They seem respectful, they seem polite; they call him Master, but it is a sham; they hate him and are looking for a way to attack him. This is evil.
Some who hear the gospel do this today. ‘Prove it. Give me such and such a sign. If God were to come down and do a sign in front of me, then I would believe.’ They don’t want to believe, and the demand for a sign is a means of preventing them from having to believe. How outrageous it is for us to demand signs from God. How insulting it is to him to say that he has not already given us all the evidence we need to believe. It is an excuse of unbelief. Actually, the unbeliever has very little insight into his own unbelief. Would he really start to believe if he saw a sign? No. The problem is not lack of evidence but deep prejudice in the heart that refuses to believe. With true belief comes repentance. True faith means a complete re-evaluation of what we are. It will lead to acknowledgment of our sin before God and turning away from it in repentance. That was what the Pharisees were not willing to do. They could not humble themselves before the Lord Jesus Christ, and neither can many others who hear the gracious message of the gospel.