Based on Luke 11:29-32

When I read this passage in the Gospel of Luke, the cynical side of me can’t help but envision an exasperated, eye rolling Jesus saying to the Israelites (in the style of Southern comedian, Bill Engvall)… “Here’s your sign.”

We are a week in from Ash Wednesday, where we had the sign of the cross placed on our foreheads in ashes reminding us of our mortality, to turn away from our sins and turn to Christ, and also to be a sign to those around us that we are Christians.  That is a powerful sign… but in this generation, did anyone “see” this sign?  Did we?

In this passage, Luke links passages from verses 14-36.  These are based on controversies about the source of Jesus’ kingdom power. In verse 16 preceding this text, the religious leaders ask for a sign from heaven to test him; though in reality they really didn’t care for any sign but simply wanted Jesus to submit to their signs and symbols of authority. They foolishly say they just need to see more but the truth is that they had already observed several miracles and did not believe.

Their demands are turned down flat,  for the very Word of God, their Sign had come to them and they and showed how little they desired it. So Jesus contrasts the Jewish  religious leadership with two examples; both of whom are pagan in origin and who were considered outsiders, but both of whom were able to read the signs of the time and accept the truth, unlike the Jewish authorities.  Even though God had revealed so much to the chosen people of Israel, these who knew so little were the ones who were responsive.

The first is the example of Jonah. Jonah was an Old Testament prophet who lived nearly 800 years before Christ and was sent to the pagan people in Nineveh (adjoining the current city of Mosul in Iraq). Jesus is comparing and contrasting the people of Nineveh with the people of His generation.

Unlike the related passage in Matthew, where the focus is on Jonah in the belly of the whale, Luke’s focus has to do with Jonah’s preaching of God’s word as the sign of repentance that was preached to the people, which as a consequence led to repentance of the pagan people of Nineveh. The people of Jesus’ generation don’t and didn’t. repent. They weren’t  showing hearts of receptivity but of resistance. It becomes  clear that they weren’t looking for a reason to believe, they were, in reality, looking for a reason NOT to believe. They were flat out choosing not to see their Sign.  How often do we see this in our generation today?  How often do we even see this in our own lives at times?

The second example Jesus used is that of  the Queen of the South, better known as the Queen Sheba. Sheba is believed to refer to an area of modern day Yemen in Arabia or Ethiopia in northern Africa. This queen of great education and wealth travelled from far away because she heard of the unusual wisdom of Solomon the King of Israel. When she met Solomon, she was blown away. She saw Solomon as the display of God’s justice, love, mercy, and righteousness in the world and she was amazed. This pagan queen praised God because of Solomon’s great wisdom.  

Jesus is making a point. When the Queen of Sheba heard of King Solomon there was something in her that resonated, she recognized the wisdom that he had to offer, and she longed for that wisdom enough to travel with caravans and gifts from afar just to seek out such wisdom. She saw the Sign.  Have we opened up the eyes of our hearts to see the signs God places before us every day?  Have we responded to those signs?

Here in lies the condemnation of the people at the time of Jesus who rejected his message. Their condemnation would be all the more complete because their privileges were even more great as compared to the people of Nineveh or the Queen of Sheba.  Their Sign, Jesus, was right before them and they chose to ignore and try to find  reasons not to see and not to believe.  Let us never forget that both privilege and responsibility go ever hand in hand. Let us remember, we are Christ’s hands and feet in this world.  We are co-workers with Christ and called to be a sign of God’s love, mercy, justice, and grace to ALL people in this tired and hurting world.  Let us go out into the world sharing and showing that we are seen, we are heard, we are loved.

So maybe it’s not so much of hearing, “Here’s your sign,” but more of realizing, “He’s your sign.”