Proof Positive
Read Matthew 16:1–18:35
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5. After they crossed to the other side of the lake, the disciples discovered they had forgotten to bring any bread.
6. “Watch out!” Jesus warned them. “Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”
7. At this they began to argue with each other because they hadn’t brought any bread.
8. Jesus knew what they were saying, so he said, “You have so little faith! Why are you arguing . . . about having no bread?
9. Don’t . . . you remember the 5,000 I fed with five loaves, and the baskets of leftovers you picked up?
10. Or the 4,000 I fed with seven loaves, and the large baskets of leftovers you picked up?
11. Why can’t you understand that I’m not talking about bread?” . . .
12. Then at last they understood that he wasn’t speaking about the yeast in bread, but about the deceptive teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees. Matthew 16:5-12
Many people set standards of behavior for God as a condition for their faith. “If God would just solve this one problem for me, I’d have no trouble believing.” Usually it involves some kind of miraculous appearance or deed.
Many people have set such conditions for God, but few have tried harder than the Pharisees and Sadducees. We see how they make their demands for a miracle quite plain to Jesus. But Jesus, just as plainly, declines and leaves them in the dust of their doubt.
Believers and nonbelievers become harder to label in this passage. As the disciples pledge their belief in Jesus, they can’t cope with his predictions of his death, and they even squabble over who will be the greatest in his kingdom. As you read, ask yourself, “What kind of proof would convince me of Christ’s divinity?”
Miracles never convince skeptical people. They have already committed themselves to disbelief. One more miracle would only compel them to explain it away. Today, many people demand proof of God’s existence or power, but their demands mask the real issue—that they have already chosen not to believe in God. Until we believe that God can do miracles, we won’t even entertain the possibility that something we saw was a miracle.
If you doubt Christ because you haven’t “seen a miracle,” ask whether a bona fide miracle would really convince you or just entrench your skepticism. Jesus said, “Blessed are those who believe without seeing me” (John 20:29). Seeing God’s work in your life begins when you simply step forward in faith and believe in Jesus as God’s Son and as the only way of salvation.
