Mark 8:11

ἐξῆλθον. As if from an ambush.

οἱ Φαρισαῖοι. Mt. adds the Sadducees, and he does so six times. Mk and Lk. mention the Sadducees only once, Jn not at all. They began once more to question with Him; for some time He had escaped them. See on Mark 1:27.

σημεῖον�. A voice, a return of the manna or of the Shechinah, the sun and the moon to stand still. They believed that with the help of Beelzebub He could work “signs” on earth, but Satanic agency would be powerless in heaven (Theoph.). This demand was made more than once (Matthew 12:38; Matthew 16:1). Luke 11:15-16 gives one occasion and Mk here gives the other. Such a challenge would be likely to be repeated; but the popular taste for miracles is not encouraged by Christ (see on John 4:48; John 20:29) and is disparaged by St Paul (1 Corinthians 1:22). Deissmann, Light from the Ancient East, p. 393.

πειράζοντες αὐτόν. They did not want to be convinced that He was the Messiah; they wanted material for proving that He was not. Unconsciously, they were renewing the temptation in the wilderness. Note the combination of participles. See on Mark 1:15.