§159. Jesus Cautions His Hearers(Luke 11:29–36)

Introduction

  1. One cannot be neutral as far as the claims of Jesus is considered (He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters. Luke 11:23)

  2. Unclean spirit that leaves a person is compared to be a house kept clean. If it is kept empty may result into a worse state. When we do not respond to God, opportunity becomes tragedy, and the chance for permanent reversal is lost.

  3. Lord corrected the woman that the blessed are those who hear the word of God and obey it and not in any heritage. We love a sensuous, tangible, material Christianity far better than one of faith.

Exposition

 

29.  And while the crowds were thickly gathered together, He began to say, “This is an evil generation. It seeks a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah the prophet.

  1. The neutral people ask for more sign and the Lord calls them as evil generation since in spite of several supernatural demonstration of the power of the Lord, they still want a sign from heaven.
  2. The Lord asserts that the age of sign is passing away except the sign of Jonah refers to the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.
  3. What more great sign that the Lord can give to anyone who is seeking the faith? It is foolish to seek for sign for believing in Jesus. The Lord is also pointing to the church age has only one sign - the sign of the cross.

30.  For as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevehites, so also the Son of Man will be to this generation.

  1. The immediate context of this sign is the preaching of Jonah where both Jonah and Jesus preached the message of repentance.

31 .  The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here.

  1. Similarly the admonition of the queen of Sheba matches the warning the Lord is giving to the multitudes. Her response was: Blessed be the Lord your God, who delighted in you, setting you on the throne of Israel! Because the Lord has loved Israel forever, therefore He made you king, to do justice and righteousness.” (1 Ki 10:9).
  2. Lord contrast the response to his ministry to the response to Solomon's fame Jonah's preaching in spite of Jesus being the Lord of even Jonah.
  3. The contrast is even more significant when we consider the reluctance of Jonah and imperfections with Solomon.

32 .  The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here.

  1. Again, Lord contrast the response to his preaching to the response to Jonah's preaching in spite of Jesus being the Lord of even Jonah.
  2. Also the evidence the people of Nineveh and the queen of Sheba had virtually no sign and in spite of that they turned to the messenger of the the Lord, Jonah and Solomon.
  3. Jesus commended the pagan Queen of Sheba and the Gentile people of Nineveh for listening to God’s messengers—Solomon and Jonah—while at the same time exhorting his Jewish listeners to follow their example and listen to him.
  4. Judgement day is a reality that should always be remembered and should guard against all pitfall of life.
  5. Another proof that old testament stories are not mythologies, but are facts attested by Jesus as authentic historical events.

33 .  “No one, when he has lit a lamp, puts it in a secret place or under a basket, but on a lamp stand, that those who come in may see the light.

  1. Lord uses the analogy of a lamp which gives light only when it is kept on the stand. Jesus earlier said that “No one, when he has lit a lamp, covers it with a vessel or puts it under a bed, but sets it on a lamp stand, that those who enter may see the light (Luke 8:16).
  2. The Lord has give light to the world in the sense of revealing the will of the Father to the world and it must be received publicly and not to be ignored.
  3. Remember the pun here: what is more important is not the sign they were seeking, but an eye that is able to see the sign if it were provided!

34 .  The lamp of the body is the eye. Therefore, when your eye is good, your whole body also is full of light. But when your eye is bad, your body also is full of darkness.

  1. Lord continues the analogy by comparing the lamp with eye. A healthy eye is a clear or pure eye that takes in the light and benefits from this illumination. Spiritually this refers to the perspective with which we see things and in this context the claims of Jesus.

  2. Eye need to be good implies that we should have a spiritual inclination to understand what the Lord is doing in and around our lives and not to miss his visitation. Such a person will be under the guidance of the holy spirit constantly like Abraham and Moses and David and Paul and Luther and Calvin, who all had their weaknesses and infirmities, but had a desire the please God in their life.

35 .  Therefore take heed that the light which is in you is not darkness.

  1. The Lord is warning here that the spiritual insights of our life is should solidly based on the words of Jesus.

36 .  If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, the whole body will be full of light, as when the bright shining of a lamp gives you light.”

  1. Receptivity in contrast to neutrality is the fact the Lord is conveying from these statements. In sum, we must take in the teaching Jesus offers, for it is our source of spiritual light and spiritual health.

Application

  1. Do not seek signs: The just shall live by faith, no better sign than the resurrection of Jesus.

  2. Judgement: It is a reality and good to visualize this. Do not forget this.

  3. Receptivity: Right spiritual perspective - controlled by the Holy Spirit and confirming to the Scripture.

About this document ...

Compiled by tfrdn7@gmail.com on 2026-09-13 22:29 for the glory of the Lord