Signs and Sighs...

Gospel Reflection for Feb. 17, 2025

“And the Pharisees came forth and began to dispute with him, demanding from him a sign from heaven, to test him. And sighing deeply in spirit, he said, ‘Why does this generation demand a sign? Amen, I say to you, a sign shall not be given to this generation.’ And he left them, and getting back into the boat, crossed the sea.” (Mk 8: 11-13 CB)

Who Jesus really is, is an important underlying theme presented thus far in Mark’s Gospel. Just previous to this Gospel passage we see Jesus again feeding his weary followers and subsequently questioning the Pharisees about their inability to understand the holy significance in the dispersing of bread, despite their witnessing and partaking. Jesus’ humanity is very well expressed in Mark’s Gospel. Simply, Jesus was exasperated; “And sighing deeply in spirit, he said, ‘Why does this generation demand a sign?” Wanting a “…Sign from heaven,” Jesus saw a people always wanting more, while not even realizing what was already done before them. In Matthew’s Gospel Jesus does indeed provide a bit more of an explanation regarding signs by stating they will be given a “sign of Jonah.” This typology of course, alludes to Jesus’ subsequent rising from the dead after being in the burial tomb for three days. Yet, in this gospel passage, the tensions and frustration between He and the Pharisees is meant to display a very human reaction of frustration when faced with obstinance, in this case, the frustration of non-belief from the religious hierarchy of the time.

Upon reflecting on the issues that this passage details, we may ask ourselves too, “Do we sometimes feel that we want more signs from Jesus?” Maybe we look at the disarray of the world or even in our own lives and find ourselves pleading to God to “show us something,” or “do something now, what are you waiting for—give us a sign to let us know you are still faithful to us.” Sure, God can and does give us some outward hopeful signs sometimes, but have we still become like the Pharisees in this passage in many regards? Probably, yes. Our internal dialogue can at times start to sound almost like the atheists, or even worse, the Devil. After all, it was Satan himself that tried to tempt Christ in the desert (unsuccessfully) with giving the masses grand signs and wonders. Of course we know, when steeped in faith and prayer, that this is indeed a foolish and faulty notion of who our God is, as Christ knew would only leave people wanting more and more of those things.

And yet, Christ had given us the greatest sign of all—the Cross—and through it He has attained eternal salvation for us. And we can go to the Cross, as He wants us too, with assurance that His death and resurrection truly meant something beyond mere temporal satisfaction. For we do know who Christ really is, and that makes all the difference in that we know the end of the story—that the gates of hell will not prevail. So, in the meantime we would do well to remember that His peace he left us; His peace He gives us, and His grace is enough.