1 The Pharisees also with the Sadducees came, and tempting desired him that he would shew them a sign from heaven.

2 He answered and said unto them,…

4 A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it,

Matthew 15:1-2, 4

I have always wondered what adulterousness has to do with seeking a sign.

I realized recently that the Savior here is harkening to the teachings of Hosea I’m speaking about the relationship between Israel and God as marriage. These leaders have “gone a whoring” after other gods (Hosea 4:12)

A more simple way to describe what that looks like is to imagine these leaders telling the Savior, “Prove it.” One can imagine an unfaithful husband or wife in a relationship confronted with their sin, and the response being, “Prove it.”

When we do not keep our commitments of fidelity, there is a good chance we will come to some moment of confronting the truth, and our prideful, self-justifying response will be, “Prove it”.

Having to prove something is a sign the relationship is less important than the point being refuted. The one demanding proof has attached themselves, covenanted, is in a relationship, with something else.

Perhaps that is the meaning.