161 And the Pharisees and Sadducees having come, tempting, did question him, to shew to them a sign from the heaven, 2 and he answering said to them, 'Evening having come, ye say, Fair weather, for the heaven is red, 3 and at morning, Foul weather to-day, for the heaven is red—gloomy; hypocrites, the face of the heavens indeed ye do know to discern, but the signs of the times ye are not able! 4 'A generation evil and adulterous doth seek a sign, and a sign shall not be given to it, except the sign of Jonah the prophet;' and having left them he went away.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Matthew 16:1-4
Commentary on Matthew 16:1-4
(Read Matthew 16:1-4)
The Pharisees and Sadducees were opposed to each other in principles and in conduct; yet they joined against Christ. But they desired a sign of their own choosing: they despised those signs which relieved the necessity of the sick and sorrowful, and called for something else which would gratify the curiosity of the proud. It is great hypocrisy, when we slight the signs of God's ordaining, to seek for signs of our own devising.