Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.”
Parallel translations
- WEB Then certain of the scribes and Pharisees answered, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.”
- KJV Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee.
- BSB Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.”
- NASB Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.”
- NLT One day some teachers of religious law and Pharisees came to Jesus and said, “Teacher, we want you to show us a miraculous sign to prove your authority.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Some scribes and Pharisees demand a sign from Jesus to prove his authority.
Overview
Despite witnessing many miracles, they ask for a confirming sign, exposing their unbelief. Their request masks resistance rather than honest seeking. Jesus' response will expose the hardness behind this demand.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- 1 Cor 1:22For Jews ask for signs, Greeks seek after wisdom,
- Mark 8:11–12The Pharisees came out and began to question him, seeking from him a sign from heaven, and testing him.
- Luke 11:16Others, testing him, sought from him a sign from heaven.
- John 2:18The Jews therefore answered him, “What sign do you show us, seeing that you do these things?”
- Luke 11:29When the multitudes were gathering together to him, he began to say, “This is an evil generation. It seeks after a sign. No sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah, the prophet.
- John 4:48Jesus therefore said to him, “Unless you see signs and wonders, you will in no way believe.”
- Matt 16:1–4The Pharisees and Sadducees came, and testing him, asked him to show them a sign from heaven.
- John 6:30They said therefore to him, “What then do you do for a sign, that we may see, and believe you? What work do you do?
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Christ at the center
Matthew presents Jesus as the promised King — son of David, son of Abraham — the new Moses and true Israel in whom every prophecy reaches 'that it might be fulfilled.'
How Matthew 12:38 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.