Luke 12:54-59

A final word to the crowd (cf. Matthew 16:2 f., Luke 5:25 f.). τοῖς ὄχλοις : in Mt. Jesus speaks to the Pharisees and Sadducees, in reply to their demand for a sign, which gives a more definite occasion. But the words might quite appropriately have been addressed to the people at large. The weather-skill ascribed to the audience is such as any one might possess, and all Jews needed the warning. The precise circumstances in which this logion was spoken are uncertain. ἐπὶ δυσμῶν, in the west, the region of the setting sun, and of the Mediterranean. A cloud rising up from that quarter meant, of course, rain (1 Kings 18:44-45).