See the Sign

Big Idea: Do we choose to see God’s sign, Jesus?

Who wouldn’t like an absolutely undeniable sign from God?

You know, something dramatic: writing in the sky, an audible voice, a pillar of fire?

Or even something undramatic for that matter: a damp fleece on some dry ground or even just a letter in the post.

I clearly remember in my university halls praying in all seriousness for a pink sheep to just show up in my room overnight as a sign from God. Wouldn’t you like a sign just as clear as that, right in front of your eyes, just as plain as day? Let me tell you I would still like a sign as clear as that.

So when Jesus is asked for a sign that he really is the one sent from heaven, you have to have a measure of sympathy for the people doing the asking. No matter where you are in your journey of faith, I think probably all of us would appreciate a little sign now and then. But is that ok? Or does it undermine the reality of our faith - well, remove the need for faith, really? So should we just be beyond such things?

We’ve been walking through the story of Jesus as told by Luke’s gospel, that is, Luke’s biography of Jesus, and today we come to a section where Jesus takes this question of signs head-on: what sort of signs should we expect to see, and how we should go about looking for them. Susan’s going to come and read for us and the words will be up on the screen but if you want to follow along for yourself, we’re in Luke chapter 11 - big number 11 - verse 27 - small 27. Luke 11, verse 27, and that’s page _______ in these blue bibles. Luke 11:27, page ________.

Oh and for the record, no pink sheep.

Luke 11:27–36 NIV

As Jesus was saying these things, a woman in the crowd called out, “Blessed is the mother who gave you birth and nursed you.” He replied, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.” As the crowds increased, Jesus said, “This is a wicked generation. It asks for a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of 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 people of this generation and condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon’s wisdom; and now something 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 preaching of Jonah; and now something greater than Jonah is here. “No one lights a lamp and puts it in a place where it will be hidden, or under a bowl. Instead they put 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 healthy, your whole body also is full of light. But when they are unhealthy, 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 just as full of light as when a lamp shines its light on you.”

This generation, Jesus says, asks for a sign. He’s harking back to verse 16 up above where “others tested him by asking for a sign from heaven.”

Now you might well be thinking “Goodness! What more do you want?” - since Jesus has been busy doing all sorts of amazing things. We’ve had feedings of thousands with just a little bread and fish, dead raised, sick healed, possessed delivered - all in the public eye. That’s quite a lot of signs, isn’t it? Do they really need another one? And if you were here last week, perhaps you’ll remember that this call for a sign from heaven is, in fact, in response to a sign - an amazing deliverance which sees someone unable to speak suddenly freed to do so.

So it’s easy to be down on these people asking for a sign. But at the same time, can you put yourself into their shoes too? Maybe the guy who couldn’t speak and then did was just a set-up, a fake. Maybe that girl was just sleeping not dead. Maybe people had food stashed away which they awkwardly revealed once the boy shared his. It’s actually not so hard to second-guess signs. Did I really see that? Was it actually real? So maybe it’s not so ridiculous to ask for another sign, a clear one from heaven, one that would leave absolutely no room for doubt ever again.

But then… is there really such a thing, a “total-doubt-erasing-forever” sign? If you wouldn’t call yourself a follower of Jesus yet, what sort of sign would it take for you to have all doubt erased forever? What is it that could really do that, and never have you doubt or question or wonder .. not ever again? And if you are a follower, what about for your friends? Do you think there really is a sign which could do that for them, an experience, an encounter?

Either way, Jesus has no intention of giving them the sort of sign they are looking for, and it seems like their request puts them in his bad books. Verse 29: “This is a wicked generation. It asks for a sign, but none will be given” .. well, not quite none.. none “except the sign of Jonah.” Jesus won’t give them the sign they are looking for. It’s not because he couldn’t - elsewhere he talks about how whole legions of angels are at his command, he shows us the sea, demons, and even life itself is at his command. He could deliver the flashiest sign anyone could imagine in an instant.

But all they’re going to get is the sign of Jonah. Which raises the question just what is this sign of Jonah? Some of you I expect will be familiar with the tale of the reluctant prophet Jonah, the one who ignored what God told him to do, and so spent three days in the belly of a fish before being spat back out.

Is that the sign Jesus is talking about? well, in v30 Jesus says Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites - see, Jonah was sent from ancient Israel to the land of their enemies, the Assyrians, to the massive capital city of Nineveh. (the fact that they were Israel’s enemies is part of why he didn’t want to go - though after the fish episode he ended up there anyway..)

So is it his famous time in the fish is the sign Jesus is talking about? It wouldn’t be too hard to draw the line between three days in a fish for Jonah and three days in a grave for Jesus, would it - in fact that’s just what Matthew 12:40 does. But how is that a sign to the Ninevites like Jesus says it was here?

Is it perhaps that Jonah, still a bit whiffy, whale vomit in his hair, rocks up in Nineveh and warns the people what can happen when you don’t listen to God? Seriously, can you imagine how the ninevites would respond to that sort of fishy tale? “Oh sure three days in a fish, we’d better watch out, thanks crazy man...”

No, I don’t think we can really see Jonah’s three days in a fish as a sign to the Ninevites. So what was the sign of Jonah, the sign to the Ninevites? If we read carefully here, I think we can see - and it’s something much less spectacular, at least on the surface... Over in the book of Jonah we get to see Jonah’s encounter with the Ninevites up close and what’s remarkable about it, really, is just how unremarkable it is. The book of Jonah tells us:

New Living Translation Chapter 3

On the day Jonah entered the city, he shouted to the crowds: “Forty days from now Nineveh will be destroyed!” 5 The people of Nineveh believed God’s message

It looks like Jonah basically got to Nineveh, likely a good while after the fish incident because it was a fair way away, did some shouting, and that was it. How’s that for a short sermon which packs a punch?

So what’s the sign of Jonah, the sign that Jesus says his generation are going to be given? I think it Jonah himself, proclaiming coming judgement. Jonah says “Forty days from now Nineveh will be destroyed”; Jesus says “The Queen of the South will rise at the judgement with the people of this generation and condemn them … the men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgement with this generation and condemn it.” Jonah is the sign, proclaiming coming judgement. Just like Jonah, Jesus himself is the sign, and proclaims a coming judgement.

Not the sort of sign his audience were hoping for at all. But he is a sign none the less. In fact, even before Jesus’ birth, he was being described as a sign. These words are spoken over newborn Jesus back in Luke chapter 2: Luke 2:34

Luke 2:34 NIV

Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against,

And even further back, hundreds of years before Jesus is born, there’s a famous line from the prophet Isaiah we often hear as a part of Christmas church celebrations: Is 7:14

Isaiah 7:14 NIV

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.

Jesus himself is the sign, the only sign they’ll get. And like Jonah, he’s declaring a coming judgement on this “wicked generation” - that’s how he describes them. He gives two comparisons which really would have stuck in his audience’s throat.

First the Queen of the South is going to condemn them: a total outsider, and a woman at that; how could it be that she would condemn and look down on this Jewish, chosen, generation? Because she came to listen to Solomon’s wisdom - that’s a story you can read about much earlier in the Bible. The implication is that this wicked generation didn’t listen - wouldn’t listen. Even though Jesus is greater still than Solomon.

Second the people of Nineveh are going to condemn them: again, outsiders; worse than that, hated enemies of God’s people, the Assyrians who crushed and destroyed 10 out of the 12 tribes of Israel forever. How could it be that Assyrians could condemn them? Because they responded to Jonah’s warning; “they repented at the preaching of Jonah,” it says in v32 - that is, they changed their minds and their behaviour when they heard the warning of judgement. The implication is that this wicked generation didn’t change, won’t change. Even though Jesus is greater than Jonah.

Jesus is the sign, the only sign they’re going to get, and he’s declaring coming judgement on this wicked generation who won’t listen, who won’t respond - who won’t accept the sign they’ve been given.

...

Now alongside this judgement and warning and threat and sign it’s important we see Jesus doesn’t just warn of coming judgement on those who won’t listen or respond - he also offers blessing to those who will. We started our reading with v27 and 28. Look up at v28 for a moment here: “blessed are those who hear the word of God and obey it.” There’s not just judgement of offer, but mercy and blessing too. Just like there was blessing even for the Ninveites when they responded to Jonah’s preaching, no matter how much that irked Jonah.

What’s my big point with all this?

Jesus himself is the sign, and although it can seem like the next section about lamps and light is changing tracks, a different section, it’s really not; I think v33 actually belongs best joined in with all this Jonah and sign chat. Jesus is the sign - in fact he is the lamp, he’s described as light lots of times in the bible: back in Luke chapter 2, “a light for revelation to the gentiles”; over in John’s gospel, “the true light that gives light to everyone”, and “the light of the world”. He’s the light, and it makes absolutely no sense at all to hide the light - instead you put it on display.

Jesus himself is the sign from God, the light of the world, the light for the world, the lamp that God doesn’t hide or cover - the lamp God puts on display so that everyone who comes in can see it. Jesus is God’s sign, publicly displayed. They won’t get any other sign - but they don’t need one either.

...

Now this can all seem very abstract and remote from us, all very distant - even if it could be somewhat interesting. But what does it have to do with us? Well as Jesus switches from talking about signs and Jonah to talking about lamps and lights, he also switches from talking about generations to talking about you - you singular. Jesus stops speaking to the crowds and about the crowds. Jesus stops speaking over our heads to others. He turns his gaze on us directly.

And his question to you, and to me, is “do you see the sign?” Do you, personally, see God’s sign? Not writing in the sky, or a pillar of fire, but Jesus, proclaiming coming judgement, and offering those who respond grace and life in its place. Do you see Jesus?

...

Next Jesus talks about lamps and lights and eyes and bodies, and his words seem a bit confusing to begin with, tangled, almost. I spent quite a while trying to get my head around them this week. But the closer I looked and the more I thought, the more they became clear: He’s speaking to us about what it takes to see the sign, and what will happen if we do - but he also explains the other side: why people don’t.

It’s not because the sign is hidden or covered - that’s verse 33 - it’s like a lamp, publicly displayed to give light to everyone. Towards the ends of the period the bible narrates for us, in the very early years of the church, Paul, one of the key early followers, is speaking to a king and a Roman governor about Jesus and his story. He expects them both to be familiar with it: “these things weren’t done in a corner,” he says. Why don’t people see the sign? Not because it’s hidden.

It’s not because the sign is insufficient either. It’s not that it’s just not quite flashy enough and something more spectacular would have worked. You know, a bit more pizzazz. Like if Jesus has a visible halo like he’s drawn with in lots of old paintings that would have changed everything. Or a voice from heaven each time he enters a room saying “this is my son”. Or a pink sheep showing up. Later on in Luke’s gospel, Jesus points out people wouldn’t even be convinced if someone rises from the dead - Luke 16:31. Why don’t people see the sign? Not because it’s insufficient.

Verse 34 is his answer for why people don’t see the sign. Look at that one with me: the reason people don’t see the sign is because of their eyes. Healthy eyes see the sign, the lamp, the light, and they’re full of light. And if they’re unhealthy, they see no light, no lamp, no sign. But let’s dig just a little deeper here. That word translated healthy is the Greek word ἁπλοῦς and it’s only used in this phrase in the whole bible. This isn’t the normal word for healthy, and there are some questions about quite how to translate it - you’ll notice the footnote here gives another option if you’ve got one of the church bibles: generous is another option.

The word on the other side, given as the alternative, is easier, though. ἁπλοῦς eyes see the sign, whereas unhealthy ones don’t - there the Greek word is πονηρὸς which is simpler: it’s a negative moral judgement; so when you read “wicked generation” back in v29, that’s exactly the same word. Bad. Evil. An evil eye shuts out the lamp, won’t see the sign. Where a healthy eye, a sincere eye, one that genuinely wants to see what’s really there, sees it bright and clear.

The real reason people don’t see the sign is because they don’t want to. They choose not to.

And you can understand why: the sign is a warning of coming judgement, declaring we are out of line, calling for a change of direction, a change of life. And that’s hard. That’s difficult. That’s bad news that has to come with good news. That’s going to mean things don’t just carry on as normal. People choose not to see because they don’t want to face up to what the sign means: God is real; we’ve ignored him and his ways; there are consequences; there’s a way forward, but things have to change.

And notice here what Jesus says happens when you shut out the light, shut out the sign: your body is full of darkness. You know people like to talk about an inner light, an inner presence, an inner guide, inner goodness? Well Jesus says without him, there’s no inner light, just inner darkness. We have no light of our own - if we shut out his light, there’s only darkness left.

Jesus closes with a challenge. And remember here he’s talking at the individual level, pointing the finger at each of us one by one. No more generation. No more broad brush. You.

Verse 35: “See to it then that the light within you is not darkness.” See that you see! How? Choose to have healthy eyes, sincere eyes: be willing to see the sign, and accept the consequences. Choose to reject evil eyes which shut out the light, which ignore the sign. And this command is one not just for the day of decision to follow Jesus; this is an ongoing command: the language here leaves it as a continuing challenge to each one of us. Choose to see - and to keep on seeing.

Because there’s a real temptation to turn away, even for those who have been following Jesus. There’s a call from the world and from the enemy to question whether we really have seen a sign, whether there really is a judgement ahead, whether there really is a new and better way that Jesus has opened for us. “Did God really say...?” is how the whole mess starts with the snake in the garden - and remember he’s talking to people who already knew God and walked with him.

Jesus challenges us all: choose to keep on seeing. To keep on being filled by his light. Going back to v28, to hear his words, and to obey them. That’s what it really means to see the light: To keep on living in the light of what Jesus signifies: we have walked away from God, but God’s love drives him to come after us, with warning and rescue. He wants to fill us with his light.