“And the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and to test him they asked him to show them a sign from heaven. 2 He answered them, “When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’ 3 And in the morning, ‘It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times. 4 An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.” So he left them and departed.” (Matthew 16:1–4 (ESV)
At this point in Matthew’s narrative, Jesus has performed many public miracles (Matt. 8-15). In fact, Jesus healed a man with a withered hand on a Sabbath (Matt. 12:9-14). However, instead of acknowledging Jesus as God Incarnate, the Pharisees sought to destroy Him. For these religious leaders, seeing did not result in believing.
1 Corinthians 1:20–25 (ESV) says, “20 Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. 22 For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, 24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.”
While the Pharisees and Sadducees opposed each other religiously, they united themselves in their hatred of Jesus. While they witnessed many of Jesus’ miracles, they continued to demand more proof of His deity. While they could correctly interpret the upcoming weather by the sky’s appearance, they refused to correctly interpret Jesus identity by His many observable works.
“The demand for a sign ‘from heaven’ expresses a stubborn refusal to acknowledge the heavenly source of the many miracles that Jesus has performed. Jesus notes the irony that the Pharisees and Sadducees can interpret the heavens –that is, the sky—to predict weather but fail to grasp what His miracles signify about the spiritual weather; that is the times in which they live. It was the time of the Messiah’s coming. The problem was not a lack of evidence but an unwillingness to accept its significance.” explains Dr. R. C. Sproul.
Jesus condemned the religious leaders for their hypocrisy. He rightly evaluated their spiritual condition. They were an evil and adulterous generation. Their demand for miraculous signs evidenced this fact. Jesus furthered stated the only sign to begin would be the sign of Jonah.
“As in Matt. 12:38-41, Jesus again cites the prophet Jonah’s ‘resurrection’ from entombment in the sea and the great fish as a preview of His own resurrection from death itself, which is the greatest sign of His messiahship,” states Dr. Sproul.
“By means of that sign, Christ’s atoning death and glorious resurrection from the grave, He would triumph completely over them, and would prove Himself to be the Messiah (Rom. 1:4). This was going to be the ;sign’ of His complete victory over all His enemies (Matt. 26:64; Mark 14:62) and a forecast of His triumphant return upon the clouds of heaven (Phil. 2:9-11; 3:20; Rev. 1:5-7),” explains Dr. William Hendriksen.
May we resolve to not demand supernatural signs from the Lord, but rather be observant to the many daily evidences the Lord displays of His person, power and presence to each of us. Have a blessed day in the Lord.
Soli deo Gloria!
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