No More Excuse, Part 3 – Luke 11:29-32

Jesus had proven continually that He was the prophesied Messiah through countless miracles and teachings. However, the Israelites and Pharisees demanded one more sign from Jesus to prove who He was. He had just healed a blind man but it was not enough. Jesus lays into them calling them a wicked generation with no hunger or thirst for the truth. They have no excuse to reject Him because they have seen so many signs. Even the lepers were healed, which was a very specific and telling sign of the Messiah. Yet they did not believe and they did not change. This is why Jesus says they will have no sign but the sign of Jonah.

We all know the story of Jonah, the angry and bitter prophet, who was swallowed by a big fish for three days and vomited back on the shore. This was the sign of Jesus’ resurrection. Jesus claimed to Mary and Martha, “I am the resurrection”. The resurrection is the foundation of Christianity. All other doctrines flow out of the resurrection. We have life because of the resurrection. The resurrection is the ultimate sign by which our faith rests. Apostle Paul made it his mission to tell the world Jesus is alive (Acts 25:19). The resurrection is the sign of Jonah is greater than all the other signs and definitively declares Jesus is the Messiah.

Jesus also compares this generation to the Queen of the South who traveled to see Solomon. She was the least privileged and least likely to seek God and yet when she heard from Solomon she believed. The Jews have all the privileges. They had their Jewish background and upbringing. They didn’t have to travel but Jesus came to them. They got to witness Jesus in person day after day. Solomon had a heavenly wisdom recognized by everyone (1 Kings 4:29-30,34). The Queen of the South traveled a great distance just to hear this heavenly wisdom. She realized that she needed to hear the truth of God, she needed to know how to be saved. Yet even though they heard Jesus preaching the gospel perfectly for over three years right in their own city, they remained unchanged. Behold, Jesus is greater than Solomon. The Queen was saved by hearing from Solomon. The Queen is no longer condemned but will condemn those who did not listen. If the Queen was saved by hearing Solomon, then what excuse is there when we have heard Jesus who is greater. Jesus perfectly explains who Yahweh is.

Jonah is the foreshadowing of Jesus. Jonah preached the same message of repentance and warned the people of Nineveh. Jonah is a herald of Jesus Christ. Through Jonah, we learn that there is salvation in no one else but Jesus alone. He is the only and perfect Savior. The message of Jonah is fulfilled in Jesus. When we fail to see Jesus as He is then we fail at any chance to know who God is. Jesus is the last and final opportunity for salvation.

This is how God saves, through the preaching of Jesus and the gospel which leads to repentance. Jonah preached and the people of Nineveh repented. The people of Nineveh were Gentiles, just like the Queen of the South, yet they repented. The Jews hated any mention of Gentiles being saved so this must have infuriated them. But preaching is inflammatory. People will either repent or reject. The Ninevites, the gentiles, the unworthy, heard Jonah’s message and repented. The Jews hated Jesus’ preaching and tried to kill him. They couldn’t see the point Jesus was making. That He is greater, he is the complete and consummate picture. Solomon and Jonah were a picture and sign towards Jesus. He is the real deal. He is the Word in flesh, fully man, fully God, displaying God’s glory and He preached the Gospel directly to them (John 1:1-3,4). Jonah was a servant of Jesus. Jonah was sent and so was Jesus, but Jesus is the original. Jonah versus Jesus is beyond comparison. Jonah was a man but Jesus is God.

Jonah’s message was local and limited. It only applied to Nineveh. But Jesus’s message is universal for all men everywhere for all time. It is the heavenly gospel that has the power to save (Galatians 1:11-12). Jonah preached a message of doom and legalism. They had to correct their outward behavior unless they would be destroyed. But Jesus’ message is one of grace and compassion. Jesus changes your life from within by the power of His grace. That grace is received by repentance. By God’s grace, you are able to repent. Repentance leads to change which can only happen by God’s grace. “Repentance is a heartfelt realization of how dreadfully I have failed all through my life, to give God His rightful place in my heart and daily walk.” – A. W. Pink. From the beginning, God has been calling men to repentance. The faith of Abraham and Moses all began with repentance. Today we must heed the same message of repentance. (Mark 1:15; Romans 10:9) Without repentance we cannot be saved, without repentance, Jesus is not our Lord.

Many fail to repent biblically and only appear to be Christian. True repentance leads to leaving our sins and becoming more like Christ. Once you repent then you pursue obedience also known as sanctification. The true Christian seeks to be holy. Additionally, Jesus leaves us with His comforting presence. Today is a day of salvation because Jesus is here. This wicked generation has no interest in Jesus who died on the cross. They refuse to believe. But God is gracious to save. In Jesus, we have everything we need to know and believe. We simply need to trust and repent and God will give abundantly.