Daily Devotional For Thursday, December 4, 2025
Good morning Southside! Thank you for taking the time to read and meditate on these daily devotionals. We are making our way through the Gospel of Matthew. Today, we come to Matthew 16:1-4:
“One day the Pharisees and Sadducees came to test Jesus, demanding that He show them a miraculous sign from heaven to prove his authority. (2) He replied, ‘You know the saying, ‘Red sky at night means fair weather tomorrow; (3) red sky in the morning means foul weather all day.’ You know how to interpret the weather signs in the sky, but you don’t know how to interpret the signs of the times! (4) Only an evil, adulterous generation would demand a miraculous sign, but the only sign I will give them is the sign of the prophet Jonah.’ Then Jesus left them and went away” (NLT).
While Jesus had been in Gentile territory (see Matt. 15:21-39), He was given a break from the nagging and condemning Jewish religious leaders. Jesus’ last major confrontation from the Jewish religious leaders were about ceremonial cleansing or washing of hands (see Matt. 15:2). Once Jesus returned to Jewish territory, the Jewish religious leaders went after Him again. They attempt to discredit Jewish as both the Messiah and a respectable rabbi. This time two different religious groups who could not stand each other form an alliance to confront Jesus. For example:
- The Pharisees believed in the resurrection of the dead. They believed in both the written and oral law and traditions. They believed in life after death, angels, and they represented the common people. They rejected anything Roman.
- The Sadducees only accepted the written Law (the first 5 books of the Old Testament) only. They rejected the belief of the afterlife. They believed the soul died at death and they rejected the idea of the resurrection of the dead (that is why they were sad-u-cee!), and they primarily represented the wealthy and aristocratic priestly, former and current high priests, chief priests and the elite. They also favored Rome.
The Pharisees and Sadducees came to Jesus to “test” Him. The Greek New Testament word used here is [πειράζω; peirazo]. Testing was a valid Old Testament tool one could use to determine if a prophet was really from God or was simply a false prophet attempting to scam and deceive people. We see this same Greek New Testament word used in Hebrews 3:9. This word means “to test for the purpose of discrediting.” So, the devil and his demons used these Jewish religious leaders to attempt to discredit Jesus.
These two Jewish religious leaders demanded that Jesus prove He had been sent by God by doing some kind of sign. What kind of sign? They had already heard and seen Jesus raise the dead, cure leprosy, heal the lame and crippled, give sight to the blind, feed over 5,000 men one time not counting the women and children and then feed over 4,000 men not counting the women and children, give voice to the mute and cast out demons. – According to their own teachings, anyone who could do these kinds of miracles was the Messiah. What more proof did they need or was that just a rouge? They really did not want a sign. They just wanted to shame Jesus with their lies due to their jealousy of Him.
In the Bible, signs from God were given for 2 primary reasons:
- They proved or gave validity to the trustworthiness of a prophet. If what the prophet said came true, then you could trust that prophet as a prophet from God.
- Signs were often accompanied with power to do miracles and that power would prove they were a prophet.
Jesus refused to play their little game and entertain them. He saw right through their trap. Previously, the religious leaders had attempted to discredit Jesus’ miracles as some kind of “sleight of hand” or His use of demonic powers. They demanded a sign in the sky or heaven. They said if Jesus did this, they would believe. Jesus knew they would not and then used the sky as a means to teach and refute them.
The French atheist Voltaire once said: “Even if a miracle should be wrought in the open marketplace before a thousand sober witnesses, I would rather mistrust my senses than admit a miracle.” Unbelief will always find a way to reject the truth, even to the point of denying the undeniable. Pastor and author John MacArtur writes this about unbelief and proof:
“The liberal theologian does not prefer the speculations of philosophy or psychology because these are more provable or persuasive than the truths of Scripture but because he prefers man’s wisdom to God’s. And, contrary to his claim, the agnostic does not refuse to believe because he cannot know about God but because he will not know about Him. The person who turns to rationalism, evolution, skepticism, or simply to himself for meaning and purpose does not do so because of lack of evidence about God and Christ but in spite of it. The person who turns to man-made religion does not do so because no light about the true God is available but because he despises that light and that God” (Source: John MacArthur, The MacArthur New Testament Bible Commentary, “Matthew 16-23,” p. 5).
Jesus quotes back to them a folklore myth that people believed, even the religious leaders believed as truth: “You know the saying, ‘Red sky at night means fair weather tomorrow; (3) red sky in the morning means foul weather all day.” We have a similar saying: “A red sky at night is a sailor’s delight, But a red sky in the morning is a sailor’s warning.”
Meaning, they could predict the weather and by simply looking at the signs of the sky but as religious leaders, they could not read the signs of the times that all pointed to Jesus as the Messiah. Jesus was pointing out the inconsistencies in their logic. By the same rules of their logic, they should have been able to deduce by the signs Jesus did that He was the Messiah. Jesus repeats to them what He had already said to them in Matthew 12:38-42.
These religious leaders were spiritual adulterers and had led Israel to commit spiritual adultery against God. What is the sign of Jonah? Just like Jonah was in the belly of a large fish for 3 days and 3 nights, so would Jesus be in the grave. If they want a sign, they would have to wait for the Resurrection, but for now, no sign would be given. Jesus’ purpose was not to convince people to come to him by performing wonders; He came inviting people to come to Him in faith. Then, as a response to their faith, He performed great miracles. If faith was required, these self-righteous religious leaders had little hope. A wicked, evil and sinful generation cannot read spiritual signs. The proof that they cannot interpret the signs is that they ask for a sign immediately after Jesus gives multiple signs. Then Jesus abruptly left them. In conclusion, I like what New Testament scholar Daniel M. Doriani writes:
“Jonah, you recall, did not perform signs; he was the sign. Thrown overboard into a raging sea, swallowed by a great fish, spat out on dry ground, then preaching to great effect to the Assyrians of Nineveh, the very life of Jonah was the sign. The mere presence of a Jewish prophet in a hostile city was a sign. So too with Jesus. The leaders do not need signs by Jesus; they need to see Jesus. His presence, His life, is God’s greatest sign, then and now” (Source: Daniel. M. Doriani, Reformed Expository Commentary, “Matthew 1-28,” Vols. 1 & 2, p. 64).
Assignment: Do you ever want God to do some kind of sign for you as an answer to prayer or proof He is with you or He is who He claims to be? You do not need to see signs; you need to see Jesus. What would you tell someone who wants a sign from God?
Scripture To Meditate On: Jonah 1:17, “Now the Lord had arranged for a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was inside the fish for three days and three nights” (NLT).
Prayer To Pray: “Dear Lord, forgive me when I think or ask for a sign from You. I have already the greatest sign from You – I have You living in me. Thank You for understanding my doubts and for forgiving me of them. I will walk by faith and not sight no matter how bleak, dark or enveloped or swallowed I feel by any situation. I love You Lord. In Jesus’ name, Amen!”
I love you Southside! – Pastor Kelly