51. Good Eyes

[Pastor Ralph]

Please share your thoughts on one or more of the questions in this lesson. 

[hanks]

1. What was the Sign of Jonah to Jesus' generation? Why was it even more convincing than healing the sick? (11:29-30) 
The people kept asking Jesus for a sign from heaven to prove that He was from God. Considering all the miracles and healings Jesus had performed, this was an insult to His integrity, so, Jesus explained that no miraculous sign will be given except the Sign of Jonah. Which is death, burial, and resurrection; it is the resurrection of our Lord that proves He is the Messiah, the Son of God. Three days after His death Jesus would come back to life, just as Jonah had been brought back to life after spending three days in the fish. In the same way as Jonah was a sign to the people of Nineveh, Jesus would also be a sign to the people of His generation. There is a possibility that healings may be faked, but one cannot fake death and resurrection. 
 

[hanks]

2. What does the lamp in 11:33 represent? Why is the lamp not hidden but put on a stand? 
The lamp represents our Lord Jesus – He is the source of light and we, as Christians, are to be the reflection of His light. “Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life” (John 8:12). God’s Word is a light that shines in this dark world, “Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path (Psalm 119:105). For this light to do any good it must enter our lives, “The unfolding of Your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple” (Psalm 119:130). Jesus did not try to hide His light. We see this by all the miracles, healings, and preaching He did in the open for all to see and hear. The Jews were exposed to this spiritual light for more than 3 years, and yet they did not believe! John explains this wicked generation well in John 3:19-20, “Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed.” 
 

[hanks]

3. In what way does our spiritual enlightenment depend upon the health of our spiritual eyes? What sharpens our spiritual discernment? What dulls it? 
Our hearts need to be enlightened by the true light, and for this to happen we must have healthy spiritual eyes. We need this light to give us the sight to see Jesus, to understand who He is, to also believe who He is, to understand the Gospel, and to also believe and obey the Gospel. Jesus is this Light, and if we don’t see Him we won’t be able to see anything. Jesus said if we don’t believe in Him, our heart will be dark, and He is the only source of light that will enlighten our heart. He will sharpen our spiritual discernment, show us our sin, our need of forgiveness, that He is the only way salvation. Without Him there can be no spiritual discernment. 
 

[hanks]

4. How do we recover our spiritual discernment from years spent in sin or a cult or a rigid, legalistic church? 
Having been controlled by darkness for years there is no spiritual discernment, and it is frightening to think that these people may have so hardened themselves against the Lord that they are totally unaware of this. They might even think that they are following the light when, in reality, they are following the darkness. To recover, there needs to be total exposure to the Light of Jesus to have true discernment. It is when we trust Jesus Christ, our eyes are opened, the light shines in, and we become children of light (John 8:12). In this case there must be an overdose of Light – a single outlook of faith. There can be no more keeping one eye on the things of God and the other eye on the world. If this happens, the light will turn into darkness. “For everything in the world - the **** of the flesh, the **** of the eyes, and the pride of life - comes not from the Father but from the world” (1 John 2:16). There is no “twilight living” for the Christian, for God demands total submission and obedience (Luke 11:23). 
 

[hanks]

5. Extra credit. What is the relationship between our repentance from sin and God's grace? Why don't all repent and respond to His grace? Let's stay away from doctrinal answers we may have learned, and seek the answer to this question in Luke's Gospel. 
In our passage Jesus tells us about the people of Nineveh who repented at the preaching of Jonah, even though they knew very little about the true God. In contrast there are others who make sure they look good on the outside, who know a lot about the Bible, who supposedly know a lot about God, but their hearts are cold and darkened. They do not repent and are not saved. Not all repent and respond to His grace, because the grace of repentance is not a common gift, it is a unique blessing of God. It comes only to those who come to faith in Christ, who repent of their sin, who see their need of a Saviour, and who believe in the gospel. 
 

[Irmela]

1.  What was the Sign of Jonah to Jesus' generation? Why was it even more convincing than healing the sick? (11:29-30)

The sign of Jonah is taken to be the sign of the resurrection. (Jonah was in the belly of the fish for 3 days and 3 nights. Jesus was in the tomb for 3 days and 3 nights.  Then Jonah was spewed out by the fish. His appearance was  possibly changed due to the acids in the fish's stomach. Jesus's resurrected body too was changed.) 

Jonah preached to Nineveh (3:4), 40 days and city will be overthrown. (They repented and the sentence was revoked) 40 yrs after start of Jesus's ministry, destruction of the temple (Matthew 24:1&2). 

Jonah was very reluctant to go to the heathen nation. Then he was very upset, to say the least, that they were not destroyed because they repented. After Jesus's resurrection we read in Acts 10 that Peter was sent to Cornelius (a Gentile), and they became believers. This too was met with resenment from the other Jewish believers, which we read about in Acts 11.

The second part of the question about being convincing, I would say the prophet Jonah was part and parcel of their lives, of what they knew and had been taught. (No longer something they needed to be convinced about) They were still fighting the authenticity of Jeshua being the Christ. They were not prepared to believe it to be so. And He performed miracles, healings being part of them. 

[Irmela]

2.  What does the lamp in 11:33 represent? Why is the lamp not hid but put on a stand?

Jesus is the lamp, who shines His light on all. The lamp is put on a stand so the darkness can vanish before the light. 

[Irmela]

3.  In what way does our spiritual enlightenment depend upon the health of our spiritual eyes? What sharpens our spiritual discernment? What dulls it?

In the natural, that what we see depends on the health of our eyes. If our vision is hampered in any way we cannot see as those who have perfect vision. In the same way if our spiritual eyes are not healthy, we will not have good spiritual enlightenment. It will be dulled. We need to spend time in God's Word and spend time in prayer and worshiping God and draw close to Him, for our spiritual discernment to be sharpened. Neglecting study of God's Word and instead spending time with people that are negative and opposed to God will soon dull our spiritual discernment also. 

[Irmela]

4.  How do we recover our spiritual discernment from years spent in sin or a cult or a rigid, legalistic church?

This can only transpire when we break the bonds holding us and allow Christ to open our vision and letting us see things as they really are. (Use His Word as a filter and get out what is not of God). We would need to be truly set free from what man says and allow God to speak and reveal Himself instead. A good way of putting that is becoming Christ's disciples instead of man's disciples. 

[Irmela]

5.  What is the relationship between our repentance from sin and God's grace? Why don't all repent and respond to his grace? Let's stay away from doctrinal answers we may have learned, and seek the answer to this question in Luke's Gospel.
When we repent from our sin, God forgives us. This is not because we deserve it but because of God's grace. (works will not accomplish it). Not all repent because some spiritual eyes have been dulled. Only when the spiritual eyes are enlightened by His Word (by Christ's light) do we actually truly repent and run away from the snares of the sin satan would have us be ensnared by. 

So the important thing is to ask God to enlighten our spiritual eyes. 

Lord be merciful to me is my heart's cry. 

[Katy]

Q1. All that Jesus was doing daily among the people in the way of ministering to them, casting out demons, healing them from illness was not sufficient for them to believe in Him. They were asking for a miraculous sign, but Jesus told them that the only sign they will get was the sign of Jonah. The sign of Jonah was a sign of resurrection! Just as Jonah was three days inside the fish, so would Jesus be dead and in the tomb, but then God would raise Him from the dead. But they would have to wait to witness Jesus’s resurrection.

Q2. Jesus is the light of the world. There is no darkness in Him. When we become Christians and have the Holy Spirit dwelling in us, we shine as a light in a dark world. We must not hide our light we must speak up for Jesus and not hide that we are followers of Christ. If those around us have eyes that see they will see the difference in us and see our good deeds, and question us and hopefully eventually become followers also. 
Q3.Our spiritual enlightenment very much depends on the health of our spiritual eyes. When our eyes are open to the things of God we will learn the things of God. If our hearts and eyes are not open and willing to listen and learn we become introspective and negative. We become sure of our own opinions and become less interested in what others have to say, especially God. We can become arrogant and we can become full of darkness!. In order to stay focused on the things of God and to ensure we are full of light we must seek God’s help, and self examine ourselves frequently. We must filter out all that wrong and sinful, and only allow into our minds that which is pure, good and of God.

Q4.In order to rediscover our spiritual enlightenment if we have drifted away, we must go back to basics. Firstly confess our sin, and ask forgiveness. Seek His precious face in prayer and start to read His word. Get involved with the church once again. Go to Bible studies. Seek out a friend who would be willing to pray with you and keep you accountable. 
Q5. God in His grace through the Holy Spirit makes us aware of our sin and need of forgiveness. God by His grace forgives us our sin. In the story of Jonah we see that when Jonah preached to the people of Nineveh ,they believed and were sorry for sin, and God forgave them. On the other hand in our passage in Luke we see the hard hearted Jews who won’t believe who Jesus is , who are looking for more proof . They are full of darkness. They don’t see their need of forgiveness. Jesus is standing in front of them offering them His grace and forgiveness and they are so spiritually blind they don’t take it. They are too full of pride and arrogance. 

[haar]

1. What was the Sign of Jonah to Jesus' generation?

The sign of Jonah: Just as Jonah was in the belly of a big fish for three days so would Jesus remained buried in the tomb for three days and rise again on the third day.

Why was it even more convincing than healing the sick? (11:29-30)

This, the sign of Jonah,  was more convincing than other miracles such as healing the sick because it confirmed prophesies made about the Messiah who would come to save the world from their sin through death and resurrection.

What does the lamp in 11:33 represent?

Our eyes represent the lamp. If they are good, we will be able see the works the Lord Jesus does and believe Him and obey him.

Why is the lamp not hid but put on a stand?

So that the light from the lamp can be seen

2.    In what way does our spiritual enlightenment depend upon the health of our spiritual eyes?

If our spiritual eyes are good, empowered by the Spirit, we can perceive spiritual truth from the Word of God otherwise we  will not perceive spiritual matters.

What sharpens our spiritual discernment?

The leadership, power of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God

What dulls it?

Sin and absence of the Holy Spirit

3.    How do we recover our spiritual discernment from years spent in sin or a cult or a rigid, legalistic church?

Repentance and prayer for filling of the Holy Spirit, fellowship with others as iron sharpens iron.

4.    Extra credit. What is the relationship between our repentance from sin and God's grace?

Salvation and the gift of the Holy Spirit are free and by the grace of God but we have to repent by turning from our sinful lifestyle to draw down from the grace of God.

Why don't all repent and respond to his grace?

God has given us freedom of choice. He tells us what is good for us but allows us to make our decisions to obey or not.  But I personally do sometimes ask God to make me do all he wants me to do without giving me the option to choose to do or not

 Let's stay away from doctrinal answers we may have learned, and seek the answer to this question in Luke's Gospel.

[Godswriter]

1. What was the Sign of Jonah to Jesus' generation?

The sign of Jonah was this as Jonah was in the fish for three days Jesus would be in the tomb for three days and then be resurrected or raised from the dead and there would be an empty tomb to prove it. Why else did the religious leaders purposely bribe the soldiers to lie if they were not afriad of what would happen when the Jews chose to believe in Christ and what He had accomplished. For when He died the veil was torn in two from top to bottom to give access to the Lord Himself without a mediator since Christ was that mediator and stilll is. 

Why was it even more convincing than healing the sick? (11:29-30)

 

The biggest reason it was more convincing is because it fulfilled multiple prophecies in one day and even week. The Lord entered on a colt through Jerusalem; this prophecy could not be fulfilled with just anyone but by the Lord Himself. The crucifixion was foretold in both Isaiah and Psalms. He was between two thieves and also given gall for a drink and the fact not one bone was broken speaks of who could only fill this prophecy. Jesus Himself. The likelihood of any of them being fulfilled by one person was 1 in 1 quintillion. Can you even fathom the likelihood one person would fulfill them?

What does the lamp in 11:33 represent?

It speaks of the eyes and how they are the window into our soul. And when we choose to do what is right; there is a light from them that only can be called holy.

Why is the lamp not hid but put on a stand?

So everyone in the house can see it.

2.    In what way does our spiritual enlightenment depend upon the health of our spiritual eyes?

It depends on spiritual discernment for when we know what to do in every sithguorhuation we face.

What sharpens our spiritual discernment?

The Lord and His word. Being with likeminded believers. Prayer as whell.

What dulls it?

Anything that would be considered sin.

3.    How do we recover our spiritual discernment from years spent in sin or a cult or a rigid, legalistic church?

Through spending time with the Lord and people believe like we do. 

4.    Extra credit. What is the relationship between our repentance from sin and God's grace?

As Eph. 2:8-9 stated it is through grace by faith that we are saved not of works lest any man should boast. Christ gives us the faith to believe that we need salvation and it is through that faith that we come to repent of our sins and receive His grace.

Why don't all repent and respond to his grace?

As Romans states that some are vessels of wrath while others are not meaning some will choose to reject Jesus even if they know the truth.

[kreilly]

In what way does our spiritual enlightenment depend upon the health of our spiritual eyes? What sharpens our spiritual discernment? What dulls it?

I loved Pastor Ralph's analogy of the eyes being lenses that can let light in.  That really helped me understand this passage, which had often confused me in the past.  If we let the light of Jesus in because we are looking for good, not searching for evil, as he referred to filtering what we let our minds focus on, then we will be enlightened because we are dwelling on the things of Jesus.  Things that sharpen our spiritual discernment are reading and studying the word, praying, and asking the Holy Spirit for guidance.  Things that dull our spiritual discernment are seeking after pleasure or satisfaction through the pursuit of idols.  

How do we recover our spiritual discernment from years spent in sin or a cult or a rigid, legalistic church?

In Christ, nothing is ever wasted.  We can repent and turn back to him at any time.  Pursuing a close relationship with Him will enable us to regain spiritual discernment anew.  It is never too late to seek after Him.  He can turn our life around regardless of how many years we may have wasted pursuing the wrong things. 

[George L]

What was the Sign of Jonah to Jesus' generation? The reserection. Why was it even more convincing than healing the sick? (11:29-30) It was something never before done and that had been prophisied.

What does the lamp in 11:33 represent? The light of God, Jesus word active in our life. Why is the lamp not hid but put on a stand? So it is seen and lights outwardly to be most useful.

In what way does our spiritual enlightenment depend upon the health of our spiritual eyes? We must see accurately. With understanding and to understand. What sharpens our spiritual discernment? Seeing the full scene in context with thecword. What dulls it? Failure to fully examine what is before us.

How do we recover our spiritual discernment from years spent in sin or a cult or a rigid, legalistic church? Repent and seek God. Read the word, listen to the holy spirit our teacher ang guide.

Extra credit. What is the relationship between our repentance from sin and God's grace? Grace was not free, our price was paid. Or salvation came by anothers actions, not our own. Our repentence is acknowlegement of our true state. Why don't all repent and respond to his grace? Jesus calls no one sinner, he calls them lost. We are to be about shining the light of Gods love upon the lost, stray, stolen that they turn to God, accept his grace and mercy. Become ‘sanctified’ walking in righteousness as saints, and serve the most high God and work for fulfillment of his plan.  Let's stay away from doctrinal answers we may have learned, and seek the answer to this question in Luke's Gospel.