Introduction
"Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee. But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: for as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here."
In the 12th chapter of Matthew, the Lord Jesus was discussing His deity with some of the scribes and Pharisees, which they doubted and couldn’t believe, when one of them made the statement in verse 38, "Master, we want to see a sign from you." In other words, Jesus, if you could just give us a sign, we would believe in your deity, we would believe that you are the Christ. Jesus told them that they had the sign of Jonah, which was a wonderful picture of His coming death, burial and resurrection. That was all they were going to get. He told them, "an evil and adulterous generation seeks a sign, and they won’t get one."
Since that time, men and women have searched the Holy Land and the regions around it over looking for signs. They believe they have found the shroud Jesus was buried in, the crook in the river Jesus was baptized in, the cave He must have been buried in, a box with Jesus’ name inscribed on it, and on and on and on. In all of their searching, many of them are making the same statement: If we could just see a sign, we would believe!
The question has arisen in my mind, does God really want people to believe? Does He really want them to have sufficient information in order for them to come to Christ? The answer is a resounding yes!
· The Lord told Moses He was going to terrible things in Egypt so the Hebrews and Egyptians alike would know that He was God.
· He protected and provided for the Israelites during the wilderness wanderings so "their generations would know…"
· He told Joshua to set up stones in the Jordan River as a reminder of His awesome power so "all the people of the earth might know…"
· He gave David great victory over Goliath so "all the earth might know…"
You look your Bibles through and you’ll find book after book where God has made statements like that. He has always worked in such a way that people could know that He alone is God and they could know Him personally. Even today, though God may not part seas or have people killing giants, He has given us all the evidence we need to come to Him in repentance and faith. Near the end of John’s gospel, after He wrote of the Lord Jesus turning water into wine, healing the sick, raising the dead and much much more, He wrote,
"And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name."
In his letter to the Romans, Paul said that no one would have an excuse, "because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them." There’ll come a day when every human being will stand before the Lord Jesus Christ, and "every mouth will be stopped, and all the world will stand guilty before God."
Well maybe today you are like the scribes and Pharisees. You know a lot about Jesus, but you’re just right there on the fringe. If you could see a sign you’d believe. Well listen, the signs are everywhere. Consider some of the signs in the Scripture.
CREATION
The Bible says "In the beginning God…" The Bible never argues the existence of God, it never defends it. It simply proclaims it. I quoted the Apostle Paul earlier as saying,
"Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse."
What is he saying? Simply this – that one of the greatest and most clear signs God ever gave to man is His creation! Look around! Man can look at the things that are made and recognize God’s eternal power and Godhead! It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that the Creation needs a Creator! From the smallest organisms on earth to the vastness of our solar system, every atom and molecule runs with an exact precision that nothing could cause but God Himself! Look at the trees and the birds and the rivers and the rocks and the orbits in space and anything else you want to and all you’ll see is an intelligent Creator.
NOAH’S ARK
For most people I suppose, the story of Noah’s Ark is nothing more than a fantastic boat story that involves lots of water and animals. Listen, Noah and that ark aren’t just about saving the animals – it’s a wonderful picture of Jesus! Sin on the earth was rampant. God was going to bring judgment. He found Noah to be a righteous man and warned him to build the ark. By faith Noah went to work building a ridiculously large boat, to hold a ridiculous load, to protect him from a flood that was coming when it had never even rained before on the earth. Noah loaded up his cargo, got on the ark, God shut the door and kept Him safe from the judgment that came and destroyed all those who mocked his faith.
It’s a wonderful sign! The wrath of God has already been revealed. We don’t know when its coming – its never come like its going to one day, but by faith I believe it is. Jesus Christ is our ark of salvation. By faith we come to Him for safety. He shuts the door on salvation, He seals us with His Spirit, and it is a done deal. We are told in Ephesians 2:13, "In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory."
Imagine Dan Rather interviewing Noah. "Noah, wasn’t it messy on board that ship?" Noah answers: Sure it was messy, but it was still the best ship floating!"
THE EXODUS
The Exodus of Israel from Egypt was another wonderful sign. Remember that Israel had migrated to Egypt and enjoyed wonderful blessings there, but when the new Pharaoh came on the scene, he put them into slavery. He worked them hard and put fierce taskmasters over them. They were in severe bondage from which there was no relief. God sent Moses to deliver them. Pharaoh fought to the bitter end to keep them in bondage, refusing to let them go, and it was only after God judged Egypt harshly that they were released. They marched out of that nation a wealthy people, carrying gold and silver and clothes and so much more. They left that land and enjoyed freedom!
A great story to watch with Charlton Heston in The Ten Commandments at Easter? No! Its so much more! It’s another picture of Jesus! It all points to the great deliverance God would bring to a sea of humanity that was in bondage to a taskmaster called sin – a slave owner that did not want to let go! But Jesus paid the price and has freed all of mankind from sin and has made the way possible for every man or woman to leave that land and go on into freedom!
THE FEASTS
What about the feasts of Israel? What about the Passover? The Feast of Unleavened Bread or the Feast of the First Fruits? There were seven annual feasts in Israel that God instituted for them to observe, but it wasn’t just so they could enjoy some great eatin’ meetins. All those feasts meant something – they all pointed to Jesus – they were all pictures or signs of something greater to come.
Remember the Passover was the first feast. In Egypt they were told to set a lamb without spot or blemish, no defects and kill it. They were to apply its blood to the doors of their homes and when the death angel came through that night it would pass over the homes that were marked by the blood of the lamb. Jesus is our Passover Lamb! He was without spot or blemish. He was killed for us, and when His blood is applied to the doors of our hearts, God doesn’t look upon the resident, He looks at the blood of the Lamb! Do you think that lamb’s blood did anything for those people? The writer of Hebrews said that our redemption doesn’t come from the blood of bulls and goats, but by His blood.
The Feast of Unleavened Bread began the day after the Passover. The people of Israel would go through and gather up all the leaven and remove it from their homes. Leaven was a symbol of sin, and it represented new life with God away from the bondage of Egypt. It was symbolic of putting away sin, of purifying themselves for a holy life. When the blood of Christ has been applied to our hearts (the Passover), we are told in Romans 6 to put sin away from our lives and walk in holiness in Christ (the Feast of Unleavened Bread).
The 3rd feast was the Feast of the First Fruits. During the Feast of Unleavened Bread, a feast of thanksgiving would take place, celebrating the first grain of the harvest season. The first harvest was viewed as a promise of the larger harvest to come.
Is this all accidental? No! God was giving another sign! Jesus Christ was the first fruits of the resurrection from the dead. Just as surely as He rose from the dead we shall too! In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul said,
"But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that are dead. For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at His coming."
All the feasts, from the first to the last are pictures, or signs that point to Jesus. When you read your Bible, its not just a bunch of religious ceremony that didn’t mean anything, it all pointed to the Savior!
THE SACRIFICES
The Sacrifices are the same. They would bring this bull in, kill it in front of everyone, smear its blood on the altar with their fingers, pour the rest of it out of a bowl at the bottom of the altar, then they would take the fat and its inwards and burn them on the altar. They would take the flesh and skin and waste and burn it outside the camp. This was the sin offering. They would take a ram and put their hands on its head. Then they’d kill it, take its blood and sprinkle it on the altar, then cut the ram in pieces and wash the inwards and its legs, and put them on the cut up pieces and with its head and they would burn the whole mess on the altar for the burnt offering. These don’t include the peace offering, or the heave offering, or any of the others. They were bloody messes. It wasn’t just some form of barbaric worship to an impersonal God – all of them pointed to Christ and were pictures of His person and work.
Every morning and every evening, twice a day they would sacrifice. Every day they would do these burnt offerings and sin offerings and peace offerings and every day they would have to go through all this mess and work and every day they would be reminded of just how offensive sin was to God. They couldn’t atone for their own sin, but the blood of bulls and goats and doves and lambs couldn’t either – it would only be through the shed blood of the One they all pictured that any man or woman could find salvation!
THE TABERNACLE
We read about this tabernacle in the Old Testament. It looked like an oblong box, about 45 feet long and about 15 feet wide. It was constructed of forty-eight boards of incorruptible wood, each board covered with pure gold and two tenons that dropped into two sockets of silver, each weighing about 90 pounds. There were one hundred of these sockets around the tabernacle. The boards were held in place by wooden bars covered with gold, and several of these fastened together made the framework. There were two distinct rooms, one containing the ark of the covenant, called the Most Holy Place, and the other contained the golden altar of incense, the golden candlestick and the golden table of showbread. A great vail separated the two rooms, and all the framework was covered in the skins of various animals. Around the tabernacle was a fence made of linen and many posts. Inside this courtyard was the altar and the bronze laver. It was in the courtyard that the sacrifices were made, and inside the tabernacle that the Lord’s presence would be known in acceptance of the offerings made to Him.
A lot of ceremonial show? Hardly!
· The incorruptible wood? A perfect symbol of the incorruptible humanity of our Lord, a witness to His sinlessness.
· The vail? A picture of man’s separation from God before Christ’s sacrifice, which was torn in two when Jesus was crucified, showing that man now had access to God through the Mediator Christ Jesus. The vail was torn from top to bottom, showing it was a work of God, not man.
· The golden incense altar? A picture of our Lord’s high priestly intercession for us in heaven.
· The bronze altar in the courtyard is a symbol of the cross.
· The Ark of the Covenant? A perfect symbol of the Lord Jesus Christ as the enthronement of God in humanity.
· The bars, the coverings, the gates, fence, all of it represent Christ in some way!
The tabernacle wasn’t just about a meeting place, it was a sign for those who had eyes to see and ears to hear! What if we jump ahead to the New Testament?
BAPTISM
Baptism is a wonderful picture for us. When a person is buried, it is implied that there has been a death. After death comes the burial, and in the case of Christ, there was resurrection from the dead, just as there will be with us. Jesus Christ died for our sins, was buried, and rose to new life. The apostle Paul said,
"…I declare unto you the gospel…how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures." (1 Corinthians 15:1, 3-4)
"Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life." (Romans 6:4)
In and of itself, baptism is no different than sacrifices, the tabernacle, or any other picture. That’s all it is – it has no saving power, it has no redeeming merit, it is just a picture of something that has happened in the life of the believer. It’s a picture of the gospel that we’re to present in our own lives when we come to know Jesus Christ as our Savior so that others might see the picture and want to meet the Savior!
THE LORD’S SUPPER
The unleavened bread symbolizes the sinlessness of the Savior. Leaven, such as yeast, is a picture of sin (1 Corinthians 5:6). The broken bread should cause you to remember the broken body of the Lord. No bones were broken, but His body was given for the sins of the world. The fruit of the vine is to remind you of the shed blood of Jesus at Calvary. It is only through His blood that anyone can receive forgiveness of sins (Hebrews 9:22).
The Supper doesn’t save, it just shows us a picture of the One who does! It is a sign, a symbol, an object lesson from God that proclaims in picture the Jesus who died for our sins, who shed His blood so we might have the forgiveness of sins.
CONCLUSION
So many of you this morning know Jesus as your Savior, but have you ever stopped to look at the Word of God like that? We break it into so many little parts and compartmentalize it so that we fail to see the bigger picture – it’s all about Jesus! Every book of the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation shouts to the world, "Look – here’s Jesus!" Read your Bibles and look for Jesus! He’s everywhere!
Signs! Signs! Everybody is looking for signs! If God would heal my son or husband! If God sees me through this! I believe because God did this or that! I trust God because He showed me this or that! It’s a bunch of hogwash! Listen, God has given more signs and evidence of who He is than the world could ever need.
To Nicodemus Jesus talked about a snake on a pole. To the woman at the well Jesus talked about living water. To the multitude by the Sea of Galilee Jesus talked about living water. For the disciples He walked on water, multiplied bread and fish, filled their nets, pulled money out of fish’s mouths and raised the dead. All these were written that you might believe…
How many more signs do you need? Why won’t you come to Christ yet? What are you holding on to for an excuse? What is it in your life that is keeping you from seeing the evidence? God is not willing that you perish, so He has removed every obstacle that could possibly be in your way of coming to Him. Don’t have faith? He’ll give you that too. "For by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God…"
