Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

⁴¹ Then Elijah told Ahab, “Go on up and eat and drink, for the sound of a heavy rainstorm can be heard.”^{[a] 42} So Ahab went on up to eat and drink, while Elijah climbed to the top of Carmel. He bent down toward the ground and put his face between his knees. ⁴³ He told his servant, “Go on up and look in the direction of the sea.” So he went on up, looked, and reported, “There is nothing.”^[b] Seven times Elijah sent him to look.^{[c] 44} The seventh time the servant^[d] said, “Look, a small cloud, the size of the palm of a man’s hand, is rising up from the sea.” Elijah^[e] then said, “Go and tell Ahab, ‘Hitch up the chariots and go down, so that the rain won’t overtake you.’”^{[f] 45} Meanwhile the sky was covered with dark clouds, the wind blew, and there was a heavy rainstorm. Ahab rode toward^[g] Jezreel. ⁴⁶ Now the Lord energized Elijah with power;^[h] he tucked his robe into his belt^[i] and ran ahead of Ahab all the way to Jezreel.

The Demand for a Sign

16 Now when the Pharisees^[a] and Sadducees^[b] came to test Jesus,^[c] they asked him to show them a sign from heaven.^{[d] 2} He^[e] said, “When evening comes you say, ‘It will be fair weather, because the sky is red,’ ³ and in the morning, ‘It will be stormy today, because the sky is red and darkening.’^[f] You know how to judge correctly the appearance of the sky,^[g] but you cannot evaluate the signs of the times. ⁴ A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.” Then^[h] he left them and went away.