(Text and Audio)
Title: A Sign From Heaven, Part 1
In examining the passage this morning, a passage that I fully admit is one of my favorite in all of scripture, both because of the precise way that Jesus’ answers the request and because of the implications of what Jesus says to them in responding, I want to break these four verses into two sermons given over the next two Sundays.
In today’s sermon we will examine the request itself by asking a series of questions. We will not assume that the Pharisees and Sadducees are the “bad guys” right of the bat, but will rather give them the benefit of the doubt and see how Jesus handles their request.
In next week’s sermon we will look at the implications to the way that Jesus answers their request, and what those implications may mean to us in everyday life as we make decisions about what we will and will not engage with in the world.
I think you are going to like the next two weeks. My prayer is that you will come to enjoy, and be shaped by, these passages as much as I have been over the last 15 years. To be transparent, few passages have been as influential in my personal theology over the years as much as this one has been.
You may be looking at this passage and think, “Really? Jesus rebukes some Jewish big-wigs and that has really effected you over the years?”
The answer is yes, and not because of what they ask, but because of what Jesus says when he responds to them.
Let’s get started.
(read/pray)
Where Did This Confrontation Happen?
This event happened (as we can determine from the end of chapter 15) in the region of Magdala. Mark’s Gospel records the name of the region as “Dalmanutha” (Mark 8:10) and, though the exact location of this region isn’t known, most believe it was on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee.
These men ask for a sign from heaven, and Jesus point them to a literal “sign from Heaven” that is right in front of them: the sky.
He then says: you think yourself wise because you can tell when it’s going to rain, yet you can’t see what is right in front of you!
In other words: If you need a sign, at this point, in order to believe I was sent from heaven, there is no hope for you.
Why did the Pharisees and Sadducees need a sign?
Had Jesus not performed enough miracles for them to believe?
Here is this morning’s thesis statement:
The problem for these Pharisees and Sadducees was not lack of evidence, but rather their own unwillingness to accept the significance of the signs that Jesus had already performed.
Consider:
- The Miracles and Signs that Jesus had already performed in his public ministry: (Just from the Gospel of Matthew)
Cleansing a Leper (8:1), Healing the Centurion’s servant (8:5), Healing Peter’s Mother-in-Law (8:14), Many healed after Sabbath sunset (8:16), Rebuking the waves (8:23), Healing two demon-possessed men, making pigs fly…temporarily (8:28), healing a paralytic (9:1), Brining a young girl back from the dead (9:18), Healing the bleeding woman (9:20), Healing two blind men (9:27), Healing a mute man (9:32), Healing the man on the Sabbath (12:9), Feeding the 5000 (14:13), Walking on the Sea (14:22), Healing the masses at Gennesaret (14:34), Healing the Canaanite woman (15:21), Healing the multitude (15:29), Feeding the 4000 (15:32)
POINT: There is NOTHING that Jesus could have done for them in this moment that would have convinced them. How do I know? See Matthew 12:24.
- Perhaps they personally had seen none of these signs, so they were just making sure that this really was the same Jesus they had heard about.
Perhaps, but we must remember that a sign is never done for the sake of a sign itself. A sign is never given for amusement, or even for proof.
A sign is done so that:
- A Need Will Be Met
- The Father Will be Glorified
The request of the Pharisees and Sadducees did neither.
POINT: The supposed religious “experts” of the day did not even understand WHY signs were done by prophets. Faith and Miracles ALWAYS go hand in hand.
Some of you may recall the story from Mark chapter 6 where it says, “He could do no mighty work there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them. He marveled because of their unbelief.”
Jesus was not limited in his power, rather he chooses not to do miracles where there is no belief. The same is true here.
- Don’t overlook their motivation
Sometimes we miss this, but it’s right there in verse one. We are given a glimpse into the reason that the Pharisees and Sadducees ask this question. One little work tips off the motivations and reasoning of this request. What is that word?
“Testing”
Jesus knew they were not believers, they were doubters. Jesus knew they were (once again) trying to trap him or expose him in order to discredit him. They were not interested in the Glory of the Father, they were only interesting in winning the argument against him.
This brings to mind a great quote about growth:
“You will only truly begin to learn when your desire to grow is greater than your desire to win.”
A key ingredient to faith is humility. These men have none, and thus, they have no faith.
Close:
As we close for today, I want to give you a heads-up for next week. Humility will be needed to digest what we will talk about next week. Many of the conclusions that I will draw from next week’s passage may test and stretch your levels of convictional comfort.
The way this passage has effected me over the years is not the way that it has spoken to many others, and I want to be sensitive to that. Much of what we will deal with next week will fall into that level of personal conviction, and I am well aware that many of our comfort levels of conviction on how we deal with, and interact with, the world are varying, even in our small congregation, and that’s fine.
We need to be people that follow Romans 14, respecting our brothers and sisters and seeking the Spirit’s guidance in all matters.
(Pray)