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16 They came to Him together, a band of Pharisees and a band of Sadducees, trying to trick and trap Him.

Now at this time in Judea, the Jews, the children of Israel, are a diverse bunch. One group of Jews, which Jesus has already encountered, is called the Pharisees. Another group of Jews is called the Sadducees. The two groups do not agree about how to read Scripture, they do not see eye-to-eye, and they do not get along. They rarely partner with each other, but here they are partnering—because they are so perplexed, befuddled, and panicked about this Jesus.

They asked Him for a sign from heaven.

Jesus: At evening time, you read the sky as a sign—you say, “The weather will be fine because the sky is shading red,” and in the morning, you read the sky as a sign, saying, “The red, stormy sky tells me that today we will have storms.” So you are skilled at interpreting the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times?

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