Summary
Signs from God: The Ultimate Sign
Scripture is no stranger to signs. The angel told the shepherds that a child wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger would be a sign for them Luke 2:12. John records that Jesus did the first of his signs at Cana of Galilee and "manifested his glory" John 2:11, and that many believed in his name when they saw the signs he was doing John 2:23. Signs in Scripture confirm what God has said and point to the identity of God himself.
That makes the encounter in Mark 8:11–12 puzzling at first. The Pharisees come and begin to argue with Jesus, demanding a sign from heaven. The parallel in Matthew 16 reveals that the Sadducees joined them — two parties who could not stand each other but who were united by their opposition to Christ. The Greek word translated "argue" carries the sense of harassing; this was a hostile approach, and the closing words of verse 11 expose the motive: "to test him." It was a trap. They wanted something spectacular in the sky, and if Jesus refused, they could discredit him.
How many signs did they actually need? They already knew of the feeding of the five thousand, the healings at Gennesaret where the sick reached merely to touch his garment, and the healing of the deaf and mute man. The same opponents had already attributed his miracles to Satan, claiming, "He has Beelzebul" Mark 3:22. Even at the cross they would mock, "Let the Christ, the King of Israel, come down now from the cross that we may see and believe" Mark 15:32. No sign would ever have satisfied them.
Mark, who often shows us Jesus' emotions more vividly than the other Evangelists, says Jesus "sighed deeply in his spirit" — a word used nowhere else in the New Testament. This is not a weary breath but holy exasperation, an inner sorrow over the depth of unbelief. "Why does this generation seek a sign? Truly, I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation." Matthew's parallel fills out the saying: no sign will be given "except the sign of Jonah" Matthew 12:39–40. As Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish and then delivered, so the Son of Man would be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth and then raised. The sign of Jonah is a foreshadowing of the resurrection of Christ.
This is why the empty tomb is The Ultimate Sign. On the cross Jesus bore all the sin that would have separated us from God forever. When he was raised from the tomb, God himself declared that the sacrifice had been accepted: reconciliation accomplished, death overcome, the Lord Jesus Christ risen, reigning, alive, and in charge.
Do you ever long for a sign? In hard times, in fear, in loneliness, in doubt — "Lord, just show me everything will be all right; show me you love me; show me you are near; show me your Word is true." He already has. The cross and the empty tomb answer every one of those cries. In the sign of Jonah — the resurrection of Jesus Christ — we trust.
Video citations
- Signs from God : The Ultimate Sign 1-28-24 — Would you open your by those please with me to the eighth chapter of the Gospel of Mark? If you're using a Puedition of Holy Scripture, you're going to find that in the New Testament on page 37.…