August 19, 2026 - Good Morning! It’s Wednesday, August 19.
In Mark 8:11-13, we read - “The Pharisees came and began to question Jesus. To test Him they asked for a sign from heaven. Jesus sighed deeply and said, ‘Why do you ask for a miraculous sign? I tell you the truth, no sign will be given to you’. Then He left them, got back into the boat, and crossed to the other side.”
The phrase that speaks to me this morning, right in the middle of that passage, are the words “Jesus sighed deeply”. Christ had just performed one of His greatest miracles, the feeding of the multitude with the loaves and fishes from a young boy’s lunch, and then He and the disciples had left the crowd for a time of rest, when suddenly, here again were the relentless Pharisees pressing for more. And Jesus, before answering . . . sighed deeply. Have you ever had that reaction, when, in the midst of trying to serve God, trying to do something good, someone responds with a negative question or a hurtful comment. You probably have. And it seems that Christ, in His complete humanity, experienced this too.
In these scriptures we’re reminded that Christ knows all that we go through, because He went through it all as well. And He’s teaching us here that, when we encounter opposition, we should respond in a civil manner and then get back to business. He gave the Pharisees their moment, he responded, and then “He left them, got back into the boat, and crossed to the other side”. If we are to be “about our Father’s business”, as twelve-year-old Jesus told His parents when they found Him in the Temple, then that has to be our number one focus, our purpose, our priority. There will always be people and circumstances to distract us, but, following His example . . . we must get back into the boat and cross to the other side.
Meet you back here tomorrow,
David
cindertex50@yahoo.com
