"Then the Pharisees came and began to argue with Jesus, testing Him by demanding from Him a sign from heaven. Jesus sighed deeply in His spirit and said, “Why does this generation demand a sign? Truly I tell you, no sign will be given to this generation.” And He left them, got back into the boat, and crossed to the other side."
Mark 8:11-13
We see a plethora of signs every day: traffic signs, billboards, business signs, ads, pop-ups, etc. The purpose of signs is to communicate information like the speed limit, an animal crossing, distance to a destination, shark-infested waters, contaminated water, etc.
Doing 90mph in a 55mph zone is a traffic violation whether you get caught or not. Just because one decides to reinterpret the HWY sign as a speed limit sign doesn't change the meaning or underlying law. Neither the officer nor the judge will listen to some nonsensical argument about "objective truth," or what the sign meant to you.
When we come to Mark 8:11-13, what we find are the religious elite demanding a sign from Jesus. The Messiah, the Jews' long prophesied Anointed One of God, could have obliged them by turning water into wine or blood... raining down fire from heaven... blotting out the sun... making time stand still... or any number of other signs. Instead, Jesus simply got back into His boat and left them.
The Creator gave the sign of the rainbow in the clouds (Gen 9:12-17) to communicate to all of creation His promise of enduring and unyielding covenantal love. God Almighty gave a sign to Abraham regarding His willingness to die for humanity (Gen 15:17-20). God gave Israel countless signs before, during, and after their exodus from slavery in Egypt: plagues, pillars of fire & cloud, water from a rock, manna from heaven, etc. God established the Tabernacle (later the Temple) and the sacrificial system, as countless signs communicating His power, fidelity, mercy, grace, and boundless love for ALL humanity.
God also provided prophets and direct propositional revelation through the Scriptures as a sign for Israel to remember their calling and commission from Exodus 19:6, i.e. a kingdom of mediators set apart for God's mission and ministry in a broken and corrupt world riddled by sin and demonic forces.
Throughout the Hebrew Scriptures, Israel continually and repeatedly rejected The Almighty's laws, statutes, commands, and commission until God's prophesies were fulfilled. Foreign nations (Assyria and Babylon) invaded and ended the kingship, destroyed the temple, seized the land, and subjected Israel to slavery once again.
But rather than repent... rather than seek The LORD with humble and contrite hearts, Israel decided to erect new "high places" of pagan idols. They established synagogues to replace the Temple. In place of priests, they appointed intellectuals and religious philosophers. In place of divine revelation, they invented their own writings and countless oral traditions... All of which established the backdrop for King Jesus' incarnation and earthly ministry.
So in Mark 8, when The LORD was approached by a pack of religious dogs demanding a sign, Jesus was under no compulsion to oblige. The Lamb of God knew full well that there was no sign He could offer that would compel them unto faith. Even when He healed people, caused the lame to walk, the blind to see, and the mute to speak, and cast out demons, the Pharisees said, "Only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, does this man drive out demons."
When the rich man of Luke 16:19-31 found himself in Hades, separated from God and in the fires of torment, there was no remorse or repentance. Instead, he merely cried out to "Father Abraham" for some cool water and an opportunity to warn his family. Abraham responded, "If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead."
The issue, as the Apostle Paul reveals in Romans 1:18-20, isn't a lack of information, but the intentional suppression of God's revelation, "The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of humanity who suppress the truth by their wickedness. For what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them..."
Scripture reveals in Genesis 12:3 that the true offspring of Abraham will be a blessing to all the nations, tribes, and peoples of the earth by modeling Abraham's faith. Isaiah 8:18 reveals that the true children of Isaiah will be those who are signs and symbols of the LORD Almighty who dwells on Mount Zion. King Jesus reveals that the true children of God are the peacemakers, those who worship the Father in spirit and in truth by actively participating in His Great Commission:
"...disciple all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, even to the end of the age."
Therefore, let us reject the contemporary notion that "personal salvation" is the fullness of the Christian life. Instead, let us take seriously the privileged commission as The LORD's living and breathing testimony of His unfathomable love for us, that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us, the members of His Body & Bride!
Blessings and love,
Kevin M. Kelley
Pastor Adam's sermon on Mark 8:11-13
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