The Pharisees came and began to argue with Jesus, seeking from him a sign from heaven, to test him. And he sighed deeply in his spirit, and said, "Why does this generation seek a sign? Truly, I say to you, no sign shall be given to this generation." And he left them, and getting into the boat again he departed to the other side.– St. Mark 8:11-13
People tend to expect God to reveal Himself in the abnormal, anticipating that the actions of God should be extraordinary. It was no different during the time of the earthly ministry of Jesus. It was believed then that when the Messiah came, startling things would happen. In fact, one of the things that the many false messiahs invariably promised was that if people would follow them, they would do amazing things.
In this gospel passage we see the Pharisees demanding just such an abnormal sign – something from heaven which would “prove” that Jesus was the Messiah. They wanted to see some shattering event blazing across the sky, defying nature and giving astonishment to people.
Jesus knew their demand wasn’t due to a real desire to see the hand of God. In fact, they were blind to what was already happening. The whole world was full of signs. God had already made Himself known through His creation. God doesn’t need to “break into creation” to make Himself known because there is already enough evidence for anyone who has eyes to see.
The sign of the truly religious individual is that he finds God in all sorts of circumstances – not just in the astounding or inexplicable. So Jesus asks in exasperation: “Why does this generation seek a sign?” And then He states just as abruptly, “Truly, I say to you, no sign shall be given to this generation…”