Matthew 16:1 kjv
The Pharisees also with the Sadducees came, and tempting desired him that he would shew them a sign from heaven.
Matthew 16:1 nkjv
Then the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and testing Him asked that He would show them a sign from heaven.
Matthew 16:1 niv
The Pharisees and Sadducees came to Jesus and tested him by asking him to show them a sign from heaven.
Matthew 16:1 esv
And the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and to test him they asked him to show them a sign from heaven.
Matthew 16:1 nlt
One day the Pharisees and Sadducees came to test Jesus, demanding that he show them a miraculous sign from heaven to prove his authority.
Matthew 16 1 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Mt 12:38 | Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered Him, saying, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.” | Direct parallel: Previous demand for a sign, specifically by scribes/Pharisees. |
| Mt 12:39 | But He answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks a sign..." | Jesus's immediate response to demanding signs: Sign of Jonah. |
| Mk 8:11 | Then the Pharisees came out and began to dispute with Him, seeking a sign from Him, tempting Him. | Direct parallel: Pharisees testing Jesus by demanding a sign. |
| Mk 8:12 | And He sighed deeply in His spirit, and said, “Why does this generation seek a sign?" | Jesus's distress and refusal regarding sign-seekers. |
| Lk 11:16 | Others, testing Him, sought from Him a sign from heaven. | Direct parallel: Luke's account of testing Jesus for a sign from heaven. |
| Lk 11:29 | And while the crowds were thickly gathered together, He began to say, “This is an evil generation. It seeks a sign..." | Jesus identifies such demand as coming from an evil generation. |
| Deut 13:1-3 | If there arises among you a prophet or a dreamer of dreams, and he gives you a sign or a wonder... to follow other gods. | Context of signs for true vs. false prophets, linking divine authentication. |
| Is 7:11 | "Ask a sign for yourself from the LORD your God; Ask it either in the depth or in the height above.” | God offering a sign for faith, contrasting with demand for disbelief. |
| Jer 10:2 | "Thus says the LORD: 'Do not learn the way of the Gentiles; Do not be dismayed at the signs of heaven...'" | Warns against reliance on astrological or natural signs over God's word. |
| Acts 2:19 | I will show wonders in heaven above And signs on the earth beneath: Blood and fire and vapor of smoke. | Divine signs from heaven, often prophetic and connected with the End Times. |
| Matt 3:7 | But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, "Brood of vipers! Who warned you...?" | Pharisees and Sadducees together, challenging John the Baptist. |
| Mt 22:15 | Then the Pharisees went and plotted how they might entangle Him in His talk. | Shows the persistent plotting and adversarial intent of the Pharisees. |
| Mt 22:23 | The same day the Sadducees came to Him, who say there is no resurrection... | Demonstrates their specific theological beliefs and direct engagement with Jesus. |
| Mt 22:34 | But when the Pharisees heard that He had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. | Highlights their inter-group dynamics but also their combined opposition. |
| Jn 6:30 | Therefore they said to Him, "What sign will You perform then, that we may see it and believe You?" | People consistently demand signs from Jesus for belief, even after seeing miracles. |
| Jn 12:37 | But although He had done so many signs before them, they did not believe in Him. | Reveals the stubborn unbelief of those who witnessed Jesus's signs. |
| Lk 16:31 | But he said to him, 'If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.'” | Argument that signs (even resurrection) do not persuade those without spiritual receptivity. |
| 2 Thes 2:9 | The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders. | False signs exist and are associated with deception, implying discernment is needed. |
| Ex 7:3 | And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and multiply My signs and My wonders in the land of Egypt. | God performs mighty signs to demonstrate His power and presence. |
| Judg 6:17 | So he said to Him, "If now I have found favor in Your sight, then show me a sign that it is You who talk with me.” | Demand for a sign can come from genuine uncertainty, contrasting with Matt 16:1. |
| Dan 6:27 | He delivers and rescues, And He works signs and wonders In heaven and on earth... | God's ultimate power demonstrated through signs and wonders from heaven. |
| Phil 2:15-16 | ...that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life... | The nature of a "crooked and perverse generation" links to Jesus's description of those seeking signs. |
Matthew 16 verses
Matthew 16 1 Meaning
Matthew 16:1 describes a joint confrontation by the two prominent Jewish religious groups, the Pharisees and Sadducees, who, despite their usual theological differences, united to challenge Jesus. They approached Him with a hostile intent, demanding a dramatic supernatural sign from heaven to authenticate His authority, primarily as a test to find fault or entrap Him.
Matthew 16 1 Context
This verse immediately follows Jesus's powerful demonstration of compassion and divine power through the feeding of the four thousand in a Gentile region (Matt 15:32-39). Prior to that, Jesus had publicly exposed the Pharisees' hypocrisy, challenging their adherence to human traditions over God's commandments (Matt 15:1-20). The return to Judea/Galilee is marked by this renewed challenge from the religious authorities. The fact that the Sadducees, typically rivals of the Pharisees, join them underscores the significant threat they perceived Jesus to be to their collective religious and social authority. Historically, Jews in Jesus's time were often looking for clear, unmistakable signs from God, especially those related to the coming of the Messiah or prophetic fulfillment, echoing events like Elijah's contest with the Baal prophets on Mount Carmel (1 Kgs 18:20-40), where fire came from heaven. However, their demand here was not out of genuine inquiry but as a means to discredit Jesus, whose previous numerous signs they had either dismissed or attributed to demonic power.
Matthew 16 1 Word analysis
- The Pharisees (Greek: Pharisaioi): From the Hebrew word meaning "separated ones." They were a powerful, influential Jewish religious party emphasizing strict adherence to the Law, both written and oral (traditions of the elders). They were popular with the common people due to their piety and commitment to Israel. Their opposition stemmed from Jesus's challenge to their interpretations, authority, and hypocrisy.
- also with the Sadducees (Greek: kai Saddoukaioi): The Sadducees were the aristocratic, priestly party, powerful politically and economically. They accepted only the written Torah (Pentateuch) as authoritative, rejecting the oral tradition of the Pharisees and denying concepts like the resurrection of the dead, angels, and spirits. Their union with the Pharisees here is highly significant, showing that Jesus threatened both major religious power bases sufficiently to override their theological and political animosity.
- came (Greek: proselthontes): A common term for "approaching." Here, it implies a deliberate, direct confrontation or appeal.
- and tempting him (Greek: peirazontes auton): Peirazontes means "to test," "to try," "to examine." The connotation here is hostile: to test with the intent to entrap, to trip up, or to find fault, rather than to genuinely ascertain truth. It carries the idea of an insidious trap, as when Satan tempted Jesus in the wilderness.
- desired (Greek: epērōtēsan): "They asked," "inquired," or "demanded." It's not a polite request but an insistent demand framed as an inquiry, challenging His authority.
- that he would show (Greek: epideixai): "To exhibit," "to demonstrate," "to make a public display of." They sought a clear, undeniable demonstration.
- them a sign (Greek: sēmeion autois): A sēmeion is a distinguishing mark, a miraculous wonder, or an authenticating token. Jesus had already performed many signs (healings, feeding thousands), but they refused to acknowledge these.
- from heaven (Greek: apo tou ouranou): This specifies the type of sign they wanted – a divine, unmistakably supernatural authentication. This was probably an attempt to force Jesus into a situation where failure would expose Him, or success would be unconvincing (e.g., attributed to magic), or that it was the very thing demanded of the Messiah for ultimate verification (as with Elijah calling down fire from heaven). It implies a demand for a cosmic sign, beyond earthly miracles.
Words-group by words-group analysis:
- The Pharisees also with the Sadducees: This unusual alliance highlights the grave concern Jesus posed to the entire religious establishment. Their internal rivalries were put aside for a common cause: to confront and discredit Jesus, reflecting deep-seated opposition to His ministry and teachings.
- came, and tempting him: Their approach was not neutral. The primary motive was not genuine faith or seeking understanding, but to test, provoke, and find grounds for accusation against Jesus, implying a predetermined rejection of His person and message.
- desired that he would show them a sign from heaven: This demand for a heavenly sign despite witnessing countless earthly miracles indicates their spiritual blindness and hardened hearts. They sought an overwhelming, irrefutable display of divine power on their own terms, probably hoping to control or define the Messiah rather than simply recognize Him through the signs He already provided, or more likely, to provide a pretext for accusation if He failed or refused.
Matthew 16 1 Bonus section
The repeated demand for a sign "from heaven" by Jewish religious leaders reflects a recurring theme in the Gospels. It exposes a deeper spiritual issue: a demand for spectacular validation of truth that, when not met on their terms, hardened their hearts further. This is not dissimilar to seeking extraordinary external proofs when the ordinary, powerful truth of God's word and presence is already abundant. Their focus on the spectacular from above blinded them to the divine operating powerfully on the earth right before their eyes in the person of Jesus Christ. Their seeking of a 'sign' was itself a sign—a sign of their deep unbelief and hardened hearts.
Matthew 16 1 Commentary
Matthew 16:1 marks a critical point where the escalating conflict between Jesus and the religious leaders reaches a new intensity, culminating in an unusual alliance between His most consistent antagonists: the Pharisees and the Sadducees. Their demand for a "sign from heaven" was not born of honest inquiry or nascent faith, but of hostility and a desire to trap or discredit Him. They had already witnessed numerous earthly miracles (healings, exorcisms, nature control, feeding thousands), yet they dismissed them. By demanding a sign "from heaven," they sought an act of celestial power (like fire from the sky), perhaps to satisfy their Messianic expectations or to provide an ultimate test which, if failed, would expose Jesus as a fraud, or if granted, could be used against Him. Jesus's consistent refusal to give such signs, beyond "the sign of Jonah" (which referred to His death, burial, and resurrection, Matt 12:39-40), underscores His rebuke of their unrepentant unbelief. True faith, He implied, did not hinge on endless demands for spectacular proofs but on discerning God's activity already present through His works and words. This incident sets the stage for Jesus's subsequent teachings about the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees, representing their corrupt doctrines and spiritual blindness.