The Sign of
Jonah and the Lamp of the Body
[Luke chapter
11, verses 29-36]
When
we last left off at verse 28 of Luke's gospel chapter 11, Jesus had
just finished describing to the apostles and the crowd around them
what can happen when a demon is driven out of someone, only to later
return. His point was that the apostles needed to either drive demons
out or wait until they have sufficient faith and determination to
properly do so on the first attempt. Otherwise the demon that
possesses any given individual will turn on those trying to drive it
out and kill them. This has happened before in the past, though not
frequently. Today as we begin at verse 29, Jesus has a few things to
say about those who ask him for a sign.
“As
the crowds increased, Jesus said, 'This is a wicked generation. It
asks for a miraculous sign, but none will be given it except for the
sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites,
so also will the Son of Man be to this generation. The Queen of the
South will rise at the judgment with the men of this generation and
condemn them; for she came from the ends of the earth to hear
Solomon's wisdom, and now one greater than Solomon is here. The men
of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and
condemn it; for they repented at the teaching of Jonah, and now one
greater than Jonah is here.'” (Luke 11, verses 29-32)
In
this first verse, Jesus was referring to the demands of the Pharisees
to give them a sign, which we have studied previously. “None will
be given except that of the prophet Jonah”, Jesus said to his
apostles. Just as Jonah was in the belly of the whale for 3 days a
nights before the whale coughed him up onto the shore, Jesus'
resurrection also happened on the morning of the third day after his
crucifixion. Jesus told the apostles in advance that he would be put
to death, but we have not yet gotten to that point in Luke's gospel,
which is why he doesn't mention that here. Jesus' reference to the
“queen of the south” recalls the Queen of Sheba's visitation to
King Solomon during his reign (see 1st
Kings chapter 10). The “men of Nineveh” Jesus mentioned are the
population of the ancient city of Nineveh that Jonah preached to, who
repented of all their sins – and ancient Nineveh was a wild and at
times lawless place, so some serious turning away from sinful
practices had to have occurred. When our Lord said, 'and now one
greater than either Jonah or Solomon is here', he was naturally
referring to himself, but without actually saying so. Modesty was one
of the trademarks of Christ. We would be wise to make modesty one of
our trademarks too. Those already doing so, please disregard, OK? And
now let's move on to the second part of today's lesson.
“No
one lights a lamp and puts it in a place that will be hidden, or
under a bowl. Instead he puts it on its stand, so that those who come
in may see the light. Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your
eyes are good, your whole body also is full of light. But when they
are bad, your body also is full of darkness. See to it, then, that
the light within you is not darkness. Therefore, if your whole body
is full of light, and no part of it dark, it will be completely
lighted, as when the light of a lamp shines on you.” (Luke 11,
verses 33-36)
The
above 3 verses reflect a similar passage in Matthew chapter 5, verses
15 and 16. They also reflect the opening verses of the gospel of
John, which we will be studying further down the road. In John
chapter 1, verses 4-9, and I quote, “In
him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in
the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it. There came a
man who was sent from God; his name was John. He came as a witness to
testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might
believe. He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to
the light. The true light that gives light to every man was coming
into the world.”
Jesus even called himself “the light of the world”, but we'll get
to that part later. But that light “shines
in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.”
Those who adamantly refuse to believe in God or Jesus (or both) do so
because they are “in darkness”. From the standpoint of God, only
those who place their complete faith and trust in Jesus Christ his
Son, do so because they have made that Spiritual connection with God
by embracing – not merely “accepting” – Jesus Christ as their
Lord and Savior. Having done so, those who truly believe give all
their worries and fears up to the Lord and freely redeem the eternal
salvation that is rightfully theirs by the shed blood of Jesus when
he died on the cross, only to rise again on the morning of the third
day!
“Your
eye is the lamp of your body. When your eyes are good, your whole
body also is full of light. But when they are bad, your body also is
full of darkness.”
The eye is the “lamp of your body” because it is the window to
your soul. Light only shines through windows or other openings inside
or outside a building. So when we embrace Christ, and we invite him
to come and live inside our hearts, minds, and souls, his Light will
be present within us. It is that same Light that makes our eyes look
like guiding lights! Be a guiding light for those seeking Jesus,
whether they realize they are seeking him or not! You never know when
you might be able to bring someone to Christ.
“See
to it, then, that the light within you is not darkness. Therefore, if
your whole body is full of light, and no part of it dark, it will be
completely lighted, as when the light of a lamp shines on you.”
In other words, don't mistake human intellect, inventiveness and
brainpower – which are all certainly considerable – for
Spirituality. Don't mistake the human spirit for the Holy Spirit! But
if we all do these things – maintaining within ourselves the Light
of the Spirit – that light will drive out any and all remaining
darkness provided we don't let any more darkness in!
But
there lies the rub. Human nature is a sinful one, it's in all of us,
and at the end of the day it works its way into us any way sin can –
but, as before, only if we let that sin in. So we get caught up in
temptations big and small, no matter how hard we may try not to.
That's where the saving power of the shed blood of Jesus enters the
picture. His blood, shed on a cross, is what makes up the difference
between what people aspire to be and do, and what happens when they
fall short, which humanity does consistently. So if we want to be
“completely lighted” we must submit ourselves to Jesus Christ and
put him in charge of our lives. It almost reads like I'm
oversimplifying the salvation of Christ, but it really is that basic.
Be a light for Jesus if you're not already doing this. And if not,
that's OK, today is an excellent day to start!
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