Matius 16:1-4

The Demand for a Sign

16:1 Now when the Pharisees ¹  and Sadducees ²  came to test Jesus, ³  they asked him to show them a sign from heaven. ⁴  16:2 He ⁵  said, “When evening comes you say, ‘It will be fair weather, because the sky is red,’ 16:3 and in the morning, ‘It will be stormy today, because the sky is red and darkening.’ ⁶  You know how to judge correctly the appearance of the sky, ⁷  but you cannot evaluate the signs of the times. 16:4 A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.” Then ⁸  he left them and went away.

Matius 16:24-27

16:24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone wants to become my follower, ⁹  he must deny ¹⁰  himself, take up his cross, ¹¹  and follow me. 16:25 For whoever wants to save his life ¹²  will lose it, ¹³  but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. 16:26 For what does it benefit a person ¹⁴  if he gains the whole world but forfeits his life? Or what can a person give in exchange for his life? 16:27 For the Son of Man will come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done. ¹⁵ 

[16:1]  ¹ sn See the note on Pharisees in 3:7.

[16:1]  ² sn See the note on Sadducees in 3:7.

[16:1]  ³ tn The object of the participle πειράζοντες (peirazontes) is not given in the Greek text but has been supplied here for clarity.

[16:1]  ⁴ sn What exactly this sign would have been, given what Jesus was already doing, is not clear. But here is where the fence-sitters reside, refusing to commit to him.

[16:2]  ⁵ tn Grk “But answering, he said to them.” The construction has been simplified in the translation and δέ (de) has not been translated.

[16:3]  ⁶ tn Or “red and gloomy” (L&N 14.56).

[16:3]  ⁷ tn Grk “The face of the sky you know how to discern.”

[16:4]  ⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[16:24]  ⁹ tn Grk “to come after me.”

[16:24]  ¹⁰ tn This translation better expresses the force of the Greek third person imperative than the traditional “let him deny,” which could be understood as merely permissive.

[16:24]  ¹¹ sn To bear the cross means to accept the rejection of the world for turning to Jesus and following him. Discipleship involves a death that is like a crucifixion; see Gal 6:14.

[16:25]  ¹² tn Or “soul” (throughout vv. 25-26).

[16:25]  ¹³ sn The point of the saying whoever wants to save his life will lose it is that if one comes to Jesus then rejection by many will certainly follow. If self-protection is a key motivation, then one will not respond to Jesus and will not be saved. One who is willing to risk rejection will respond and find true life.

[16:26]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “a man,” but ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") is used in a generic sense here to refer to both men and women.

[16:27]  ¹⁵ sn An allusion to Pss 28:4; 62:12; cf. Prov 24:12.