Matthew 16:1-12

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  16:2 He ⁵  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.’ ⁶  You know how to judge correctly the appearance of the sky, ⁷  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 ⁸  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 ⁹  and Sadducees.” ¹⁰  16:7 So ¹¹  they began to discuss this among themselves, saying, “It is because we brought no bread.” 16:8 When Jesus learned of this, ¹²  he said, “You who have such little faith! ¹³  Why are you arguing ¹⁴  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!” 16:12 Then they understood that he had not told them to be on guard against the yeast in bread, but against the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

[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.

[16:2]  ⁵ tn Grk “But answering, he said to them.” The construction has been simplified in the translation and δέ (de) has not been translated.

[16:3]  ⁶ tn Or “red and gloomy” (L&N 14.56).

[16:3]  ⁷ tn Grk “The face of the sky you know how to discern.”

[16:4]  ⁸ 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.

[16:7]  ¹¹ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of Jesus’ saying about the Pharisees and Sadducees.

[16:8]  ¹² tn Or “becoming aware of it.”

[16:8]  ¹³ tn Grk “Those of little faith.”

[16:8]  ¹⁴ tn Or “discussing.”