Thursday 21 November 2024
And he [Jesus] sighed deeply in his spirit. (v. 12)
Background
On Sunday we approached the first two verses of Mark 13 by connecting them to others across a chapter boundary to open the possibility of a different interpretation. Today we can try sitting with just three verses.
Does it feel to you that at the start of verse 12 Mark is telling us that Jesus is as frustrated as he ever gets? We read: “And he sighed deeply in his spirit.”
We might feel better about ourselves if we learn from this so that we can avoid the risk of frustrating Jesus ourselves.
Verse 11 has the Pharisees asking for a sign from Jesus, which frustrates him. The problem doesn’t seem to be that they are Pharisees, or that they come to Jesus, as people come to Jesus all the time. Generally, he welcomes people (even when his disciples want to protect him Mark 10:13-16) although he will also seek times for recovery alone with God.
Maybe he's frustrated when people argue with him? But that didn’t cause a problem for the Syrophoenician woman we read about on Monday, nor for the women at the well in John 4. So probably that's not the reason for his frustration.
However, the Pharisees' real purpose of coming to argue with Jesus seems to be revealed in the next two actions. They ask for a sign and they want to test him. These seem to be the problem. Throughout the gospels, people only seem to ask for signs if they are trying to find ways to 'prove' Jesus is a fraud. Their goal in asking for a sign is not for them to see, believe and follow. It is to build an excuse to reject and denounce.
Ironically, although Jesus tells them they will not be given the sign they ask for, throughout this week we have seen many signs offered to the people by Jesus as he responds in love and compassion.
When people only want to find reasons to reject Jesus and not engage with what he is doing, he withdraws and goes where people are interested.
To Ponder:
- When might prayers for healing or other action be like asking for a sign to test God?
- Do we ever sense frustration from God? What might our response to that mean?
Bible notes author: The Revd Dave Warnock
Dave is the Methodist minister in Wythenshawe, part of the Bramhall and Wythenshawe Circuit. From September 2025 he will be sailing around the world for five years encouraging connections between sustainability and faith. See Sustainable Sailing.