There Is Still Hope!
Matthew 16:1-12

1. Additional Signs Aren’t Always Given to Those Who Refuse to See. (Matthew 16:1-4a)

a. Their Opposition is Seen in their Partnerships (Matthew 16:1, Psalm 78:40-41, Matthew 4:7)

Psalm 78:40-41, How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness and grieved him in the desert. They constantly tested God and provoked the Holy One of Israel.

Matthew 4:7, Jesus told him, “It is also written: Do not test the Lord your God.”

b. and in Their Ability to Discern Natural Signs (Matthew 16:2-3).

c. Their Judgment is Upon Them. (Matthew 16:4b, Romans 1:18-20, Matthew 7:6)

Romans 1:18-20, For God’s wrath is revealed from heaven against all godlessness and unrighteousness of people who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth, since what can be known about God is evident among them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, that is, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen since the creation of the world, being understood through what he has made. As a result, people are without excuse.

Matthew 7:6, Don’t give what is holy to dogs or toss your pearls before pigs, or they will trample them under their feet, turn, and tear you to pieces.

2. God’s Grace Abounds! (Matthew 16:4b-12)

a. For the Non-Believer in the Sign of Jonah. (Matthew 16:4b, Jonah 4:1-2)

Jonah 4:1-2, Jonah was greatly displeased and became furious. He prayed to the LORD: “Please, LORD, isn’t this what I thought while I was still in my own country? That’s why I fled toward Tarshish in the first place. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger, abounding in faithful love, and one who relents from sending disaster.

b. For the Believer in Wisdom. (Matthew 16:8-11, James 1:5)

James 1:5, Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God—who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly—and it will be given to him.