Matthew 16:2
in Matthew 16But He replied, “When evening comes, you say, ‘The weather will be fair, for the sky is red,’
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
But he answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the heaven is red.
KJV
He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red.
⋯
This verse in Matthew 16
Commentary
12 notes on this verse(Chapter XVI—Verse 1 and following) And the Pharisees and Sadducees came to him and tested him, asking him to show them a sign from heaven. But he answered and said to them: When it is evening, you say, 'It will be fair weather, for the sky is red'; and in the morning, 'It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening.' You know how to discern the appearance of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times.
This site's exposition
Pharisees also with the Sadducees came, and tempting
on Matthew 16:1-2
Pharisees and Sadducees held almost nothing in common, the one clinging to oral tradition and a future resurrection, the other rejecting both, yet here they arrive together against a shared enemy. Henry treats the alliance itself as a warning sign the disciples should have read, since the same coalition of otherwise hostile parties reconvenes at the trial in chapter 26. Their demand for a sign from heaven asks for something grander than the healings already performed on earth, a request the text calls tempting him rather than honest inquiry.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers3 voices
This is not found in most codices: it is clear that from the arrangement and stability of the elements, both fair and rainy days can be predicted. However, the scribes and Pharisees, who seemed to be experts in the law, could not understand the advent of the Savior from the prophecy of the prophets.
A commentator
John ChrysostomHomily on the Gospel of Matthew 53 · Written in the 5th century.
proposed
"And the Pharisees and Sadducees came and desired Him to show them a sign from Heaven. But He saith, When it is evening, ye say, Fair weather, for the sky is red; and in the morning, Foul weather today, for the sky is red and lowering. Ye can discern the face of the sky, but can ye not the signs of the times? 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." But Mark saith, that when they were come unto Him, and were questioning with Him, "He sighed deeply in His spirit, and saith, Why doth this generation seek after a sign?" And yet surely their inquiry was deserving of anger and great displeasure; yet nevertheless the benevolent and provident One is not angry, but pities and bewails them as incurably diseased, and after so full a demonstration of His power, tempting Him. For not in order to believe did they seek, but to lay hold of Him. Since had they come unto Him as ready to believe, He would have given it. For He who said to the woman, "It is not meet," and afterwards gave, much more would He have shown His bounty to these. But since they did not seek to believe, therefore He also calls them hypocrites, because in another place they said one thing, and meant another. Yea, had they believed, they would not even have asked. And from another thing too it is evident that they believed not; that when reproved and exposed, they abode not with Him, nor said, "We are ignorant and seek to learn." But for what sign from Heaven were they asking? Either that He should stay the sun, or curb the moon, or bring down thunderbolts, or work a change in the air, or some other such thing. What then saith He to all this? "Ye can discern the face of the sky, but can ye not discern the signs of the times?" See His meekness and moderation. […]
He exposes the rashness of their question, saying, "You regard the air as moving according to a certain order, so that by means of signs you are able to predict when the weather will be fair and when stormy. But in the case of miracles …
The Medieval Church2 voices
Then he reproves them, and first for their laziness in believing divine things. For if someone has a defect from the nature of his senses, he has an excuse; but when he has wisdom in earthly things and laziness in spiritual things, he is to …
He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red. And in the morning, It will be foul weather today: for the sky is red and threatening. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern …
5 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Can ye not discern the signs of the times? [1.] "Do you not see that the Messiah is come?" The sceptre was departed from Judah, Daniel's weeks were just expiring, and yet they regarded not. The miracles Christ wrought, and the gathering of the people to him, were plain indications that the kingdom of heaven was at hand, that this was the day of their visitation.
He answered and said unto them,....
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
When it is evening - There are certain signs of fair and foul weather, which ye are in the constant habit of observing, and which do not fail. - The signs of the times: the doctrine which I preach, and the miracles which I work among you, are as sure signs that the day-spring from on high has visited you for your salvation; but if ye refute to hear, and continue in darkness, the red and gloomy cloud of vindictive justice shall pour out such a storm of wrath upon you as shalt sweep you from the face of the earth.
In these verses we find our Lord assailed by the untiring enmity of the Pharisees and Sadducees. As a general rule these two sects were at enmity between themselves; in persecuting Christ, however, they made common cause. Truly it was an unholy alliance! Yet how often we see the same thing in the present day. Men of the most opposite opinions and habits will agree in disliking the Gospel, and will work together to oppose its progress. “There is no new thing under the sun” ( Ecclesiastes 1:9 ).
In these verses we find our Lord assailed by the untiring enmity of the Pharisees and Sadducees. As a general rule these two sects were at enmity between themselves; in persecuting Christ, however, they made common cause. Truly it was an unholy alliance! Yet how often we see the same thing in the present day. Men of the most opposite opinions and habits will agree in disliking the Gospel, and will work together to oppose its progress. “There is no new thing under the sun” ( Ecclesiastes 1:9 ). The first point in this passage which deserves special notice is the repetition which our Lord makes of words used by him on a former occasion. He says, “a wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it but the sign of the prophet Jonah.” If we turn to the twelth chapter of this gospel and the thirty ninth verse, we shall find that he had said the very same thing once before. This repetition may seem a trifling and unimportant matter in the eyes of some. But it is not so in reality. It throws light on a subject which has perplexed the minds of many sincere lovers of the Bible, and ought therefore to be specially observed. This repetition shows us that our Lord was in the habit of saying the same things over again. He did not content himself with saying a thing once, and afterwards never repeating it. It is evident that it was his custom to bring forward certain truths again and again, and thus to impress them more deeply on the minds of his disciples. He knew the weakness of our memories on spiritual things; he knew that what we hear twice, we remember better than what we hear once. He therefore brought out of his treasury old things as well as new. Now what does all this teach us? It teaches us that we need not be so anxious to harmonize the narratives we read in the four Gospels, as many are disposed to be.
The words behind it
13 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ὁ | ho | <the> | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| δὲ | de | And | G1161 → | 2765 times |
| ἀποκριθεὶς | apokritheis | answering | G611 → | 231 times |
| εἶπεν | eipen | He said | G2036 → | 925 times |
| αὐτοῖς· | autois | to them; | G846 → | 5565 times |
| ὀψίας | opsias | Evening | G3798 → | 15 times |
| γενομένης | genomenes | having come | G1096 → | 667 times |
| λέγετε· | legete | you say; | G3004 → | 1325 times |
| εὐδία, | eudia | Fair weather, | G2105 → | |
| πυρράζει | purrazei | is red | G4449 → | |
| γὰρ | gar | for | G1063 → | 1039 times |
| ὁ | ho | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| οὐρανός. | ouranos | sky. | G3772 → | 272 times |
Ὁ<the>
hoG3588 →19766 times
δὲAnd
deG1161 →2765 times
ἀποκριθεὶςanswering
apokritheisG611 →231 times
εἶπενHe said
eipenG2036 →925 times
αὐτοῖς·to them;
autoisG846 →5565 times
ὀψίαςEvening
opsiasG3798 →15 times
γενομένηςhaving come
genomenesG1096 →667 times
λέγετε·you say;
legeteG3004 →1325 times
εὐδία,Fair weather,
eudiaG2105 →
πυρράζειis red
purrazeiG4449 →
γὰρfor
garG1063 →1039 times
ὁthe
hoG3588 →19766 times
οὐρανός.sky.
ouranosG3772 →272 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
Where this verse is studied
About Matthew
This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Matthew; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Matthew; John Chrysostom, Homily on the Gospel of Matthew 53; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Theodore of Mopsuestia, FRAGMENT 89; Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on Matthew and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Matthew.