“In those days the multitude being very great…” (Mark 8:1). Jesus is being followed by a multitude. In this case it was about four thousand. We know that because he fed them with seven loaves and a few small fishes until they were full, and there were leftovers. This is not just one incident of the power of Jesus. He has performed many miracles. It’s that this is the one that happens just before he has another run-in with the Pharisees.
Jesus and his disciples take a ship to Dalmanutha. Mark 8:11 sets the stage for what happens next. The Pharisees show up, again. This time they want a sign from heaven. They must really be after him because this group has already accused Jesus of being a devil in league with Beelzebub (Mark 3:22). There’s no way they will ever accept any sign as being from heaven.
If they were really willing to accept a sign from heaven, they would have accepted the one when Jesus was baptized. After all, all three members of the Trinity were present. Matthew 3:16-17 verify it. “And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”.
There were plenty of eyewitnesses. It doesn’t say the Pharisees were there. They could have been. After all they were keeping an eye on John the Baptist, too. But, even if they weren’t there, they certainly knew about it.
It’s no wonder that Mark 8:12 said that Jesus sighed deeply in his spirit. It’s like the straw that breaks the camel’s back. He was so done with this game they kept playing. He just up and gets back into the ship and leaves.
It’s the same over two thousand years later. There’s enough about our redeemer circulating through mankind that the truth is available for those who want to know it, believe it, and make Jesus Christ their personal savior. Just like the Pharisees they can’t see their own ruin coming. God help them.
Jesus and his disciples take a ship to Dalmanutha. Mark 8:11 sets the stage for what happens next. The Pharisees show up, again. This time they want a sign from heaven. They must really be after him because this group has already accused Jesus of being a devil in league with Beelzebub (Mark 3:22). There’s no way they will ever accept any sign as being from heaven.
If they were really willing to accept a sign from heaven, they would have accepted the one when Jesus was baptized. After all, all three members of the Trinity were present. Matthew 3:16-17 verify it. “And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”.
There were plenty of eyewitnesses. It doesn’t say the Pharisees were there. They could have been. After all they were keeping an eye on John the Baptist, too. But, even if they weren’t there, they certainly knew about it.
It’s no wonder that Mark 8:12 said that Jesus sighed deeply in his spirit. It’s like the straw that breaks the camel’s back. He was so done with this game they kept playing. He just up and gets back into the ship and leaves.
It’s the same over two thousand years later. There’s enough about our redeemer circulating through mankind that the truth is available for those who want to know it, believe it, and make Jesus Christ their personal savior. Just like the Pharisees they can’t see their own ruin coming. God help them.
