John Calvin Commentary 1 Corinthians 1:22

"Seeing that Jews ask for signs, and Greeks seek after wisdom:" — 1 Corinthians 1:22 (ASV)

For the Jews require a sign. This is explanatory of the preceding statement—showing in what respects the preaching of the gospel is considered foolishness. At the same time, he does not simply explain, but even goes a step further, by saying that the Jews do not merely despise the gospel, but even abhor it.

“The Jews,” he says, “desire by means of miracles to have before their eyes evidence of divine power; the Greeks are fond of what tends to gratify the human intellect with praise for its sharpness. We, on the other hand, preach Christ crucified, in which, at first glance, there appears nothing but weakness and folly.

He is, therefore, a stumbling block to the Jews, when they see him as if forsaken by God. To the Greeks it appears like a fable to be told of such a method of redemption.” By the term Greeks here, in my opinion, he does not mean simply Gentiles, but is referring to those who had the refinement of the liberal sciences or were distinguished by superior intelligence.

At the same time, by synecdoche, all the others are also included. Between Jews and Greeks, however, he draws this distinction: the former, striking against Christ through an unreasonable zeal for the law, raged against the gospel with unbounded fury, as hypocrites are accustomed to do when contending for their superstitions; while the Greeks, on the other hand, puffed up with pride, regarded him with contempt as insipid.

When he ascribes to the Jews as a fault that they eagerly desire signs, it is not because it is wrong in itself to demand signs, but he exposes their baseness in the following respects: that by an incessant demand for miracles, they, in a way, sought to bind God to their laws; that, in accordance with the dullness of their understanding, they sought, as it were, to feel him out in manifest miracles; that they were preoccupied with the miracles themselves and looked upon them with amazement; and, finally, that no miracles satisfied them, but instead, they every day incessantly craved new ones.

Hezekiah is not reproved for having of his own accord allowed himself to be confirmed by a sign (2 Kings 19:29 and 2 Kings 20:8), nor even Gideon for asking a twofold sign (Judges 6:37, 39). No, instead of this, Ahaz is condemned for refusing a sign that the Prophet had offered him (Isaiah 7:12). What fault, then, was there on the part of the Jews in asking for miracles?

The fault was this: they did not ask for them for a good purpose, they placed no limits on their desire, and they did not make proper use of them.

For while faith ought to be helped by miracles, their only concern was how long they could persevere in their unbelief. While it is unlawful to prescribe laws to God, they indulged in excessive desire. While miracles should lead us to a knowledge of Christ and the spiritual grace of God, these served as a hindrance to them.

On this account, too, Christ rebukes them (Mark 8:12):

A perverse generation seeketh after a sign.

For there were no limits to their curiosity and excessive desire, and even though they had so often obtained miracles, no benefit seemed to come from them.