Signs and wonders

   One of my favorite passages from the Bible is the sermon on the mount. Every time I come back to it, I discover something new there, thoughts that didn't come to my mind before. My interest in this sermon grew even more when I noticed a statement by Ellen White who wrote something very interesting about this sermon.

   “In the Sermon on the Mount He sought to undo the work that had been wrought by false education, and to give His hearers a right conception of His kingdom and of His own character (…) The truths He taught are no less important to us than to the multitude that followed Him. We no less than they need to learn the foundation principles of the kingdom of God” (DA 299.3)

   We know that the Jews had a wrong conception of God's Kingdom, and they didn’t know the character of God well because they ascribed certain qualities to Him that God doesn’t have. Nor did they properly understand the mission of the Messiah. However, today we know about these errors, we know what the Jews didn’t understand.

   However, Ellen White wrote that we need proper knowledge no less than the Jews. Could this mean that, despite all our knowledge, we make similar mistakes? Is it possible that although we consider ourselves to be well acquainted with God's Word, we really don’t understand 'the foundation principles of the kingdom of God'? Why did Ellen White write this warning, because I think we should consider this passage as a warning.

   If this is a warning, what should we do about it? And what is God doing to help us solve this problem?

 

“Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe” John 4:48

 

   How can a person believe in God? To answer this question, we must first answer another question - what does it mean to believe? This is not just what we can consider as academic considerations. It is a matter of life or death. Jesus told Nicodemus: „For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God” (John 3:17-18).

   When Jesus returned from Judea to Galilee and came to Cana of Galilee, a certain nobleman from Capernaum came to Jesus for help in saving his dying son.

   So Jesus came again to Cana of Galilee where He had made the water wine. And there was a certain nobleman whose son was sick at Capernaum. When he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee, he went to Him and implored Him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death. Then Jesus said to him, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe”. The nobleman said to Him, “Sir, come down before my child dies!”. Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your son lives”. So the man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and he went his way. And as he was now going down, his servants met him and told him, saying, “Your son lives!”. Then he inquired of them the hour when he got better. And they said to him, “Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.” So the father knew that it was at the same hour in which Jesus said to him, “Your son lives.” And he himself believed, and his whole household (John 4:46-53)

   What did this nobleman believe when he came to Jesus? What did this man believe when Jesus told him "Go your way; your son lives" and what did he believe when he returned to his home? It appears in this story that his faith changed twice. The first change came when Jesus told him, "Go your way; your son lives" and then this man “believed the word that Jesus spoke to him". A father looking for help for his sick son believed, that his son would live. He believed what he heard from Jesus. Yet another change in his faith had to take place. For this change to take place, he had to see a sign or a miracle, because Jesus said, "Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe". And when, after returning home, he saw such a miracle, when he saw his son alive, then "he himself believed, and his whole household". After this change, he not only believed what Jesus said, but he believed in Jesus, who from then on was for him not only a teacher and prophet, but God's Son, the promised Messiah. The nobleman and his family believed "in the name of the only begotten Son of God". It is more than accepting the fact that Jesus is God, because for many people it is an obvious fact, and yet many of them will hear from Jesus that he never knew them.

   Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness! (Matthew 7:21-23)

   Also, believing "in the name of the only begotten Son of God" does not mean knowing some mysterious name that is the key that unlocks the door to the kingdom of heaven. The name in the Hebrew culture indicates the character of man, so to believe "in the name of the only begotten Son of God" is to believe what God is like, what character He has. To believe is not only to gain knowledge of the character of God, but also to feel the presence of God and recognize His action in the changes of your character. We all know that God is love, but have you personally felt the action of this love in your life? Have you felt that you are loved by God? Do you see how your life changes under the influence of this love?

   Jesus said: "Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe". Everyone is born with a sinful nature that becomes very easily attached to sin. The sinful nature doesn’t like to think badly of itself, it does not like to see its own faults. Sinful nature likes to see flaws in other people, the same flaws that it doesn’t see in itself and thus, by comparing with other people, raise its own self-esteem. This is how a certain Pharisee looked at himself when he was praying to God:

   „God, I thank You that I am not like other men—extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess” (Luke 18:11-12)

   How many people think on the same way about themselves? They compare themselves with other people to emphasize their virtues and be pleased to say that they don’t have the same faults as other people, thus reassuring themselves that they are Christians. How many of us think alike?

   Meanwhile, the tax collector didn’t pay attention to others, he saw only God. And when he saw the beauty and perfection of God, he saw his own character as " a filthy garment" (Isaiah 64:6) and was only able to do one thing: "And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’" (Luke 18:13).

   Was this man born with such conviction? Had he thought of himself that way since he was born? What happened that one day he stopped enjoying his life so far, started to see his flaws, he stopped trusting himself and started to trust God? Jesus said, "Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe". We all know about the miracles Jesus performed:

   He turned water into wine, healed a man who had been blind from birth, healed a leper, brought Jairus' daughter back to life, and finally gave the greatest proof of his relationship with the Father by bringing Lazarus back to life, a man who lay dead in the tomb for four days.

   Let's look at that last scene.

„And many of the Jews had joined the women around Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother (…) Then many of the Jews who had come to Mary, and had seen the things Jesus did, believed in Him. But some of them went away to the Pharisees and told them the things Jesus did” (John 11:19.45-46).

   What do you think when you look at what happened after this miracle? Perhaps you are asking yourself: How is it possible that this miracle did not convince everyone that Jesus is the Son of God and the Messiah and to confess it? Yet this miracle did not convince everyone. The same Jews who wished to stone Jesus before for blasphemy, didn’t even try to repeat the arguments, they had used before, arguments which, according to them, proved that Jesus was not the Messiah and the Son of God. They themselves no longer believed what they had said and yet didn’t want to admit it. They didn’t want to or could not break the internal resistance that made them oppose Jesus. They had stopped being slaves of sin and had become household members in the house of sin, so now, desperately looking for a way out, they accepted another idea from Satan and decided to kill Jesus to save the nation. They were not denying the divinity of Jesus at this point, no longer claiming that He was not the Messiah, they were just ignoring what was the obvious and logical conclusion from bringing Lazarus back to life. They wanted to kill Jesus, and since they could not use the previous arguments to condemn Him to death, they eagerly used another one that allowed them to show themselves as defenders of the nation. Jesus performed this miracle by giving the Jewish leaders a chance to be converted, although He knew they would not take this chance. He foretold this by telling the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, at the end of which he said, "If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead" (Luke 16:31). What could convince those who, seeing this greatest miracle performed by Jesus, still wanted kill Jesus? Has God done everything possible to save them?

   Jesus spoke about how miracles affect our faith, but He also spoke about signs. What signs were shown to Jewish leaders that they might believe "in the name of the only begotten Son of God"?

 

   Alfred Edersheim (7 March 1825 – 16 March 1889) was a Jewish convert to Christianity and a prominent Biblical scholar known especially for his book “The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah” (1883). In his work on the time of Jesus, he listed 456 Old Testament predictions, fulfilled by the Master of Nazareth, and their messianic reference is not only a Christian interpretation, since Edersheim took into account only prophecies considered to be messianic by ancient rabbinical sources.

   Jesus told the members of the Sanhedrin: “You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me”(John 5:39). Every place in the Old Testament that says something about the Messiah should be a sign for them to show that Jesus is the Messiah and the Son of God. However, the Jews ignored these signs (at least 456 signs !!!) and this act led them to fight openly against God.

    From the beginning of the world, God has used signs to help people see the Truth. What Truth has God been revealing to mankind for six thousand years? Is it not the truth that Satan has been trying to hide from us for six thousand years? What is this Truth?

 

   First, the truth about God, the truth that God is a God of love and that love is the foundation of God's kingdom. It was not God who created sin, sin was, is and will always be a conscious choice of beings created by God, because He gave them free will.

   Secondly, the truth about us, the truth about who we are when we live in separation from God, and who we can be when we live in unity with our Creator.

   Finally, third, the truth about what sin is and how sin changes the world, and most of all us.

 

   What do we do with the truth that God reveals to us through signs and wonders? Free will is a possibility of choice, and you can choose only one of the two options. You can accept or reject the truth.

 

   What does it mean to accept the Truth? By his life on earth, Jesus showed what it means to accept the truth. Everyone, who has accepted the Truth, lives the life that Jesus did. Such a person thinks and feels like Jesus, loves what Jesus loves and does what Jesus would do in his place. He says what Jesus would say. Finally, he looks at the world and people as Jesus does. Such a man can say about himself what the apostle Paul once said: "it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me" (Galatians 2:20). Such a person does not do in his life what Jesus would never do. Such a person doesn’t feel what Jesus doesn’t. There is no room for any negative emotions and feelings in his life, because it is no longer he who lives, but Christ lives in him.

Ellen White wrote:

   „Many take it for granted that they are Christians, simply because they subscribe to certain theological tenets. But they have not brought the truth into practical life. They have not believed and loved it, therefore they have not received the power and grace that come through sanctification of the truth. Men may profess faith in the truth; but if it does not make them sincere, kind, patient, forbearing, heavenly-minded, it is a curse to its possessors, and through their influence it is a curse to the world.” (DA 309.3)

 

   We live in an end time. Jesus said about these times:

   For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect (Matthew 24:24)

   Who is going to be deceived by these false prophets and false messiahs? Maybe those who don’t know the doctrines and the correct interpretation of prophecy? Perhaps such people will also be deceived, but, most of all, all those who previously ignored the signs through which God tried to reveal them the Truth. These were not great signs, related to dramatic events. It is all about such little signs showing them, that in making small, seemingly insignificant, yet bad decisions; these people were guided by the wrong spirit. They didn’t want to accept the fact that there were defects in their characters that needed to be removed. They ignored those situations in which they were overwhelmed by negative emotions, like envy, aggression, lust, revenge, anger, jealousy or hostility. Their selfish ego didn’t want to admit that such traits were proof, that they were slaves to sin and should not be called Christians and had no chance of salvation in that state.

   In the sermon on the mount, Jesus said:

   Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. (Matthew 5:3-8).

   This is only part of what Jesus said then, but let's see from this passage who will be on the wrong side.

 

   “Blessed are poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven”

To whom will the kingdom of heaven not belong?

   To those who do not consider themselves poor in spirit. Who is the opposite of the poor? Rich. "Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’" (Revelation 3:17). It is anyone who doesn’t see his own worthlessness, anyone who doesn’t see his faults or doesn’t consider them important, but sees many important advantages in his character. Isaiah tells such people: "all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags" (Isaiah 64:6). The apostle Paul tells them: “There is none righteous, no, not one. There is none who understands; there is none who seeks after God. They have all turned aside; they have together become unprofitable; there is none who does good, no, not one. Their throat is an open tomb; with their tongues they have practiced deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips; whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood; destruction and misery are in their ways; and the way of peace they have not known. There is no fear of God before their eyes”(Romans 3: 11-18). The poor in spirit is one who knows perfectly well that he has nothing in him that has any spiritual value. It is impossible to be poor and not know it, but it is possible that the poor don’t want to see their poverty. Man may live under illusions and don’t want to see the truth about himself, which doesn’t mean that it is invisible to him.

 

   “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted”

Who shall be not comforted?

   Each of us knows what it means to be sad. When we are faced with unpleasantness, unhappiness and misfortune, we are sad because we feel that what has happened to us is not fair. We feel sad when we lose something we are attached to. However, it was not that kind of sadness that Jesus said. True sadness has two sources.

   First, awareness of what our sins have led to. The fact that Jesus gave up his position in Heaven, became a man, and was persecuted, and finally killed on the cross was the result of our sins. It was the only way to save us. Do we feel sad when we think about it? Are you sad when you see someone you love is suffering? And isn't your sadness greater when you are aware that you have contributed to these sufferings? And if we are Christians and we love Jesus, what should we feel, when we think about our sins?

   The second source of true sadness is knowing what awaits most of the people who live close to us. And most of the people living close to us are walking along the broad road leading to destruction, to eternal and irreversible death. Are you sad, when you can see those, who you love are dying? Is your grief greater because those you love don't know they are dying? Many of them not only do not know, but do not want to see it, and the worst part is that they reject the only help that can save them from death - they reject God's love. Only because they value the pleasures of sin higher. And if we are Christians and we love our neighbors, what should we feel, when we think about them?

   What are the two greatest commandments?

   “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:37-39).

   The first sadness leads to rejection of sin, the second leads to work to save people. Whoever does not feel even one of these two, he shall be not comforted.

 

   “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth”

Who shall not inherit the earth?

   Who are the meek? The word 'meek', which Jesus used in his sermon on the mount, is used in the Bible to describe the character of Moses. "Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth" (Numbers 12:3). The meek are those who have the character of Moses. The character of Moses, in turn, reflected the character of God. This was the character that God revealed to Moses when Moses asked God: "Please, show me Your glory" (Exodus 33:18). Then God passed Moses hidden in the rock cleft, and Moses, seeing what he could see, exclaimed with joy and praise:

   “The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children to the third and the fourth generation” (Exodus 34:6-7).

   Moses revealed the character of God with his life, but full revelation came only thanks to Jesus, who fully revealed the truth about God's character. The meek are those who allowed God to mold their characters according to God's pattern. No one without this character 'shall inherit the earth’, which means he will not be saved. One cannot possess the earth if possesses such character traits that are contrary to the character of Jesus.

   „If we possess the humility of our Master, we shall rise above the slights, the rebuffs, the annoyances, to which we are daily exposed, and they will cease to cast a gloom over the spirit. The highest evidence of nobility in a Christian is self-control. He who under abuse or cruelty fails to maintain a calm and trustful spirit robs God of His right to reveal in him His own perfection of character. Lowliness of heart is the strength that gives victory to the followers of Christ; it is the token of their connection with the courts above” (DA 301.3).

 

  “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled”

Who shall not be filled?

   Do you know anyone who has never been thirsty or hungry? You feel hungry because your body tells you that you are lacking in energy. The longer this state of energy deficit lasts, the more hungry we are. The body informs us about water deficit much faster. It is enough for you to spend a few hours in the sun on a hot day to feel thirsty and want to drink anything. What do we think about then? Can you be hungry and thirsty and at the same time think about something else like eating and drinking? In such a situation, going to a concert at the Philharmonic seems attractive? Or maybe in such a state it is easier for us to conduct some scientific considerations? I think that every thought is then related to the satisfaction of hunger and thirst. Is this the way we think about justice? Is it the most desirable state for us? For a man who finds himself in the middle of a desert in the middle of a hot day, without water and food, is hunger and thirst what does not bother him? Or maybe he really wants to be as far from this place as possible, and never feel hungry or thirsty again? Isn't it that the most important thing in such a situation is to be ‘filled’?

   „The sense of unworthiness will lead the heart to hunger and thirst for righteousness, and this desire will not be disappointed. Those who make room in their hearts for Jesus will realize His love. All who long to bear the likeness of the character of God shall be satisfied” (DA 302). For this to happen, a person must first start to realize that he is in the middle of a spiritual desert and cannot help himself, and then desire this help that he can only receive from God. Those who don’t feel their spiritual poverty in this way, will not be ‘filled’.

 

   “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy”

Who shall not obtain mercy?

   What is mercy? It is an active form of compassion, expressed in a concrete action of giving selfless help. Compassion occurs when a person sees someone who is unhappy for some reason and begins to feel similar pain himself. It is then that the desire and the need to provide disinterested help appears, and this is mercy.

   Before Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, he spoke to Mary and asked her:

„’Where have you laid him?’. They said to Him, ‘Lord, come and see’. Jesus wept” (John 11:34-35)

   Another scene.

Jesus and his disciples went to the town of Nain.

   „And when He came near the gate of the city, behold, a dead man was being carried out, the only son of his mother; and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the city was with her. When the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her and said to her, ‘Do not weep’” (Luke 7:12-13)

   Describing the scene, Ellen White wrote: „Jesus was about to change her grief to joy, yet He could not forbear this expression of tender sympathy” (DA 318.3).

   Who among us would not have acted the same as Jesus in such situations? Yet Jesus' compassion was not only related to those who were his friends or the innocent victims of some calamity.

   Another scene.

Jesus' last journey to Jerusalem. When Jesus and the crowd following him went up the hill overlooking the city, he stopped. People looked at the city with admiration. Ellen White described it like this: „ Jesus gazes upon the scene, and the vast multitude hush their shouts, spellbound by the sudden vision of beauty. All eyes turn upon the Saviour, expecting to see in His countenance the admiration they themselves feel. But instead of this they behold a cloud of sorrow. They are surprised and disappointed to see His eyes fill with tears, and His body rock to and fro like a tree before the tempest, while a wail of anguish bursts from His quivering lips, as if from the depths of a broken heart (…) The tears of Jesus were not in anticipation of His own suffering (…) Yet it was not because of these reminders of His cruel death that the Redeemer wept and groaned in anguish of spirit. His was no selfish sorrow. The thought of His own agony did not intimidate that noble, self-sacrificing soul. It was the sight of Jerusalem that pierced the heart of Jesus—Jerusalem that had rejected the Son of God and scorned His love, that refused to be convinced by His mighty miracles, and was about to take His life” (DA 575.3-576.1).

   Showing compassion to those we love or to those who are not victims of their own mistakes is not really a big deal. However, Jesus felt sorry for those who wanted to kill Him.

   Who will not receive mercy? Maybe the one who cannot sympathize with his enemy?

„Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you” (Matthew 5:44).

   Jesus sees the helpless victim of sin in every human being, He sympathizes with him and does everything to help him. Whoever does not look at people in this way will not receive mercy, because he doesn’t know what mercy is.

 

   “Blessed are pure in heart, for they shall see God”

Who shall not see God?

   Jesus' words, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God", have two meanings. The first is related to our life here and now, because we can see God in our hearts now. The second meaning says about future, about eternal life in the presence of God.

   Here and now we can see God through the eyes of the heart. However, in order to see Him and see what God really is, what character He has, man must have a pure heart. Ellen White: „Every impure thought defiles the soul, impairs the moral sense, and tends to obliterate the impressions of the Holy Spirit. It dims the spiritual vision, so that men cannot behold God (…) All impurity of speech or of thought must be shunned by him who would have clear discernment of spiritual truth (…) Selfishness prevents us from beholding God. The self-seeking spirit judges of God as altogether such a one as itself. Until we have renounced this, we cannot understand Him who is love. Only the unselfish heart, the humble and trustful spirit, shall see God as “merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth.”” (DA 302.2-3).

   Who cannot see God here and now, and who shall not see Him personally in the kingdom of heaven?

 

   Do I feel poor in spirit? Am I sad because my sins hurt God? Am I sad because I see people dying spiritually? Is my character flawless? Is a life without sin my desire? Am I merciful to others? Is my heart pure?

 

   Now let's try to look at ourselves as God sees us. God is love. What can God feel when He is looking us?

   What can a father feel when he watches his beloved child, and his child do everything to destroy his life? What happens to the heart of a father, who sees his beloved child rejecting the possibility of saving his life just because the child is convinced that he knows better what is good for him? Just because he likes and loves what actually leads to death?

   Isn't such a father's heart full of pain? Does such a child break his father's heart? What does a loving father think when his child ignores his advices or replies that he knows better and wants the father not to tell him what the child doesn’t want to hear?

   Doesn't such a father feel helpless? Is he wondering what else he can do to save his child?

   Our every sin, every rejection of God's love, even in the smallest matter, severely wounds the heart of our God. Are we aware of this? Do we realize that our every sin again nails Jesus to the cross?

   The apostle Paul said that those who "were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God", yet turned away from the truth they had known, they "crucify again the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame" (Hebrew 6:4-6).

   God is watching us and when He sees those who have loved Him with all their hearts and have turned away from what is bad, He feels great joy in His heart. However, when he sees those who ignore his signs and reject His love, He feels great pain and despair. God feels what King David felt when he learned of the death of his son Absalom. David did everything to save his son. Even though Absalom wanted to have his father killed, David commanded his commanders, "Deal gently for my sake with the young man Absalom" (2 Samuel 18:5). And when Absalom was killed against that command, David's despair was great. „Then the king was deeply moved, and went up to the chamber over the gate, and wept. And as he went, he said thus: “O my son Absalom—my son, my son Absalom—if only I had died in your place! O Absalom my son, my son!”” (2 Samuel 18:33).

   „Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends” (John 15:13).

   God, if He could, would have given His life to save us, but it is impossible, so God has revealed to us His willingness to sacrifice Himself for us by giving us His Son who, as a man, gave His life to move our petrified hearts, to shake us so that our eyes are opened and we finally see the truth, the truth about God who loves us, the truth about ourselves and the truth about sin. He did it to give us a chance to love Him, to reject selfishness and self-confidence, and to completely reject sin, which destroys everything that God tries to save. Does knowing what sin really is and what sin has led us to don’t touch our hearts?

   „Real sorrow for sin is the result of the working of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit reveals the ingratitude of the heart, that has slighted and grieved the Saviour, and brings us in contrition to the foot of the cross. By every sin Jesus is wounded afresh; and as we look upon Him whom we have pierced, we mourn for the sins that have brought anguish upon Him. Such mourning will lead to the renunciation of sin” (DA 300)

   What a wonderful and great God we have. We don’t deserve His favors and mercy, we do so much to hurt and trample His love, and yet He doesn’t reject us and does everything to save us. The faithfulness of our God is great and we are unable to encompass it. How many more signs and wonders does God have to reveal to us in order for us to finally fully accept into our hearts the truth about God, the truth about us, and the truth about sin?

   How many more?