Why do we say "It's a sign of the times"?

Meaning:

It's typical of the time we live in.

Background:

This expression can be found in the Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 16:

The Pharisees and Sadducees came to Jesus and tested him by asking him to show them a sign from heaven. He replied, "When evening comes, you say, 'It will be fair weather, for the sky is red,' and in the morning, 'Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast.' You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times. A wicked and adulterous generation looks for a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah." Jesus then left them and went away. (New International Version)

Some scholars dispute the authenticity of this passage as it seems to have been added at a later date than much of Matthew's gospel.

The Pharisees were at various times a political party, a social movement and a school of thought; around 70 CE, their beliefs became the foundational, liturgical and ritualistic basis for Rabbinic Judaism (which is what we know as mainstream Judaism today). The Sadducees were an upper class Judean sect that, among other things, was responsible for maintaining the Temple. At the time that the Pharisees' beliefs were becoming the mainstream, the Sadducees were effectively becoming extinct, which appears to coincide with the Roman's destruction of the Temple in 70 CE.

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