Luke 11:29-36

2nd Advent Midweek service

December 9, 2009

Luke 11:29-36 (New International Version) The Sign of Jonah 29As 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. 30For as Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites, so also will the Son of Man be to this generation. 31The 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[a] greater than Solomon is here. 32The 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.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. 34Your 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. 35See to it, then, that the light within you is not darkness. 36Therefore, 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."

WAIT FOR JESUS...WATCHING IN SERIOUSNESS

If we did a study about how we spend the hours of each week, we would be amazed at how much time we spend watching things for entertainment. Think of the hours we spend watching television or looking at the computer screen. Think of the hours we spend watching sports activities on the grade school, high school, college, and professional level. Sometimes we just enjoy watching a beautiful sunrise or sunset.

But there are times when our watching is serious business. Parents don’t just hire anybody to baby sit. It’s serious business watching over the safety of children when parents are gone. Think of the soldier who is on sentinel or guard duty at night. If he doesn’t take that watching seriously, it could mean the death of fellow soldiers. Or think of the doctor who has just performed emergency surgery on or given some strong medications to a loved one who is fighting for his or her life. Often he says, “We will have to watch closely and see what the next several hours bring.” Such watching can be serious business and it can make the difference between life and death.

During the Advent season we are reminded that we are waiting for our Savior’s coming. While we wait we are to watch. That watching is also serious business which can make the difference between eternal life and death. So tonight we consider this thought based on the title of the hymn, “My Soul in Stillness Waits,” “We Watch and Wait for Jesus in Seriousness.”

The words of our text are a continuation of the scene after Jesus had driven a demon out of a man who had been unable to speak. Most in the crowd were amazed and as we heard last week, a woman in the crowd even called out “Blessed is the mother who gave you birth.”

But not everyone was impressed. Some even accused Jesus of doing that miracle by the power of Satan. How ridiculous though, as Jesus said. “A house divided against itself would not stand.” If Jesus were in league with Satan why would he drive out a demon? Although Luke doesn’t record that anyone demanded Jesus to give a sign to prove by what authority he was doing his miracles, Jesus could see that wicked desire in their hearts and he condemned that generation for asking for one. "This is a wicked generation. It asks for a miraculous sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah. 30For as Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites, so also will the Son of Man be to this generation.”

Do you understand the point of Jesus’ words? Recall who Jonah was! He was called by God to go to Nineveh to call the city to repentance. Jonah didn’t want to go because he knew that God was merciful and if the people of Nineveh repented, God would spare them of judgment, and Jonah didn’t think they deserved it! So he tried to run away. But when the sailors on the ship on which Jonah was sailing discovered that he was the cause of the storm that threatened them all, they threw him overboard. God then sent a large fish to swallow Jonah, and after Jonah was in the belly of that fish three days and three nights the fish spit him up on land. After that, Jonah went to Nineveh and preached repentance. The king of that city and all its inhabitants did repent, and God spared the city of destruction.

Jesus now says that the sign for the people of his day was the sign of Jonah. This sign was a lesson from the lesser to the greater! If the people of Nineveh were willing to listen to Jonah and be saved, then surely the people of Jerusalem should be willing to listen to Jesus because he was greater than Jonah. Jonah could only point people to God for mercy and for salvation from their sin. Jesus is the God of mercy and would himself save sinners by his death, and then prove that salvation of sinners is won by his resurrection. For just as Jonah was in the belly of the fish and came out after three days and nights, so the Son of Man was going to be in the grave three days and come out! If they didn’t listen to Jesus and his words of saving wisdom, then not only would the people of Nineveh stand in judgment of the people who rejected him in unbelief, so also would the Queen of Sheba. She had traveled the ends of the earth to come and hear the words of wisdom from King Solomon. Again, someone wiser and greater than Solomon was in their midst! The all-knowing Son of God in whom alone is found saving wisdom! But they wouldn’t listen to him.

So what’s the point for us as we wait for his the Savior? Let’s talk about it first in terms of his coming the first time! How are we to know that this Jesus of Nazareth is the Son of God and the promised Savior? Look at the signs God gave. Was he not born of a virgin a sign he gave through Isaiah? Was he not a descendant of David? A sign also given by the prophets! Is not the sign the angels gave to the shepherds a sign for us too? The baby was born in Bethlehem and was wrapped in strips of cloth? Did he not perform the signs that the prophet said he would? Did he not heal the sick, give sight to the blind, raise the dead to life? Did he not go around preaching the good news God had overcome the problem of our sin by giving himself into death for us? And did he not also fulfill the sign of Jonah for us? Did he not rise from the dead after being in the belly of the earth for three days?

These are all signs that God gave to us too to know that Jesus is the Savior who was to come.

And we are to do with these signs? Watch them seriously! And we do, don’t we? Why do we have midweek Advent services and talk about the prophecies of old? Why do we have Christmas Eve and Christmas Day services? Why do we go through a season we call Epiphany and look at the miracles and preaching of Jesus? Why do we have Lent and then Good Friday as we watch the suffering of Jesus? And why do we go to the empty tomb every Easter Sunday? We have these services because through the Word of God we are watching again the undeniable signs God has given us to show that we have a Savior in Jesus who accomplished our redemption. May God forgive for us for the times when we have neglected or been less than serious about our worship and watching those signs of salvation. And may he forgive us when we tried to look elsewhere for signs of his love and of our salvation.

We also know that God has given us signs for his second coming. There will be signs in the sky; moon turning to red and the sky turning dark. There will be signs on the earth: earthquakes, famines, and pestilence. There will be signs in society: wars and rumors of war. Nation will rise against nation, kingdom against kingdom. There will be signs in the church: false prophets; people will no longer take God’s Word seriously; there will be a falling away from the truth like never before. These are the signs that Jesus has given. While we wait we are to watch them seriously too!

Why? Not only so that we can know that the Day of Judgment is getting closer, but also so that when he comes, we will be found waiting and watching in faith. Only by faith will we be able to stand in the judgment.

That’s the point really of the second part of this text. Listen again to what Jesus told them. 3"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. 34Your 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. 35See 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."

The long and short of Jesus’ words was this: Look the light of salvation is here. I am the light of the world. Believe in me and you will not only have the light of faith shining in yourself, you will also have the light of salvation! If you reject me, you are not only in the darkness of unbelief, you will be lost forever in darkness of hell where there is only weeping and gnashing of teeth!”

While we wait for Jesus to come, we are to be watching in faith, taking him and his word seriously. That’s what we learned about faith in the “Theology of the Cross” Bible class. Faith is taking God and his Word seriously! When we do that, we are walking in the light of the truth and one day we will enjoy the light of the eternal day in heaven! To help us stay in the light of faith, Jesus has given us other signs. In the waters of Baptism Jesus has given us a sign and seal that we are saved by his grace through faith. In the bread and wine of the Lord’s Supper he gives us visible signs that through his body and blood of which we partake in that meal, we are forgiven and then strengthened in our faith by which we wait for him to come.

Yes, there are many things we watch for fun and entertainment. There’s nothing wrong with that. There are others things we watch with seriousness. But nothing is more important than waiting and watching for Jesus. It’s all about heaven or hell! That’s serious business. As we wait and watch for him with do that with joy, because on the basis of the signs God has given us he has come and will come again to bring our final redemption!