The Sign. Luke 11:29-36 The number of people who wanted to see Jesus and hear His teaching increased. The miracles of healing He did were a testimony to the authority of the message of the Gospel He preached. To listen to the word of God and obey it is an act of faith in the word and in the Lord, who is the Source of the truths He taught. In contrast, to those who put their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, some wanted a sign from heaven to meet their criteria of what is true or false. The evidence as to who the Lord Jesus is was in front of them day after day for three years, but they ignored the obvious. They wanted a sign in the sky!
Deliberate blindness has always been a problem that keeps lost souls from understanding the way of salvation. It can also be found in those who are saved when confronted with something they want to avoid. Peter wrote about those who didn’t give the diligence to add spiritual characteristics to their faith. He wrote, “He that lacks these things is blind (deliberate blindness), and cannot see afar off, and has forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.”
The second hostile approach toward the Lord was the demand for a sign from heaven by those who rejected the fact that the Lord Jesus Christ is the Son of God. His identity as the Son of Man in human flesh, whose miracles they had already seen, gave solid testimony about who He was. Despite what was evident to them and all those around them, they made the demand for a sign from heaven because they wanted an excuse for their rejection of Him. He described them as a wicked generation and refused their demand to give them a sign that would suit them.
The sign He said He would give them was the most significant sign. He would rise from among the dead. Jonah was in the place of death for three days and three nights. He was beyond hope of anyone coming to help him. Then God spoke to the fish, and Jonah lived as one raised from the dead. The results were that a Jewish prophet went to a wicked Assyrian city of the Gentiles, and they repented when they heard his message. The Gentile queen of Sheba saw what God had done for Solomon, even though he was not a good representative of God’s chosen people. The queen of Sheba came to see Solomon with skepticism regarding all she had heard.
Although Jonah did not care for the people of Nineveh, God used his message to bring the whole city down in repentance before Him. Solomon was a failure as a husband and a father, but the queen of Sheba praised the God of Israel despite his faults. God used two failing people. The contrast between Jonah and Solomon and the Lord Jesus Christ was obvious. The Lord loved His chosen people even though they rejected Him. Consequently, they are more responsible for what they did toward Him than a wicked nation and a pagan queen toward an uncaring prophet and a failing king.
Rejecting the Lord Jesus Christ will bring judgment on any person and nation because of their choice. The choices people make have lasting consequences. When the bright light of grace and truth that came from Jesus Christ is rejected, their judgment will be far greater than those who had only a little light in their own consciences and in creation.
We have written evidence from eyewitnesses of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus to assure us of who He is. The Holy Spirit is also working in the world today, convicting people of sin, righteousness, and judgment to come. Believers for the last two millennia have been testifying by their words and works to the reality and results of new life when a person puts their faith in Christ. Wonderful results are seen in millions of people whose lives have been transformed by the power of the Gospel. We serve a living Savior.
Such evidence of the Person and work of Christ leaves every person without excuse for unbelief, let alone the rejection of Him as the Son of God, the Savior of the world. The knowledge of the truth of God is available to us in the Bible, in the constraining power of the Holy Spirit, in the message of the Gospel, and in every person’s conscience. Even the creation that defies description displays openly the fact of a real personal God “in whom we live and move and have our being.”
To reject such a Person with all of the evidence of who He is all around us is to deliberately choose darkness despite all the light that shines in this world. Some people will not allow the lamp of understanding to show them the way to God. Either they love darkness or are deliberately blind to the Light of the world, Jesus. The Lamb is the Light, and the Lamp is lit throughout the world to show everyone the open door to heaven that is offered to everyone. Spiritual understanding is not complicated but has to be accepted by faith. “Without faith, it is impossible to please God.” Evil desires and willful choices make one insensitive to the Light of the Lord.
We get light from the Lord Himself, and as we keep looking to Him, that light continues to direct us in the right direction. When we “look off unto Jesus,” the light of His truth reveals what is around us and what is within us. The Light in us shows the power of the Gospel to those among whom we live and who hear us speak the truth of the Gospel. Truth received is light that enables us to serve God acceptably and do what He desires. Truth rejected leaves darkness in the intellect and one’s soul.