Matthew 12:38 Study Bible: Then certain of the scribes and Pharisees said to him, "Teacher, we want to see a sign from you."

◄ Matthew 12:38 ►

Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Him, "Teacher, we want to see a sign from You."

Then
The word "then" serves as a transitional term, linking the current narrative to the preceding events. In the context of Matthew 12, Jesus had been performing miracles and teaching with authority, which had already stirred controversy among the religious leaders. This word indicates a continuation of the tension between Jesus and the religious authorities, setting the stage for the request that follows.

some of the scribes and Pharisees
The scribes and Pharisees were influential religious leaders in Jewish society. The scribes were experts in the Law of Moses, responsible for teaching and interpreting the Scriptures. The Pharisees were a religious sect known for their strict adherence to the Law and traditions. Historically, these groups often opposed Jesus because His teachings challenged their authority and interpretations. Their request for a sign reflects their skepticism and unwillingness to accept Jesus' authority despite the miracles He had already performed.

said to Him
This phrase indicates direct communication with Jesus, highlighting the personal nature of their request. It underscores the confrontational aspect of their interaction, as they approach Jesus not with genuine curiosity but with a challenge to His authority.

Teacher
The term "Teacher" (Greek: διδάσκαλε, didaskale) is a title of respect, acknowledging Jesus' role as a rabbi or instructor. However, in this context, it may carry a tone of irony or insincerity, as the scribes and Pharisees often questioned Jesus' teachings and authority. Their use of this title could be seen as an attempt to flatter or manipulate, rather than a genuine acknowledgment of His wisdom.

we want to see
This phrase reveals the desire of the scribes and Pharisees for empirical evidence. Their demand for a sign suggests a lack of faith and an insistence on physical proof rather than spiritual understanding. It reflects a common human tendency to rely on visible signs rather than trust in the unseen.

a sign
In biblical terms, a "sign" (Greek: σημεῖον, sēmeion) is a miraculous event that points to a deeper spiritual truth or divine authority. Throughout Scripture, signs are used by God to confirm His messages and messengers. However, the request for a sign here is not born out of faith but skepticism. The religious leaders had already witnessed Jesus' miracles, yet they demanded more, indicating their hardened hearts and refusal to believe.

from You
This phrase emphasizes the personal nature of their demand. They are specifically challenging Jesus to prove His divine authority. It reflects their doubt and disbelief in His identity as the Messiah. Despite the evidence of His previous miracles, they remain unconvinced and demand further proof, highlighting their spiritual blindness.

Persons / Places / Events

1. Scribes
Jewish scholars and teachers of the Law who were often associated with the Pharisees. They were experts in the Scriptures and played a significant role in religious and legal matters.

2. Pharisees
A religious and political group in Judaism known for their strict adherence to the Law and traditions. They often clashed with Jesus over interpretations of the Law and His teachings.

3. Jesus
The central figure of the New Testament, believed by Christians to be the Son of God and the Messiah. In this passage, He is addressed as "Teacher" by the scribes and Pharisees.

4. Request for a Sign
The scribes and Pharisees demand a miraculous sign from Jesus to prove His authority and divine mission.

5. Context of the Request
This event occurs after Jesus has performed numerous miracles and taught extensively, yet the religious leaders remain skeptical and demand further proof.

Teaching Points

The Demand for Signs Reflects Unbelief
The request for a sign reveals a lack of faith and an unwillingness to accept the evidence already provided through Jesus' teachings and miracles.

Spiritual Blindness
The scribes and Pharisees' inability to recognize Jesus' authority highlights the danger of spiritual blindness and the importance of having a heart open to God's truth.

The Sufficiency of Christ's Resurrection
Jesus' resurrection is the ultimate sign of His divine authority and mission. Believers are called to trust in this foundational truth.

Faith Beyond Sight
True faith does not rely on constant miraculous signs but trusts in God's promises and His revealed Word.

The Role of Signs and Wonders
While signs can point to God's power, they are not the foundation of faith. Believers should seek a deeper relationship with God rather than just miraculous experiences.

Bible Study Questions

1. Why do you think the scribes and Pharisees demanded a sign from Jesus, despite witnessing His miracles and teachings?

2. How does the request for a sign reflect the spiritual condition of the scribes and Pharisees, and what can we learn from this about our own spiritual discernment?

3. In what ways does the resurrection of Jesus serve as the ultimate sign for believers, and how should this impact our faith and daily living?

4. How can we guard against the temptation to seek signs and wonders as the basis of our faith, and instead cultivate a deeper trust in God's Word?

5. Reflect on a time when you struggled with doubt or sought a sign from God. How did you find assurance in His promises, and what Scriptures helped strengthen your faith?

Connections to Other Scriptures

Matthew 16:1-4
The Pharisees and Sadducees again ask Jesus for a sign, and He rebukes them for their inability to interpret the "signs of the times," emphasizing their spiritual blindness.

John 2:18-22
The Jews demand a sign from Jesus after He cleanses the temple, and He refers to His resurrection as the ultimate sign.

1 Corinthians 1:22-24
Paul discusses how Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but the message of Christ crucified is a stumbling block to both, yet it is the power and wisdom of God.

Sermons

Religious Sign-Seekers	C. Lankester, B. A.	Matthew 12:38
Sinful Sign-Seekers	R. Tuck	Matthew 12:38
The Doctrines of Religion Reasonable to be Believed	S. Clarke, D. D.	Matthew 12:38
Last State Worse than First	Marcus Dods	Matthew 12:38-45
One Inevitable Law of Judgment	P.C. Barker	Matthew 12:38-45
The Sign-Seekers	J.A. Macdonald	Matthew 12:38-45

People

Beelzebub, David, Isaiah, Jesus, Jonah, Jonas, Ninevites, Solomon

Places

Galilee, Nineveh

Topics

Accosted, Desire, Hearing, Law, Master, Miraculous, Pharisees, Saying, Scribes, Sign, Teacher, Teachers, Wish

Dictionary of Bible Themes

Matthew 12:38

2575 Christ, temptation

Matthew 12:28-38

3045 Holy Spirit, sovereignty

Matthew 12:38-39

     1449   signs, purposes
     2351   Christ, miracles
     6243   adultery, spiritual
     6252   temptation, and Christ
     7464   teachers of the law
     8836   unbelief, response

Matthew 12:38-40

9170 signs of times

Matthew 12:38-41

2422 gospel, confirmation

Matthew 12:38-42

7552 Pharisees, attitudes to Christ
8712 denial of Christ

Library

An Attempt to Account for Jesus
'But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This man doth not cast out demons, but by Beelzebub, the prince of the demons.'--MATT. xii. 24. Mark's Gospel tells us that this astonishing explanation of Christ and His work was due to the ingenious malice of an ecclesiastical deputation, sent down from Jerusalem to prevent the simple folk in Galilee from being led away by this new Teacher. They must have been very hard put to it to explain undeniable but unwelcome facts, when they hazarded such a preposterous …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

'Make the Tree Good'
'... Make the tree good, and his fruit good....' --MATT. xii. 33. In this Gospel we find that our Lord twice uses this image of a tree and its fruit. In the Sermon on the Mount He applies it as a test to false teachers, who hide, beneath the wool of the sheep's clothing, the fangs and paws of ravening wolves. He says, 'By their deeds ye shall know them; for as is the tree so is its fruit.' That is a rough and ready test, which applies rather to the teacher than to his doctrine, but it applies, to …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

'A Greater than Jonas'
'A greater than Jonas is here.'--MATT. xii. 41. There never was any man in his right mind, still more of influence on his fellows, who made such claims as to himself in such unmistakable language as Jesus Christ does. To say such things of oneself as come from His lips is a sign of a weak, foolish nature. It is fatal to all influence, to all beauty of character. It is not only that He claims official attributes as a fanatical or dishonest pretender to inspiration may do. He does that, but He does …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

'A Greater than Solomon'
'A greater than Solomon is here.'--MATT. xii. 42. It is condescension in Him to compare Himself with any; yet if any might have been selected, it is that great name. To the Jews Solomon is an ideal figure, who appealed so strongly to popular imagination as to become the centre of endless legends; whose dominion was the very apex of national glory, in recounting whose splendours the historical books seem to be scarce able to restrain their triumph and pride. I. The Man. The story gives us a richly …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Pharisees' Sabbath and Christ's
'At that time Jesus went on the Sabbath day through the corn; and His disciples were an hungred, and began to pluck the ears of corn, and to eat. 2. But when the Pharisees saw it they said unto Him, Behold, Thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do upon the Sabbath day. 3. But he said unto them, Have ye not read what David did, when he was an hungred, and they that were with him; 4. How he entered into the house of God, and did eat the shewbread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

On the Words of the Gospel, Matt. xii. 32, "Whosoever Shall Speak a Word against the Holy Spirit, it Shall not be Forgiven Him, Neither In
1. There has been a great question raised touching the late lesson of the Gospel, to the solution of which I am unequal by any power of mine own; but "our sufficiency is of God," [2335] to whatever degree we are capable of receiving His aid. First then consider the magnitude of the question; that when ye see the weight of it laid upon my shoulders, ye may pray in aid of my labours, and in the assistance which is vouchsafed to me, may find edification for your own souls. When "one possessed with a …
Saint Augustine—sermons on selected lessons of the new testament

On the Words of the Gospel, Matt. xii. 33, "Either Make the Tree Good, and Its Fruit Good," Etc.
1. The Lord Jesus hath admonished us, that we be good trees, and that so we may be able to bear good fruits. For He saith, "Either make the tree good, and his fruit good, or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt, for the tree is known by his fruit." [2484] When He says, "Make the tree good, and his fruit good;" this of course is not an admonition, but a wholesome precept, to which obedience is necessary. But when He saith, "Make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt;" this is not a …
Saint Augustine—sermons on selected lessons of the new testament

Sweet Comfort for Feeble Saints
I. First, we have before us a view of MORTAL FRAILTY And first, the encouragement offered in our text applies to weak ones. What in the world is weaker than the bruised reed, or the smoking flax? A reed that groweth in the fen or marsh, let but the wild duck light upon it, and it snaps; let but the foot of man brush against it and it is bruised and broken; every wind that comes howling across the river makes it shake to and fro, and well nigh tears it up by the roots. You can conceive of nothing …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 1: 1855

How to Read the Bible
I. That is the subject of our present discourse, or, at least the first point of it, that IN ORDER TO THE TRUE READING OF THE SCRIPTURES THERE MUST BE AN UNDERSTANDING OF THEM. I scarcely need to preface these remarks by saying that we must read the Scriptures. You know how necessary it is that we should be fed upon the truth of Holy Scripture. Need I suggest the question as to whether you do read your Bibles or not? I am afraid that this is a magazine reading age a newspaper reading age a periodical …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 25: 1879

Strength in the Weak.
"He is Faithful that Promised." "A bruised reed shall He not break, and smoking flax shall He not quench."--MATT. xii. 20. Strength in the Weak. Will Jesus accept such a heart as mine?--this erring, treacherous, traitor heart? The past! how many forgotten vows--broken covenants--prayerless days! How often have I made new resolutions, and as often has the reed succumbed to the first blast of temptation, and the burning flax been well-nigh quenched by guilty omissions and guiltier commissions! Oh! …
John Ross Macduff—The Faithful Promiser

Identity of Christ's Character.
THE argument expressed by this title I apply principally to the comparison of the first three Gospels with that of Saint John. It is known to every reader of Scripture that the passages of Christ's history preserved by Saint John are, except his passion and resurrection, for the most part different from those which are delivered by the other evangelists. And I think the ancient account of this difference to be the true one, viz., that Saint John wrote after the rest, and to supply what he thought …
William Paley—Evidences of Christianity

What are Evidences of Backsliding in Heart.
1. Manifest formality in religious exercises. A stereotyped, formal way of saying and doing things, that is clearly the result of habit, rather than the outgushing of the religious life. This formality will be emotionless and cold as an iceberg, and will evince a total want of earnestness in the performance of religious duty. In prayer and in religious exercises the backslider in heart will pray or praise, or confess, or give thanks with his lips, so that all can hear him, perhaps, but in such a …
Charles G. Finney—The Backslider in Heart

Lesser and Fuller Forms.
Moreover, we have endeavoured to use the fullest form, including the words of those Gospels which have the lesser forms of sentences, except where the sentence ends in a period, in which case have given the least form, so that the larger form of the other Gospels might be made apparent; as, for instance, this sentence, taken from Matt. xii. 47; Mark iii. 32; Luke viii. 20: ^c 20 And it was told him, ^a Behold, thy mother and thy brethren bseek for thee. ^c stand without desiring to see thee. ^a seeking …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

Jesus Defends Disciples who Pluck Grain on the Sabbath.
(Probably While on the Way from Jerusalem to Galilee.) ^A Matt. XII. 1-8; ^B Mark II. 23-28; ^C Luke VI. 1-5. ^b 23 And ^c 1 Now it came to pass ^a 1 At that season ^b that he ^a Jesus went { ^b was going} on the { ^c a} ^b sabbath day through the grainfields; ^a and his disciples were hungry and began ^b as they went, to pluck the ears. ^a and to eat, ^c and his disciples plucked the ears, and did eat, rubbing them in their hands. [This lesson fits in chronological order with the last, if the Bethesda …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

Jesus Heals Multitudes Beside the Sea of Galilee.
^A Matt. XII. 15-21; ^B Mark III. 7-12. ^a 15 And Jesus perceiving it withdrew ^b with his disciples ^a from thence: ^b to the sea [This was the first withdrawal of Jesus for the avowed purpose of self-preservation. After this we find Jesus constantly retiring to avoid the plots of his enemies. The Sea of Galilee, with its boats and its shores touching different jurisdictions, formed a convenient and fairly safe retreat]: ^a and many followed him; ^b and a great multitude from Galilee followed; and …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

Blasphemous Accusations of the Jews.
(Galilee.) ^A Matt. XII. 22-37; ^B Mark III. 19-30; ^C Luke XI. 14-23. ^b 19 And he cometh into a house. [Whose house is not stated.] 20 And the multitude cometh together again [as on a previous occasion--Mark ii. 1], so that they could not so much as eat bread. [They could not sit down to a regular meal. A wonderful picture of the intense importunity of people and the corresponding eagerness of Jesus, who was as willing to do as they were to have done.] 21 And when his friends heard it, they went …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

Sign Seekers, and the Enthusiast Reproved.
(Galilee on the Same Day as the Last Section.) ^A Matt. XII. 38-45; ^C Luke XI. 24-36. ^c 29 And when the multitudes were gathering together unto him, ^a 38 Then certain of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, Teacher, we would see a sign from thee. [Having been severely rebuked by Jesus, it is likely that the scribes and Pharisees asked for a sign that they might appear to the multitude more fair-minded and open to conviction than Jesus had represented them to be. Jesus had just wrought …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

Christ's Teaching as to his Mother and Brethren.
(Galilee, Same Day as the Last Lesson.) ^A Matt. XII. 46-50; ^B Mark III. 31-35; ^C Luke VIII. 19-21. ^a 46 While he yet speaking to the multitudes, behold, his mother and his brethren stood without seeking to speak to him. [Jesus was in a house, probably at Capernaum--Mark iii. 19; Matt. xiii. 1.] ^c 19 and there came { ^b come} ^c to him his mother and ^b his brethren; ^c and they could not come at him for the crowd. ^a and, standing without, they sent unto him, calling him. 32 And the multitude …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

Jesus Defends Healing a Withered Hand on the Sabbath.
(Probably Galilee.) ^A Matt. XII. 9-14; ^B Mark III. 1-6; ^C Luke VI. 6-11. ^a 9 And he departed thence. [The word here points to a journey as in Matt. xi. 1 and xv. 29, which are the only places where Matthew uses this expression. Greswell may be right in thinking that it indicates the return back to Galilee from the Passover, since a cognate expression used by John expresses such a journey from Galilee to Judæa. See John vii. 3 ], ^c 6 And it came to pass on another sabbath [another sabbath …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

The Acceptance of the Christian Conception of Life Will Emancipate Men from the Miseries of Our Pagan Life.
The External Life of Christian Peoples Remains Pagan Though they are Penetrated by Christian Consciousness--The Way Out of this Contradiction is by the Acceptance of the Christian Theory of Life--Only Through Christianity is Every Man Free, and Emancipated of All Human Authority--This Emancipation can be Effected by no Change in External Conditions of Life, but Only by a Change in the Conception of Life--The Christian Ideal of Life Requires Renunciation of all Violence, and in Emancipating the Man …
Leo Tolstoy—The Kingdom of God is within you

The Two Sabbath-Controversies - the Plucking of the Ears of Corn by the Disciples, and the Healing of the Man with the Withered Hand
IN grouping together the three miracles of healing described in the last chapter, we do not wish to convey that it is certain they had taken place in precisely that order. Nor do we feel sure, that they preceded what is about to be related. In the absence of exact data, the succession of events and their location must be matter of combination. From their position in the Evangelic narratives, and the manner in which all concerned speak and act, we inferred, that they took place at that particular …
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah

The First Peræan Discourses - to the Pharisees Concerning the Two Kingdoms - their Contest - what Qualifies a Disciple for the Kingdom of God, And
It was well that Jesus should, for the present, have parted from Jerusalem with words like these. They would cling about His hearers like the odour of incense that had ascended. Even the schism' that had come among them [4194] concerning His Person made it possible not only to continue His Teaching, but to return to the City once more ere His final entrance. For, His Peræan Ministry, which extended from after the Feast of Tabernacles to the week preceding the last Passover, was, so to speak, …
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah

Opposition to Jesus.
During the first period of his career, it does not appear that Jesus met with any serious opposition. His preaching, thanks to the extreme liberty which was enjoyed in Galilee, and to the number of teachers who arose on all hands, made no noise beyond a restricted circle. But when Jesus entered upon a path brilliant with wonders and public successes, the storm began to gather. More than once he was obliged to conceal himself and fly.[1] Antipas, however, did not interfere with him, although Jesus …
Ernest Renan—The Life of Jesus

The Cardinal was Seated, -- He Rose as Moretti Appeared. ...
The Cardinal was seated,--he rose as Moretti appeared. "I beg your Eminence to spare yourself!" said Moretti suavely, with a deep salutation, "And to pardon me for thus coming unannounced into the presence of one so highly esteemed by the Holy Father as Cardinal Bonpre!" The Cardinal gave a gesture of courteous deprecation; and Monsignor Moretti, lifting his, till then, partially lowered eyelids, flashed an angry regard upon the Abbe Vergniaud, who resting his back against the book-case behind him, …
Marie Corelli—The Master-Christian

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