Let us turn in our Bibles once again to Matthew chapter 16. We'll read verses 1 to 12. Let's join together in prayer. Dear Heavenly Father, we pray your blessing upon the reading and hearing of your word and as we reflect upon The signs that you performed, Lord Jesus, the miraculous signs and those signs that you gave to your apostles during the apostolic age of the church for the foundation building time. Lord, that we might see their relevance to us today. We ask it in Jesus' precious name. Amen. Matthew chapter 16, beginning with verse And the Pharisees and Sadducees came and to test him, they asked him to show them a sign from heaven. He answered them, when it is evening, you say, it will be fair weather for the sky is red. And in the morning, it will be stormy today for the sky is red and threatening. You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky. but you cannot interpret the signs of the times. An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah. So he left them and departed. When the disciples reached the other side, they had forgotten to bring any bread. Jesus said to them, watch and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees. And they began discussing it among themselves, saying, we brought no bread. But Jesus, aware of this, said, oh, you of little faith, why are you discussing among yourselves the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive? Do you not remember the five loaves for the 5,000 and how many baskets you gathered? Or the seven loaves for the 4,000 and how many baskets you gathered? How is it that you fail to understand that I did not speak about bread? 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 teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees. Well, as I was preparing for this message. This old song kept coming back to my mind. Sign, sign, everywhere a sign, blocking out the scenery, breaking my mind. Do this, don't do that, can't you read the sign? And I had to look it up just to make sure that I had the the right take on this song. And sure enough, the whole idea behind the song is to question everything, more particularly to question authority. And this is nothing new. It has been an ebb and flow. It takes on different forms. More recently, I heard of teachers that would speak to their students and tell them to kill your parents. Now, they didn't mean literally kill your parents. What they meant was kill your parents' authority. Again, I mean, talking about signs, a sign, a clear sign indicating a rebellious heart. But as I look through the lyrics of the song, you know, he's questioning private property rights. So what right do you have to put up a fence to keep me out and nature in? questioning the right of an establishment to require a shirt and tie. And then the kicker, he comes to a place of prayer at the end of his song. And at the end of the service, a plea is passed and he doesn't have a penny to pay. So he takes, as the lyrics go, a pen and paper and makes his own little sign. It's, thank you, Lord, for thinking of me. I'm alive and doing fine. Well, the God of the Bible doesn't say you're doing just fine. The God of the Bible says you and I are in trouble. We're sinners. And we need to come to saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. We need to repent of our sins. We need to bend the knee before his authority. So it's not the God of the Bible that he's referring to here, but a God of his own making, made in his own image, you see. Simply put, it's not the way God's world works. And neither is it the way God works in redemptive history. God has given signs here, too. Signs given to sinful mankind for their salvation. And if you have bent the knee under His authority, if you're under and submissive to His authority, then you can read the signs. Performed by the power of God, miraculous signs authenticate the Lord Jesus Christ and His eternal purposes. That is so crucial to understand that the miraculous signs are performed by the power of God and they authenticate the Lord Jesus Christ and his eternal purposes. For instance, in Acts chapter 2 verse 22, Peter addressing the crowd on the day of Pentecost said, Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs, which God did among you through him as you yourselves know. And our passage this morning is rather lengthy, but I wanted to just show how the signs take on, or we see different aspects of the signs, the miraculous signs, as we look at the three groups that Jesus addresses. First, in Matthew chapter 15, verses 29 to 39, Jesus is addressing the crowds, and in verses 16, verses 1 to 4, he's addressing the leaders, the Jewish leaders who are unbelieving. And the third group is he's addressing his disciples who have so much to learn and yet he deals so tenderly with them. So let's look at first how Jesus addresses the immense crowds. And from this address we learn, first of all, that the signs are meaningful. The signs are meaningful, signaling why Jesus came, namely to fulfill the promise of deliverance. In Matthew chapter nine, verse 35, we are told that Jesus is going about preaching and teaching, but there's more. Matthew chapter nine, verse 35, Jesus went through all the towns and villages teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. And in verse 36, it's so beautiful, the description. of Jesus's reaction to the crowds. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were harassed and helpless like sheep without a shepherd. In Matthew, in our passage, in Matthew chapter 15, verses 29 to 39, Jesus performs miraculous signs and they are meaningful. Meaningful, first of all, in that the signs are displayed to both the Jews and the Gentiles. This particular feeding of the 4,000 or this particular area where he's healing and then transitions to the feeding of the 4,000 is actually a second feeding of a great multitude. The first took place on the western side of the Sea of Galilee. just predominantly a Jewish residence. And in this case, Mark tells us that he comes down the eastern side of the Sea of Galilee to the area of Decapolis, which means the area of 10 great cities. And it's predominantly Gentiles. And this is a fulfillment of Isaiah chapter 40, Verses 9 to 11. Let me just read a section of that particular prophecy. You who bring good tidings to Zion. Again, to the Jews, go up on a high mountain. You who bring good tidings to Jerusalem, lift up your voice with a shout. Lift it up and do not be afraid. Say to the towns of Judah, here is your God. Speaking of the Lord Jesus Christ. And to the Gentiles, just flip over to Isaiah chapter 42. Isaiah chapter 42. Verses 5 to 9, let me just read a little section of that, speaking concerning the Lord Jesus Christ. I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness. I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles. To open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison, and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness. So there was a great outpouring of those who heard the news that there was a miracle worker in their midst. It might have been a great mix of Jews and Gentiles. Given the area, it might have been a predominantly Gentile crowd that Jesus was addressing. Well, so they bring in response to this news those in need of healing and they bring them to the feet of Jesus. Verses 29 to 30. I have a sister who sent an email about a month ago, just broke our hearts. She has a granddaughter who has a disease, a very rare disease called malignant infantile osteopetrosis. A rare disease that results in a child having abnormal bones. And she's only like two months old now. There are two types of cells in the bones. There's cells called osteoplasts, and they're the ones that make the new bones. And then there's the osteoclasts. They're the ones that break down and get rid of the old bone. And children that have this rare disease, they lack the osteoclasts to break down and get rid of the old bone. And so there's all kinds of complications, so much so that the infantile form of it is highly fatal without any curative therapy being applied. And if there is no curative therapy applied, then 70% of children with it die by the age of six, and almost 100% do not live to the age of 10 years. Now there's, through bone marrow or stem cell transplant, there is a potential curative therapy for those that have this rare disease. But my point is this, if she knew of a miracle worker, someone who can perform these miraculous signs, would she not, with great hope, wrap up this two-month-old baby and go? a point to be taken that this miraculous signs, those miraculous sign gifts are not for the church of Jesus Christ today. Jesus Christ performed them, as I said earlier, because it authenticated him and his ministry. It was given to the apostolic, uh, the, uh, during the apostolic age of the church to the apostles and the prophets, because in that time, it was a very unique time of, of building the foundation on Christ. But we are building on that completed foundation and so there is no longer the need for these particular sign gifts. But another point, that as you look at my sister and think about her great need, put yourself in the place of the crowd who hear of a miracle worker in their midst who's actually healing people like that. And so there is a great move to meet him and to bring their sick and their disease-ridden relatives and friends at the feet of Jesus, that he might heal them, that he might have compassion upon them. And we see, therefore, that it's not only meaningful in the sense that the signs are displayed for both the Jews and the Gentiles, but meaningful in that the signs are acts of mercy and compassion. Verses 30 to 31, Jesus heals them all. And so the lame, they're walking. The blind, They're seeing. The crippled, they're made well. The mute, they're speaking. And so many others. A very interesting passage is found in Luke's gospel where John the Baptist sends individuals to Jesus to ask him point blank, are you the one who was to come or should we expect someone else? And we have in Luke 7 verse 21, at that very time, Jesus cured many who had diseases, sicknesses, and evil spirits, and gave sight to many who were blind. So he replied to the messengers, go back and report to John what you have seen and heard. The blind receive sight, the lame walk, and those who have leprosy are cured of death here, the dead are raised and the good news is preached to the poor. Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me." Jesus performing these miraculous signs as acts of mercy and compassion. And they are the indication, the authentication of his coming, his coming to save, his coming to bless. The second meaningful act of mercy and compassion is the miraculous work in Jesus feeding all of those that were present, verses 32 to 38. He has compassion on them, seven loaves, a few fish, and He feeds the 4,000. Now that's just the men. We have to add to that number the women and the children. And you notice that seven big baskets full are taken up. So everyone has had their fill of food. Well, thirdly, it's meaningful in that the signs cause the God of Israel to be praised. You notice, uh, how that, uh, there is this, um, this cry from, from the hearts of those who see, uh, these things taking place, uh, and, and the God of Israel is praised. You see verse 31, they were amazed. They were in wonder when they saw all these things. and they praised or they glorified the God of Israel. You notice furthermore that Jesus, when he broke that bread, he gave thanks to his heavenly father. Another act of praise so that the people might know where these blessings came from. There's an interesting reference concerning the triumphal entry where it says the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Peace in heaven and glory in the highest. And Jesus sends them home. but he sends them home full. And I don't mean just full in their tummies, full of food, but food for thought, to connect to scripture, to set the stage for further teaching. And they desperately needed further teaching. John says, furthermore, after the people who followed him because they saw the miraculous signs he had performed on the sick, saw the miraculous sign that Jesus did, that is, the feeding of the 5,000 on the western side. They began to say, surely this is the prophet who is to come into the world. So far they got it right. Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew. It wasn't his way. He knew that he had to go to Jerusalem to lay down his life as an atoning sacrifice for sin, that he might save his people. Well, we move to our second point for this evening, and Jesus addresses the second group. Jesus addresses the unbelieving leaders in Matthew 16. So we find that the signs are meaningful, signaling why Jesus came, that is to fulfill the promise of deliverance, namely from sin. But here we see the signs are moral. The signs are moral, signaling what Jesus brings, blessings. He brings blessings. But we have to include condemnation. for those who remain in their sin, those who refuse to acknowledge that these signs indicate the presence of the one who was foretold. And who's he addressing here? He's addressing the hirelings, John 10. The hireling doesn't care about the flock, only cares for himself, has no care for the sheep whatsoever. And in Matthew 16 verses 1 to 4, we see how that Jesus can be likened to a huge magnet amongst many little magnets. And yeah, I mean, all illustrations break down, but to the degree that we see that there is no neutrality, it works. I mean, if you're, If the magnet is facing the larger magnet, it's attracted to it. It's drawn to it. But once that magnet is turned, it repels. And so there is no neutrality. We're moving. We're either moving toward God in Christ Jesus or we're moving away from God. There is no middle ground here. And we see that the signs are moral in that they uncover unbelieving hearts who reject his authority. The Pharisees and the Sadducees. They are immoral. They are morally bankrupt. They have no moral compass within their characters. They close their eyes to the clear display of God's power in their midst. And they test him furthermore by asking for a sign from heaven. It's just not right, because the evidence is irrefutable. And so they're very disingenuous in coming to Jesus and testing him in this way. Mark says, concerning the same event, that Jesus, as to his humanity, sighed deeply, deep within him, at the unbelief. And you know, it's not, it's not just the Jewish leaders, but the Jewish people as well that Jesus is referring to, uh, in this, in this passage in John chapter 10, for instance, verse 25. Well, I was talking about the unbelief of the Jews. Uh, this is during the feast of dedication at Jerusalem. The Jews gathered around him, verse 24 saying, how long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly. And Jesus answered, I did tell you, but you did not believe. The miracles, the miracles I do in my Father's name speak for me. But you do not believe because you are not my sheep. Verse 31, jump down to verse 31. Again, the Jews picked up stones to stone him. But Jesus said to them, I have shown you many great miracles from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?" And so we see that they are moral. These signs are moral in that they do, they uncover the unbelief in the Jewish nation, in the nation of the Jews. both in the people and in the leaders. Furthermore, it's moral, the signs are moral in that they are to be interpreted as God's blessings to be received. And here, even though there's a question as to whether all the remainder of verse two and all of verse three is to be included, it really doesn't matter because in a parallel passage or in another teaching, it's really teaching precisely the same thing. He says to them, to the Pharisees and the Sadducees who are asking for a sign, when evening comes you say it will be fair weather for the sky is red and in the morning today it will be stormy for the sky is red and overcast. You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times. He's saying, you know, and you think about the hurricane that we had and the hurricane that we had previously. And I've been amazed at when I look at all the models that they make of how they're going to, they see how hurricanes have worked in the past and all the different factors that are brought into play. And they predict fairly accurately the weather because of these established patterns. And Jesus is saying very simply, I mean, there's patterns. And you see the patterns in nature, but you don't see the patterns in the promises of scripture and the fulfillment of scripture. In other words, you don't see me as the fulfillment of these promises in God's holy word. So they're not only moral in that they uncover unbelief in those who reject his authority, they're not only moral in that they are to be interpreted as God's blessings to be received. They are moral in that the signs hold the generation who sees them responsible. They, and to what degree? To a degree that just takes my breath away. For Jesus says in another place, he says, all of the unbelief of those in the Old Testament, I'm gonna take that culpability and I'm gonna put it all on you, on this generation, this wicked and adulterous generation that is some Why? Because here he is. Here is the promised Messiah standing in their midst. There can be no greater culpability amongst mankind. Jesus calls them a wicked. That is, the meaning is a pain and a laborious trouble uh, really meaning the inevitable agonies, the misery that always, uh, is associated with or goes with evil, a wicked and adulterous as those who worship any other than the true God, a wicked and an adulterous generation says, Oh, and such a generation looks for a miraculous sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah. And if you just simply look back to Matthew chapter 12, he speaks of the very thing that he's referring to, the sign of Jonah here, and he likens himself to it in a couple of different aspects, which are very important for our passage. So in Matthew chapter 12, in verse 38, he says, then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, teacher, we want to see a miraculous sign from you. He answered, a wicked and adulterous generation ask for a miraculous sign, but none will be given except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so I will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it for they repented at the preaching of Jonah. And now one greater than Jonah is here. He goes on to talk about the Queen of the South rising up in judgment on this generation as well. What is his point? His point is simply this, that after he dies and is buried and is resurrected, that very same message that they are pushing down and trying to ignore, and they're willingly quenching the heavenly light, will flood, will be like a flood that comes upon them through the proclamation of the gospel. And so Jesus, contrary or just in the opposite way in which he left the crowd full, he leaves them empty. And what a curse that is. So we move now to our third point for this evening, the third group that he addresses his disciples, those that have been with him from the beginning. And we learn as Jesus addresses his disciples who are yet learning, we learn that the signs are mystic. So they're not only meaningful, they're not only moral, but they're mystic, signaling how Jesus is worshiped. that is impurity of teaching, that is through the removal of sin, whether that sin is through our own behavior or false teaching. The primary emphasis here is on false teaching. He's addressing the undershepherds. He's addressing those that will minister to his body in his absence. When we refer to the word mystic, we're referring to that which is spiritually significant. And to put it very simply, Jesus says to them, be careful. Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees. Now let's just break that apart. And we can break that apart in two sections. Be on your guard against, we have to stop. And we say, okay, Jesus is leaving something out here. In other words, what he doesn't say is just as important or maybe more important than what he is saying. He's saying, be on your guard while against, what are they to guard? What are they to guard? And the second part is, yeah, to guard it against. Against what? The yeast of the Pharisees and the Sadducees. So they are to guard what is spiritually significant concerning this miraculous signs. It's Jesus who's performing the miraculous signs. It's Jesus that these signs are authenticating. It's Jesus who is the bread of heaven that you and I, and in our passage, those must partake of. If they are to have that forgiveness of sins and the hope of eternal life, it is mystic in that sense that Jesus is referring to himself as the bread of heaven. John says that Jesus told the crowd who were searching for him, You are looking for me not because you saw miraculous signs, but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the son of man will give you. On him, God the Father has placed his seal of approval. And what is that work that Jesus is referring to? We read in the very next verse, to believe in the one he has sent." And you see how, through belief, the Jews and the Gentiles are united in one body. They are one loaf. Or to put it in another way, the mysteries that are revealed, the mystery of the middle wall of partition being taken down and Jews and Gentiles becoming one in Christ Jesus as the head. And so they are to guard against anything that would take away from a right understanding of this revelation of Jesus Christ for our salvation. They are to guard against the yeast that is the false teaching of the Pharisees and the Sadducees. If we put all the passages that refer to to this warning together. Jesus is warning them against the Pharisees and the Sadducees and Herod. Calvin says this triad is Satan's little workshop. And it's signaling a necessity for a defense of the faith. How important it is then that the under shepherds of the church, even today, stand ready to guard against false teaching. that would undermine the true worship of Jesus Christ. And so that's why Jesus rebukes. He exposes and challenges their pettiness. He rebukes their little faith in failing to see the giver of the bread. I mean, two times now, Jesus has performed this miracle and given bread. And now they're arguing amongst themselves. We don't have any bread. He rebukes their little faith, not only for that reason, but for missing the threat against the bread of life. And so we are to guard the essentials. We are to guard the things of first importance. We are to have catechetical instruction, indoctrination, yes, indoctrination into the truth, indoctrination into the way, indoctrination into the life, that they too may have a living, breathing, saving faith in Christ. And so the question, can you read the signs? is just as relevant today for you and for me. Can you read the signs? Again, if you are under the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ, yes, you can. We see the meaningful, moral, mystic aspects of the signs because we believe. When Thomas was with the disciples, he said, unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my fingers where the nails were and put my hand into his side, I will not believe. And Jesus appears to them. And to Thomas, he says, because you've seen me, you believe. Blessed are those who have not seen. and yet believe. And that's in the very next verse. John says Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written. All these miraculous works of the Lord Jesus Christ are written for what purpose that you may believe. You don't have to see another miraculous sign. It is written, it is recorded that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. Let me just close with 1 Corinthians chapter 5 verses 6 to 8, where Paul is speaking to the church and he's speaking about leaven. And in this context, he's talking about the immoral behavior in the church, but it could be, it's the same principle. It could be likened to false teaching as well that needs to be dealt with. Don't you know that a little yeast works through the whole batch of dough? Get rid of the old yeast. Speaking again of, as he reflects upon the Old Testament, where during the Passover, there was the feast of unleavened bread, where they had to get rid of all the yeast in the house. There could be no trace of yeast, and it was spiritually significant. And here's the application. Get rid of the old yeast that you may be a new batch without yeast as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed, therefore, Let us keep the festival, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and wickedness, but with bread without yeast, the bread of sincerity and truth. Let's join together in prayer. Gracious Heavenly Father, we desire to worship the Lord Jesus Christ this evening. In our hearts, we offer up to you, O Lord, praise, for you are worthy. We ask, O Lord, that you would receive our worship this evening, for we do desire to worship you as you have laid out in your word, in spirit and in truth. We ask that, O Lord, that the significance of the miraculous signs performed by you and by your apostles in the apostolic age of the church may have that same import to us and may impress upon us the reality of who you are and may it strengthen our belief in you. We thank you for your Holy Spirit that you have given so graciously to us and we ask that Christ would be magnified in our hearts for we ask it in his precious name. Amen.