“Since God in his wisdom saw to it that the world would never know him through human wisdom, he has used our foolish preaching to save those who believe. It is foolish to the Jews, who ask for signs from heaven. And it is foolish to the Greeks, who seek human wisdom. So when we preach that Christ was crucified, the Jews are offended and the Gentiles say it’s all nonsense. But to those called by God to salvation, both Jews and Gentiles, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God. This foolish plan of God is wiser than the wisest of human plans, and God’s weakness is stronger than the greatest of human strength.”
1 Corinthians 1:21-25 NLT
Paul wrote that the message of the Cross was foolishness to the Jews because they “ask for signs from heaven” instead. But such a request for Heavenly signs is more common than perhaps we first think. We have an inbuilt desire to try and detect what is going to happen in the future, by what we observe today. Take for instance the weather. Jesus Himself referred to this in Matthew 16:2-3, “He replied, “You know the saying, ‘Red sky at night means fair weather tomorrow; red sky in the morning means foul weather all day.’ You know how to interpret the weather signs in the sky, but you don’t know how to interpret the signs of the times!” This is something we still do today, and more often than not we find that a wonderful sunset precedes good weather in the following day. There is also a tendency to try and anticipate a thunderstorm by the humidity level at the time. Farmers apparently can sense a change in the weather by observing cows lying down in a field but what that has to do with anything is a mystery to me. Then we have of course the eco-doom-mongers who predict major changes in the weather in years ahead based on the levels of greenhouse gases, facts that have spawned a cohort of activists and extremists who try and disrupt normal life in society to further their own ideological aims. To them carbon dioxide levels are an indicator of what is to come, and they may of course be right, but with much angst, humanity seems to be hurtling towards a much warmer planet in the years ahead, apparently powerless to do much about it. The UK is painfully heading for “net zero” while countries like China and India are building more power stations burning coal, a major greenhouse contributor. So the debate continues, but in the “signs of the times” that Jesus spoke about, He was referring to something else.
The message of the Cross, shared through our “foolish preaching”, is, however, timeless. Regardless of weather patterns there is something far more significant about the spiritual realms that Jews have always been aware of. They knew that the great events and miracles in their heritage and history had a spiritual basis, something that was timeless and would never be forgotten. God had performed mighty wonders for them at various stages in their history, and memories of these were meditated upon, as encouraged by Psalm 145:4-5, “Let each generation tell its children of your mighty acts; let them proclaim your power. I will meditate on your majestic, glorious splendour and your wonderful miracles“. These “mighty acts” were remembered, and more were anticipated by the Jews, none more significant than the coming of the Messiah. In Isaiah 7:10-11 we read, “Later, the Lord sent this message to King Ahaz: “Ask the Lord your God for a sign of confirmation, Ahaz. Make it as difficult as you want—as high as heaven or as deep as the place of the dead””. Unfortunately Ahaz refused to test the Lord, but Isaiah told of a sign anyway, “All right then, the Lord himself will give you the sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means ‘God is with us’)” (Isaiah 7:14). There were other prophecies of signs of the coming Messiah in the Old Testament as well. Isaiah 9:6, “For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace“. Then we have Micah 5:2, “But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, are only a small village among all the people of Judah. Yet a ruler of Israel, whose origins are in the distant past, will come from you on my behalf“. So not only was there an expectancy in Israel about the coming Messiah, the prophets of old provided details of the signs that would precede the event, signs that would reshape history as we know it. How did Jesus’ listeners in Matthew 16, the Pharisees and Sadducees, get it so wrong? Signs were provided and if they had bothered to check them out they would have found the evidence they required.
That thought brings us on to other things Jesus said, this time about His second coming. Jesus will indeed return to this planet and we know exactly how. Acts 1:11, ““Men of Galilee,” they said, “why are you standing here staring into heaven? Jesus has been taken from you into heaven, but someday he will return from heaven in the same way you saw him go!”” We also know where He will return from the next verse, which records that His ascension took place from the Mount of Olives just outside Jerusalem. But it’s the “when” that is the problem for mankind. In Matthew 24, Jesus gave us a few indicators, signs, of what will precede His return. Matthew 24:5-8, “for many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah.’ They will deceive many. And you will hear of wars and threats of wars, but don’t panic. Yes, these things must take place, but the end won’t follow immediately. Nation will go to war against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in many parts of the world. But all this is only the first of the birth pains, with more to come“. Another sign was given by Daniel and repeated by Jesus in Matthew 24:15, “”The day is coming when you will see what Daniel the prophet spoke about—the sacrilegious object that causes desecration standing in the Holy Place.” (Reader, pay attention!)”. We’re not totally sure what this is, but I think we will know all about it when it happens. And then if we read on we find that natural events will be impacted, “Immediately after the anguish of those days, the sun will be darkened, the moon will give no light, the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken” (Matthew 24:29). Finally the thing that we have been waiting for occurs, “For as the lightning flashes in the east and shines to the west, so it will be when the Son of Man comes” (Matthew 24:27). All these are signs of the End of the Age, and Jesus’ return to this planet.
The Jews “ask for signs from Heaven” but we pilgrims should also be expecting signs as well. There are two parallel series of events taking place over the times since the creation of the world, one taking place in the physical realm and the other in the spiritual. One day the two will converge with the glorious return of Jesus, but this happened once before. The Cross was a cataclysmic event in which Heaven and earth collided in a moment that set the scene for the final phase of the history of Planet Earth. With excitement bubbling up within us, we find ourselves empowered to spread the Message of the Cross because it is the believers in this Good News that will find a door open before them, allowing them to gain entry to the Kingdom of Heaven before the old disappears. Consider that this Message is like a lifeboat rescuing the survivors from a shipwreck, moments before the ship plunges into the depths of the sea, never to be seen again. Only those who grasp the Message of the Cross with both hands, believing it without any doubts, with body, soul and spirit, will find their way to Heaven and the New Earth, yet to come. Are we ready? Don’t miss the boat, Folks, and don’t forget to spread the message so that our loved ones will be with us when the time comes.
Dear Father God. You sent Your Son Jesus to this world to rescue mankind from the consequences of their sins. For this wonderful yet poignant event we are so grateful, and we pray that we will never waver from our life living under the shadow of the Cross. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Being a Pilgrim 