Jesus Was Not Forecasting the Weather

In Matthew 16:2, Jesus quoted a weather slogan that shepherds and sailors used. You have probably heard it as “Red sky at night, sailor’s delight; red sky in the morning, sailors take warning.” In the culture Jesus addressed, you might substitute “shepherds” for “sailors.” Although this proverb contains some truth, Jesus was not forecasting the weather.

Science explains that ancient slogan. A red sky appears when dust and small particles are trapped in a high-pressure area and scatter blue light, making red predominant. As the Sun sets in the west and, in the mid-latitudes, the prevailing winds are from the west, that indicates a high-pressure zone is on the way, bringing fair weather. A red sky as the Sun rises in the east indicates that the high pressure has moved on and a wet or windy low-pressure system may be approaching. But, as I said, Jesus was not forecasting the weather.

Jesus had just fed over 4,000 people by the Sea of Galilee with seven loaves of bread and a few small fish (see Matthew 15:29-38). Then He got into a boat and went across to Magadan on the other side of the lake. There, His adversaries, the Pharisees and Sadducees, tested Him by asking for a sign to prove that He was really from God. Jesus responded by quoting that weather proverb. Then He called them a “wicked and adulterous generation.” He told them that He would give them no sign except for “the sign of Jonah.” What is the sign of Jonah? 

The point Jesus was making was that there would be a very special sign, a miracle, to show that He was from God. Jesus had performed many miracles, including the recent feeding of more than 4,000 people with a tiny amount of food. No sign was going to convince the Pharisees of His divine nature. The special sign to come would be the only miracle Jesus ever predicted in advance. Jesus was not forecasting the weather or trying to impress the Pharisees. Without further explanation, Jesus left the questioners and walked away.

But what is the sign of Jonah? Go back a few chapters to Matthew 12:38-40. Jesus had just restored a man who was blind and mute, but the Pharisees accused Him of doing this by the power of the devil. Unsatisfied with the miracle Jesus had just performed, they challenged Him, “Teacher, we want to see a miraculous sign from you.” Jesus replied that He would give them no sign “except the sign of the prophet Jonah.” Then He explained what that sign is. “For 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 heart of the earth.”

Jesus was predicting His resurrection from the grave. This was much more important than the daily weather. In both instances described in Matthew 12 and 16, Jesus had just performed a miracle when the Pharisees asked for a sign from heaven. Jesus knew they wouldn’t pay attention to any miracle He could show them. Only one miracle would impact Jesus’ disciples, making them fearless messengers who risked their lives to take the message of the resurrection to the world. There would be nothing the Pharisees and Sadducees could do to stop it. Neither can today’s enemies of Jesus Christ stop the message of the resurrection. Jesus was not forecasting the weather, but predicting something that would change the world.

— Roland Earnst © 2026

Reference: metoffice.gov.uk