A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. And he left them, and departed.

– Matthew 16:4

Thoughts on Today’s Verse…

Why did the Lord Jesus leave the Pharisees? Because their views of belief in God were incorrect. Their belief in God was not for knowing God but for beholding signs and wonders. They believed that the Lord should have a dignified appearance and be born in a palace; but the Lord appeared as an ordinary image. They believed that when the Lord came His name should be Messiah; but the Lord’s name was Jesus. On account of their incorrect views of belief in God, they didn’t accept the fact that the Lord Jesus is God, and even nailed Him to the cross. As a result, they were cursed by God. Reflecting on ourselves, are our views of belief in God correct and what should we pursue in our belief? God’s words say, “No lesson is more profound than the lesson of loving God, and it can be said that the lesson that people learn from a lifetime of belief is how to love God. Which is to say, if you believe in God you must love God. If you only believe in God but do not love Him, have not attained the knowledge of God, and have never loved God with a true love that comes from within your heart, then your belief in God is futile; if, in your belief in God, you do not love God, then you live in vain, and your entire life is the most lowly of all lives. If, throughout your whole life, you have never loved or satisfied God, then what is the point of you living? And what is the point of your belief in God? Isn’t that a waste of effort?” His words tell us that believing in God is to know and love Him. Only such life is valuable and meaningful, and the purpose of a believer of God. Peter pursued to know and satisfy God during his lifetime. Anything in his life that did not satisfy God made him feel remorseful, and he would satisfy God next time. Due to such correct view of belief in God, he came to have greater knowledge of God than any other through the ages. And also, he was the one who was most blessed by God.