Matthew 16:1

The Demand for a Sign

16:1 Now when the Pharisees ¹  and Sadducees ²  came to test Jesus, ³  they asked him to show them a sign from heaven. ⁴ 

Matthew 16:4

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 ⁵  he left them and went away.

Matthew 16:6

16:6 “Watch out,” Jesus said to them, “beware of the yeast of the Pharisees ⁶  and Sadducees.” ⁷ 

[16:1]  ¹ sn See the note on Pharisees in 3:7.

[16:1]  ² sn See the note on Sadducees in 3:7.

[16:1]  ³ tn The object of the participle πειράζοντες (peirazontes) is not given in the Greek text but has been supplied here for clarity.

[16:1]  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.

[16:4]  ⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[16:6]  ⁹ sn See the note on Pharisees in 3:7.

[16:6]  ¹⁰ sn See the note on Sadducees in 3:7.