Daily Devotions
Luke
Luke 11:14-36 "ANOTHER GLIMPSE OF THE MULTITUDES"
Day 149 – Luke 11
Text: Luke 11:14-36
ANOTHER GLIMPSE OF THE MULTITUDES
Luke paints another vivid picture of the multitudes that flocked to Jesus. This time the description is even more vivid…
“And while the crowds were thickly gathered together,..”
Luke 11:29
The multitudes had just heard a brilliant, deep and powerful message from the Lord Jesus Christ, but they made no response whatsoever! Did they really hear the Word of God taught at all?
Jesus now turned to multitudes to answer a question that had been hurled at Him. Let’s recall what Luke wrote,
“Others testing Him, sought from Him a sign from heaven”
Luke 11:16
What “sign from heaven” could they have wished for? Hadn’t the multitudes just seen how Jesus cast out a demon from a deaf-mute? He had performed so many other miracles already! How could they have missed the obvious? A sign from heaven indeed? Why did they not specify what sign they were talking about?
AN ASSESSMENT OF THAT GENERATION
The words of the Lord Jesus were indeed solemn when He said,
“This is an evil generation. It seeks a sign,
and no sign will be given it
except the sign of Jonah the prophet”
Luke 11:29
Let us examine the words of Jesus very carefully. What did He mean when He said that the multitudes belonged to “an evil generation?” Jesus went on to qualify His words. It was evil because “it seeks a sign.”
What did the Lord Jesus have in mind when He pronounced this judgment against the multitudes (inclusive of the scribes and Pharisees)?
1. They were evil because they had rejected the signs that had already been done before their eyes… countless times! The miracles of Jesus were called “signs” by the Apostle John in the gospel that bore his name (John 20:30 “And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples…”).
2. They were speaking out of mischief when they asked for more signs, or a special sign from heaven, whatever that was! No sign would ever satisfy all of them. If Jesus had performed one sign to please one person, then another person could ask for a special sign as well. Jesus refused to perform on demand. There must have been thousands of people! What if all of them asked for special signs from heaven? They were out for mischief when they asked for “a sign from heaven” (Luke 11:16).
“NO SIGN… EXCEPT THE SIGN OF JONAH” Luke 11:29
Jesus refused to heed the demands of some of the people who made up the multitudes! He had every right to do that:-
1. In the first place, they had no right to make any demands on Jesus.
2. Their insincerity also disqualified them.
3. Their evilness further also ruled them out!
The Lord Jesus exercised His prerogative to withhold the performance of further signs to the multitudes. This does not mean that He would no longer perform special miracles to heal people, but it simply means that He would not perform on the basis of their demands!
This seems to be a very hard stance taken by Jesus. However, a cryptic statement He made softened the hardness of this stance. If He did not even entertain their questions, then His enemies would capitalize on that.
Jesus would give one final sign… and a very major one at that. However, the multitudes would have to figure what He meant when He spoke about “the sign of Jonah.”
They asked for a sign from heaven! Well, Jesus would give them that sign from heaven! But they would first have to understand what that sign was and what that meant! Jesus reserved the right to remain cryptic!
FOR OUR LEARNING- WHAT WAS THE SIGN OF JONAH?
Even in His cryptic answer, Jesus showed much grace!
1. There would be one special and final sign. That would be the greatest sign of all!
2. The people were asking for a “super-duper” sign! None could be greater than the sign of His own Resurrection! The sign of Jonah was simple a reference to the death and Resurrection of Jesus!
3. However, this sign would have to be a “delayed sign.”
a) They would have to wait till Jesus died
b) They would have to follow His progress in the meantime
c) They would have to wait and see if indeed He would be resurrected from the dead
d) They would then have to make up their mind as to whether they wanted to believe in Jesus
JONAH AND THE NINEVITES
Not every Jew believed all that they read in the Scriptures! To some Jews, the story of Jonah was only a story!
But even if they did believe in the story of Jonah, that a big fish swallowed him up, and that he was spewed out of its mouth three days later, how was that related to Jesus as a sign?
Some of the people had taunted Jesus and asked for “a sign from heaven.” They thought that they had gotten the better of Jesus when they spoke to Him thus. He turned around and spoke deep words that showed them up as people who were both ignorant and foolish! How deep are the thoughts and words of Jesus… BUT WE SEE JESUS!