A group of religious leaders asked Jesus to give them a “sign from heaven” (Matthew 16:1). They had witnessed many of His miracles, but they had either minimized them or attributed them to Satan. The Pharisees were now demanding that Jesus perform another miracle—perhaps like Joshua who commanded the sun and moon to stand still (Joshua 10:12-14), or like Elijah who called down fire from heaven (1 Kings 18:30-40). They did this to test Jesus.

Seeing their hypocrisy, Jesus said that while they could make weather predictions by looking at the sky, they were unable to read the much clearer “signs of the times” revealed in His ministry of teaching and healing (v.3).

Some people have told me they would believe in Jesus if He showed them miracles like those in the Gospels. But what makes them think they would react any differently than the religious leaders of Jesus’ day?

Anyone who sincerely seeks the truth has all the evidence necessary for faith. The resurrection of Jesus is a historically credible event. The power of the risen Christ can be seen in many of His followers. The New Testament speaks to the mind and heart of every sincere, seeking soul. To ask for more is a hypocritical request.