Luke the beloved physician wrote how, “a certain woman of the company lifted up her voice, and said unto him, Blessed is the womb that bare you, and the paps which you have sucked. But he said, Yes rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it”, and in chapter eleven and verse twenty-nine of his book Luke shared how Jesus says, “this is an evil generation” where we read:
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.
The verse reads, “And when the people were gathered thick together, he began to say, This is an evil generation:” Luke began with the words, “and when the people” or “and at the time and moment the human beings both male and female” “were gathered thick together” which means “were assembled and collected in a massive group with each other”, “he began to say” or “Jesus initiated speech and started to utter, declare and proclaim”, “this is an evil generation” which means “the current age, nation and whole multitude is full of labors, annoyances, hardships, perils, wickedness and bad conditions”. Luke shared how the people again assembled in a large group, and Jesus “started to say” how the current “age of people” were “wicked and filled with labors and bad conditions”.
The verse continues, “they seek a sign; and there shall no sign be given it, but the sign of Jonas the prophet.” Luke added the words, “they seek a sign” or “the people within Jesus' generation look for, search for, inquire and crave a mark, token, miracle and wonder”; “and there shall no sign” which means “and no mark, token, miracle or wonder will” “be given it” or “be granted, supplied, furnished and bestowed upon the generation”, “but the sign of Jonas” which refers to “except for the mark, token, miracle or wonder of Jonah whose name means dove and was the fifth minor prophet, the son of Amittai, and a native of Gath-hepher and lived during the reign of Jeroboam II, king of Israel” “the prophet” or “a man who was moved by the Spirit of God and hence his organ or spokesman and who solemnly declared to men what he received by inspiration, especially concerning future events, and in particular such as relate to the cause and kingdom of God and to human salvation”. Luke shared how Jesus said there would not be a “sign” provided to the current “generation” except for the one given through “Jonah” the prophet of the Old Testament.
When we consider Luke's words in this verse, we see how Jesus acknowledged the current generation's desire to have a “sign” given to them, however He would not extend a “sign” to them other than the one given through the life of Jonah. Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the whale, and Jesus was to be three days and three nights in the “belly of the earth”. Jesus performed many mighty miracles among the people which more than served as “signs” to those who carefully examined them, but the people still did not believe. God wants a relationship with every person through His Son Jesus, and when they yield their lives to Him as their “Savior and Lord”, they will understand His life alone is better than any “sign” they may receive in the natural world.
Next time Luke shares how Jesus says, “as Jonah was a sign unto the Ninevites, so shall also the Son of man be to this generation”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until
tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book
“Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the
marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the
Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms
Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County"
in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com
; http://www.barnesandnobles.com
; download to e-books, and find it locally at
www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
All references are from "Strongs Concordance".
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