Jesus moves from compassion (vv.1-9) to concern (vv.10-21) to condemnation (vv.22-26) and then the text hints at the crucifixion (vv.27-33).

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1 Introduction In Mark 8 we seen the provision of The Servant as he feeds the multitudes (vv.1-10); and now we see the provocation of The Servant as Jesus is tested by the religious leaders (vv.11-13). The Pharisees demand a sign (v.11) and Jesus will deny them (v.13). Later we see the patience of the Savior (vv.14-21) as Jesus warns His disciples to beware the leaven of the Pharisees and Herod and we see the power of The Servant as Jesus heals a blind man in Bethsaida (vv.22-26). Jesus moves from compassion (vv.1-9) to concern (vv.10-21) to condemnation (vv.22-26) and then the text hints at the crucifixion (vv.27-33). Why are so many people spiritually blind? Paul tells the Corinthians (2 Cor. 4:3-4) But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them. The Bible teaches that apart from Jesus Christ we are blind to our condition before God (see Rom. 3:11); we are blind to the beauty of Christ (Isaiah 53:1); we are blind to the grace of God (Rom. 11:8); we are blind to the things of God (I Cor.2:9-14); we are blind to the presence of Christ (Rev.3:18-19); we are blind to the need of the new birth (John 3:3-7); we are blind to the evil all around us (Ephesians 2:2-3). Most people are blind to the presence of God, and the mercy of God, the care of God and the gifts of God. But God is easily seen by those who are willing to open their eyes by faith and who embark on a sincere quest for light and truth. Instead of seeking God, many people use their considerable time, talent and treasure to reject God, and replace God with their own foolish imaginings. Perhaps the greatest reason people spend so much time defining and defending their rebellion and unbelief is the unpleasant (at least to them) task of surrendering to Jesus. Therefore man issues a challenge; if you are there show me some sign! If you are really there God--prove it! The challenge is issued--and the unbeliever does not expect the sign--not really. And even if God gave some sign--there is an endless reservoir of doubt and excuse and explanation how the sign falls short. Why? Because men and women are blind to the truth. Now Jesus exposes the faults and limitations of the signseeking unbeliever. The Servant Crosses The Lake (v.10) Mark 8:10 (NKJV) 10immediately got into the boat with His disciples, and came to the region of Dalmanutha. 1

2 Jesus and the disciples head towards Dalmanutha--a city or village that was adjacent to Magdala or Magadan; on the west coast of the Sea of Galilee. Both cities were technically in the region called the Decapolis (see Matt. 15:39). The Religious Leaders Seek A Sign (v.11) Mark 8:11 (NKJV) 11Then the Pharisees came out and began to dispute with Him, seeking from Him a sign from heaven, testing Him. It doesn t take look for the religious leaders to confront Jesus and dispute with Jesus. Mark mentions the Pharisees and Matthew provides the additional information that the Sadducees had also joined forces with the Pharisees in an attempt to discredit Jesus and His ministry (Matt. 16:1) before the people. The boldness and blindness of the religious leaders is enormous. The religious leaders demand a sign from heaven. Jesus is the sign from Heaven. But they don t appreciate Him. The religious leaders are asking for a sign; not just any sign; but an amazing and spectacular sign; that would suspend the laws of physics--like making the sun stop; calling fire from heaven or raining down bread from the sky! Don t you think it odd that the religious leaders requested a sign in light of all the miracles already recorded? Jesus has already provided irrefutable evidence of His miraculous powers. The blind see, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear and speak. The dead are raised. The hungry are fed. The hopeless are raised from the private hell of despondency. The religious leaders request for a sign was in fact their way of saying Jesus had not provided sufficient evidence for His Messianic claims. What about the Old Testament prophecies? Staged. What about the miracles? Fabricated. What about the changed lives? Manipulated. Mark adds; testing him. The motives of the religious leaders were impure. The request itself was a sign--a sign of their wicked, persistent unbelief. There is a direct relationship between spiritual blindness and motive! The religious leaders were not being open and honest! Their s was not a sincere desire to know and embrace the truth. They were out to trick Jesus; to disprove His claims; and to squash his movement. The religious leaders saw Jesus as a dangerous deceiver--a religious impostor --at best mad--and at worst in league with the Devil. It never ceases to amaze me that human beings can use their considerable skills, resources and intellect to make inquiry into the natural world, the visible world, and be so oblivious to the spiritual world. 2

3 The moment a person concedes there is a God, a spiritual world, a God who reveals and communicates His will; there is the thought of submission and compliance with that will. People no more want to know if Jesus is really Lord than a criminal wants to know the location of local law enforcement. Unless of course the criminal suspects he or she is under surveillance or scrutiny and must lie low until the danger passes. The person apart from Christ--wants justification--for their unbelief--they want to explain their carnal and worldly desires as normal--even desirable--greed is good--they have no desire to change their thinking, their desires, their life-styles. The human being apart from God does not want to discover a spiritual world, a heavenly kingdom, a Spiritual Lord, or all powerful God who would demand repentance, faith, righteousness and love; giving and sacrifice; who wants a God who requires loyalty and fidelity and discipleship and obedience and compassion as we look out into the needs of the world? In Luke 9:23-24 Jesus said, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me! For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it. The Dangers Of Seeking Signs (v.12) 12But He sighed deeply in His spirit, and said, Why does this generation seek a sign? Assuredly, I say to you, no sign shall be given to this generation. The Greek word translated He sighed deeply is very strong (anastenazas); it means to draw sighs up from the bottom of the breast; to sigh deeply. The Amplified New Testament translates the passage as He groaned and sighed deeply in His spirit. The implication is both grief and indignation from the core of His being. Jesus asks the question; Why does this generation seek a sign? Has there ever been a more privileged generation? Has there ever been a more privileged people? Matchless words, marvelous miracles, and yet blind--blind--blind. The spiritually blind have impure motives. The spiritually blind grieve the Lord Jesus Christ. The spiritually blind counter with--you have faith--but I want evidence. Really? Jesus gives evidence after evidence; sign after sign, miracle after miracle. I am not talking about the person who has a sincere question--or a heartfelt doubt--or is confused over some nuance of Scripture--or the person who is trying to understand what might on the surface appear as a contradiction. I am talking about the person who is stubbornly blind. Their unbelief is obstinate and irrational and inexcusable. 3

4 The sigh of Jesus is not simple exasperation. The sigh of Jesus is not simple frustration. The sigh of Jesus is filled with compassion and sorrow and grief. The feeling of Jesus should be the same for all Bible believing and God fearing Christians. Jesus understands the ruin of the soul and the heart bent on unbelief. These wicked men were inviting judgment on their eternal souls. Were these men enemies of Jesus? Yes. Was their obstinate opposition and unbelief a one way ticket to hell? Yes. But their blindness and hardness and wickedness was an occasion of sorrow and grief for their Savior. Grief over sin and sorrow over sinners is one of the greatest evidences of grace in the life of the believer. The true believer will always regard the wicked and the stubborn and the unbeliever with pity and grief and concern. This was the heart and mind of David. He wrote I beheld the transgressors and was grieved (Psalm 99:158). Ezekiel They sighed and cried for the abominations done in the land (Ezek.9:4). Even Lot it is said He vexed his righteous soul with the unlawful deeds of those around him (2 Peter 2:8). Paul the Apostle; I have great heaviness and continual sorrow for my brethren (Rom. 9:2). Jesus is our Head. We are His members. He grieves. We grieve. Is that true of you? Is Christ s hurt your hurt? Is Christ s grief your grief? Do you feel hurt, pained and sorrowful when you see human beings trapped in continual sin and imprisoned in persistent, stubborn, willful unbelief? The make-believer is not grieved by stubborn willful unbelief. They are careless and indifferent to the souls of others. The unbeliever does not allow the grief of Jesus to concern himself or herself for long. Jesus sighed deeply over the unbelief of the religious leaders. Jesus continues to sigh deeply over the willful, stubborn obstinate unbelief in our generation. No wonder Paul wrote; Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God (Eph. 4:30). Do not quench the Spirit (I Thess. 5:19). The writer of Hebrews (3:10); Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do always err in their heart; and they have not known my ways. What generation was that? It might as well be our generation. Unbelievers lurk even in the religious establishment. Jesus cared about the poor and the lame and the least and the lost. Social justice must never be a substitute for those who remain estranged from God by their sin. All people will exist somewhere forever. Jesus flatly says; no sign will be given to this generation. 4

5 There is a proverb (not in the Bible) For those who believe, no proof is necessary. For those who don t believe, no proof is possible. Blaise Paschal famously said; Belief is a wise wager. Granted that faith cannot be proved, what harm will come to you if you gamble on its truth and it proves false?...if you gain, you gain all; if you lose, you lose nothing. Wager, then, without hesitation, that He exists. Why doesn t Jesus provide a sign? 1. The religious leaders willfully refused to see the signs of the times (they chose blindness) because they were wicked, corrupt, greedy, and an adulterous generation. There were never enough signs, never enough evidence, their wicked unbelief was a spiritual black hole that captured and swallowed all light that came in their evil event horizon. 2. The religious leaders request was outrageous and unjust in light of the hundreds of prophecies and thousands of miracles; enough to lead anyone with any inclination to consider the claims of Jesus to believe Him. 3. The religious leaders had no intention of believing. They did not want to believe. 4. The religious leaders failed to recognize the love of God, real faith and true religion. Without faith it is impossible to believe God and God desired genuine, sincere, voluntary faith and belief. True friendship and fellowship with God is not based on signs and works. 5. The religious leaders were an evil and adulterous generation. They were apostates, committed to false gods and man made religion and empty ritual. Human reason and fleshly intellect desires intellectual respectability and signs and wonders and proofs. The spirit of man seeks love and faith and trust. 6. The religious leaders wanted to pick the signs that would satisfy them; the proofs that would satisfy them; human beings seem deeply attracted to dealing with God through some spectacular sign, some brilliant sight, some astounding truth, some irrefutable argument, some miraculous experience, some unbelievable deliverance. 7. God s great concern is not in providing some irrefutable evidence; but rather of meeting people in their lives; in their sickness and sorrow; in their corruption and death. Do unbelievers sometimes receive signs? What are you willing to accept as evidence? In Matthew s Gospel (chapter 13:11) Jesus plainly states that the ability to comprehend spiritual truth is a gracious gift of God; sovereignly bestowed on the elect; the reprobate are passed over; they reap the consequences of their unbelief and rebellion. In Matthew 11:14 Jesus quotes Isaiah and says Hearing you will hear and shall not understand, and seeing you will see and not perceive; (v.15) For the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, And their eyes they have closed, Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, So that I should heal them. The Servant Leaves The Sign-Seekers Behind (v.13) 5

6 13And He left them, and getting into the boat again, departed to the other side. The spiritually blind are eventually abandoned. Note the force of the words; He left them. John Stott wrote; If to believe in Jesus was man s first duty, not to believe in him was his chief sin. The religious leaders refused to believe. In spite of the prophecies. In spite of the miracles. In spite of His words. In spite of His deeds. When the religious leaders made the decision to abandon Jesus; Jesus turned and left them. Conclusion In the Franco-German War of , two unexploded shells were found near a house. The homeowner cleaned them up and put them on display near his fireplace. A few weeks later he showed these interesting objects to a visitor. His friend, an expert in munitions, suddenly had the horrible thought; What if they re still loaded? After quickly examining the shells, he exclaimed, Get them away from the fire immediately! They re as deadly as the day they were made! Without realizing it, the homeowner had been living in grave peril; deep danger. Seeking signs and unbelief and are like two shells pressed close to the fire. Unbelief destroys our capacity to see (John 3:36). Unbelief disturbs the soul, hardens our sensibilities, causes us to question the authority of God. Unbelief hardens the heart, stumbles at God s Way, and severs us from the Lord. Unbelief provides the incentive for the unbeliever to both envy and persecute the Believer. Peter writing to Christians in painful peril and persecution wrote; For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God? In Peter s world disobedience to the Gospel was the same as unbelief. I ve told this story before. A man stood on a soap-box in Hyde Park and began pouring scorn on Christianity. People tell me that God exists; but I can t see Him. People tell me there is life after death; but I can t see it. People tell me there is a judgment to come; but I can t see it. People tell me there is a heaven and a hell; but I can t see them. A smattering of applause went around the tiny crowd. Another struggled on to the soap-box. People tell me that there is green grass all around, but I can t see it. People tell me there is a blue sky above, but I can t see it. People tell me that there are trees nearby, but I can t see them. You see, I m blind. Helen Keller said; The most pathetic person in the world is someone who has sight but has no vision. 6

7 Do you demand a sign from God? Something to satisfy your flesh? People love thrills, chills, and pills! They love the shiver in the liver and the quiver in the heart! But those people are at risk. They are in danger of being deceived by false prophets and teachers. Demanding a sign reveals at best a lack of faith! What is it about the Word of God and the Work of God on the Cross of Calvary that is insufficient for you? Are there genuine signs and wonders? Does God heal? Does God deliver? Signs sometimes follow the preaching of God s Word (see Acts 14:1-3; Rom ); but they are the product of the Holy Spirit s presence; not the purpose of preaching the gospel (see Hebrews 2:1-4). A wicked and adulterous generation requires a sign. Yet Jesus told the religious leaders no sign would be given save one; the sign of Jonah (see Matthew 12:38-42; Luke 11:29-32). Jonah was in the belly of the Sea Creature for three days; so Jesus would remain in the earth three days before being resurrected from the dead. In Luke s Gospel in the story of the Rich Man and Lazarus Jesus warned that even the miracle of bringing a dead man back to life would prove insufficient to convince some to place their trust in God and in Jesus Christ. If people reject the prophecies of God; and the Word of God; and the Son of God; they will not be convinced by miracles or signs--they will simply remain vulnerable to Satan and counterfeit Christianity. 7