Matthew 16:1–4 (ESV)
The Pharisees and Sadducees Demand Signs
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, “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.
Jesus points the Jews of His day to the sign of Jonah, His death and resurrection. St Paul wrote that the “Jews demand signs … but we preach Christ crucified” (1Co 1:22–23). When plagued
by doubts or fears, look to this sign of assurance. The sign of Jesus’ cross and resurrection sustains us in our faith and is the sign to which we must point in our witness (Ac 2:23, 31–32).
I pray: Ascended Lord, when I falter, comfort me in faith with the sign of Jonah. Amen.
Edward A. Engelbrecht, The Lutheran Study Bible (St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 2009),
1615.