Matthew 12:38

Matthew’s connective again was weak. This incident was not a continuation of the preceding controversy chronologically but thematically. Some of the scribes and Pharisees asked Jesus to perform a sign, not just a miracle. He had performed many miracles, and they had concluded that they were satanic (Matthew 12:24). A sign was an immediate tangible assurance that something prophesied would surely happen. They requested a particular type of miracle. Evidently they believed Jesus could not produce one and that His failure would discredit Him.