Hi everyone. Welcome back to the podcast
again. Today, we're looking at a short
passage, But continuing the gospel of Mark.
So Mark chapter 8 verse 11 to 13 The Pharisees came up and
started a discussion with Jesus. They demanded of him a sign from
Heaven to test him. And with a sign that came
straight from the heart. He said, why does this
generation demand a sign? I tell you solemnly, no sign
shall be given to this generation.
And leaving them again, Andre embarking.
He went away to the opposite Shore. so the last time we heard
from Jesus, He fed the 4000 that was the last thing that happened
in the gospel of Mark. It appears that some time has
passed since then. So, Marcus skipped ahead a
little bit in time. Now the Pharisees come up and
start a discussion with Jesus, so remember the Pharisees are
the popular Jewish leaders of the Common, Man, it appears that
they did have legitimate religious Authority from God.
They did sit on Moses seat and they could make laws and
restrictions Etc, that were binding on the do.
People. So they were exercising a
legitimate religious Authority. The problem was they were wrong
about a lot of things and a lot of the things that were saying,
were not God's intention for the people.
So, these Pharisees could be the ones from Galilee or they could
be sort of higher ranking ones from Jerusalem.
The text doesn't tell us. So they start a discussion with
Jesus or another translation is they began to argue with him.
So clearly their intent here is hostile.
It's not a legitimate question. They're asking, which they do
sometimes hear. They're setting out to argue
with him straight away. Notice their approach here is
quite different from the approach that we've had in
recent times in Mark. So we've had the syrophoenician
woman and the deaf-mute person both approaching Jesus in faith.
And here, the Pharisees approach with unbelief And they demand of
him a sign from Heaven to test him.
So the thinking is probably something like this.
If you really are a messenger of God, perform an amazing sign
from Heaven, that proves it. So now they don't believe is
from God and so they don't think he's going to be able to do it.
So why would they say this? Jesus has already been doing
miraculous signs and you think that that would be enough?
What they want is something blindingly obvious there,
couldn't possibly be resisted like an on-the-spot miraculous
Cosmic phenomenon. But that's not how God or Jesus
works. And this is, I think this
principle still applies today. God never does something a
miracle that's going to coerce people to believe in him.
He only does Miracles that in some sense, cooperate with
faith. He never does this coercive
magicians, kind of miracle. There's another aspect of this
which could be that. They're just being lazy, perhaps
they perceive that if Jesus is, right?
They would have to put their trust in him and change their
life and have kind of a go on a religious Journey with him and
really kind of make some sacrifices if what Jesus is
saying is, right? So, what they kind of saying is
force us to believe, so that we don't have to put our trust in
you or change your hearts. So, they're taking the easy
Road. They're saying, come on, Jesus.
Give us a sign. That will overwhelm us so that
we have to believe. And so they're kind of being
lazy and making Jesus do all the work for them in a sense.
So, all of this is quite reminiscent of numbers 14:11 in
the Old Testament where the people have been complaining and
been quite difficult. The Israelites are being
difficult in the desert. And God says, this is from God's
own mouth. He says, how long will this
people spurn me? How long were they refuse to
believe in me? Despite all the signs?
I have performed among them. And that's seems pretty similar
to this situation here with Jesus and the Pharisees.
Versed W 12 with a sigh that came from his heart.
And that's quite a beautiful translation.
Another translation, is he sighed deeply in his spirit.
So Jesus here has a deep sigh and it is probably sorrowful
about the unbelief of the Jewish leaders of Israel.
Because these are the people God has appointed to look after the
Israelites, and they're not doing a great job.
And so Jesus is genuinely sorrowful, and pained about the
hardness of Heart of these Pharisees.
He says, why does this generation demand assign when he
says this generation? He means the leaders of this
generation probably also that the phrase this generation
probably would have called to mine for Mark's readers in the
Old Testament. When Israel wanders in the
wilderness, kind of that rebellious generation God, often
refers to them. As this generation.
This generation shall not inherit the promised land.
This generation is not following me with their hearts.
So, perhaps Jesus say, Saying this generation is making a
parallel there. He says I tell you solemnly or
truly I say to you or. Amen.
As other translations put it.
So that tells us tips us off as the readers that Jesus is about
to say, something very important.
He says no sign shall be given to this generation.
The way he says this no sign shall be given to this
generation. Probably implies that Jesus or
God could actually do the miraculous sign that they're
asking for. It's possible that God can do
what he can do anything. So we can certainly do a miracle
that would fulfill their criteria.
But because of the unbelief of this generation of the end of
the Pharisees, God is not going to give them that sign.
His miracles and deeds, Jesus, miracles and deeds, invite faith
and cooperates with faith, but will not coerce it.
Jesus never does a miracle. If he perceives that it's going
to be a coercive kind of forcing people to believe kind of thing.
For those who reject the Miracles Jesus can only walk
away and that's exactly what he does next verse 13 and he left
them. That's what the text says he
left them. So that Implies that Jesus
deliberately separates himself from the Pharisees and he
decides to go somewhere else instead and it says he went away
to the opposite Shore. So once again, he crosses the
Sea of Galilee and go somewhere else in the region.
Now, significantly this rejection by the Pharisees is
actually the end of Jesus ministry in Galilee.
If you read on in Mark, Jesus doesn't spend any more time in
Galilee for quite most of the last few chapters.
And the several weeks we've been spending in the gospel of Mark,
Jesus has been around the Sea of Galilee that's now finished.
Now that has been rejected by the leaders in some sense Jesus
moves on So what he does from here on out in Mark, is he does
kind of private training with his disciples, getting them
ready for his own death and obviously the gospels of Mark
and Luke. Sorry of Matthew and Luke and
John, and in some additional information of other places
Jesus goes, but Mark, just mainly focuses on the Sea of
Galilee Ministry which is just finished and then he starts to
highlight the things that happened later in Jesus
ministry, which is what we'll hear from next.
Next. Jesus does come back to Galilee
once more in the gospel of Mark, but that's in secret, not to do
public Ministry, and that's in 9:30.
So, that's the end of our podcast today.
Hopefully you've learned something new There's been quite
a lot of religious writing on this passage.
So Pope Benedict, the 16th said of this passage that God is Not
subject to God cannot be constrained into
experimentation. And he goes on to say how in our
day and age people will only believe in things that could be
experimental e proven, but God can or God can't be sort of
confined to those limits. And so there's been a lot of
discussion about this passage in contemporary theology, but
there's no appearances of this in the catechism so we'll leave
it there for today. Hopefully, you learned something
new, please keep sharing this podcast and we'll see you again
tomorrow.