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THE SON OF MAN WILL BE THE SIGN TO THIS GENERATION
Luke 11:29-54
Key Verse: 30
“For as Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites, so also will the Son of Man be to this generation.”
The title of today’s massage is the quotation of Jesus’ words, “The Son of Man will be the sign to this generation.” To shorten it, “Jesus is the sign.” What does it mean? A sign is a token or indication of something else. For example, flowers are often given as a sign of affection. What then is Jesus the sign of? Let’s know it from today’s passage. In this passage, Jesus also wants his people to be filled with the glowing inner light by having Jesus’ light into our hearts. Let us listen to Jesus’ words today with a desire to accept them into our hearts.
I. Jesus himself is God’s sign (29-32)
In the previous passage, Jesus healed a man possessed by a mute demon and gave him a new life. But those who witnessed Jesus’ life-giving work spoke against Jesus. They said, “By Beelzebul, the prince of demons, he is driving out demons.” What a twisted view and blasphemy! They deliberately discredited Jesus’ miraculous sign and interpreted it as a sign of demonic power. Some others there asked Jesus for a sign from heaven in order to test him.
Look at verse 29. “As the crowds increased, Jesus said, ‘This is a wicked generation. It asks for a miraculous sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah.’” As aforementioned, some people discredited Jesus and some others demanded him another sign from heaven. We don’t know what kind of sign they wanted to see—maybe, something sensational and supernatural like parting the Jordan River or riding a chariot of fire into the sky. But Jesus said,“This is a wicked generation. It asks for a sign…”Why is a sign-seeking generation a wicked generation? It is because sign-seeking people don’t trust in God’s word and walk by faith. They walk by sight and thus seek a sign. But when a clear sign is given them they may not see it as a sign. They seek signs that they themselves interpret as proof, not a sign of real proof. They themselves sit on the judgment throne of God and judge God’s sign. They are wicked. They are rebellious and inverted. Jesus performed many miraculous signs before the crowds. But they rejected his real signs and sought some other signs that they wanted.
Generally, a sign is something that points to more important than itself. Biblically speaking, it points to the powerful, saving activity of God. When Jesus performed miracles, his miracles pointed to the deeper, symbolic meaning of them. So in his gospel St. John described them as “miraculous signs” not just “miracles.” Jesus’ miraculous signs prove that he is the promised Messiah, the Savior of world.
Jesus said, “This is a wicked generation. It asks for a miraculous sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah.” In this lamentation, Jesus gives another promise that he will give the sign of Jonah as the last sign. What is the sign of Jonah? Jonah was an interesting prophet. He was rebellious toward God who commanded him to go to Nineveh the capital of the Assyrian Empire, Israel’s enemy nation and deliver God’s message to the Ninevites to repent before the coming of God’s judgment. Jonah ran away from God taking a boat bound for the opposite direction. But he was thrown into a sea, andGod sent an obedient fish to swallow Jonah, and keep him in its stomach for three days and three nights (Jonah 1:15, 17). Jonah repented in the fish’s stomach and the fish vomited him onto the seashore if Nineveh. Then Jonah preached repentance still reluctantly. But all the Ninevites repented, seeing God’s sign, Jonah and his message.
Now Jesus said in verse 30, “For as Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites, so also will the Son of Man be to this generation.” Jesus the Son of Man has been a sign to the generation through his countless miraculous signs, but the last and greatest sign will be his resurrection from the dead. In Matthew 12:40 Jesus said,“For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.”Jesus’ death and resurrection proved that Jesus himself is the sign to be the Messiah, the Son of God. As the rescued Jonah was God’s sign, so is the resurrected Jesus from the dead. Jesus’ resurrectionfrom the dead is the greatest sign that he is the promised Messiah. As Jonah was a sign of a second chance for the Nenevites, Jesus is the sign of a second chance for our salvation. As the Ninevites took the second chance, repented and were saved, we should take the second chance, repent, are saved and become members of God’s eternal kingdom.
Look at verses 31and 32. These verses show two examples of seeking godly knowledge and repentance in history. The Queen of theSouth came from a far off country present-day Yemen to Solomon in Jerusalem to listen to Solomon’s wisdom. Solomon answered all her questions. She was greatly amazed by Solomon’s wisdom and praised God (1 King 10:1-9). She had a great desire for wisdom and invested her time and money unsparingly to obtain it. But Jesus is far greater than Solomon. His words are the words of life and heavenly treasure. Therefore, we should welcome Jesus wholeheartedly by listening to him and following his teachings. Otherwise, the Queen of the South would rise at the judgment with us and condemn us.
Another example was the Ninevites who repented and believed God and were saved from God’s imminent judgment. In the Bible, Jonah was one of the worst messengers because he hated his listeners the enemies of Israel. Jonah reluctantly delivered God’s message to the Ninevites, with mosquito voice, “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overturned” (Jon 3:4). Jonah didn’t show any miracle to prove that his message was from God. Jonah hoped that the Ninevites would reject his message and not repent. But surprisingly hearing Jonah’s grumpy and heartless message, all the Ninevites from the greatest to the least repented and believed God’s words spoken through Jonah and were saved from God’s judgment.The Ninevites’ repentance was exemplary. Jesus wants us to learn from them. Jesus said in verse 32b, “…and now something greater than Jonah is here.”Jesus is the Son of God who came to give us the good news. He delivered his life-giving words. Moreover, he performed many miraculous signs that pointed to Jesus’ power and authority to be the Savior of the world. But people in Jesus’ time didn’t repent and accept Jesus. So at the judgment, the men of Nineveh will stand up with them and condemn them. Here we learn that God’s true sign is God’s words. The Ninevites saw God’s sign as he heard God’s words from Jonah. In the same way, as the disciples of Jesus heard Jesus’ words they saw that Jesus himself is God’s sign. So they repented and followed Jesus. To them, Jesus is the very sign that the Creator God became flesh and dwelt among sinners to save them and give them eternal life (Jn 1:14). Those who hear Jesus’ words but do not repent can be called “sign-seekers” of the generation. Sign-seekers do not want to repent. In reality nothing will make sign-seekers believe. They are like Pharaoh who saw God’s signs and wonders through Moses, but hardened his heart without repentance. On the other hand truth-seekers are different. Truth-seekers are taking God at his words, instead of seeking after miracles. Simple faith in Jesus’ life-giving words is far more pleasing to the Lord than a reliance on a great miracle. God’s true sign for our generation is Jesus himself who shed his blood on the cross because of our sins, died a cruel death to save us from God’s condemnation and resurrected from death to give us eternal victory. Let us open our hearts and accept his words and obey them.
II. “Your eye is the lamp of the body” (33-36).
This part is not easy to understand. We must first understand the metaphors of light and eyes and their meanings. Verse 33 says, “No one lights a lamp and puts it in a place where it will be hidden, or under a bowl. Instead he puts it on its stand, so that those who come in may see the light.” This is common-sense. Nobody lights a lamp and then puts it in a safe or under a bucket; yet that was exactly what the people of Jesus’ generation were doing spiritually. They heard Jesus’ words, but did not allow the light of Jesus to shine into their hearts and lives. Instead, theyrefused to put the lamp of Jesus’ word on its stand in the centre of their hearts.
Look at verse 34.“Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eyes are healthy, your whole body also is full of light. But when they are unhealthy, your body also is full of darkness.”In this figure of speech, the eye is the lamp of your body. The eye receives light and sees things clearly, and the whole body will know exactly what to do. The foot will know where to step. The hand will realize how to take hold, etc. But when your eyes are not healthy because of some illness or the aging process, you grope in the dark. That is why without wearing the glasses, I cannot drive. What is the point Jesus tries to bring forth here? Certainly he is talking about more than our physical sight.
Look at verse 35. “See to it, then, that the light within you is not darkness.” Here what is the meaning of the phrase, “the light within you is not darkness.” Each person can think, “I have light within me. I know what to do and where to go.” Even the people who asked Jesus for a sign from heaven must have thought that they had light in themselves and they were doing what was right and good in their sight, although in fact what they were thinking and doing was completely wrong. The light within them was actually darkness. In the same way, the Jewish religious leaders thought that they were in the light and they condemned Jesus to death. They thought that they were right and Jesus was the blasphemer. So they judged God the Son, the Messiah of God in their darkness.The light in them that they thought was darkness. Jesus the light of life tried to illuminate their hearts by teaching the truth and showing many miraculous signs. But they stubbornly thought that they were right and had light within them and so they didn’t repent but remained spiritually blind. They grope in the darkness of self-deception and stubbornness. We must always examine ourselves whether we live in self-deception or live in the light of Jesus. Those who live in the light of Jesus repent of their sins sincerely, when they see their inner darkness before the words of God and turn their hearts back to Jesus.
When one’s spiritual eyes are unhealthy, he becomes spiritually blind. The signs of spiritual blindness is obvious: dark thinking, dispirited words, fatalistic view, negative hope, godless actions and so on. Let’s think about twelve tribal leaders who explored the Promised Land. They all saw God’s mighty works in Egypt and the Red Sea through the exodus. They knew that God was leading them to the Promised Land. But after exploring the land, ten leaders reported, “The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size. We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them”(Num 13:32-33).It was true that the Nephilim who looked like giant rugby players were living there. But their phrases, “The land we explored devours those living in it,” and “We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes and we looked the same to them” were totally untrue and imaginary, the words that came from their unbelief. The Bible condemns their report as a bad report (KJV, “evil report”). They were spiritually blind. They had no God who performed wonders and miracles to take them out of Egypt and had them walk through the parted Red Sea and fed them in the wilderness with manna. Since they were the bad eyes to the community, all the Israelites’ hearts were darkened. They wept loudly, grumbling against Moses and rallied against God saying, “Why is the LORD bringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword…Wouldn’t it be better for us to go back to Egypt?”(Num 14:2-4). But the other two leaders, Joshua and Caleb said in their report, “The land we passed through and explored is exceedingly good. If the LORD is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and will give it to us. Only do not rebel against the LORD. And do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will devour them. Their protection is gone, but the LORD is with us. Do not be afraid of them” (Num 14:7-9). What a different report! What a bright and uplifting report! When Joshua and Caleb had God in their hearts, they saw that the land was exceedingly good, a land flowing with milk and honey and the giant Canaanites looked like grasshoppers. They knew that God was with them and would give them the land.
Let me read verse 35 again. “See to it, then, that the light within you is not darkness.” Jesus wants us to examine our heart condition and to make sure that the light within us is not darkness but the true light. What is guiding my thoughts and lives? Is Jesus’ word guiding or some other things? I examined my heart and found darkness in my heart. I confess that my unbelief paralyzed my thoughts, words and action so much that I became like the Israelites in the wilderness who cried loudly in their self-pity and hopelessness. How can I have the light of life in my heart? Psalm 119:105 answers to my question, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.”How much do I have to struggle with God’s words? St. Peter also encourages us to struggle with God word, saying, “… and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts” (2 Pe 1:19).When our hearts are completely lighted, we can truly be a blessing to others, as Jesus blesses us with his shining light (36). Jesus enlightens our hearts with his words. In this unbelieving and wicked generation, let us go back to the Bible and struggle with God’s words until the morning star Jesus rises in our hearts and until Jesus’ words enlighten our heart brightly to be the light of the world (Mt 5:14).
III. Clean your inside and love God (37-54)
In this part, Jesus rebuked Pharisees and the experts in the law at the lunch table. A Pharisee invited Jesus home for a lunch. But he was surprised that Jesus reclined at the table without washing before the meal. To his view, Jesus broke the ceremonial law. But Jesus said in verse 39, “Now then, you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness.” Wow! As a guest, Jesus rebuked his host at the dining table. He did so because of his broken heart for them. These religious leaders were the eyes of that generation. Because they rejected the light Jesus, the whole generation was full of darkness. They cleaned the outside, but were full of sin inside. They should have cleaned their inside by repenting their greed and wickedness (39-41). So Jesus rebuked them with six woes.
1) They gave tithes meticulously but ignored justice and the love of God. They should practice latter without leaving the former undone (42)
2) They loved to have the most important seats in gatherings and respectful greetings. They should not love human glory but be humble (43).
3) They were corrupt like unmarked graves and made others defiled and evil. They should repent and become a good and godly influence (44).
4) They loaded people down with burdens through their rules and regulations that they themselves could hardly bear. They should repent of their heartless legalism and hypocrisy (46).
5) They built beautiful tombs for the prophets whom their ancestors had killed, but persecuted and killed their contemporary prophets just like their ancestors. They should repent andaccept God’s words from God’s servants (47-51).