Weather Predictions

People had difficulty figuring out Jesus. Nicodemus’s puzzle gives an example: “You must be from God because no one can do the miracles you do” (John 3:2); at the same time, for Nicodemus, Jesus didn’t typify a normal religious leader like him or a political ruler like the Maccabeus.

Nearly a hundred and fifty years earlier than Jesus, a wicked Greek ruler, Antiochus Epiphanes, profaned Jerusalem Temple by offering a pig on the altar. When his minion tried to do the same at a smaller altar in a neighboring village, the priest killed that minion. Fearing the wrath of Antiochus Epiphanes, that priest – Matthathias – and his five sons fled to a forest. But the people joined them and started the Maccabean war, resulting in that priestly family ruling the Hebrews for nearly 100 years until Herod the Great, an Idumean.

Jesus didn’t resemble a religious leader like Nicodemus nor a political leader like one of the Maccabees. Yet, he was powerful. He healed, chased away demons, raised the dead, and commanded the creation to do what he wanted. The people couldn’t understand; they were puzzled.

The Lord Jesus challenged them with an example from their daily living and wisdom.

“When you see clouds gathering from the west, you accurately say, ‘It will rain.’ And it will. Likewise, when you see southerly winds blow, you say, ‘It will be warm today,’ and it will be.” (Luke 12:54–55)

The Mediterranean Sea lay west of the Jerusalemites and the Galileans. As they saw dark and thick clouds arising from the sea, they knew they would have rain. They were accurate. Similarly, the Sinai Peninsula, primarily a desert, lay to their south. They knew they were in for hot and dusty days when dust clouds gathered and blew towards them. They were accurate. They could see the weather and predict their climate.

While they were competent in determining natural situations, they weren’t about spiritual matters. Jesus said,

“Under-estimators (upo-kritis), you know how to determine the faces of the earth and heaven, but you are unable to determine the events of this time.” (12:56)

The word upo-kritis is often translated in English as “hypocrites,” giving the impression they were pretenders. But in Greek, it is a combination of two words – upo “under” and kritis “judge” (coming from krino “to judge”), meaning someone who knew what was right to do and yet didn’t do it. In this case, for someone who underestimated the value of the signs and wonders that s/he saw Jesus perform. They should have known that God was at work (as did Nicodemus), just as they predicted the weather based on clouds or sandstorms. But they didn’t.

The Lord Jesus cautioned the crowd with these words because he wanted them to see him for who he was and follow and obey him. Many did.

We are lucky to be born after the apostles’ time to know these truths. As such, we shouldn’t let doubts or culture make us question who Jesus was and is.