“And the Pharisees came forth, and began to question with him, seeking of him a sign from heaven, tempting him.”
The Pharisees came and began to question Jesus. To test him, they asked him for a sign from heaven — the Pharisees' request for a sign immediately after two feeding miracles is the chapter's great irony: they want a sign from heaven in the presence of someone who has just fed eight thousand people with a handful of bread and fish. The to test him communicates that the request is not genuine inquiry but an attempt to trap Jesus — either he cannot produce a sign and is discredited, or he produces one on their terms and validates their authority over him.
Church Fathers on Mark 8:11
After that our Lord had worked the miracle of the loaves, He immediately retires into another spot, lest on account of the miracle, the multitudes should take Him to make Him a king.
Now in Matthew we read that He entered into the parts of Magdala [ed. note: Magedam]. But we cannot doubt that it is the same place under another name; for several manuscripts even of St. Mark have only Magdala.
The Pharisees, then, seek a sign from heaven, that He, Who had for the second time fed many thousands of men with a few loaves of bread, should now, after the example of Moses, refresh the whole nation in the last time with manna sent down from heaven, and dispersed amongst them all.
Read all 15 entries in the readerCatena Aurea · St. Thomas Aquinas, tr. J. H. Newman · public domain
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