Matthew 16:4
A wicked and adulterous generation demands a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah." Then He left them and went away.
A wicked and adulterous generation
This phrase is a strong rebuke from Jesus, highlighting the moral and spiritual corruption of the people He was addressing. The Greek word for "wicked" is "ponēros," which implies not just evil in action but a deep-seated moral corruption. "Adulterous" in Greek is "moichalis," which metaphorically refers to unfaithfulness to God, akin to spiritual infidelity. Historically, Israel was often described as an unfaithful spouse to God, especially in the prophetic books, where idolatry and turning away from God were likened to adultery. This phrase underscores the severity of their spiritual state, as they were more interested in miraculous signs than in genuine faith and repentance.

demands a sign
The Greek word for "demands" is "epizēteō," which conveys an intense seeking or craving. This reflects the Pharisees' and Sadducees' persistent and insincere request for a miraculous sign to test Jesus' authority. In the historical context, signs were often sought by the Jews as proof of divine authority, yet their demand here is portrayed as a lack of faith. They were not seeking truth but rather attempting to trap Jesus. This demand for a sign shows a misunderstanding of Jesus' mission, which was not to perform wonders on demand but to call people to repentance and faith.

but none will be given it
This phrase indicates Jesus' refusal to comply with their demand. The Greek "dothēsetai" (will be given) is in the future passive, emphasizing that no sign will be provided to them on their terms. This refusal is a judgment on their unbelief and a call to recognize the signs already given through Jesus' teachings and miracles. It highlights the principle that faith should not be contingent on miraculous signs but on the recognition of God's work through Jesus.

except the sign of Jonah
The "sign of Jonah" refers to the prophet Jonah's experience in the belly of the great fish for three days and nights, which prefigures Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection. In the Greek, "sēmeion" (sign) implies a miraculous event with a deeper meaning. Jonah's deliverance was a sign to the Ninevites, leading to their repentance. Similarly, Jesus' resurrection would be the ultimate sign of His divine authority and the call to repentance for all. This reference to Jonah serves as a prophetic foreshadowing of the resurrection, the central miracle of the Christian faith.

Then He left them and went away
This concluding phrase signifies Jesus' withdrawal from those who were spiritually blind and unrepentant. The Greek "aphiēmi" (left) suggests a deliberate departure, indicating a break in engagement with those who refuse to believe. Historically, this action reflects a pattern seen in the Old Testament, where God withdraws His presence from those who persist in unbelief and rebellion. Jesus' departure is both a judgment on their hardened hearts and a poignant reminder of the opportunity for repentance that they were missing. It serves as a call to the reader to seek Jesus with genuine faith and openness to His message.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Jesus Christ
The central figure in this passage, Jesus is addressing the Pharisees and Sadducees who are demanding a sign from Him.

2. Pharisees and Sadducees
Religious leaders of the time who often opposed Jesus and His teachings. They are known for their strict adherence to the law and skepticism towards Jesus.

3. The Sign of Jonah
Refers to the prophet Jonah, who spent three days in the belly of a great fish, symbolizing Jesus' future death, burial, and resurrection.

4. Generation
Refers to the people of that time, characterized by their unbelief and demand for miraculous signs.

5. Departure of Jesus
After addressing them, Jesus leaves, signifying a break in communication due to their hardened hearts.
Teaching Points
Faith Over Signs
True faith does not rely on miraculous signs but trusts in God's word and promises.

Repentance and Belief
The sign of Jonah calls for repentance and belief in the resurrection of Christ as the ultimate sign.

Spiritual Discernment
Believers are called to discern the times spiritually, recognizing God's work without demanding physical evidence.

Avoiding Hard-heartedness
Like the Pharisees and Sadducees, we must guard against a hardened heart that demands proof rather than trusting in God's revelation.

Christ's Resurrection as the Ultimate Sign
The resurrection is the cornerstone of Christian faith, providing assurance of Jesus' divine authority and the promise of eternal life.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does the demand for a sign reflect the spiritual state of the Pharisees and Sadducees, and how can we avoid a similar mindset in our own lives?

2. In what ways does the "sign of Jonah" point to the death and resurrection of Jesus, and why is this significant for our faith?

3. How can we cultivate a faith that trusts in God's promises without requiring miraculous signs?

4. What are some modern-day "signs" that people might demand from God, and how should we respond to such demands?

5. How does understanding the resurrection as the ultimate sign impact our daily walk with Christ and our witness to others?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Jonah's Experience
The account of Jonah in the Old Testament, where Jonah spends three days in the belly of a fish, prefigures Jesus' resurrection after three days in the tomb.

Matthew 12:39-41
Jesus previously mentions the sign of Jonah, emphasizing repentance and the greater sign of His resurrection.

1 Corinthians 1:22-24
Paul discusses how Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but the true power and wisdom are found in Christ crucified.

Hebrews 11:1
Faith is defined as confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see, contrasting the demand for signs.
The Cry for a SignW.F. Adeney Matthew 16:4
The Sign of JonasR. Tuck Matthew 16:4
The Signs of the MessiahJ.A. Macdonald Matthew 16:1-4
Changes in Theological Opinion a Sign of the TimesH. W. Beecher.Matthew 16:1-5
Fair Weather -- for the Sky is RedJ. Morison, D. D.Matthew 16:1-5
Human and Divine Ideas of RevelationDr. Chase.Matthew 16:1-5
SignsB. Kent.Matthew 16:1-5
SignsV. W. Hutton, M. A.Matthew 16:1-5
Signs from HeavenExpository OutlinesMatthew 16:1-5
Signs of the TimesR. W. Evades, B. D.Matthew 16:1-5
The Demand of UnbeliefW. H. Williams.Matthew 16:1-5
The Hindrances to His Work for the ChurchJ. G. Rogers, B. S.Matthew 16:1-5
The Signs of the TimesP. M. Brett, D. D., J. P. Dunn.Matthew 16:1-5
The Signs of the TimesRobert Hall, A. M.Matthew 16:1-5
The Signs of the TimesJ. West.Matthew 16:1-5
The Signs of the TimesPulpit Germs.Matthew 16:1-5
The Wicked's Craft to Ensnare God's People DescribedJohn Cotton.Matthew 16:1-5
Unfairness in the Treatment of ReligionP. S. Henson, D. D.Matthew 16:1-5
People
Elias, Elijah, Jeremiah, Jeremias, Jesus, John, Jonah, Jonas, Peter, Simon
Places
Caesarea Philippi, Jerusalem, Magadan
Topics
Adulterous, Departed, Eager, Evil, Except, Faithless, Generation, Jonah, Jonas, Looks, Miraculous, None, Prophet, Save, Searching, Seek, Seeketh, Seeks, Sign, Wicked
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Matthew 16:4

     1652   numbers, 3-5
     2422   gospel, confirmation
     5472   proof, evidence
     5694   generation
     6189   immorality, examples
     6243   adultery, spiritual
     8836   unbelief, response

Matthew 16:1-4

     1449   signs, purposes
     9170   signs of times

Matthew 16:1-12

     7552   Pharisees, attitudes to Christ

Library
October 14. "Get Thee, Behind Me, Satan" (Matt. xvi. 23).
"Get thee, behind me, Satan" (Matt. xvi. 23). When your old self comes back, if you listen to it, fear it, believe it, it will have the same influence upon you as if it were not dead; it will control you and destroy you. But if you will ignore it and say: "You are not I, but Satan trying to make me believe that the old self is not dead; I refuse you, I treat you as a demon power outside of me, I detach myself from you"; if you treat it as a wife would her divorced husband, saying: "You are nothing
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth

Christ Foreseeing the Cross
'From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto His disciples, how that He must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day.'--MATT. xvi. 21. The 'time' referred to in the text was probably a little more than six months before the Crucifixion, when Jesus was just on the point of finally leaving Galilee, and travelling towards Jerusalem. It was an epoch in His ministry. The hostility of the priestly party in
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Divine Christ Confessed, the Suffering Christ Denied
'When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Phllippi, He asked His disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of Man am? 14. And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist; some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. 15. He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? 16. And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. 17. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Unity of the Church.
"And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build My Church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."--Matt. xvi. 18. Too many persons at this day,--in spite of what they see before them, in spite of what they read in history,--too many persons forget, or deny, or do not know, that Christ has set up a kingdom in the world. In spite of the prophecies, in spite of the Gospels and Epistles, in spite of their eyes and their ears,--whether it be their sin or
John Henry Newman—Parochial and Plain Sermons, Vol. VII

The Human Jesus.
God's meaning of "Human": man's fellow--two meanings of word human--original meaning--natural limitations. The Hurt of sin: sin's added limitations. Our Fellow: Jesus truly human--up to first standard--His insistence--perfect in His humanness--fellowship in sin's limitations--hungry, Matthew 16:5. John 4:6-8.--tired, John 4:6. Mark 4:38.--poverty, Matthew 13:55. Mark 6:3.--hard toil, John 19:25-27.--homeless, Luke 4:16-30. Matthew 8:20. Luke 9:58.--discipline of waiting. There's More of God
S. D. Gordon—Quiet Talks about Jesus

Words with a Freshly Honed Razor-Edge.
Now please group these six sweeping statements in your mind and hold them together there. Then notice carefully this fact. These words are not spoken to the crowds. They are spoken to the small inner group of twelve disciples. Jesus talks one way to the multitude. He oftentimes talks differently to these men who have separated themselves from the crowd and come into the inner circle. And notice further that before Jesus spoke these words to this group of men He had said something else first. Something
S. D. (Samuel Dickey) Gordon—Quiet Talks on Prayer

The Threefold Cord of Jesus' Life.
Think for a moment into Jesus' human life down here. His marvellous activities for those few years over which the world has never ceased to wonder. Then His underneath hidden-away prayer-life of which only occasional glimpses are gotten. Then grouping around about that sentence of His--"I do always the things that are pleasing to Him"--in John's gospel, pick out the emphatic negatives on Jesus' lips, the "not's": not My will, not My works, not My words. Jesus came to do somebody's else will. The
S. D. (Samuel Dickey) Gordon—Quiet Talks on Prayer

The Important Question
"What is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?" Matthew 16:26 1. There is a celebrated remark to this effect, (I think in the works of Mr. Pascal,) that if a man of low estate would speak of high things, as of what relates to kings or kingdoms, it is not easy for him to find suitable expressions, as he is so little acquainted with things of this nature; but if one of royal parentage speaks of royal things, of what concerns his own or his father's kingdom, his language
John Wesley—Sermons on Several Occasions

The Signs of the Times
"Ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?" Matthew 16:3. 1. The entire passage runs thus: "The Pharisees also, with the Sadducees, came, and tempting, desired him that he would show them a sign from heaven. He answered and said, When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red. And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowering. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern
John Wesley—Sermons on Several Occasions

Twelfth Day. Fidelity in Rebuke.
"The Lord turned and looked upon Peter."--Luke, xxii. 61. Jesus never spake one unnecessarily harsh or severe word. He had a Divine sympathy for the frailties and infirmities of a tried, and suffering, and tempted nature in others. He was forbearing to the ignorant, encouraging to the weak, tender to the penitent, loving to all,--yet how faithful was He as "the Reprover of sin!" Silent under His own wrongs, with what burning invectives did He lay bare the Pharisees' masked corruption and hypocrisy!
John R. Macduff—The Mind of Jesus

"Take My Yoke Upon You, and Learn of Me," &C.
Matt. xi. 20.--"Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me," &c. Self love is generally esteemed infamous and contemptible among men. It is of a bad report every where, and indeed as it is taken commonly, there is good reason for it, that it should be hissed out of all societies, if reproaching and speaking evil of it would do it. But to speak the truth, the name is not so fit to express the thing, for that which men call self love, may rather be called self hatred. Nothing is more pernicious to a man's
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

Edwards -- Spiritual Light
Jonathan Edwards, the New England divine and metaphysician, was born at East Windsor, Connecticut, in 1703. He was graduated early from Yale College, where he had given much attention to philosophy, became tutor of his college, and at nineteen began to preach. His voice and manner did not lend themselves readily to pulpit oratory, but his clear, logical, and intense presentation of the truth produced a profound and permanent effect upon his hearers. He wrote what were considered the most important
Grenville Kleiser—The world's great sermons, Volume 3

Of Sufferings
Of Sufferings Be patient under all the sufferings which God is pleased to send you: if your love to Him be pure, you will not seek Him less on Calvary, than on Tabor; and, surely, He should be as much loved on that as on this, since it was on Calvary He made the greater display of His Love for you. Be not like those, who give themselves to Him at one season, and withdraw from Him at another: they give themselves only to be caressed; and wrest themselves back again, when they come to be crucified,
Madame Guyon—A Short and Easy Method of Prayer

Of Suffering which must be Accepted as from God --Its Fruits.
Be content with all the suffering that God may lay upon you. If you will love Him purely, you will be as willing to follow Him to Calvary as to Tabor. He must be loved as much on Calvary as on Tabor, since it is there that He makes the greatest manifestation of His love. Do not act, then, like those people who give themselves at one time, and take themselves back at another. They give themselves to be caressed, and take themselves back when they are crucified; or else they seek for consolation in
Jeanne Marie Bouvières—A Short Method Of Prayer And Spiritual Torrents

Of the Royal Way of the Holy Cross
That seemeth a hard saying to many, If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his Cross and follow Me.(1) But it will be much harder to hear that last sentence, Depart from me, ye wicked, into eternal fire.(2) For they who now willingly hear the word of the Cross and follow it, shall not then fear the hearing of eternal damnation. This sign of the Cross shall be in heaven when the Lord cometh to Judgment. Then all servants of the Cross, who in life have conformed themselves
Thomas A Kempis—Imitation of Christ

The Great Confession - the Great Commission - the Great Instruction - the Great Temptation - the Great Decision.
If we are right in identifying the little bay - Dalmanutha - with the neighbourhood of Tarichæa, yet another link of strange coincidence connects the prophetic warning spoken there with its fulfilment. From Dalmanutha our Lord passed across the Lake to Cæsarea Philippi. From Cæsarea Philippi did Vespasian pass through Tiberias to Tarichæa, when the town and people were destroyed, and the blood of the fugitives reddened the Lake, and their bodies choked its waters. Even amidst
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah

Last Journey of Jesus to Jerusalem.
Jesus had for a long time been sensible of the dangers that surrounded him.[1] During a period of time which we may estimate at eighteen months, he avoided going on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem.[2] At the feast of Tabernacles of the year 32 (according to the hypothesis we have adopted), his relations, always malevolent and incredulous,[3] pressed him to go there. The evangelist John seems to insinuate that there was some hidden project to ruin him in this invitation. "Depart hence, and go into Judea,
Ernest Renan—The Life of Jesus

The Preparatory Service; Sometimes Called the Confessional Service.
In our examination of the nature and meaning of the Lord's Supper, we have found that it is indeed a most important and holy Sacrament. It is in fact the most sacred of all the ordinances of the Church on earth. There is nothing beyond it--nothing so heavenly, on this side heaven, as this Feast. Nowhere else does the believer approach so near to heaven as when he stands or kneels, as a communicant at this altar, the Holy of Holies in the Church of Christ. What a solemn act! To approach this altar,
G. H. Gerberding—The Way of Salvation in the Lutheran Church

A Divine Saviour.
"Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God." (Matthew xvi. 1; John vi. 69.) We meet with a certain class of Enquirers who do not believe in the Divinity of Christ. There are many passages that will give light on this subject. In 1 Corinthians xv. 47, we are told: "The first man is of the earth earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven." In 1 John v. 20: "We know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know Him that is true; and we are in Him that is
Dwight L. Moody—The Way to God and How to Find It

Self-Denial.
"If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me."--Matt. xvi. 24. Good works are not the saint's sanctification, any more than drops of water are the fountain; but they spring as crystal drops from the fountain of sanctification. They are good, not when the saint intends them to be good, but when they conform to the divine law and proceed from a true faith. Yet the intention is of great importance; the Church has always taught that a work could not be called
Abraham Kuyper—The Work of the Holy Spirit

The Foundation of the Church among the Heathen
A.D. 38-45 [Sidenote: A.D. 38] During St. Peter's journey, the course of God's good Providence led him to the sea-port town of Joppa, on the borders of Samaria and Judaea, and there we read that "he tarried many days," a measure of time which is supposed to be equivalent to three years. At the expiration of this time an event occurred which had a deep and lasting influence on the life of the Church of Christ. [Sidenote: Further fulfilment of the promise to St. Peter.] Hitherto no Gentiles had been
John Henry Blunt—A Key to the Knowledge of Church History

Christ the Son of God.
"Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God" (Matt. xvi. 16). "Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God abideth in him and he in God" (I. John iv. 15). "And who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?" (I. John v. 5). In one sense all men are sons of God. In a much dearer sense all Christians are sons and daughters of the Almighty. But the relationship of Christ to the Father is infinitely above this. He is the Son of God. God is
Frank G. Allen—Autobiography of Frank G. Allen, Minister of the Gospel

Tries to Become a Politician. Fails. Last Act as a Politician. Tries to Join the Southern Army. Fails Again. His First Appointment. Feeling of Responsibility. His
Tries to Become a Politician. Fails. Last Act as a Politician. Tries to Join the Southern Army. Fails Again. His First Appointment. Feeling of Responsibility. His Plan. Text. Analysis of Sermon. Buys a Family Bible. Rules of Life. When I obeyed the Saviour, the brethren urged me to begin at once to preach the gospel. I had been accustomed to making political speeches, and public addresses of different kinds, and they thought I could just as easily preach a sermon as to make a speech on any other
Frank G. Allen—Autobiography of Frank G. Allen, Minister of the Gospel

Concerning the Sacrament of Penance
In this third part I shall speak of the sacrament of penance. By the tracts and disputations which I have published on this subject I have given offence to very many, and have amply expressed my own opinions. I must now briefly repeat these statements, in order to unveil the tyranny which attacks us on this point as unsparingly as in the sacrament of the bread. In these two sacraments gain and lucre find a place, and therefore the avarice of the shepherds has raged to an incredible extent against
Martin Luther—First Principles of the Reformation

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