The Pharisees came and began to argue with Jesus. Testing Him, they were asking Him for a sign from heaven.
This verse reveals the nature of the blindness of an unbelieving heart. Those who had already heard His word and seen His works were again asking for a sign. Yet their request was not the request of one seeking faith, but of one testing Him. They wanted not to find truth, but a reason to reject it. Thus the problem was not the lack of a sign, but the hardness of the heart. When a person does not want to obey the revealed truth, even the greatest miracle will not convince him. Demanding a “sign from heaven” also shows human pride, where a person tries, on his own terms, to decide how God must reveal Himself. But God is not obligated to satisfy the demands of a testing heart. This verse warns that it is possible for a person to have much knowledge about God, yet not have a tender heart and not accept the truth. The Pharisees’ arguing also shows that religious knowledge without humility can make a person not a seeker of truth, but an opponent of the truth.