The controversies between Jesus and the Pharisees continue in 12:38–45, where Pharisees and teachers of the law ask Jesus to provide a miraculous sign, presumably to authenticate his words (cf. John 2:18; also Matt. 16:1). In the context of Matthew, this request is highly ironic, since Jesus has just provided a sign (cast out a demon to heal a man; 12:22) and the Pharisees have questioned its authenticity! Jesus condemns the request, judging them to be part of “a wicked and adulterous generation” (also 16:4). The only sign he will give them is a riddle: “As Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the he…