Author: Bill Hall

As he was speaking, a Pharisee asked him to dine with him. So he went in and reclined at the table.

Luke 11:37

Jesus seems to have a low opinion of Pharisees. And yet, He did not decline this invitation. Why? Well, His feeling towards Pharisees is actually compassion. Bringing their hypocrisy to light was a merciful thing to do.

Heavenly Father, You are the Wise One. It is so easy for us to forget that. You know exactly what we need, and You care for us more than we care for ourselves. You are a True Father. Thank You for giving us Christ, Who is The Way. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

If, therefore, your whole body is full of light, with no part of it in darkness, it will be entirely illuminated, as when a lamp shines its light on you.

Luke 11:36

The Holy Spirit of God can, through the power of the Word of God, bring you to a place of complete illumination. Remember, in Christ we are a new creation. Thus, it is possible to live in the light of God’s glory even now. He gives us all that we need to live lives that are full of joy, peace, and grace.

Heavenly Father, You are so gloriously wonderful! You make everything different. A life lived with You on the throne of the heart is a life of purpose and contentment. Oh to enter the joys of your treasures of grace! To understand and know You intimately is to be the happiest of people. You are the rejoicing of our hearts. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Take care, then, that the light in you is not darkness.

Luke 11:35

There is no more awful thing than to think oneself enlightened, and yet be completely in the dark. The light of the truth is such a precious thing. And we, by default, feel the need to know what is real and thus, true. But, we can be deceived by counterfeits.

Heavenly Father, Almighty God, You alone can give us truth. You have chosen what to reveal to us. Thank You for Your grace to us! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Your eye is the lamp of the body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is also full of light. But when it is bad, your body is also full of darkness.

Luke 11:34

Jesus is using a simple illustration here. Our eyes are the way that we perceive light. But Jesus is talking about more than just eyes. He is speaking of our perception, our ability to understand and process what is around us.

When our perception is broken, it profoundly impacts our lives. There are many things that can break our perception. Doubt, sin, worry, fear, depression, are all things that block our perception. These things make us dark and block the light from getting into us.

Heavenly Father, Your light is beautiful! It brings joy to my soul and health to my spirit. Thank You for Your light. You are so wonderful! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

No one lights a lamp and puts it in the cellar or under a basket, but on a lampstand, so that those who come in may see its light.

Luke 11:33

Jesus uses this illustration of a lamp to talk about the spirit of human beings. There are many false paths to spirituality in this old world. To fall into them is like lighting a lamp and hiding its light.

Heavenly Father, to have spiritual life in Christ is so wonderful! You are worthy of endless praise! I will live in awe of the plan You made to bring evil men back to You. How can we thank You enough? In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at Jonah’s preaching, and look—something greater than Jonah is here.

Luke 11:32

This comparison is particularly demeaning to proud Jews who would not accept Christ. Nineveh was in Assyria. And, among the nations of antiquity, the Assyrians were justly considered some of the most cruel, evil people who ever lived.

Thus, the sin of unbelief is here established as the most serious of offenses. And, the more light one rejects, the greater the offense.

Heavenly Father, thank You for Your mercy and grace! We forget how precious Your forgiveness is. You are so holy and just, it was no small matter to propitiate for us. Thank You! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

The queen of the south will rise up at the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and look—something greater than Solomon is here.

Luke 11:31

Do not miss the significance of what Jesus is saying here. He presumes to know what will happen in the day of judgement. And, He claims His ministry is greater than the reign of Solomon.

Now, first of all, Jesus is very specific here. He reminds His hearers of the Queen of Sheba that came to see King Solomon. He tells us that she shall ‘rise up’ and that she will condemn that generation. Jesus very clearly is claiming knowledge of the future as well as an exact understanding of the judgement of God.

But then also, we have Jesus saying that Solomon has been eclipsed. It is important to understand that Solomon holds an extremely influential place in Jewish history. To say that He was greater than Solomon was quite a claim!

So, what we are seeing here is that Jesus did not fail to say things that nobody says. People who have made statements like this down through history have proven to be liars or madmen. Jesus is the Lord from Heaven.

Heavenly Father, we find it so easy to question You, and yet Your world constantly surprises us. If we understood the half of Your greatness we would be forever awed by it. You are great, You are good, and You are eternal. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

For just as Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so also the Son of Man will be to this generation.

Luke 11:30

What exactly is Jesus saying? He is comparing His ministry to that of Jonah. Nineveh had two options, listen to Jonah and repent, or receive the judgement of God.

The Jews of Christ’s day had a similar choice. They wanted the Messiah to crush the Roman Empire. But, that was not the plan. Instead, the choice was to accept Christ as the Messiah, and trust His plan, or face the coming destruction of Jerusalem without hope.

Heavenly Father, thank You for Your plan! It isn’t a about us. You know what You want, and You have it all taken care of. I love You! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

As the crowds were increasing, he began saying, ‘This generation is an evil generation. It demands a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.’

Luke 11:29

The Jews were not simply looking for a miracle. Jesus had performed lots of miracles. They wanted a sign. For example, manna from heaven in the wilderness was a sign. Fire down to the altar for Elijah was a sign. Signs are miracles for the sake of proof of God’s power. They are big, performed before a large audience, and specifically indicate something.

However, Jesus tells his hearers that this desire to see a sign is evil. Indeed, signs in Scripture are not something God does to encourage the faithful, but to challenge the faithless. Jesus would indeed give this generation a sign, but not one of their choosing.

The prophet Jonah was very likely not a prophet that the Jewish elite was extremely proud of. Indeed, they were much like Jonah, but wanted to equate themselves with ‘better’ prophets. To give them the sign of Jonah, Jesus implies that they are as hard hearted as the Assyrians were. The Assyrians, among the anals of history, are considered one of the cruelest nations.

Heavenly Father, thank You for Your great mercy and grace! Thank You for the clarity of Your Word. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

He said, “Rather, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it.

Luke 11:28

This woman had expressed herself from the fullness of her heart in the previous verse. And, Jesus follows suit. This topic came from His heart as well. It is of utmost importance that we hear what God has to say to us, and act accordingly.

Heavenly Father, You are Altogether Holy! Your plan is perfect. We suffer through, but are blessed to be doing so. You do not lose. You have it all figured out. Your intention has been the same from the very beginning. I will live forever to praise You. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.