A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. And he left them, and departed.
The Jews are not merely asking for a sign, which the Lord sometimes permits; they deliberately provoke God with wicked desire, never satisfied, always testing Him. When He rose from the dead, He became a prophet like Jonah: His Gospel would be distinctly heard everywhere, and that alone was the sign they would receive.
AI summary
The Pharisees and Sadducees, enemies to each other, unite against Christ because His doctrine tears down both their errors and their pride. They demand a sign of their choosing, despising the miracles already given that relieved the sick and sorrowful. They want proof tailored to their vanity, not to truth.
AI summary
Commenting on Matthew 16:1-4
He calls them wicked and adulterous because they are hardened, perverse, and incurable, unworthy of His further conversation. So He left them and departed to the ship, crossing to the other side of the sea.
AI summary