'Clean and Full of Light'

 Luke 11:29–37

As the crowds increased, Jesus denounced the attitude of those of that generation. They were not like those Jesus commended who hear God’s word and obey it (Luke 8:21, 11:28). Instead of trusting Jesus’ word; they sought additional signs. They imply that they would believe if Jesus did what they said. Yet, this isn’t trust at all and Jesus responded by saying that they would only receive the sign of Jonah. The Ninevites heard the preaching of Jonah and they repented, so the Son of Man would also preach his gospel and they were to believe. Jesus said that the Ninevites would rise at the judgment and condemn that generation because they heard the preaching of the greater than Jonah, but they failed to repent. The contemporaries of Jesus had heard Jesus’ preaching and instead of repenting they demanded a sign. (11:29-31)

Jesus also said that the Queen of Sheba would rise and condemn that generation because she traveled from a far country to listen to the wisdom of Israel’s King Solomon. However, a far greater and wiser king than Solomon was standing before them. The Queen of Sheba heard about Solomon and she traveled from afar to see him. On the other hand, God sent the greater prophet and God’s anointed King Jesus directly to them, but they didn’t believe and they demanded a sign. (11:32)

Remember that Jesus is on journey to Jerusalem to fulfill God’s purposes by dying on a cross and rising again. Jesus rebukes that ‘wicked generation’ that demanded a sign; their only sign would be the sign of Jonah. The greater than Jonah had preached that they should repent and to follow him, but they demanded a sign. Jesus is the greater than King Solomon whom God sent to them and they ended up rejecting him. Jesus is the light that brings hope, but to turn your back on the light means darkness and brings judgment. Both the Queen of Sheba and the men of Ninevah would rise at the resurrection at the last day and condemn that generation.

Jesus then develops the metaphor of lamp as a further warning to his hearers. He tells them that you don’t light a lamp and hide where you can’t see the light. When you light a lamp you put it on a stand so those entering the room will be able to see by the light. The word of God through Jesus is the light, and putting the lamp on a stand for all to see is like putting the word into practice (11:28, 33). Jesus goes on saying that person’s eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are opened in faith, then the whole body will be filled with the light of Jesus. But, if you look with a critical or skeptical eye towards Jesus then your body is like a dark cellar. Jesus exhorted them to chase out the darkness and walk in the light by keeping their eyes and hearts open to Jesus and his gospel of the kingdom. (11:33-36)

After this Jesus was invited for dinner at the house of a Pharisee. When he reclined at the table without first washing, his host was surprised. Then Jesus rebukes the Pharisees saying that they clean the outside of the cup, but inside they’re full of ‘greed and wickedness’.  He calls them fools and when on rebuking them for giving God a tenth of their garden herbs while neglecting the love and justice of God. They love the best seats in the synagogues and the special greetings in the marketplaces, but according to Jesus they were like unmarked graves that people walk over without even knowing. (11:37-44)

Jesus directly challenges his host, rebuking the Pharisaical emphasis outward piety to the neglect of true inward devotion to God. The odd phrase about giving ‘alms those things that are inside’ could mean something like ‘give what is inside over to God for his use’ and you’ll be clean (11:41). Jesus is saying that they need to give to God the thoughts and intentions of their hearts if they want to be clean before God. This isn’t about handwashing; ultimately it’s about having our hearts cleansed by the substitutionary life, death and resurrection of Jesus. The question remains for us today; is the light of Jesus shining in our hearts and if so are we shining his light into the darkness of our world?

Then an expert in the law was insulted by what Jesus said. But Jesus continues on by saying that they load people down with burdens they can’t carry themselves and they over others no help either. Even worse, they build tombs for the prophets that their ancestors killed. For Jesus this only indicts them as being accomplices to what their ancestors did. God would send them prophets and apostles some of whom they would kill and others they would persecute. (11:37-49) Moreover, Jesus said they would be held responsible for the blood of all the prophets.  All the prophets and all of scripture point to Jesus and they reject the prophets by rejecting Jesus, the one to whom the prophets testify (Luke 24:27, 44, John 5:39-40).  According to Jesus the so-called experts in the law had taken away the key to knowledge, they fail to enter and they hinder those entering. (11:45-52)

The first-century Jewish leaders tried to keep the Mosaic Law in order to move God to intervene and liberate Israel. The experts in the law sought to determine just how their law was to be applied in every area of life. Their interpretations became the standard and they judged others by their own standard. The Pharisees saw themselves as the guardians of Israel’s moral and religious life and sought to pressure people to obey their teachings. Yet, these ‘religious leaders’ loaded heavy burdens on people, but did nothing to help them. Jesus announced various ‘woes’ on them for imposing a kind of self-righteous law observance that left hearts unchanged. Jesus disapproved of their practices and they objected to Jesus because if Jesus was right then their way of ‘being the people of God’ was a mistake.

Then after this not so subtle exchange, Jesus went outside where the Pharisees and the teachers of the law bombarded Jesus with questions. But, surely they were not open to learn from Jesus, they were only hoping to catch Jesus in what he might say (11:53-54). They were not there to learn, but only to find fault with Jesus. So we’ve seen that as Jesus journeys towards his death and resurrection he warns cities, battles demons, and in this passage he confronts those opposing him and his kingdom message. In Jerusalem, Jesus’ life would come to a final conflict in which he would appear to be totally defeated by the forces that opposed him. However, in reality he was offering up his obedient life on behalf of his people and in taking our place we can through faith in him, be made by grace ‘clean’ and pleasing to God.