A Sign

 

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MARK

A SIGN

 

Mark 8:11-13

11 The Pharisees came and began to question Jesus. To test him, they asked him for a sign from heaven. 12 He sighed deeply and said, "Why does this generation ask for a miraculous sign? I tell you the truth, no sign will be given to it."  13 Then he left them, got back into the boat and crossed to the other side.

NIV

Typically when Jesus arrives on the shore, he is met by hundreds, if not thousands of people who are in need of healing or having a demon driven out, or just thirsty for his teachings. This region was on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee that we were told about in the preceding verses, it has been called Dalmanutha, or as Matthew records Magadan. The point being that is Mark nor Mathew say anything about lots of people following Jesus along the shoreline to meet him as he arrives, as was in some cases before. But both Mark and Matthew tell us of the Pharisee meeting him to test him, to question him. It appears their intention is to question his authority for all that he has been doing. It would also make sense their reasoning was because they have held the position of authority over the people and now they feel threatened by Jesus because so many people are following his teaching instead of theirs. So they ask him for a sign from heaven, in order words, show us your authority over the elements, if you can. Call down some miracle from God, if you can. For one thing, Jesus is not just some genie in the bottle that jumps to every command of man, granting them their every wish. That is not to say that Jesus will not answer our prayer, but we pray with faith believing in what he has told us is true. He has promised us that if we ask anything in His Name, He will do it for us, so the Father will receive glory. But this is not what is going on here with the Pharisees. They just want him to do some kind of miracle so they can accuse him of sorcery or some other sleight of hand, a magic trick. They really do not want him to prove his divine nature. Jesus knowing their intent refuses to give them a show, a sign, a miracle. It is about their motive and we should take a lesson from that. We should not ask Jesus to do whatever for us so that we can lift ourselves up by telling of all that Jesus has done for us. Although he has done so much for us, in so many different ways, we are not the point of those provisions, He is. It would seem it is difficult to testify to the goodness of the Lord without making it seem like we are someone special that he has done so much in and for our lives. Yet, we need to testify to his goodness to us. We need to enumerate all the answers to either our prayers or simply that Jesus has provided for us because we believe he will, which would be our faith in Him. But then it seems that appears to be lifting ourselves up as the reason Jesus does so much for and in us. It does appear as a conundrum of sorts. Certainly, we do not ask so he can prove his power. We ask because we have a need and believe he is the solution. We ask because we want to know what to do. We ask because we need his healing, his provision, his direction, and his instruction for our lives. We cannot live this life without him, nor do we want to. We have lived in the darkness and felt that loneliness, that hopelessness, of being weighed and measured and coming up wanting. But now we live in His light and our life now belongs to Him and it is wonderful to have that light, that friendship, fellowship, and hope because we are in Him and He is in us. So our lives should be a shining example of who Jesus is, and therefore we should be the evidence of his miraculous authority and power.  We are his sign to all generations. A sign that tells the story. A sign that advertises the truth.