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. 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.