THE SON OF MAN WILL BE THE SIGN TO THIS GENERATION
Luke 11:29-54
Key Verse: 11:30
1. How did Jesus respond to those who asked for a sign from heaven (16; 29)? Read verse 30. How was Jonah a sign to the Ninevites? In what respect was the Son of Man to be a sign to the wicked generation (Mt 12:40)?
2. Who is Jesus, compared to Solomon and to Jonah (31-32)? Why would the testimony of the Queen of the South and the men of Nineveh condemn that generation? In light of this, how should we respond to Jesus?
3. What does the lamp on a stand teach us about who Jesus is and what he does (33)? How does Jesus contrast healthy and unhealthy eyes1 (34,36)? How can we have healthy eyes, personally and generationally2 (35)?
4. What surprised a Pharisee who invited Jesus to dinner (37-38)? How did Jesus use this to expose the greed and wickedness of the Pharisees (39)? What is more important than cleaning the outside of the cup and keeping religious rules (40-41)?
5. For what reasons does Jesus pronounce woes on the Pharisees (42-44)? What did Jesus want them to do? What do you learn here about the importance of the inner motive and influence of spiritual leaders?
6. What woes did Jesus pronounce on the experts in the law (46,47,52)? For what would they be held accountable and why (48-51)? How can we avoid these woes? How did they respond to Jesus’ words (53-54)?
The word “healthy” implies “good or generous” and the word “unhealthy” implies “evil or stingy” in Greek. See NIV footnotes.↩
Note the word “generation” in this passage (11:29,30,31,32,50,51). Generation encompasses the society and culture of the time, including political, religious and economic spheres.↩