Luke 11:29-32·~1 min

The Sign of Jonah

Jesus calls the crowd wicked for demanding a sign and says that the Son of Man will be the sign, as Jonah was to Nineveh.

A²⁹s the crowds were increasing, Jesus said, “This is a wicked generation. It demands a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah. ³⁰For as Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites, so the Son of Man will be a sign to this generation.

The Queen of the South and the men of Nineveh will rise in judgment because they responded to wisdom and preaching, while Jesus stands as one greater than Solomon and Jonah.

³¹The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment 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 now One greater than Solomon is here. ³²The men of Nineveh will stand at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now One greater than Jonah is here.

Section summaryAs the crowd grows, Jesus refuses the demand for a sign and points to Jonah as the sign they will receive. He then names the Queen of the South and the men of Nineveh as witnesses against a generation that has greater light but does not respond.

Role in the chapterThe section compares present hearers with earlier outsiders who responded to lesser revelation and therefore stand in judgment against them because they have greater light.