Text -- Matthew 16:1-11 (NET)

The Demand for a Sign

16:1 Now when the Pharisees and Sadducees came to test Jesus, they asked him to show them a sign from heaven. 16:2 He said, said, “When evening comes you say, ‘It will be fair weather, because the sky is red,’ 16:3 and in the morning, ‘It will be stormy today, because the sky is red and darkening.’ You know how to judge correctly the appearance of the sky, but you cannot evaluate the signs of the times. 16:4 A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.” Then he left them and went away.

The Yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees

16:5 When the disciples went to the other side, they forgot to take bread. 16:6 “Watch out,” Jesus said to them, “beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” 16:7 So they began to discuss this among themselves, saying, “It is because we brought no bread.” 16:8 When Jesus learned of this, he said, “You who have such little faith! Why are you arguing among yourselves about having no bread? 16:9 Do you still not understand? Don’t you remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many baskets you took up? 16:10 Or the seven loaves for the four thousand and how many baskets you took up? 16:11 How could you not understand that I was not speaking to you about bread? But beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees!”

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Mat 16:1

¹ sn See the note on Pharisees in 3:7.

² sn See the note on Sadducees in 3:7.

³ tn The object of the participle πειράζοντες (peirazontes) is not given in the Greek text but has been supplied here for clarity.

⁴ sn What exactly this sign would have been, given what Jesus was already doing, is not clear. But here is where the fence-sitters reside, refusing to commit to him.

NET Notes: Mat 16:2

¹ tn Grk “But answering, he said to them.” The construction has been simplified in the translation and δέ (de) has not been translated.

NET Notes: Mat 16:3

¹ tn Or “red and gloomy” (L&N 14.56).

² tn Grk “The face of the sky you know how to discern.”

NET Notes: Mat 16:4

¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

NET Notes: Mat 16:6

¹ sn See the note on Pharisees in 3:7.

² sn See the note on Sadducees in 3:7.

NET Notes: Mat 16:7

¹ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of Jesus’ saying about the Pharisees and Sadducees.

NET Notes: Mat 16:8

¹ tn Or “becoming aware of it.”

² tn Grk “Those of little faith.”

³ tn Or “discussing.”