John Calvin 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)

A wicked and adulterous nation. This passage was explained⁴²⁶ under Matthew 12:38. The general meaning is, that the Jews are never satisfied with any signs, but are continually incited by a wicked desire to tempt God.

He does not call them an adulterous nation merely because they demand some kind of sign (for the Lord sometimes permitted his people to do this), but because they deliberately provoke God; and therefore he threatens that, after he has risen from the dead, he will be a prophet like Jonah.

So Matthew at least says—for Mark does not mention Jonah—but the meaning is the same. For, strictly speaking, this was intended to serve as a sign to them, that Christ, after he had risen from the dead, would in every place cause the voice of his Gospel to be distinctly heard.

⁴²⁶ See page 93 of this volume. of this volume.