The Pharisees came forward and began to argue with Jesus, seeking from him a sign from heaven to test him. He sighed from the depth of his spirit and said,
“Why does this generation seek a sign? Amen, I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation.”
Then he left them, got into the boat again, and went off to the other shore.
“We want you to prove your divinity by providing a sign”. I thought this was strange given Jesus had healed blind, leapers and paralysed. These were all in service of the most downtrodden in society. The pharasees were probably asking for a sign more aligned with the definitions of power they related to. Things like defeating an army or overpowering an existing ruler. Jesus responds with disbelief and disdain. He makes it clear that these guys just do not understand what he is about “He sighed from the depth of his spirit”. The Pharasees could not equate power with justice, service and self-denial. And Jesus was not going to compromise his message to bring people into this new way of thinking gradually.
ReplyDelete