A Wicked Generation

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE

A WICKED GENERATION

Luke 11:29-36

29 As the crowds increased, Jesus said, "This is a wicked generation. It asks for a miraculous sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah. 30 For as Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites, so also will the Son of Man be to this generation. 31 The 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 listen to Solomon's wisdom, and now one greater than Solomon is here. 32 The men of Nineveh will stand up 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. 33 "No one lights a lamp and puts it in a place where it will be hidden, or under a bowl. Instead he puts it on its stand, so that those who come in may see the light. 34 Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eyes are good, your whole body also is full of light. But when they are bad, your body also is full of darkness. 35 See to it, then, that the light within you is not darkness. 36 Therefore, if your whole body is full of light, and no part of it dark, it will be completely lighted, as when the light of a lamp shines on you." 

NIV

We could have broken this up into segments to deal with one at a time, but it is good to see the whole of his words, and then spend some time on each of the truths Jesus speaks about. First, let us understand what Jesus meant by that generation being wicked. His consideration of what a wicked generation is they ask for miraculous signs. This goes back to when Jesus was driving out a demon. Two types of people responded. Some charged him of driving out demons by Beelzebub, the others tested him wanting for a sign from heaven. The problem with both those groups, or this wicked generation is that did not believe, in faith, in Jesus as the Christ, the anointed one of God, the Messiah, the Savior of mankind. They either totally disbelieved and wanted to discredit him or wanted proof. This brings us to this generation. Understanding where we have come in our lifetime, we see so many lifestyles that require they discredit Jesus completely, along with anything that is associated with Jesus, such as the bible because it affronts their way of life. Then some argue against the truth and even the existence of God, pure evolutionists, who believe humans were once something else and crawled out of that premortal soup, the pure atheists who don’t believe there is a god, and the agnostics who don’t believe it’s possible to know for sure that a god exists. That is the people who wanted a sign from heaven, they wanted proof that God exists. All of those people are part of this wicked generation today. But what about those who confess they are Christians? Do some of us want a sign from heaven? This may not be like those who tested Jesus, who wanted a miraculous sign, but wanted every one of our prayers to be answered the way we want them to, sort of wanted this sign, so we could truly believe. Which means, if we never get any answer to any prayer, do we think maybe something is wrong, or our faith weakens to the point of almost disbelief? If we never see any physical evidence, are we still people of faith, which is defined as the substance of things hoped for but not seen. If we never see any physical evidence at all, never have a practical reason for proof, an answered prayer, healing, or anything else that would justify our belief in God, are we truly people of faith? Are we just putting up a front, a false façade of faith, trying to look like a Christian, behave in a manner we think Christians should, but still are not full of faith. Are we truly a people of faith? If not, then we might just be part of this wicked generation. We say, no, we are full of faith, although we might still struggle with sin, we are not part of this wicked generation.