16 And the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and to test him they asked him to show them a sign from heaven. 2 He answered them,1 “When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’ 3 And in the morning, ‘It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times. 4 An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.” So he left them and departed.
5 When the disciples reached the other side, they had forgotten to bring any bread. 6 Jesus said to them, “Watch and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” 7 And they began discussing it among themselves, saying, “We brought no bread.” 8 But Jesus, aware of this, said, “O you of little faith, why are you discussing among yourselves the fact that you have no bread? 9 Do you not yet perceive? Do you not remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? 10 Or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? 11 How is it that you fail to understand that I did not speak about bread? Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” 12 Then they understood that he did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
Section Overview
Jesus’ miraculous provision for a crowd of four thousand (Matt. 15:32–39) is closely connected to the request for a sign from Pharisees and Sadducees (16:1–12). Jesus has just offered a sign—what more do they want? Matthew calls their request a “test” (v. 1)—it is insincere. Jesus rebukes them and then uses the occasion to warn his disciples. They misunderstand at first, but after Jesus peppers them with a string of rhetorical questions, they finally begin to understand: there is pervasive corruption in the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
The grouping of Pharisees and Sadducees is unusual, since they disagree about fundamental issues. The Pharisees are supernaturalists, believe in resurrection, and resist Greco-Roman influences. The Sadducees take the opposite position at each point. But their common opposition to Jesus drives them together, and their flaws have enough in common that Jesus rightly warns against both of them.
Section Outline
VI. Training the Disciples among Crowds and Leaders (14:1–20:34) . . .
H. The Pharisees and Sadducees Demand Signs (16:1–4)
I. The Leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees (16:5–12)
This text comprises two units. First, religious leaders make an evil request, and Jesus chides them (16:1–4). Second, Jesus uses the occasion to instruct his disciples on “the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees” (vv. 5–12). The passage unfolds in this way: Pharisees and Sadducees test Jesus, asking for a sign (v. 1). Jesus retorts that they can read the signs of the weather but not the signs of the times (vv. 2–3). An evil generation demands signs; they will receive nothing but the cryptic “sign of Jonah” (v. 4). After this, the disciples travel again and forget to bring bread for the journey (v. 5). Jesus warns his disciples about Jewish leaders; they miss his point (vv. 6–7). Jesus’ rhetorical questions sting, but the Twelve begin to understand (vv. 8–12).
Response
Neither the religious leaders nor the disciples grasp the meaning of Jesus’ signs, yet there is an essential difference between them. The Pharisees and Sadducees want a sign that will prove, to their satisfaction, that Jesus acts with God’s favor and power. But, because they have already rejected him, nothing will satisfy them. They come to test Jesus, not to find him. With that spirit, and without God’s Spirit, they will never believe. Jesus has performed enough signs for them to believe. In Scripture, we still have a sufficient record of Jesus’ words and deeds. There is enough to instill faith. It is no sin to ask God for signs as assurances of God’s promises, but it is a sin to demand that he prove himself (Ex. 17:7; Ps. 78:18–20; Matt. 4:7). If the miracles Jesus performs in chapters 14–15 do not count as signs, nothing will. Nothing will move the Pharisees and Sadducees to believe; anything he does might deepen their unbelief. The problem is not stupidity but blindness. They can “interpret . . . the sky” to divine the weather but cannot “interpret the signs of the times” (16:2–3; cf. 12:38–39). One can have a prodigious intellect but, apart from a receptive heart, no discernment.
The disciples seem nearly as disappointing at first inspection. But they believe in Jesus. Therefore, their ignorance is culpable but not incorrigible. They want to understand and to believe, and eventually they do. Real faith perseveres with Jesus, even when nothing makes sense. And he perseveres with us. Having taken a small step forward here, the disciples will soon be ready to take another, as 16:13–20 shows.