Pharisees Demand a Sign
Matthew 16:1-4
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Matt.16.1 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- Και: CONJ
- προσελθοντες: VERB,aor,act,part,nom,pl,m
- οι: ART,nom,pl,m
- Φαρισαιοι: NOUN,nom,pl,m
- και: CONJ
- Σαδδουκαιοι: NOUN,nom,pl,m
- πειραζοντες: VERB,pres,act,part,nom,pl,m
- επηρωτησαν: VERB,aor,act,ind,3,pl
- αυτον: PRON,acc,sg,m,3
- σημειον: NOUN,acc,sg,n
- εκ: PREP
- του: ART,gen,sg,n
- ουρανου: NOUN,gen,sg,m
- επιδειξαι: VERB,aor,act,inf
- αυτοις: PRON,dat,pl,m
Parallels
- Mark 8:11-12 (verbal): Near-verbatim Synoptic parallel: Pharisees (and Sadducees in Matthew) demand a sign from heaven to test Jesus; Mark records the same episode.
- Matt.12:38-39 (verbal): Earlier Matthean instance where Pharisees and scribes ask Jesus for a sign; Jesus replies that no sign will be given except the sign of Jonah—same motif of testing by asking for a sign.
- Luke 11:29 (thematic): Luke records the crowd seeking a sign and Jesus’ declaration that the only sign to be given is the sign of Jonah; parallels the theme of demand for a miraculous token from heaven.
- John 2:18 (thematic): After Jesus’ actions in Jerusalem, Jewish leaders ask him what sign he shows for his works—another New Testament example of religious leaders demanding a sign to authenticate Jesus.
- Jonah 1:17–2:10 (allusion): The ‘sign of Jonah’ (which Jesus cites elsewhere in response to sign-requests) alludes to Jonah’s three days in the fish; this OT episode is the interpretive key Jesus later gives for requests for a heavenly sign.
Alternative generated candidates
- Then the Pharisees and the Sadducees came to him, testing him, and they asked him to show them a sign from heaven.
- The Pharisees and the Sadducees came, and to test him they asked that he would show them a sign from heaven.
Matt.16.2 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ο: ART,nom,sg,m
- δε: CONJ
- αποκριθεις: VERB,aor,act,part,nom,sg,m
- ειπεν: VERB,aor,act,ind,3,sg
- αυτοις·Οψιας: PRON,dat,pl,m
- γενομενης: VERB,pres,mid,part,gen,f,sg
- λεγετε·Ευδια: VERB,pres,act,ind,2,pl
- πυρραζει: VERB,pres,act,ind,3,sg
- γαρ: CONJ
- ο: ART,nom,sg,m
- ουρανος·: NOUN,nom,sg,m
Parallels
- Luke 12:54-56 (verbal): Nearly identical saying about interpreting the sky ('When you see a cloud rising in the west...') and the rebuke about knowing how to read earth and sky but not the present time—direct parallel to Matt 16:2-3.
- Matthew 16:3 (structural): Immediate continuation of the same remark ('and in the morning, Today it will be stormy...'), culminating in the rebuke of 'this evil and adulterous generation'—completes the thought begun in 16:2.
- Matthew 12:39-42 (thematic): Jesus condemns the generation for seeking signs and calls them 'evil and adulterous,' using examples (Jonah, Queen of the South) to argue that they fail to recognize the signs—same theme of willful blindness to present signs.
- Matthew 24:32-33 (thematic): Uses the fig-tree parable to teach discerning the signs of the times—related theme of interpreting observable signs to know what is near, parallel to the sky/season analogy in 16:2.
Alternative generated candidates
- He answered them, “When it is evening you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’
- He answered them, "When it is evening you say, 'It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.'"
Matt.16.3 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- και: CONJ
- πρωι·Σημερον: ADV
- χειμων: NOUN,nom,sg,m
- πυρραζει: VERB,pres,act,ind,3,sg
- γαρ: CONJ
- στυγναζων: VERB,pres,act,part,nom,m,sg
- ο: ART,nom,sg,m
- ουρανος: NOUN,nom,sg,m
- το: ART,nom,sg,n
- μεν: PART
- προσωπον: NOUN,acc,sg,n
- του: ART,gen,sg,n
- ουρανου: NOUN,gen,sg,m
- γινωσκετε: VERB,pres,act,ind,2,pl
- διακρινειν: VERB,pres,act,inf
- τα: ART,nom,pl,neut
- δε: CONJ
- σημεια: NOUN,acc,pl,n
- των: ART,gen,pl,m
- καιρων: NOUN,gen,pl,m
- ου: PART
- δυνασθε: VERB,pres,mid,ind,2,pl
Parallels
- Matthew 16:2-4 (structural): Immediate context of the same pericope: verses 2–4 contain the fuller dialogue about the request for a sign, the red sky/weather illustration, and Jesus' rebuke about discerning the 'signs of the times.'
- Luke 12:54-56 (verbal): Close verbal parallel: Luke records the same weather/figured-sky illustration and the rebuke that people can interpret the sky but not the present 'time' or 'season.'
- Mark 8:11-13 (structural): Parallel account of the Pharisees/Priests demanding a sign and Jesus' refusal; corresponds to Matthew's episode addressing signs and unbelief.
- Matthew 24:32-33 (thematic): Fig-tree/season imagery used elsewhere by Jesus to make a similar point: people should be able to discern the 'signs' that indicate the arrival of significant events.
- Jonah 1:17 (and Jonah 2) (allusion): Jesus later cites 'the sign of Jonah' in this same exchange (Matt 16:4); Jonah's experience functions as the typological sign Jesus offers in response to demands for a miraculous proof.
Alternative generated candidates
- And in the morning you say, ‘Today will be stormy, for the sky is red and threatening.’ You know how to read the appearance of the sky, but you are not able to read the signs of the times.
- And in the morning you say, 'Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and threatening.' You hypocrites! You know how to discern the appearance of the sky, but can you not discern the signs of the times?
Matt.16.4 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- Γενεα: NOUN,nom,sg,f
- πονηρα: ADJ,nom,sg,f
- και: CONJ
- μοιχαλις: ADJ,nom,sg,f
- σημειον: NOUN,acc,sg,n
- επιζητει: VERB,pres,act,ind,3,sg
- και: CONJ
- σημειον: NOUN,acc,sg,n
- ου: PART
- δοθησεται: VERB,fut,pass,ind,3,sg
- αυτη: PRON,dat,sg,f
- ει: COND
- μη: PART
- το: ART,nom,sg,n
- σημειον: NOUN,acc,sg,n
- Ιωνα: NOUN,gen,sg,m
- και: CONJ
- καταλιπων: VERB,aor,act,ptcp,nom,sg,m
- αυτους: PRON,acc,pl,m
- απηλθεν: VERB,aor,act,ind,3,sg
Parallels
- Matt.12:39-41 (quotation): Nearly identical saying earlier in Matthew: 'An evil and adulterous generation seeks a sign... except the sign of Jonah,' with mention of Jonah and Nineveh as the basis of the judgment/repentance contrast.
- Luke 11:29-32 (quotation): Parallel account in Luke where Jesus calls for the 'sign of Jonah' and cites Jonah and the repentance of Nineveh (and the Queen of the South) as the sign and indictment of the generation.
- Mark 8:11-12 (structural): Mark's parallel episode: religious leaders ask Jesus for a sign from heaven; Jesus refuses to give a sign—same confrontational context of a sign-seeking generation (though Mark does not include the Jonah formula here).
- Matt.12:40 (verbal): Immediate Matthean explanation of the 'sign of Jonah': 'For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish...' linking Jonah's experience to Jesus' death and resurrection.
- Jonah 1:17–2:10 (allusion): The original Jonah narrative: Jonah's three days in the fish and the repentance motif of Nineveh form the OT background and typological basis for Jesus' reference to the 'sign of Jonah.'
Alternative generated candidates
- An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign; and no sign will be given it except the sign of Jonah.” Then he left them and went away.
- An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign; and no sign will be given it except the sign of Jonah." And he left them and went away.
Then the Pharisees and the Sadducees came to test him, and they asked him to show them a sign from heaven. But he answered them, "When evening comes you say, 'It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.'" And in the morning you say, 'Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and threatening.' You know how to read the appearance of the sky, but you cannot read the signs of the times.
An evil and adulterous generation seeks a sign; and no sign will be given it except the sign of Jonah. And leaving them, he went away.