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Sermon Outlines by Brian A. Yeager

He Sighed Deeply

I. Introduction: Do you ever get frustrated when people say or do ignorant things? Do you ever find yourself sighing because of the spiritual blindness or stubbornness of people? Do you ever question if you should feel these things? We are going to see that righteous frustration, grief, and even anger have their proper place in the life of God's people.

A. God has shown His reactions to mankind’s foolishness…

  1. Prior to flooding the earth God was grieved at His heart (Genesis 6:5-6).
  2. Israel grieved God in the wilderness (Psalms 78:40).
  3. The Spirit of God was vexed (Isaiah 63:10).
  4. God is angry with the wicked every day (Psalms 7:11).

B. God’s people have shown reactions to mankind’s foolishness…

  1. Moses was angry when he saw the golden calf (Exodus 32:19).
  2. The complaints of the Jews caused Nehemiah to be angry (Nehemiah 5:6).
  3. Paul expressed deep disappointment concerning the Galatians (Galatians 3:1-5 and Galatians 4:11-20).
  4. Jesus serves as one of our examples to follow (I Peter 2:21-22). Guess what? Jesus is the one who had a reaction from which I have drawn the title of this lesson.

II. Body: Mark 8:11-13

A. Understanding that Jesus sighed because of the situation.

  1. The Pharisees were not asking an honest question; they were tempting Him with impure motives as they did in other situations (Luke 11:53-54).
  2. Jesus had already shown much evidence to them (Mark 1:34, Mark 1:39, and Mark 5:35-42). It wasn’t enough! That caused Jesus to sigh.

B. Jesus had other emotional reactions to the foolishness of man…

  1. Mark 3:1-6
  2. Mark 6:1-6
  3. Mark 10:13-16
  4. Luke 19:41-44
  5. John 2:13-17

C. It is important for us to realize that we are to be neither emotionless nor ruled by our emotions. We must rule over our emotions (Proverbs 16:32 and Proverbs 25:28) to be consistent with what is acceptable unto the Lord (Ephesians 5:10).

  1. Jesus sighed, but He didn’t quit out of frustration (John 5:36 and John 6:38).
  2. Jesus became angry, but He never sinned (Hebrews 4:14-15; cf. Ephesians 4:26).
  3. Jesus grieved over hardened hearts, but He continued teaching those who would hear Him (Luke 19:47).

III. Conclusion: Jesus did not suppress righteous emotion, nor was He controlled by it. When confronted with hypocrisy, unbelief, and hardheartedness, He sighed, grieved, became angry, and even wept. Yet every response remained perfectly holy. As His disciples, we should not expect to become emotionless. Rather, we should strive to bring every emotion into harmony with the will of God. Let our hearts feel what ought to be felt, and let our conduct always honor the One we follow. Be holy, as He is holy (I Peter 1:13-16).

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