Matthew 16:1

The Pharisees and Sadducees Seek a Sign

1 Then the ^aPharisees and Sadducees came, and testing Him asked that He would show them a sign from heaven.

2 He answered and said to 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 foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.’¹ Hypocrites! You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times.

4 ^aA wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of¹ the prophet Jonah.” And He left them and departed.

The Leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees

5 Now ^awhen His disciples had come to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread.

6 Then Jesus said to them, ^a“Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees.”

7 And they reasoned among themselves, saying, “It is because we have taken no bread.”

8 But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, “O you of little faith, why do you reason among yourselves because you¹ have brought no bread?

9 ^aDo you not yet understand, or remember the five loaves of the five thousand and how many baskets you took up?

10 ^aNor the seven loaves of the four thousand and how many large baskets you took up?

11 How is it you do not understand that I did not speak to you concerning bread?—but to beware of the¹ leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”

12 Then they understood that He did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the¹ doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

Peter Confesses Jesus as the Christ

13 When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, ^a“Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?”

14 So they said, ^a“Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or ^bone of the prophets.”

Commentaries:

Forerunner Commentary
What is the Forerunner Commentary?

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What Does Matthew 16:1 Mean?

Those who asked for a sign—the unbelieving hecklers and critics—cared nothing for the real Jesus, and He denounced them as hypocrites. Demanding signs or seeking miracles, as when Gideon put out the fleece, reveals a glaring lack of faith and insults the Word of God, calling Him a liar and tempting Him. If He says He will do something, He will do it, according to His will and in His time. Calling for a miracle often characterizes carnality rather than spirituality. Answered prayer involves more than a dozen qualifications, centering on how we live, our understanding, and our attitude. The Pharisees, especially, should have known better; they were so self-absorbed they missed His work and failed to discern the signs of the times.

Matthew 16:1-4

Who asked for a sign? Who asked for a miracle? Those whose hearts were farthest from Him, the unbelieving, the hecklers, the critics. These people cared nothing for the real Jesus, so they occasionally became the objects of His scathing denunciations. He calls them "hypocrites" for asking for a sign.

Those who ask for signs or seek miracles, who put out the fleece like Gideon did (showing a glaring lack of faith), are actually casting insults on the Word of God. They are calling it into question. They are profaning His name, calling Him a liar because, if He says He will do something, and it is impossible for Him to lie, He will do it!

This can be very sobering. It brings to mind an advertisement that used to appear on television every once in awhile featuring a stern-looking woman dressed in a gown, who said, "It's not nice to fool Mother Nature!" and then thunder pealed! God, surely, takes our immaturity into account, but it is not nice to call Him into question. That is tempting Him. If He says He will do something, He will do it, according to His will. Therefore, calling for a miracle often characterizes carnality, not spirituality.

The next question, then, has to be, "Will not God work a miracle in answer to a prayer?" He makes a great many promises, such as healing, which is indeed a miracle. Will He perform a miracle for us? Yes, He will. But if we search His Word, we find more than a dozen qualifications for answered prayer, not just a couple. Some of them are of major importance, some of lesser importance, and He does not require that every qualification be met perfectly. Even so, divine healing in response to answered prayer is not automatic.

Whether or not God grants our request seems to boil down to three broad areas—four, actually, but three of them fall on us. One is the way we are living. A second is the understanding involved in the request. The third is the attitude in which the request is made. When those three are combined with God's will, the answer becomes clear: He will do it. However, He will do it in His time and in a way that will give credence to His Word, to His truth, to His purpose.

John W. Ritenbaugh
Is God a Magician?

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