Matthew 16:1-4·~1 min
The Demand for a Sign
The Pharisees and Sadducees ask for a sign from heaven, but Jesus points them to their own skill at reading the sky and says they cannot read the times before them.
T1hen the Pharisees and Sadducees came and tested Jesus by asking Him to show them a sign from heaven. 2But He replied, “When evening comes, you say, ‘The weather will be fair, for the sky is red,’ 3and in the morning, ‘Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but not the signs of the times. 4A wicked and adulterous generation demands a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah.” Then He left them and went away.
Section summaryThe Pharisees and Sadducees ask for a sign from heaven, but Jesus points them to their own skill at reading the sky and says they cannot read the times before them.
Role in the chapterThis opening exchange sets the chapter’s concern with discernment. Signs are not refused because they are impossible, but because the request itself comes from a hardened reading of Jesus.