Mark 8:11-13

Mark 8:11-13

The Pharisees came forward and began to argue with Jesus,

seeking from him a sign from heaven to test him.

He sighed from the depth of his spirit and said,

“Why does this generation seek a sign?

Amen, I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation.”

Then he left them, got into the boat again,

and went off to the other shore.

Opening Prayer: Lord God, I never want to test you or demand a sign. I know that you permit me to be tested, and these trials and temptations in this life are opportunities for me to purify my love for you. I choose you, the holiness of your Name, the coming of your Kingdom, and the accomplishment of your Will. 

Encountering the Word of God

1. Breaking Down Barriers: Jesus’ mighty works in the Gospel of Mark were not only acts of mercy toward the sick, the suffering, and the possessed, and signs that the age of salvation had come, but they were also demonstrations of his divine power and invitations to believe that he was the Son of God. He just demonstrated his divine power by multiplying bread for thousands of people and by walking on the water. Despite these mighty works, however, the Pharisees persisted in their refusal to believe in Jesus. In the Gospel, the Pharisees came forward and argued with Jesus. They have been against Jesus from the very beginning (Mark 2:1-3:6). The most recent conflict was an argument about the human traditions they added to the Law of Moses. The Pharisees, it seemed, wanted to strengthen and create more barriers between Israel and the Gentiles. But much of what Jesus has done in this “Bread Section” of Mark’s Gospel is to begin to break down the barriers that separated the people of Israel from the Gentiles. Jesus will soon establish the New Covenant at the Last Supper and on the Cross. And this New Covenant will welcome people from all nations into the family of God. The Pharisees, however, were resisting this New Covenant. They preferred the old wine of the Old Covenant.

2. Two Ways: Instead of humbly seeking to learn from Jesus, to follow him, and to be open to bringing the Gentiles into a New Covenant, the Pharisees sought only to test Jesus and demanded a heavenly sign from him. Just as the devil tested and tempted Jesus in the desert (Mark 1:13), the Pharisees tested and tempted Jesus. They acted as if Jesus hadn’t performed any heavenly signs. But Jesus has been performing mighty works throughout his entire public ministry: healing the sick, the deaf, and the blind, exorcising demons, restoring the dead to life, walking on water, and multiplying bread for the crowds. The fact that the Pharisees want yet another sign is evidence that no matter what Jesus did and how many signs he performed, many of the Pharisees would continue to refuse to believe in him and change their ways. From the beginning, John the Baptist and Jesus invited the people to a change in mindset, to a metanoia or conversion. But many of the Pharisees resisted this invitation. In a sense, there are two opposing ways in the first part of Mark’s Gospel: the way of the Pharisees and the way of Jesus. The way of the Pharisees is the way of puffed-up self-righteousness and does not lead to eternal life. The way of Jesus and the way of Christian discipleship, by contrast, are the way of humble suffering that leads to heavenly glory.

3. Signs and Faith: Today’s Gospel narrates the last encounter of Jesus in Galilee. It brings his ministry in Galilee to a conclusion. This ministry ends not in triumph, but in a confrontation between the Pharisees and Jesus about heavenly signs. In John’s Gospel, Jesus’ signs are narrated to bring about faith (John 20:31). Mark’s Gospel, by contrast, emphasizes the need to believe before seeing signs. These two views of John and Mark are not contradictions. On the one hand, the narration of Jesus’ mighty works can be motives of credibility. And they have a similar function in Mark’s Gospel, which narrates Jesus doing divine things. This invites the reader or listener to ponder the question: “Who is this?” On the other hand, we are encouraged to have faith even before we see miraculous signs or God at work in our lives. Miracles can motivate our faith and even confirm our faith. Today, we hear Jesus’ human frustration with the Pharisees as he sighs deeply before announcing that no further sign will be given to them. The Pharisees are “demanding a sign as justification to have faith, but in Mark’s Gospel, only those whose prior persistent faith brings them into Jesus’s presence see signs and wonders. In fact, it’s true to Scripture and human experience that seeing signs and wonders seldom leads to lasting conversion” (Huizenga, Loosing the Lion, 188). Many, like the Pharisees, who saw Jesus’ mighty works, did not believe. What will the response of Jesus’s disciples be? Will they, on the way to Jerusalem (Mark 8:22-10:52), slowly come to believe in Jesus?

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, you have demonstrated your perfect love. I do not need a sign from heaven from you to convince me that you are the Son of God. I believe in you, but help my unbelief.

Living the Word of God: Am I more like the Pharisees who argue with Jesus or like the disciples who follow Jesus?