Luke 11:27-36

Luke 11:27-36

27 While Jesus was saying these things, one of the women in the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, “Blessed is the womb that bore You and the breasts at which You nursed.” 28 But He said, “On the contrary, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.”

29 As the crowds were increasing, He began to say, “This generation is a wicked generation; it seeks for a sign, and yet no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah. 30 “For just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so will the Son of Man be to this generation. 31 “The Queen of the South will rise up with the men of this generation at the judgment and condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, something greater than Solomon is here. 32 “The men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation at the judgment and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.

33 “No one, after lighting a lamp, puts it away in a cellar nor under a basket, but on the lampstand, so that those who enter may see the light. 34 “The eye is the lamp of your body; when your eye is clear, your whole body also is full of light; but when it is bad, your body also is full of darkness. 35 “Then watch out that the light in you is not darkness. 36 “If therefore your whole body is full of light, with no dark part in it, it will be wholly illumined, as when the lamp illumines you with its rays.”

How do we respond to the Word of God?  This is one of the most important questions we must answer every time we are exposed to His Word.  In today’s text we can observe several different responses to the teachings of Christ.  The women admired His words to the point of pronouncing a blessing on His mother.  The crowd doubted His words, so they asked for a sign of confirmation. Nineveh and the Queen of the South also had responses when exposed to God’s Word.  Some people respond to God’s Word with shame and try to hide it.  Others are illuminated to the depths of their hearts by God’s Word.  Many people simply try to ignore God’s Word.  Jesus teaches us how He expects us to respond to His Word and warns us of the consequences of failing to do so.

THE BLESSING OF OBSERVING GOD’S WORD: A woman in the crowd admired the teachings of Jesus so much, she yelled out a blessing about His mother.  Mary was truly a blessed woman who was used of God in a remarkable way.  Despite what the Catholic church has done with Mary, deifying her, the character and humility she exhibits are admirable.  It is interesting to see how Jesus responds to this statement.  He says that the person who observes the Word of God is more blessed than the woman who gave Him birth.  In other words, it is not the fact that Mary gave birth to Him that makes her blessed, it is her obedience to the Word of God.  Any person who observes God’s Word will be more blessed in that obedience than they would have been if they were the mother of Jesus but failed to observe His Word.  God’s Word is like a light that should be placed in evidence in our homes and hearts.  It is to be admired, loved, payed attention to and most of all obeyed.  As we hear the Word of God, it should fill our hearts with joy, our minds with truth and our bodes with action.  That is what it means to observe the Word of God.  We may sit in church or read God’s Word and admire the principles taught or the eloquence with which it is written or proclaimed.  It is good to admire God’s Word, but it is not enough.  We must move from admiration to transformation.  God’s Word was not given to us for the purpose of information or even inspiration; it was given for the purpose of transformation.  Too often we read God’s Word mechanically or sit through church inattentively.  Sometimes, we pay close attention and gain understanding of what God expects of us.  Unfortunately, it is very rare that we allow the Word of God to change how we live our lives.  That is what it means for our bodies to be filled with light.  

THE DANGERS OF OBSCURING GOD’S WORD: God’s omniscience means that He not only knows everything that has happened, is happening and will happen; it also means He know everything that could have happened.  Jesus points to Nineveh and the queen of Sheba as examples of people who, with much less revelation than the Jews in Jesus’s day had, repented and worshiped.  Jesus constantly did miracles and proclaimed the Word of God, but the people continued to ask for more and more signs and refused to believe.  Jesus describes what they are doing as taking the light of God’s Word and hiding it under a basket.  This resulted in their bodies being full of darkness.  It is dangerous to obscure God’s Word because it fills our hearts with darkness and it brings the judgment of God down on our lives.  That means we not only face hardship now, but will face the wrath of God in eternal judgment.  It is a dangerous thing to be exposed to the Word of God and then fail to believe it.  When we open God’s Word or have the opportunity to hear someone preach God’s Word, we need to make sure we pay very close attention.  Even more importantly, we need to make sure we are applying His Word to our hearts and allowing His Spirit to transform us.  We do not want to face Gods judgment.  We have more revelation than the Jews in the days of Jesus.  We have many better preachers than Jonah.  We are without excuse and must do all we can to live in in the light of His Word as we seek to accomplish His will.

APPLICATION: Have an admiration for the blessings of the Word of God.  Pay close attention to the Word every time we are exposed to it.  Observe the Word of God by obeying it and applying the truths of God’s Word to our lives.  Don’t be distracted by the reactions and doubts of others.  Allow God’s Word to penetrate the depths of our hearts and minds.  Trust Jesus and God’s Word as the only source of authority in our lives.