Charles Spurgeon Commentary Matthew 16:4

"An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of Jonah. And he left them, and departed." — Matthew 16:4 (ASV)

It was not a lack of evidence, but the sad depravity of their minds, which caused them to seek a sign; therefore, the Lord would not satisfy their unhealthy craving. They were wicked in morals and adulterous in heart in their forsaking the one true God, and then they justified their unbelief in the Son of God by pleading a lack of proof, demanding more miracles so they could reach a right conclusion. Such is the deceit of the human heart.

Our Lord repeats His former answer. He will give them no other. In all the Old Testament, there is no fuller sign of our Lord than Jonah. Our Lord knew that He would fulfill the type of Jonah even in its details, and therefore He points them to that prophet’s life. This is a subject that deserves our careful meditation, but we cannot elaborate on it here.

Our Lord looks to His death and resurrection and gives the prophet Jonah as His sign. Jesus will be buried and will rise on the third day; and in the power of His resurrection, He will win the Gentiles to repentance. In this, He will be the antitype of Jonah, and this will be the sign that He is indeed the Christ of God. Our Lord had said this before, and He repeated it here because it was a sufficient reply, and there was no need to seek variety with a group of people who themselves perpetually harped on one string.

Our Lord left such people, for there was nothing to be done with them. He left them, and departed, and that place saw Him no more. Lord, do not leave any one of us, for that would be a sure sentence of death to us.