Eyes Full Shut • Luke 11:27-36

1:01:59 Teaching begins

Notes

When you say something is evident, that means it’s clear, it needs no explanation, it couldn’t be misinterpreted. You look at it, you see it, you understand.

People have demanded a sign from Jesus to prove He’s from God. He gives them two signs from the word of God, not Scripture verses, but persons. Each of these persons is a self-evident sign that this is from the Lord.

Jesus is so obviously from God that the only way you could misunderstand Him is if you shut your eyes and refuse to look at Him.

I’m reading in Luke 11 from verse 27.

1. Someone tries to hijack Jesus’ preaching.

A. “While Jesus is saying these things” refers to Jesus refuting the outrageous accusation that He uses the power of the devil to make it look like He is on God’s side.

1. “Don’t listen to Him, it’s all a trick to gain your confidence. It’s not real, it’s a fake.”

2. Jesus says only God has the power and the goodness to attack the devil and free his slaves. Without the kingdom of God in your heart you can’t resist the devil.

B. Right then some woman pipes up with something completely off-topic, focusing on His mother. Isn’t motherhood wonderful?

1. Why did Luke even allow this little incident into his gospel? Jesus must have had all kinds of encounters in the crowds.

2. You notice that this interruption attempts to distract and divert attention from Jesus. This lady focuses on a lesser subject not as important as Jesus.

3. We know this because Jesus keeps the focus on important things: blessed is the one who hears the word of God and observes it. He takes that hijacking and brings it back.

C. It’s ironic that this diversion is from Jesus to His mother Mary.

1. This would have been a perfect opportunity for Jesus to teach that His mother was conceived without original sin, that she is the co-redemptrix along with Himself.

2. But He doesn’t. He refers back to the word of God. And if you read the word of God, nowhere is Mary put on an equal level with Jesus. In order to glorify Mary as the Roman Catholic Church does you have to ignore the word of God. You have to shut your eyes to what it says.

3. In fact, the word of God shows Mary knew she needed to be saved. In this gospel she rejoices in God her Saviour. If you yourself need to be saved you can’t save anyone else.

4. The word of God says 1 Timothy 2:5-6 For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony given at the proper time. Only Jesus is the Saviour.

D. Here is Jesus speaking about the devil, and here is a distraction away from Jesus to a less important topic. The devil works to divert attention away from Jesus to anything less important. But Jesus is always going to bring things back to the word of God because it testifies of Him.

2. Jesus doesn’t give the crowds what they’re looking for but what they need: the truth.

A. In verse 16, while Jesus was casting out a demon, somebody tested Him, demanding of Him a sign from heaven. He’s answered the accusation about casting out demons by the prince of the demons. He’s answered the woman’s trying to hijack the conversation. Now Jesus addresses this demand for a sign from heaven.

B. This generation is wicked for seeking a sign because the sign is right in front of them, it’s self-evident, it’s the person, the person doesn’t need a sign or proof. They are deliberately not using their eyes. Let’s unpack this.

C. Jesus directs attention to the word of God. The only sign that will be given this generation is the sign of Jonah.

1. God told Jonah to go to Nineveh and preach. Nineveh was capital of Assyria, brutal, aggressive, wicked. Jonah didn’t want to, God convinced him to go.

2. Jonah went to Nineveh, preached that in 40 days God would destroy Nineveh.

3. The person of Jonah himself was the sign, and it was self-evidently true. The Ninevites saw clearly that Jonah was from God. They had 40 days left to live. They humbled themselves and repented to save their lives.

D. Jesus directs attention to another in the word of God whose person is the self-evident sign: Solomon.

1. The Queen of Sheba heard about Solomon’s wisdom concerning the name of the Lord, 1 Kings 10, and decided to check it out. Her reasoning was, if half of what I’m told is true, this is worth seeing.

2. When she saw and heard for herself she was astonished, gripped with amazement. 1 Kings 10:6-9 Then she said to the king, “It was a true report which I heard in my own land about your words and your wisdom. Nevertheless I did not believe the reports, until I came and my eyes had seen it. And behold, the half was not told me. You exceed in wisdom and prosperity the report which I heard. How blessed are your men, how blessed are these your servants who stand before you continually and hear your wisdom. Blessed be the LORD your God who delighted in you to set you on the throne of Israel; because the LORD loved Israel forever, therefore He made you king, to do justice and righteousness.”

3. Solomon himself was the sign. The Queen believed because she saw and heard. Nobody had to explain it to her or help her believe. It was self-evident.

E. The men of Nineveh and the Queen of Sheba testify against this generation for seeing One greater than Jonah, greater than Solomon, clearly He is who He is, and they demand a sign. In the great judgment of God 100,000 Ninevites and the Queen will testify this generation is guilty, guilty, guilty, because the Messiah is healing, casting out demons, and teaching like no man ever, and they cannot figure out who He is. They stubbornly refuse to see the obvious.

3. Jesus compares this perverse stubbornness to lighting a lamp and then covering it up so you can’t see the light and it stays dark.

A. The purpose of a lamp is to give light in the dark so you can see. Does anyone need proof of that? No, it’s a self evident fact. Everybody wants to see, nobody in their right mind prefers fumbling in the dark when a lamp is right there to give light.

B. The lamp of your body is your eye, and is there to let in light so you can see and understand, both functions together. The men of Niveveh saw, the Queen of Sheba saw, and they understood immediately. Light is very quick.

C. When your eye is bad, your whole body is full of darkness, the absence of light. There’s only two reasons for your eyes being bad. Either your eyes don’t work or you keep your eyes shut on purpose so they can’t work.

D. Jesus warns everyone, watch out that the light in you is not darkness.

1. See to it. It’s a visual warning against you keeping the light from entering you. You prevent yourself from receiving understanding because you actively refuse the light. Your heart is hardened.

2. If you don’t understand who Jesus is it’s not that there isn’t enough proof. Jesus is clearly the Messiah, the Son of God. You are blinding yourself, refusing to open your eyes and receive the truth. You condemn yourself.

4. So what?

A. Jesus commands, see to it, watch out, that the light in you is not darkness. The positive command would be, use your eyes, use your understanding, receive the light.

B. Jesus’ promise is that when you receive the light, your whole body will be filled with light.

1. Understanding is mental having. It is grasping and making something one’s own possession.

2. In this case, it is receiving Jesus. We are meant by God to receive truth, understanding, righteousness, peace, all under this idea of light.

3. For God, who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.

C. Open your eyes and the eyes of your heart and look at Jesus, His death for your sins, His resurrection to new life. Just like your eyes are made to receive light, your heart was made to receive Jesus, that your whole body may be full of light.

D. Don’t ever let anything distract you from Jesus. It’s right at this point that the devil comes in with a thousand million distractions away from Jesus, like motherhood. Any good thing, if it’s really good, will submit to Jesus. Any good thing that doesn’t submit to Jesus you will find is not good. It is self-centred and rebellious against God.

E. The word of God says clearly Jesus is the most important person.

1. In Colossians 2:2-3 Paul wants his readers to have the true knowledge of God’s mystery, that is, Christ Himself, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

2. Colossians 2:8-10 See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ. For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority.

3. 2 John 1:9 Anyone who goes too far and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God; the one who abides in the teaching, he has both the Father and the Son.

F. Jesus is clearly the most important person. Do you see Him? Do you receive Him?

Let’s pray.