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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadPaul Kretzmann Commentary - Luke 11:29 - 11:32
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A Warning to the Jews.
v. 29. And when the people were gathered thick together, He began to say, This is an evil generation; they seek a sign, and there shall no sign be given it but the sign of Jonas the Prophet.
v. 30. For as Jonas was a sign unto the Ninevites, so shall also the Son of Man be to this generation.
v. 31. The queen of the South shall rise up in the Judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them; for she came from the utmost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.
v. 32. The men of Nineveh shall rise up in the Judgment with this generation and shall condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here.
The altercation with the Pharisees and scribes after the healing of the dumb demoniac had drawn a large crowd, and, as always under such circumstances, the crowd was quickly augmented and enlarged. And so Jesus took the opportunity of speaking to them all, taking His cue from the request that some of them wanted to see a sign from heaven. The entire generation, the whole race of the people that were here represented, were evil, wicked, far from knowing wherein true morality consists. They sought a sign, but they should not receive any in the sense which they had in mind. Only the sign of the Prophet Jonah would be set before them, just as the sign of the brazen serpent was placed before the children of Israel in the wilderness. The resurrection of Jesus is the one great sign from heaven before the people of all times. See Mat_12:38-42. Altogether, in his whole ministry, Jonah had been a sign to the inhabitants of Nineveh, as a preacher of righteousness unto salvation. And so Jesus was a sign to the people of His generation and times, proclaiming before them all the coming of the kingdom of God through faith in His ministry and work. But the results would not even measure up to those of Jonah, a fact which would redound to their own condemnation. For in the Judgment, on the day when God will judge the quick and the dead, the queen of the South, the rich and powerful queen that had come to visit Solomon, would appear with them, as their accuser, before the throne of the Judge. For she, for the sake of hearing the wisdom of a mere man, came from the extreme ends of the earth, 1Ki_10:1; but here, in the person of Jesus, stood one that was far greater than the ancient king, whose wisdom was immeasurably greater than that of Solomon. Instead of having people come to Him for the words of eternal life, He was obliged to go out and seek the people. And the queen of Sheba would be joined by the men of Nineveh, who would also arise to condemn this generation on the Bay of Judgment; for when Jonah preached his sermon of repentance to them, they gave heed and turned from the error of their ways. And here, in the person of Jesus, was a greater man than Jonah, Jonah's God and Lord, in fact.