Jesus Sighed

When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had arrived, they came and started to argue with him. Testing him, they demanded that he show them a miraculous sign from heaven to prove his authority.  When he heard this, he sighed deeply in his spirit and said, “Why do these people keep demanding a miraculous sign? I tell you the truth, I will not give this generation any such sign.”  Mark 8:11, 12 (NLT)

Now, I’m not a big one for miracles.  In my mind the vast majority of things that people today ascribe to miracles are merely and easily explained through coincidence and/or science.  Sorry, but there it is.  That’s not to say that I don’t think that Jesus performed miracles…I believe he did.  I just think that we bandy about the word miracle so often – but it just ain’t so.

But. That’s right, there’s a “but” here.  I do believe that miracles happen.  Oh we can wax romantic and get all poetic about how just the fact that we’re breathing is a miracle.  Okay, stipulated.  I’m talking about those extraordinary, unexpected-against nature type of miracles.  They happen…just not as often as we’d like to think.

But number two, and here’s the funny part – this post really isn’t about miracles.  It’s about sighing.  I remember when I was a kid we’d take a long drink of Pepsi and when we were done we’d let out this long, satisfied sigh.  I’ve heard people sigh at a puppy, a sunset or kind words spoken.  And I’ve heard people sigh in exasperation.

By the time the Pharisees came to see Jesus and bug him about doing a miracle, Jesus had already (just in the book of Mark):  cleansed a leper, healed the centurion’s servant, Peter’s mother-in-law, a paralytic, a hemorrhagic woman, a man’s withered hand, and a deaf mute.  He had raised a ruler’s daughter from the dead, sent a hundred or so demons into a herd of pigs, walked on water and calmed a storm.  On one occasion he fed about 5,000 people with some bread and a couple of fish; then did the same for 4,000 more people. 

So here in Mark chapter 8, the Pharisees approach Jesus and try to goad Him into performing a miracle to prove He was who He said He was.  You can almost sense the sarcasm, judgement and intimidation.  Then Jesus sighed.

When I read this I thought…oh the nerve of these guys!  Treating the Christ like He was some kind of phony; demanding parlor tricks!  Ahh, but then my finger (figuratively mind you) turned back to me.  How many times in my life have I called Christ a phony?  For how many years did I look at Jesus and say that yeah, he was a good guy, an interesting historical figure…but God?  Ehh – I don’t think so. 

And I wonder how often I still do that.  When I pray empty prayers.  When I think flippantly about faith.  I’m not looking at myself with loathing eyes here.  I am simply wondering how many times I have made Christ sigh.