“To See or Not to See – Luke 11 14-16, 27-36”
Gladstone Baptist Church – 29/10/06 am
S1 - We often say are blessed people – but are we really. Jesus said that those who were blessed are those who hear the word of God and obey it. (vs 28) OOPS
Have you ever heard people say that we are blessed people? They are normally talking all about the things that God has done for us. He created us, He sustains us, He cares for us, He died for us, He promises us eternal life, He supplies our needs, He answers our prayers – The list could go on and on. All the things God does for us - Man we are blessed.
But Jesus had another definition for those who were blessed and it had nothing to do with who got things from God.
In Jesus’ mind, blessed people were those who hear the word of God and who obey it. Now you are all here this morning hearing God’s word – so you are half way to being blessed. But how many of us always obey God’s word?
That’s the challenging part isn’t it. I think that I prefer our definition of blessed people? How about you?
S2 - Jesus where ever he went attracted crowds – but they didn’t come to hear and obey. They came to see miracles (vs 16) and enjoy the party atmosphere. Jesus condemned such people (vs 29). UGH
When we come to church and hang around Christians in order just to socialise or to enjoy the good atmosphere or the nice people or because we like hearing the teaching, then we are just like a whole group of people that Jesus condemned. You see – wherever Jesus went, he attracted large crowds. But many in the crowds didn’t come to hear and obey. They came to see miracles and to enjoy the party atmosphere. Here was a charismatic teacher with some fairly radical things to say. He was interesting and what’s more, he could do some fairly wild party tricks. And so people from all over the place gathered to see what he had in store for today. But these were exactly the people that Jesus turned around on more than one occasion and condemned. Open up your bibles to Luke 11:14 as we examine today one of these occasions …
Luke 11:14-16, 27-36
14 Jesus was driving out a demon that was mute. When the demon left, the man who had been mute spoke, and the crowd was amazed. 15 But some of them said, “By Beelzebub, the prince of demons, he is driving out demons.” 16 Others tested him by asking for a sign from heaven.
A couple of weeks ago, if you were here, we looked at Jesus’ defence of himself against the accusation that he was working for Satan. Jesus had just cast out a demon – a fairly cool party trick. No one doubted that he was powerful and that the miracle was genuine, but some called into question the source of his power. Jesus went onto argue very convincingly that it could only be God at work through him. But once he had addressed this first accusation, he turned his attention to the others in the crowd, who were seeking yet more miracles. Skip down to vs 27 …
. 27 As Jesus was saying these things, a woman in the crowd called out, “Blessed is the mother who gave you birth and nursed you.”
28 He replied, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.”
The Sign of Jonah
29 As the crowds increased, Jesus said, “This is a wicked generation. It asks for a miraculous sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah. 30 For as Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites, so also will the Son of Man be to this generation. 31 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 listen to Solomon’s wisdom, and now one greater than Solomon is here. 32 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 one greater than Jonah is here.
The Lamp of the Body
33 “No one lights a lamp and puts it in a place where it will be hidden, or under a bowl. Instead he puts it on its stand, so that those who come in may see the light. 34 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. 35 See to it, then, that the light within you is not darkness. 36 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.”
Often, I think that we are very similar to these people that are condemned. We don’t follow Jesus in order to hear and obey. We follow for many reasons … because we don’t know any better – it’s what our parents did and so we do it to; because our friends do and we like to be around them; because we enjoy the fellowship of the church and our small group; because we find the teaching interesting or stimulating; because we like the superannuation plan – the promise of eternal life.
But very few of us consistently follow Jesus to hear his word in order then to obey it. Oh I know that we all obey his word from time to time or when it is not too difficult to do so, but few of us passionately seek to hear and learn so that we can obey and become more like Christ day in and day out. We usually avoid change don’t we, because it is hard.
S3 - They will be condemned because they failed to believe upon seeing the ultimate sign (his resurrection). Compare the Ninevites’ belief. (vs 30, 32) UGH
Jesus turned to this crowd who were followers, but not obeyers and condemned them because they failed to believe. They asked for signs, but Jesus said that they wouldn’t receive any more signs – except one. The ultimate sign was still to come, but unfortunately Jesus knew all too well that they would not be convinced by this one either.
What was the sign – Jesus called it the sign of Jonah (vs 29). For those of you who know their bible stories well, Jonah was a guy that God told to go from his comfortable home to a place called Ninevah and preach to them about God’s displeasure at their wickedness and their need to repent and turn back to God. That was a fairly daunting task though – How would you like to go to a city twice the size of Rockhampton and tell them that they were wicked and were about to be condemned and destroyed in just 40 days.
Jonah wasn’t too keen on this idea either and so ended up running in the opposite direction. Ninevah was out to the East, but Jonah ran west, jumped on a ship and headed to Tarshish. We don’t know exactly where Tarshish was, but many believe that it was the same place as Tartessus which was in Spain. In Jonah’s understanding of world geography, he was running to the end of the known world in the opposite direction to where God wanted him to Go. But you can’t run away from God and God sent a huge storm that threatened to sink the boat. Jonah recognising that God was seriously angry with him, told the sailors to throw him overboard to save themselves and when they did that there was calm and a Giant fish gulped up a tasty meal. I imagine this fish was probably hanging around the boat enjoying the tasty burley that the sea sick sailers were freely providing.
Anyway – Jonah spent 3 days and 3 nights inside the fish praying to God for a second chance before God relented and spat him out back on the beach where he started. God again told Jonah to go to Ninevah and this time he obeyed (somewhat reluctantly I still suspect).
Having spent 3 days in the stomach of a fish would not have done much for Jonah’s complexion. I imagine that when he was thrown up on the beach, his skin would have looked horrible and was potentially scarred from his experience. I am guessing here, but I suspect that Jonah carried the scars of his experience with him to Ninevah. And when the people of Ninevah saw the sign God had sent in the person of Jonah and his rescue story and when they heard his proclamation of condemnation and impending doom – do you know what they did? There was a wides spread repentance and a mass turning to God.
These evil pagans (Gentiles) saw God’s sign, heard God’s voice and acted in obedience and faith. A far cry from the crowd gathered around Jesus that day. They had seen God’s sign – the demon possessed man was healed. They’d heard Jesus’ teaching, but they weren’t blessed because they didn’t obey the call to faith and turn to God. Even when Jesus did eventually die and rise from the dead (in the tomb for 3 days & 3 nights – just like Jonah) the people refused to believe. They witnessed God’s ultimate sign – Jesus’ resurrection but they refused to believe.
Vs 32 says that Jesus is greater than Jonah. His sign was greater – Jonah was alive in a fish. Jesus was dead in a tomb. His teaching was greater also because here we have the Son of God speaking. But still the Jewish people gathered in that crowd refused to believe. And because of their unbelief, The Ninevites will one day stand and condemn them.
I wonder how many of us here today are like those people in the crowd. Some here today have heard the gospel message many times. You know that the evidence is clear that Jesus was Gods son who died and rose again. But you still refuse to surrender your life to him.
You’ve got the greatest sign one could ever ask for – God in flesh in the person of Jesus Christ, but still you refuse to believe. Don’t make the same mistake as these Jews – God wants you to be a blessed person – someone who hears and responds in repentance and belief. If you haven’t done this today, I want to challenge you to do so today. Come and talk to me after the service or talk to a friend you you know is a Christian. We’d love to introduce you to Jesus. Please don’t put it off - don’t wait and risk dying in unbelief. You will be condemned if you do.
S4 - They will be condemned because they failed to believe upon hearing the ultimate wisdom (God’s revelation). Compare the Queen of Sheba’s search. (vs 31) UGH
To drive home the condemnation of this crowd even more, Jesus appeals to another example from their history. He says in vs 31.
31 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 listen to Solomon’s wisdom, and now one greater than Solomon is here.
Solomon was the 3rd king of Israel and God gave him the gift of Wisdom. Solomon was the wisest man who ever lived the bible records and people from all over the world came to pay homage to him and to wonder at his wisdom. The Queen of Sheba was one of these visitors. She came from the South – from the area of SW Arabia – probably where the modern country of Yemen is.
She, like the Ninevites didn’t believe in God. She wasn’t a Jew, she was a pagan Gentile, yet because of what she had heard about Solomon, she came to learn and ended up giving praise to God.
Jesus makes the point to those gathered around that He was greater than Solomon. Solomon was wise – yes, but his wisdom could not compare to God’s wisdom which was present in Jesus’ words. The Queen of Sheba heard Solomon and acted by praising God. But the crowd around Jesus, when they heard his teachings, they refused to respond in obedience – the refused to praise God.
And Jesus condemns them. One Day, the Queen of Sheba will stand and condemn them for their blindness.
In our church and in fact in every church that is meeting today, there are many people who come week after week and who are just like this crowd. They hear God’s word and recognise the wisdom of his teachings, yet they refuse to act on them in a way that Glorifies God. Hearing the Bible does not result in praise coming from their mouths. Hearing the teachings of Jesus does not spur them into obedience. They close their ears and harden their hearts and thus they can not be called blessed people.
S5 - When we recognise the truth of Jesus’ resurrection and his teaching, our whole lives are completely illuminated and we can walk confidently through life. (vs 33-34) AHA
Jesus calls all people to hear and to then repent and obey. He wants you to step into that realm of being blessed people but to do that we need to see Jesus for who He is.
This should be obvious to us through the signs that he performed. Yes there are all the miracles – the healings, controlling nature, casting our demons, knowing what others were thinking. But what is more amazing is the ultimate sign – his death and subsequent resurrection. Jesus is unique among all others because of this fact – He was raised to life by God himself after 3 days. This proves that He is who He said He was – God’s Son.
It should also be obvious through his teachings. Jesus taught with authority the bible tells us. He was like no other teacher before Him or after Him. His teachings were more than just a good ethic or a moral code for us to live by – they were words of life which if followed will result in a restoration of our relationship with God the Father.
Jesus is standing before us today and his signs and words are like a bright light illuminating all around it. We are all standing in that light and it is clearly visible to everyone. It is not hidden from us. Jesus says in vs 33
33 “No one lights a lamp and puts it in a place where it will be hidden, or under a bowl. Instead he puts it on its stand, so that those who come in may see the light.
Jesus light is shining for all to see and enjoy. But some of us choose to see it and some don’t.
We all have eyes with which we recognise light. Jesus uses the image of our eyes being the lamp of our bodies. When our eyes receive light from the sun or from a light bulb, our whole body benefits. We can perform almost any bodily function when our eyes have light to see by. We can walk confidently down the street without tripping over. We can thread a needle. We can use our hands to make things. We can write a letter. The light that enters our eye impacts the operation of our whole body and allows us to do things that otherwise would be impossible for us.
When Jesus’ glorious light is allowed to enter our bodies, a similar thing occurs. It impacts every part of our lives. It impacts our thought life and we begin to think like Christ. It impacts our wallets and we begin to use our money in ways that glorify God. It impacts our work environment and the way we deal with customers or clients or colleagues changes. It impacts our home life and the way we relate to our wives, husbands and children is controlled by the fruit of the spirit – love, joy, peace, kindness, patience, self control. Every part of us is changed when we open ourselves up and allow God’s glory to shine in on our lives. Jesus says in vs 34 …
34 Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eyes are good, your whole body also is full of light.
36 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.”
S6 - Let us make sure we do not shut out the truth of Jesus from our lives – to do so is to bring condemnation and frustration. (vs 35-36) YEAH
But Jesus warns that not all people have eyes that are open. Not all people have good eyes that See. Some people have bad eyes. Their eyes can not recognise Jesus’ light. They are closed or blinded. And because of that their body is full of darkness. Jesus says vs 34 – “But when they are bad, your body also is full of darkness.”
A person who is blind struggles with even just the simplest of tasks. They have to spend hours and hours to learn how to do things. And while they can become quite confident in a familiar environment which they have learned, put them in a new environment and they are lost. When your eyes are bad, your body is in darkness.
The obvious parallel Jesus is making here is that if you are blind to Jesus’ light and glory, then the way you live your life is akin to living it in darkness. They choices you make, the priorities you have, the relationships you have are not directed by God or influenced by God, but by Satan, the prince of darkness. There is nothing honorable in them and one day they will be judged and found wanting.
Jesus urges his listeners to not be like those who just seek signs and go along for the ride hoping for a bit of entertainment. He urges his listeners to be doers also. People who see the signs and respond in repentance and obedience. People who hear the wisdom of God and give praise to God.
Jesus is looking for people to bless. They will be people who have eyes that see him. They recognise his glory, they recognise who he is, they recognise the demands that he makes on our lives and they allow this light to come in and light up every corner of their lives. They are happy for God to come in and to radically change the way they think, relate, work, communicate, socialize and even in the way they make decisions.
Let us make sure we don’t shut out the truth of Jesus from our lives because to do so will bring condemnation and frustration. We need to be people who hear, see and act. Then and only then will we be called blessed.
