Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Matthew 16:2
He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, [It will be] fair weather: for the sky is red.
Verse 2. 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.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
You can, saith our Saviour, make observations upon the works of God in nature and common providence, and from such observations you can make conclusions; if you see the sky red in the evening, you can conclude from thence that the morrow will be fair, because you think that the redness of the sky at night speaks the clouds thin and the air pure; and on the other side, the redness of it in the morning speaks the clouds thick, so as the sun cannot disperse them; or because you observe that generally it so proveth, though nothing be more mutable than the air. But you cannot
discern the signs of the times: you are only dull at making observations upon the Scriptures, and the will of God revealed in them concerning me. You might observe that all the signs of the Messias are fulfilled in me: I was born of a virgin, as was prophesied by Isaiah, Isa 7:14; in Bethlehem Judah, as was prophesied by Micah, Mic 5:2; at a time when the sceptre was departed from Judah, and the lawgiver from his feet, as was prophesied by Jacob, Gen 49:10; that John the Baptist is come in the power and spirit of Elias, to prepare my way before me, as was prophesied by Malachi, Mal 4:5; that there is one come, who openeth the eyes of the blind, and unstops the ears of the deaf, and maketh the lame to leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb to sing, according to the prophecy, Isa 35:5,6. All these are the signs of the time when the Messiah was to come; but these things you cannot discern, but, like a company of hypocrites, who pretend one thing and do another, you come and ask a sign, that you might believe in me, when you have so many, and yet will not believe.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
He answered and said unto them,…. Knowing full well their views, and having wrought sufficient miracles to confirm his Messiahship, he thought fit to give them no other answer than this:
when it is evening, ye say, it will be fair weather, for the sky is red; when the sun is setting, it is a common thing for you to say, looking up to the heavens, and observing the face and colour of them, that it is like to be fair weather; no rain, that night, nor perhaps the next day, for the sky is red like fire, through the rays of the sun; which show the clouds to be very thin, and so will soon waste away, and consequently fine weather must follow.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Fair weather (). An old poetic word from and as the ruler of the air and giver of fair weather. So men today say “when the sky is red at sunset.” It occurs on the Rosetta Stone and in a fourth century A.D. Oxyr. papyrus for “calm weather” that made it impossible to sail the boat. Aleph and B and some other MSS. omit verses 2 and 3. W omits part of verse 2. These verses are similar to Lu 12:54-56. McNeile rejects them here. Westcott and Hort place in brackets. Jesus often repeated his sayings. Zahn suggests that Papias added these words to Matthew.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Fair weather [] . Colloquial. Looking at the evening sky, a may says to his neighbor, “Fine weather :” and in the morning (ver. 3), “Storm today” [ ] .
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
2. About the commencement of the evening. By these words Christ reminds them that his power had been sufficiently manifested, so that they must have recognised the time of their visitation, (Luk 19:44,) had they not of their own accord shut their eyes, and refused to admit the clearest light. The comparison which he employs is beautiful and highly appropriate; for, though the aspect of the sky is changeable, so that sometimes a storm unexpectedly arises, and sometimes fair weather springs up when it was not expected, yet the instructions of nature are sufficient to enable men to predict from signs whether the day will be fair or cloudy. Christ therefore asks why they do not recognize the kingdom of God, when it is made known by signs not less manifest; for this proved clearly that they were excessively occupied with earthly and transitory advantages, and cared little about any thing that related to the heavenly and spiritual life, and were blinded not so much by mistake as by voluntary malice.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(2) When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather.It is remarkable that some of the best MSS., including the Vatican and Sinaitic, omit the whole of these suggestive words. We can hardly think of them, however, looking to their singular originality of form, as interpolated by a later transcriber, and have therefore to ask how we can explain the omission. They are not found in St. Mark, and this in itself shows that there were some reports of our Lords answer to the Pharisees in which they did not appear. Possibly the transcriber in this case was unable to read their meaning, and the same feeling, or the wish to bring the reports in the two Gospels into closer agreement with each other, may have influenced the writers of the two MSS. in question. Turning (1) to the words as they stand in the received text, we note, as to their form, that the insertion of the words in italics somewhat mars the colloquial abruptness of the original, Fair weather, for the sky is red; and (2) that the use of sky, instead of heaven, hides the point of the answer. You watch the heaven, He in substance answers, and are weather-wise as to coming storm or sunshine. If your eyes were open to watch the signs of the spiritual firmament, you would find tokens enough of the coming sunshine of Gods truth, the rising of the day-spring from on hightokens enough, also, of the darkness of the coming storm, the foul weather of Gods judgments. Even the fact that the redness of the sky is the same in both cases is not without its significance. The flush, the glow, the excitement that pervaded mens minds, was at once the prognostic of a brighter day following on that which was now closing, and the presage of the storm and tempest in which that day should end.
It is a singular instance of the way in which the habit of minute criticism stunts or even kills the power of discernment which depends on imagination, that Strauss should have looked on words so full of profound and suggestive meaning as absolutely unintelligible (Leben Jesu, II. viii. p. 85).
In the outward framework of the parable the weather-signs of Palestine seem to have been the same as those of England. The clear red evening sky is a prophecy of a bright morning. The morning rednot red simply, but with the indescribable threatening aspect implied in lowering, the frown of the sky, as it were (comp. Mar. 10:22, where the same word is rendered grieved)makes men look for storms.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
2-5. Our Lord, in his answer, endeavours to reveal to these Jews their own gross state of mind. They can appreciate, to be sure, physical and glaring signs in the heavens. But there is a higher moral heavens, in which God hangs out his spiritual tokens, to which they are blind.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘But he answered and said to them, “When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the heaven is red’. And in the morning, ‘It will be foul weather today, for the heaven is red and lowering.’ You know how to discern the face of the heaven, but you cannot discern the signs of the times.”
Jesus first replies by pointing out that like all Jews they are able to discern weather signs. A clear red heaven in the evening indicates to them fine weather. A sky that is red and lowering in the morning indicates to them foul weather. Thus they are adept at interpreting such signs. There is perhaps some sarcasm here. They can tell whether the sky is cloudy or not, but they cannot spot the cloudiness in their own thinking.
‘But you cannot discern the signs of the times.’ Those who should be able to recognise the coming of the Messiah in the works that He has done and the words that He has spoken are unable to do so because their minds are clouded.
(We should possibly note that these two verses are omitted in some very important manuscripts (Aleph B f13 etc). They are supported by D W Theta f1 etc. Their omission would not affect the sense in any way, but a possible reason for their omission is that these weather signs were not applicable in such major Christian centres as Alexandria in Egypt where copying often took place. On the other hand there is no really good explanation as to why the words were quite unnecessarily introduced here from an unknown source if they were not genuine. Usually interpolations are explicable in terms of being introduced in order to conform with other passages, or as explanatory comments which were later accidentally incorporated in the text).
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Christ’s reply:
v. 2. He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather; for the sky is red.
v. 3. And in the morning, It will be foul weather today; for the sky is red and lowering. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?
Christ was deeply grieved over their duplicity, since they made their request sound reasonable before the people, as though they wanted to establish His Messiahship, whereas their real reason was blasphemy. Under no circumstances did they intend to believe on Him, Mar 8:12. The Jews were careful observers of the weather. They knew very well the common signs indicating fair and foul weather. Constant and careful watching had taught them to regard a murky and lowering morning sky as a sure sign of an approaching rainstorm, while a red sunset caused them to expect fine weather for the next day. But skill in observing the signs of the weather; dullness and foolishness in spiritual matters! They knew not the times of their visitation, Luk 19:44. They did not recognize, and refused to accept, Jesus as the Messiah, in spite of the many signs and wonders He had done in their midst. And so the signs of His entire ministry, of His life and death, which were originally intended to invite them into the kingdom of God, would now serve to harden their hearts all the more, thus bringing about their damnation. The ability to judge, distinguish, in spiritual matters was blunted. A constant abuse of their spiritual powers and faculties had resulted in their being much like mechanical toys, or like actors that repeat their lines and make their proper gestures at the indicated places, without entering into the identity of the character whom they represent. “He says thus: Those signs of the sky ye understand; why understand ye not these signs which are done for your salvation, if ye believe, or for your perdition, if ye do not believe? For ye now have a pleasant evening, from which ye may have hope concerning a future salutary and bright day; upon this will follow a murky morning, on which ye may expect eternal damnation. For My signs, and this time of grace and the wrath to come, are not less plain, and shine as brightly as the sky itself with his evening and morning; if ye would but look into the prophets that prophesy of this time, and look at things properly which ye see. But ye permit yourselves to be moved neither through the promises of Scripture nor through things that have actually been done, and are only drowned in these temporal matters, whether happy or sad days will come. Therefore ye pay attention to nothing, and in the meantime ye still demand other signs.”
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
Mat 16:2-3. Hesaid unto them, &c. Our Saviour’s reply may be thus paraphrased: “It is most apparent that you ask this out of a desire to cavil, rather than to learn the divine will: for, in other cases you take up with degrees of evidence, far short of those which you here reject. As for instance, you readily say in an evening, It will be fair weather to-morrow; because the sky is, this evening, of a bright and fiery red: And in the morning,It will be tempestuous weather to-day, for the sky is red and lowering. O ye hypocrites, you know how to distinguish the face of the heavens, and to form thence probable conjectures concerning the weather, and can you not distinguish the signs of the present times? and see, by the various miracles which are daily performed among you, by the prophetic and various other tokens which attend my appearance, that this is indeed the period which you profess to desire with so much eagerness, and which you might discern with much less sagacity.” Dr. Lightfoot has observed, that the Jews used to value themselves highly on their skill in prognosticating the weather; and Grotius, in his note on this place, has shewn what a variety of signs marked out that time for the arrival of the Messiah. The Syriac version, instead of the times, reads very well the time, . See Doddridge, Lightfoot, and Grotius.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Mat 16:2-3 f. [454] Lightfoot, p. 373: “Curiosi erant admodum Judaei in observandis tempestatibus coeli et temperamento aris.” Babyl. Joma f. 21. 8; Hieros. Taanith f. 65. 2. For Greek and Roman testimonies relative to the weather signs in our passage, see Wetstein.
] clear weather! An exclamation in which it is not necessary to supply , except, perhaps, in the way of helping the grammatical analysis , as also in the case of ( stormy weather to-day! ). For the opposite of and , comp. Xen. Hell . ii. 3. 10 : .
] being lowering . See note on Mar 10:22 .
] “Omnis rei facies externa,” Dissen, ad Pind. Pyth . vi. 14, p. 273.
] the significant phenomena connected with passing events , the phenomena which present themselves as characteristic features of the time, and point to the impending course of events, just as a red sky at evening portends fine weather, and so on. The expression is a general one, hence the plural ; so that it was a mistake to understand the as referring to the miracles of Christ (Beza, Kuinoel, Fritzsche). Only when the reproach expressed in this general form is applied , as the Pharisees and Sadducees were intending to apply it, to the existing , do the miracles of Christ fall to be included among the signs, because they indicate the near approach of the Messiah’s kingdom. In like manner the fulfilment of Old Testament prophecy , such as was to be traced in the events that were then taking place (Grotius), was to be regarded as among the signs in question, as also the Messianic awakening among the people , Mat 11:12 (de Wette, Baumgarten-Crusius). According to Strauss, the saying in Mat 16:2-3 is inconceivable. But the truth is, it was peculiarly in keeping with the thoughtful manner of Jesus, if, when a sign from heaven was demanded, He should refer those demanding it to their own practice of interpreting the appearances of the sky , so as to let them see how blinded they were to the signs that already existed . A similar saying is found in Luk 12:54 f., where, however, it is addressed to the multitude. There is no reason for thinking that it appears in its authentic form only in Matthew (de Wette), or only in Luke (Schleiermacher, Holtzmann), for there is nothing to prevent us from supposing that Jesus may have used similar and in itself very natural language on several occasions.
. . ] depicting in a simple way the “justa severitas” (Bengel) shown toward those incorrigibles. Comp. Mat 21:17 .
Comp., besides, the note on Mat 12:39 .
[454] The whole passage from on to , ver. 3, is omitted in B V , Curss. Codd. in Jerom. Syr cur Arm. Or. (?), while in E it is marked with an asterisk. Tisch. 8 encloses it in brackets. The omission is certainly not to be explained on the physical ground (Bengel) that these signs of the weather are not applicable to every climate, but from the fact that a similar saying does not happen to be found in the corresponding passage in Mark.
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
2 He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red.
Ver. 2. When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair, &c. ] q.d. Are you so weatherwise (which yet is not your profession)? are ye so skilful in nature, and yet so ignorant of Scripture, as not to know that now is the time for the Messiah to come, and that I am he? Surely you are either notorious sots, or deep dissemblers, or both, in seeming so curiously to search after the truth, which yet you neither care to know, nor obey.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
2. ] Mar 8:12 adds , omitting however the sentences following. The Jews were much given to prognosticating the rains, &c. of the coming season in each year. See Lightf. who cites examples.
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Mat 16:2-4 . Reply of Jesus .
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
Mat 16:2-3 , hough not in [95] and bracketed by W. H [96] , may be regarded as part of the text. Somewhat similar is Luk 12:54-56 . On some occasion Jesus must have contrasted the shrewd observation of His contemporaries in the natural sphere with their spiritual obtuseness.
[95] Codex Vaticanus (sc. iv.), published in photographic facsimile in 1889 under the care of the Abbate Cozza-Luzi.
[96] Westcott and Hort.
Mat 16:2 . , fine weather! ( , genitive of ). .: that the sign = a ruddy sky in the evening ( in Lev 13:19 ; Lev 13:24 ).
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
He = And He.
It will be. Omit.
fair weather. Greek. eudia. Occurs only here, and in Mat 16:3.
the sky = the heaven (sing), as in Mat 16:1 (see note on Mat 6:9, Mat 6:10). This is the point of the question.
red. Greek. purrazo. Occurs only here, and in Mat 16:3.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
2.] Mar 8:12 adds , omitting however the sentences following. The Jews were much given to prognosticating the rains, &c. of the coming season in each year. See Lightf. who cites examples.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Mat 16:2. , , evening-morning) Two most common and most popular signs;[709] for when the sky is red in the evening, the coldness of the night astringes the thinner vapours, so that no storm occurs, even though there be wind; on the other hand, when in the morning the sky is red and dark, the thick vapours burst into a storm by the heat of the sun.
[709] Although, from the different relations of the powers of nature, they are not applicable to all climes.-App. Crit., Ed. ii., p. 124.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
When: Luk 12:54-56
Reciprocal: Gen 1:14 – and let Dan 3:18 – be it
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
16:2
Jesus referred them to their own study of the heaven in which they professed to know how to figure out the future by the present indications.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Mat 16:2. When it is evening, ye say, Fair weather, etc. In answer to their demand for a sign from heaven, our Lord cites two weather signs, such as all men look for, in the face of the heaven. These signs (cited, not given by our Lord) hold good in other regions. The design was to rebuke their carnal and sensuous expectations (see Mat 16:3).
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Mat 16:2-3. He answered, When it is evening, &c. As if he had said, It is evident you ask this out of a desire to cavil rather than to discern the divine will, for in other cases you take up with degrees of evidence far short of those which you here reject: as for instance, you know that a red sky in the evening is a presage of fair weather, and a red and lowering sky in the morning, of foul weather; thus ye can discern the face of the sky, and form from thence very probable conjectures concerning the weather; but can ye not discern the signs of the times The signs which evidently show that this is the time of the Messiah? The proofs which Jesus was daily giving them by his wonderful works, his holy and beneficent conduct, and heavenly doctrine, of his divine mission, were more than sufficient to establish it; and, had the Pharisees been possessed of any candour at all, or any inclination to know the truth, they could not have been at a loss to judge in this matter, especially, as in ordinary affairs they showed abundance of acuteness. The truth is, as our Lord here signified, their not acknowledging him as the Messiah was neither owing to want of evidence, nor to want of capacity to judge of that evidence; but to their self- confidence and pride, and their carnal and worldly spirit.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Jesus replied that His critics did not need a special sign since many things pointed to His being the Messiah. They could read the sky well enough to predict what the weather would be like soon. However they could not read what was happening in their midst well enough to know that their Messiah had appeared. The proof that they could not discern the signs of the times was that they asked for a sign.
"It is surprising that in a wide variety of different fields of knowledge human beings can be so knowledgeable and perceptive, yet in the realm of the knowledge of God exist in such darkness. The explanation of the latter sad state is not to be found in a lack of intellectual ability-no more for the Pharisees and Sadducees than for today. The evidence is there, examinable and understandable for those who are open to it and who welcome it. The issue in the knowledge of God is not intellect but receptivity." [Note: Hagner, Matthew 14-28, p. 456.]
What were the signs of the times that Israel’s religious leaders failed to read? John the Baptist’s appearance and preaching were two. John had told these leaders that he was the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy of Messiah’s forerunner (Isa 40:3; Mat 3:1-12). [Note: For the Jewish understanding of Isa 40:3, see Edersheim, The Life . . ., 2:744.] Jesus had also identified John as the forerunner (Mat 11:14). Jesus’ works were another sign that the King had arrived, and Jesus had pointed this out (Mat 12:28). Finally the prophecy of Daniel’s 69 weeks should have alerted these students of the Old Testament to the fact that Messiah’s appearance was near (Dan 9:25-26; cf. Joh 5:30-47; Joh 8:12-20).