One of the things I learnt when I moved to King’s Lynn is that it always snows during the Mart. And so it has for a good few years, but not this year! That will be a relief for flooded Britain! My wife assures me that “rain before seven, dry by eleven.” That’s not been true in recent months either. A more reliable weather saying is “Red Sky at night, shepherd’s delight. Red sky in the morning shepherd’s warning.” That saying has been around for thousands of years and is a pretty reliable weather indicator (IMHO!)
Jesus even quoted it in Matthew 16. The religious leaders had asked Jesus for a sign from heaven. Jesus replied that although they use the red sky at night saying to interpret the skies, they as a “wicked and adulterous generation” couldn’t interpret the signs of the times. Jesus then refused to give them a miraculous sign, except the sign of Jonah. Why, you may ask? He refused to do a miraculous sign for them, because He knew it wouldn’t help them to repent and believe, they’d just explain it away. But He did say they could have the sign of Jonah.
The sign of Jonah is about two things. The first obvious one is that Jonah was in the big fish for “three days” – a prophetic image that Jesus would die and rise again on the third day. The second is that Jonah was preaching to Nineveh, a non Jewish “wicked and adulterous generation” who actually did repent and believe. In the coming days Jesus would die and rise again and lots of non Jews would repent and believe – a sign of Jonah!
Our generation is no different from any other. We love talking about the weather and saying red sky at night… And we are just as wicked and adulterous generation as any other. Jesus died on the cross and rose again, so we can be forgiven and enjoy a guilt free, shame free relationship with God. So will you be part of the sign of Jonah and believe in Him?
Andy Moyle, The Gateway Church