“He sighed deeply in his spirit and said, ‘Why does this generation ask for a sign?’”
Mark 8: 11-13
During His public Ministry, Jesus continuously exercised great patience when dealing with all the people whom He encountered, and we know that crowds of people followed Him. The Pharisees, in particular, always challenged Him. It was no different this time when they asked Jesus for ‘a sign from Heaven – to test Him.’
To test Him? What a display of arrogance by the Pharisees!
How did Jesus respond? We are told that Jesus ‘sighed deeply in His spirit,’ while refusing to give any sign.
We, too, display such arrogance when we are inclined to ask Jesus for a ‘sign’ to assure us that we are making a right decision or doing the right thing – before we actually take action. This should not be!
Jesus always calls on us to ‘walk in faith and not by sight;’ to trust in His goodness and merciful love. He assures us that He shall keep us in ‘perfect peace’ – those of us ‘whose mind is stayed’ on Him.
May we always walk in the light of faith and in the peace of Jesus Christ. Amen.