When the crowds kept increasing, he said, "This is an evil generation. It seeks a sign, but no sign shall be given to it, except the sign of Jonah. For as Jonah became a sign to the men of Nineveh, so will I be a sign to this generation.
"The Queen of the South will arise at the Judgement with the men of this generation, and condemn them. For she came from the ends of the Earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, something greater than Solomon is here!
"The men of Nineveh will arise at the Judgement with this generation, and will condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah. And behold, something greater than Jonah is here!"
1 comment:
Okay, I evidently hadn't ever read Luke closely enough, assumed Matthew had the quote on Jonah as it had come down to us, just with a slight misinterpretation added...
but here it isn't about being swallowed by death; it is about repentance!
But notice the 'humility'! That's right, none of it! Not bragging about himself, personally, only saying that something beyond 'humility' is speaking through him!
And what kind of 'sign'? As NT Wright has said: ~ a sign of what would happen to 'this generation' if they didn't 'repent', as in 'change their minds.'
The kind of nationalist religion that eventually led them to revolt in the late 60's would end in the destruction of Jerusalem and its Temple in 70 CE.
Why does religion so often take this form, even today? For some reason, that form often appeals to people, like sugar coating on a pill they'd otherwise not take. But it leads to many false hopes, for which The Management refuses to be held responsible...
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