. It was just him and his trainee against the world. The old prophet took his trainee out of the city proper and asked the LORD to open his eyes. There on the mountains overshadowing the enemy were countless chariots and angelic beings preparing to wage war on the enemy. He could not see the hand of God because the hand of the enemy seemed too large. In the context of our passage, Jesus reminds the disciples not to eat the leaven of the Pharisees. They assumed he was being literal. Jesus reminds them of the feeding of the thousands and how finding a meal to eat would not ever be a concern as long as they walked with Jesus. There was no need for a warning not to eat the literal food of the Pharisees. Jesus meant this metaphorically. They were to avoid the doctrine of the Pharisees. They missed the subtle yet obvious truth Jesus was sharing with them regarding the dangers of false doctrine. They missed the obvious because they were temporally minded.
I am reminded of how many small and subtle hints God had sent along the way which both Lisa and I missed along the way of her journey with cancer. Small little statements here and there. Small little test results were found on our electronic records. Sometimes we get so focused on the battle ahead that we lose sight of the God who controls it all. There were little hints that God was in control. Like the prophet at the face of the cave, the voice of God was not in the fire, wind, and storm. God’s voice for the prophet was not in the large and obvious. It was the still small voice that spoke to him; a voice barely audible over the commotion God was causing elsewhere. God works in large and obvious ways. But He also works in equally powerful small and undiscernible ways, too. It all depends on where our eyes and heart are. If we truly trust God in all things, no matter how overwhelming, then we will see the small voice of God that comes at the exact moment we need it, lasts but for a short time, and departs. If we look for the LORD in all things, we will see Him in all things. It all depends on where our attention is focused.
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