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 24:1

The Destruction of the Temple

24:1 Now ⁵  as Jesus was going out of the temple courts and walking away, his disciples came to show him the temple buildings. ⁶ 

[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.

[24:1]  ⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.

[24:1]  ⁶ sn The Jerusalem temple was widely admired around the world. See Josephus, Ant. 15.11 [15.380-425]; J. W. 5.5 [5.184-227] and Tacitus, History 5.8, who called it “immensely opulent.” Josephus compared it to a beautiful snowcapped mountain.