Bible Study series: Luke 11:29-32. Our generation does this too. But caution! Satan can work signs and wonders. Know what to look for. Look for Jesus alone.
Friendly greetings and a warm welcome to this Bible study! I write to learn, so let’s learn together.
I also translate to learn. The translations are mine, unless otherwise noted. If you would like to see many others, please click on this link:
In the next link to the original chapter, I comment more and offer the Greek text. At the bottom you will find a “Summary and Conclusion” section geared toward discipleship. Check it out!
In this post, links are provided for further study.
Let’s begin.
Scripture: Luke 11:29-32
29 While the crowds were increasing, he began to teach. “This generation is an evil generation. It seeks for a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah. 30 For just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so also the Son of Man will be to this generation. 31 The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to listen to the wisdom of Solomon, and look, something greater than Solomon is here! 32 The men of Nineveh will rise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it because they repented at the message of Jonah, and look! Something greater than Jonah is here!” (Luke 11:29-32)
Comments:
God’s Signs and Wonders versus Satan’s Signs and Wonders
29-30:
In v. 16, the people were testing or tempting Jesus to perform a sign at their choosing and in their way. They wanted to turn him into a magician. See v. 16 for possible signs which they were demanding. One possible sign was the one that Moses performed: the sky was darkened. It was an unmistakable, clear sign. Would Jesus do it? Why not? No, the sign that shall be given to Jesus’s generation was his preaching with great power and wisdom and the people’s refusal to repent. Jonah and the Ninevites did not have the benefits or the light that Jesus brought. Yet the Ninevites repented. Now what about the Jews of Jesus’s generation?
So there will no sign in the heaven like Moses performed. No need. Jesus wanted to shield his identity as the Messiah so people would have to dig deep for it. Were they hungry? Would they connect the dots by faith? Would they understand Is. 53 and the Suffering Servant? Or did they want the Mighty Messiah (Dan. 7)? Would they miss the boat and reject their true, humble Messiah, so the larger world far outside Israel (even you and me) could welcome him as the Messiah?
Here are the signs that Jesus told John the Baptist’s disciples to report back to John, as he languished in prison, doubting:
18 When his disciples reported to John all these things, he summoned two of his disciples 19 and sent them to the Lord, saying, “Are you the Coming One or should we wait for another?” 20 After the men approached him, they said, “John the Baptist sent us to you saying. ‘Are you the Coming One, or should we wait for another?’” 21 At that period of time he healed many from their diseases and afflictions and evil spirits and granted many blind to see. 22 In reply, he said to them, “Go, and report to John what you have seen and heard: the blind see again, the lame walk, those with skin disease are cleansed, the deaf hear, dead are raised, the poor have the good news preached to them (Luke 7:18-22)
Jonah: Luke omits the three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, while Matthew has it (12:38-42). In this pericope (pronounced puh-RIH-koh-pea), Luke does write that this sign is the resurrection on the third day. So what is the purpose of Jonah’s example? Luke writes in vv. 31-32 that the sign for his generation is judgment. It is a sad fact that Jesus’s generation was coming under judgment because the Jerusalem establishment and some of the smaller towns did not repent.
Even though Luke does not says “third day,” let me cover it because the phrase appears in the other Gospels.
Let’s not over-interpret Jesus’s quotation of Jonah 1:17, which says three days and three nights. Many demand 72 hours. However, in his context Jonah and his time in the fish was a type and a sign of the burial and resurrection.
How do I prove that “three days and three nights” can be partial? First, in 1 Sam. 30:12 (literally “today three days”), the day before yesterday. Second, in Esther, a period described as “three days and three nights” (4:16) is concluded on the third day (5:1). (Thanks, R. T. France, p. 491, fn. 12!). Third, Jesus says he will rise on the third day (Matt. 16:21; 17:23; 20:19; 27:64, and in Mark and Luke). Those verses in the Gospels where he quotes Jonah 1:17 and here where he says “on the third day” prove that he did not over-interpret Jonah, for the prophet was merely a sign and type. Jesus believed that three days and three nights could be partial. Fourth, even Paul said, “on the third day, according to the Scriptures”, that is, the OT (1 Cor. 15:4). So Paul must be using a semitic inclusive day out of three days of 72 hours. The days are partial. Go to Bible Gateway and type in third day and look at all the wonderful thematic hits.
Jesus weeping over Jerusalem:
41 Then as he was approaching and saw the city, he wept over it, 42 saying, “If you—yes, you!—recognized this day and the things leading to peace! But now they have been hidden from your eyes! 43 Days will come upon you when your enemies will throw up barricades and surround you and hem you in from every direction! 44 Then they will destroy you and throw the children in you to the ground and not allow one stone on another stone in you because you did not recognize the day of your visitation! (Luke 19:41-44)
Jesus again prophesies judgment on Jerusalem:
20 When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then you know that its desolation is near. 21 Then those in Judea must flee to the mountains and those inside it must get out and those in the countryside must not enter it, 22 because these are the days of judgment, fulfilling everything that has been written. (Luke 21:20-22)
These passages clearly refer to the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple in AD 70, by the Romans. It must be noted, however, that after Pentecost thousands of individual Jews did convert (Acts 2:41; 4:4; 6:7 [priests]; 21:20). So the judgment did not fall on everyone; “this generation” is a generalization.
Luke 21:5-33 Predicts Destruction of Jerusalem and Temple
However, Morris takes the sign to be the resurrection, without mentioning Jonah’s proclamation of judgment. After all, the Ninevites repented, and it seems that the Jerusalem establishment would not repent.
“Son of Man”: it both means the powerful, divine Son of man (Dan. 7:13-14) and the human son of man—Ezekiel himself—in the book of Ezekiel (numerous references). Jesus was and still is in heaven both divine and human.
4. Titles of Jesus: The Son of Man
31:
The Queen of the South is Sheba (1 Kings 10:1-13; 2 Chron. 9:1-12). She was truly impressed and overawed at Solomon’s wisdom. Now what about Jesus’s fellow Jews at his teaching with wisdom and great power? Would they receive it? Evidently some did, but others did not.
“will rise”: Every dead person will be reunited with their bodies, which lay buried in the ground or dissolved in the ocean. God can work this miracle.
It must be a humiliating thought to men for a woman to judge them (the Greek is unambiguously “men” and not the generic “persons”). She traveled a great distance to listen to Solomon in her generation, but to the first-century generation, God sent his very best. Jesus is the one who became an itinerant preacher, so they did not have to travel very far, just right outside their doors in the countryside. Or sometimes he went through their village.
“wisdom”: Let’s define it broadly and biblically. BDAG is considered the authoritative Greek lexicon, and it translates the noun sophia (pronounced soh-fee-ah and used 51 times) as “the capacity to understand and function accordingly—wisdom.”
So biblical wisdom is very practical. It is not like the wisdom of the Greek philosophers, which was very abstract. But let’s not make too much of the differences. In the classical Greek lexicon, sophia can also mean: “skill in handcraft and art … knowledge of, acquaintance with a thing … sound judgment, intelligence, practical wisdom.” In a bad sense it can mean “cunning, shrewdness, craft” (Liddell and Scott).
“at judgment”: Every person who ever lived will be judged before the great white throne, and so it seems Sheba will stand in the middle of this generation and be a living witness to it. She does not have to pronounce judgment on them, for her appearance will be sufficient. But if we read the verse literally, then she will actually be permitted by God to condemn them.
God’s wrath is judicial.
It is not like this:
(Source)
But like this:
(Source)
That is a picture of God in judgment.
The Wrath of God in the New Testament
Do I Really Know God? He Shows Wrath
The Wrath of God in the Old Testament
Everyone Shall Be Judged by Their Works and Words
Bible Basics about the Final Judgment
Does God Cause Natural Disasters to Punish People Today?
But be careful! God is still a judge–the judge–and those living outside the New Covenant are susceptible to his negative judgment in the afterlife, if not in the here and now.
“something”: why didn’t Jesus say “someone”? Some commentators say that “something” refers to Jesus’s message. But professional grammarians have researched the term and conclude that it means the qualities and characteristics of the messenger—Jesus. It means the “entire package” of his life, teaching, and ministry. That makes sense to me.
32:
This is a double warning. Now it is the turn of the Ninevites, who lived long before Jesus came, to condemn the evil generation when Jesus lived. The Ninevites will also rise up at the judgment, being reunited with their bodies, and judge the evil generation.
“repent”: it is the verb “I repent” and literally means “changed mind.” And it goes deeper than mental assent or agreement. Another word for repent means physically “to turn” (see Luke 2:20, 43, 45). That reality-concept is all about new life. One turns around 180 degrees, going from the direction of death to the new direction of life.
The sign of Jonah includes all three elements: the preaching of repentance (5:32; 13:3, 5; 15:7, 10); the preaching of judgment (13:1-9, 23-30, 34-35; 20:9-19; 22:20-28; 23:28-31) and divine rescue (24:5-7) (Garland, comment on 11::29-32). Garland’s fuller interpretation makes sense.
Before leaving this pericope or section, let’s talk about judgment in a little more detail as I did at Luke 10:13-15.
Yes, Jesus is employing firm rhetoric—even harsh rhetoric—but there are theological truths here that explain the strong rhetoric.
First, this “generation” stands in for many individual persons, as a collective. It’s not clear (to me at least) how God through Christ will judge an entire generation as a collective, but he will. It may be based on the idea that generations seem to take on an ethos or character, probably because neighbors copy each other. It is easy to imagine, however, that a few people may have welcomed or would have welcomed the kingdom of God in each town or generation. If a few adults broke free from the unbelieving crowd, then God will judge them differently, like Lot and his family escaping from Sodom and Gomorrah. In other words, God distinguishes between the righteous and the wicked. Abraham asked God, “Shall not the judge of all the earth do what is just?” (Gen. 18:25, ESV). The answer is yes.
Are There Degrees of Punishment, Rewards after Final Judgment?
What Happens to Children after They Die?
Second, people are judged according to the light they have. The Ninevites had very little light other than moral law and Jonah’s message of repentance. Now imagine how the judgment will be on this entire generation in this pericope when they did not repent! They had a much brighter light than just moral law. They had the kingdom of God and the Messiah in their midst. If this generation could not accept them, then their judgment will be severe. With greater gifts and light come greater responsibility. If people reject God’s gifts and light, then their judgments will be severe.
See my posts on judgment, linked under v. 31.
GrowApp for Luke 11:29-32
1. Would you travel as far as the Queen of the South (Sheba) to follow Jesus?
2.. Was your heart as ripe and tender as those of the Ninevites when you repented? Tell your story.
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11. Eyewitness Testimony in Luke’s Gospel
3. Church Fathers and Luke’s Gospel
2. Archaeology and the Synoptic Gospels
1. The Historical Reliability of the Gospels: Introduction to Series
BIBLIOGRAPHY AND MORE
To see the bibliography, please click on this link and scroll down to the bottom. You will also find a “Summary and Conclusion” for discipleship.
Dr. Jim's Essential Bible Teaching 