This email is about the second time Jesus used the
Hebrew idioms “good eye (generous person) and evil
eye (stingy person)” in his teachings. In order to will you
understand it better, you need to be aware of public
fasts ceremonies in ancient Israel. The Torah ark was wheeled into
the city square, where an elder addressed the crowds:
“Brethren,
it does not say about the men of Nineveh
that God
saw their sack cloth and fasting,
but that God
saw their deeds,
that they
had turned from their wicked ways.” [i]
People hearing Jesus would most have likely
connected those public fasts to what Jesus taught in Luke
11:29-36. It begins with the words below:
29 And while the
crowds were thickly gathered together, he said, “This is an evil generation. It seeks a sign, and no sign will be
given to it except the sign of Jonah the prophet. 30 For as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so also the Son of
Man will be to this generation.” (vv. 29-30)
The following
information from the Book of Jonah will help you understand the point
made above. Follow Jonah’s journey on the map in the above graphic.
● In Joppa, God told Jonah to go to
Nineveh and cry out against a Gentile city. Tell them their
wickedness has come up before God.” (1:2).
● Instead, Jonah bought a ticket on a boat going
in the opposite direct to Tarshish. (1:3)
● God sent a powerful storm that
hit the ship Jonah was on (1:4).
● Jonah convinced sailors to throw him overboard to
save the ship (1:12-15).
● God had a big fish waiting for
Jonah. It swallowed him and he spent three days and nights inside the belly of the
big fish (1:17).
● Jonah repented and then the fish took him to
shore and literally “threw him up” on dry land. Then Jonah had a very long
walk, and a long time to think, on the way to Nineveh (2:10).
● Jonah delivered God’s message to the King. He
immediately issued a decreed:
“Let neither man nor
beast, herd nor flock, taste anything; do not let them eat, or drink water. But
let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily to God; yes, let
every one turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands. Who
can tell if God will turn and relent, and turn away from His fierce anger, so
that we may not perish?” (3:5-9)
● God saw that even
the animals participated in the repentance of the nation and the
people had turned from their evil ways. God decided not to destroy the city
(v.10).
Now we are ready to return to the teachings of Jesus. It consists
of four
parts, with the Hebrew idioms in part 3.
Part 1
● The queen of the South will rise up
in the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn it.
● She made a long journey just to hear the Wisdom
of Solomon.
● Indeed a greater one (Son of Man) than
Solomon is here (v. 11:31).
Part 2
● The men of Nineveh will rise up (resurrection?)
in the judgment with this generation and condemn it.
● They repented at the preaching of Jonah.
● Indeed a greater one (Son of Man) than
Jonah is here. (v. 11:32).
Part 3
● No one with
a lamp hides it or puts it under a basket.
● One
places a lamp on a lampstand so those who come in may see the light.
● The
lamp of the body is the eye.
● Those
with a good eye (generous giving people) have
bodies full of light.
● Those
with an evil eye (stingy greedy people) have bodies
full of darkness (v. 33-34).
Part 4
● Make sure your whole body is full of
light that people can see! (vv. 11:35-36)
In order to understand why the Son of Man is so important, click
here to read our newsletter about him.
Below
is the core message the Jewish Jesus repeated in many of his teachings:
You be a light in your
generation by being
a generous giving
person rescuing others created in the image of God.
Be the Co-Shepherd of
God that especially helps the least of the people.
Please
share and discuss it with others.
Jim Myers
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