Luke 11:27-54 | mysite

Luke 11:27-54 - The Sign Of Jonah

This passage is as follows:

As he said these things, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to him, “Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts at which you nursed!” But he said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!”

When the crowds were increasing, he began to say, “This generation is an evil generation. It seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah. For as Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so will the Son of Man be to this generation. The queen of the South will rise up at 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 behold, something greater than Solomon is here. The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.

“No one after lighting a lamp puts it in a cellar or under a basket, but on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light. Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is full of light, but when it is bad, your body is full of darkness. Therefore be careful lest the light in you be darkness. If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, it will be wholly bright, as when a lamp with its rays gives you light.”

While Jesus was speaking, a Pharisee asked him to dine with him, so he went in and reclined at table. The Pharisee was astonished to see that he did not first wash before dinner. And the Lord said to him, “Now you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. You fools! Did not he who made the outside make the inside also? But give as alms those things that are within, and behold, everything is clean for you.

“But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and every herb, and neglect justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. Woe to you Pharisees! For you love the best seat in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces. Woe to you! For you are like unmarked graves, and people walk over them without knowing it.”

One of the lawyers answered him, “Teacher, in saying these things you insult us also.” And he said, “Woe to you lawyers also! For you load people with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers. Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets whom your fathers killed. So you are witnesses and you consent to the deeds of your fathers, for they killed them, and you build their tombs. Therefore also the Wisdom of God said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and persecute,’ so that the blood of all the prophets, shed from the foundation of the world, may be charged against this generation, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who perished between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, it will be required of this generation. Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge. You did not enter yourselves, and you hindered those who were entering.”

As he went away from there, the scribes and the Pharisees began to press him hard and to provoke him to speak about many things, lying in wait for him, to catch him in something he might say.

(End of passage)

In the first half of chapter 11, we learned that Jesus taught his disciples how to pray. Jesus emphasized that God would not give you something other than what you asked God for. Jesus uses a couple illustrations. One illustration is a friend that knocks on the door in the middle of the night because he needs bread for a friend that came. Another illustration he uses is when a child asked for something, say a fish for instance. The father is not gonna give him a snake instead. Then Jesus mentions that the heavenly father will give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him. This is one of the keys to the relationship that Jesus is teaching. The Holy Spirit is God’s seal on us that seals us for Salvation. It is permanent. Our Salvation is sure because of it. Various occurrences and stories that Jesus gives in this chapter relate to the work of the Holy Spirit. The Pharisees accused Jesus of casting out demons by beelzebul. However this cannot be. One stronger than beelzebul is needed to defeat beelzebul. Only the Holy Spirit can be stronger than beelzebul. Jesus mentioned that if an evil spirit leaves somebody then that person puts their house in order but the evil spirit comes back finds it in order and brings seven more evil spirits with it. Only the Holy Spirit can protect that person and keep the evil spirits out.

Now we come to the second half of Chapter 11 first thing we notice is that a woman says something that captures Jesus' attention.

Let’s see what that is,

Verses 27-28,

What is the significance of what the woman says at the top of her voice? Is she promoting worship of the Virgin Mary? Is she just saying how lucky that Mary is to have born Jesus?

What is the significance of what Jesus says?

Why are those that hear the word of God and keep it blessed? Are they just lucky? Or are they truly gifted by God?

More important than the physical appearance of Jesus and the physical means by which who was brought into the world, it is even more important to hear the word of God and do it. Jesus gives us a couple more examples of how it is important to hear the word of God and keep it. Let's see what the next one is.

Verses 29-32,

Now this saying is also in Matthew 12:38-42. We can notice there are some differences between details that Matthew noted and details that Luke noted. Luke notes when the crowds were increasing he began to say this. What does this mean? This means that Jesus said this frequently. It wasn't just a one-time saying. Matthew notes that some of the scribes and Pharisees were asking him for a sign. This may be what kicked off the first time that Jesus said this. So what are the things that Jesus says in response to the Pharisees.

This is an evil generation.
They are evil because they ask for a sign.
Jesus will only give them the sign of Jonah.
The queen of the South and the people of Nineveh will stand in judgment against them because they responded to God’s revelations through Solomon and Jonah.
Something greater than Jonah is here – that is Jesus Christ.

What is the sign of Jonah? The sign of Judah is explained in Matthew just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish so the son of man will be 3 days and three nights in the heart of the earth. What does this imply that Jesus says that he will be in the heart of the earth?

That he would be in hell.

(Supported by the apostle’s creed)

I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
      who was conceived by the Holy Spirit
      and born of the virgin Mary.
      He suffered under Pontius Pilate,
      was crucified, died, and was buried;
      he descended to hell.
      The third day he rose again from the dead.
      He ascended to heaven
      and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty.
      From there he will come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,
      the holy catholic* church,
      the communion of saints,
      the forgiveness of sins,
      the resurrection of the body,
      and the life everlasting. Amen.

That he would be in a tomb.

A number of people have tried to defend the idea that this only means that Jesus would be in a tomb. After all, it is difficult to imagine that Jesus, who was God in the flesh, would go to hell. There are a number of problems with defending this position. First is Jesus’ own description, “heart of the earth.” This was a common description that people used in that day to talk about hell. It was common knowledge that volcanoes and fissures in the earth would leak out some fiery magma from deep in the earth which was supposed to be the stuff hell was made of. When 1 Peter 3:19-20 says, “he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison, because they formerly did not obey,” it can only be referring to the spirits waiting in “Sheol,” or Hell according to the Jewish concept. The concept of eternal death or eternal punishment for sin began with Adam in the Garden of Eden. God said that if Adam ate from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, that he would surly die in that day. Yet, we know that Adam did not die that very day, at least not physically. So, the death spoken of was a spiritual and eternal death that would last beyond his eventual physical death. This is the punishment for sin for Adam, and for each and every person in the human race. It is this punishment that Jesus needed to redeem us from. The fact that Jesus did redeem us from that punishment is spoken of often in the New testament.

Romans 2:23-25,

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.

Who knows what a forbearance is? When I had a school loan, I had a number of forbearances on the loan. I would take advantage of this when I was unemployed. I would get a forbearance, which meant that I didn’t have to make payments for a while. Interest would accrue, and when I got a job, then I would have to pay more later. This passage says that in God’s divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. Notice the sense of the verb here, “had passed.” This is saying that God gave a forbearance for “former sins,” that is, sins of those before Jesus Christ.

Those former sins, as well as all sins were paid for by the propitiation of the blood of Jesus. Propitiation means an act that appeases someone gaining their favor or goodwill. Merrian-Webster dictionary says, “specifically an atoning sacrifice,” and goes on to give as an example the scapegoat in Leviticus. The scapegoat in Leviticus took the sins of the people.

The blood of Jesus, his death, also takes our sins and redeems us. Redemption means purchase. So Jesus purchased our sins by putting our sins upon himself in his death. This is a gift and all we have to do to get this gift is to receive it by faith.

Hebrews 2:17,

Therefore, he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.

1 John 2:2,

He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.

1 John 4:10,

In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

Now, Propitiation means an appeasement such as in an atoning sacrifice. A propitiation satisfies a requirement. Jesus’ death on the cross satisfies God’s requirement for sin.

Now, Luke does not mention the heart of the earth. He assumes that others already know this since he acknowledges prior gospels.

What Luke does is emphasize is that Jesus began to say this. So, he must have said this numerous times. Luke also emphasizes the parts about that the Pharisees are not going to fare very well in the day of judgement. Now about that sign from heaven they wanted. Jesus and his disciples were healing people all over the place. So what did they want to come out of heaven? Fire that would consume them? It seems like they were really asking for it.

Jesus ends his answer to the Pharisees with, “someone greater than Jonah is here.” Let’s see how that relates to the next paragraph.

Verses 33-36,

“No one after lighting a lamp puts it in a cellar or under a basket, but on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light. Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is full of light, but when it is bad, your body is full of darkness. Therefore, be careful lest the light in you be darkness. If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, it will be wholly bright, as when a lamp with its rays gives you light.”

Is Jesus talking to his disciples or is he still talking to the Pharisees? This applies to both the Pharisees in the disciples of Jesus. At this moment both the Pharisees and the disciples of Jesus have Jesus. If they hide Jesus under a basket then they don't have the light but they put Jesus on a stand they have the light. When their eye is bad is talking about the Pharisees. Their eye is bad and their whole body is full of darkness because they don’t lift Jesus up and put him on a stand. They are trying to hide Jesus. They want Jesus to go away. The disciples of Jesus have their whole body full of light because they put Jesus on a stand, and they see Jesus as who he really is.

Let's see if Jesus is gonna say anything else about the Pharisees.

Verses 37-41,

So Jesus goes to dine with a pharisee. A Pharisee makes a comment about the fact that Jesus did not wash his hands before the meal. This was not illegal requirement, but it's kind of a good idea. So Jesus takes this opportunity to lambaste the Pharisee, saying the Pharisees cleaned the outside of the Cup but inside they are full of greed and wickedness. Wow! Right there while Jesus is dining with the Pharisees he makes this comment. Well, let's see if this goes any better from here on out.

Verses 42-44,

Jesus goes on to mention how that the Pharisees exact tithing for every herb that the people grow but neglect justice and the love of God. What he is saying here is that they are not helping others, but rather helping themselves. Jesus mentions that they get all the best seats in the synagogues and they get all the greetings in the marketplaces. This means that they are essentially all full of themselves. By saying that they're like unmarked graves that people walk over without knowing it, Jesus is basically insulting them. Jesus saying that they are really of no importance.

Well, this is right at the dinner that Jesus is having with these people. Let's see if he has anything good to say about anybody else that's there.

Verses 45-52,

So, a lawyer or a teacher of the law speaks up and says to Jesus, “Teacher in saying these things you insult us also.” What does Jesus say to this? He says, “Woe do you lawyers also!” Jesus mentions how did they build the tombs of the prophets and therefore witnesses the bad deeds their fathers. Jesus mentions how that they have taken away the key of knowledge, that they do not pass on the teachings of the prophets and they hinder people from learning from the prophets.

So Jesus lambasts the teachers of the law as well. And all this is happening while Jesus is dining with these Pharisees and the teachers of the law. Man, Jesus really laid into them. The Pharisees are not gonna let this go. Let's see what happens next.

Verses 53-54,

As he went away from there, the scribes and the Pharisees began to press him hard and to provoke him to speak about many things, lying in wait for him, to catch him in something he might say.

So now the Pharisees are even more determined to try to catch Jesus and something he might say. From here on out they're out to get him.

Jesus gives them the sign of Jonah for a sign. Just as Jonah died in the whale and was resurrected 3 days later, so too, Jesus will be killed and will rise again on the third day. Who will then believe?

To be continued…

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