Matthew 16:1-5 The Pharisees also with the Sadducees came, and tempting desired him that he would show them a sign from heaven.… This demand of the Jews was — I. PROMPTED BY WRONG MOTIVES — "and tempting." This was a two-edged temptation. 1. Suppose He should not give the sign, either by refusal or failure. Then they hoped to destroy His influence and to impress the people that he was a false Messiah. 2. But if He worked a miracle He would have yielded to their low ideas of His Messiahship and of its evidence. The scribes and Pharisees were bitter enemies of each other, yet combined to overthrow Christ: and how large a part of modern religious investigation is due to the enmity and selfishness of human hearts. Discussion is frequently designed not to fix but to unsettle faith. There are men who talk plausibly and with seeming sincerity about these matters, who in their hearts would be pleased at the destruction of Christianity. Again, their are men who use gospel themes as the theatre upon which to display their intellectual power. They demand evidence neither possible or reasonable. This is different from the humble inquirer who, walking in darkness, asks the way of light and life. II. This demand was PRESUMPTIOUS — "From heaven." They limited Christ as to the method in which He should display His divinity. There are people who determine in their own minds the way in which God shall reveal Himself; the truth must flow through channels they have dug, or they will reject it. III. This demand was DUE TO THEIR BLIND UNBELIEF. They refused to recognize the force of the evidence already given them (Matthew 11:5). Men inveigh against the Bible who never read it. They cry out for water and refuse to draw from the abundant wells of salvation around them. IV. THIS REQUEST LED TO THEIR DESERTION BY CHRIST. The spirit manifested by these .Jews showed that it was useless to remain longer with them. 1. He denied them further manifestation of His power — "There shall no sign be given." 2. Christ withdrew Himself from them. This He did (1) Sadly; (2) Promptly; (3) Finally. This incident seems go have closed His ministry in Galilee. (W. H. Williams.) Parallel Verses KJV: The Pharisees also with the Sadducees came, and tempting desired him that he would shew them a sign from heaven.WEB: The Pharisees and Sadducees came, and testing him, asked him to show them a sign from heaven. |
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