When the crowds were increasing, he began to say, “This generation is an evil generation. It seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah. For as Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so will the Son of Man be to this generation. The queen of the South will rise up 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 behold, something greater than Solomon is here. The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here. (Luke 11:29-32)
I sometimes marvel at how different Jesus was from our North American church culture. If we hear that “crowds were increasing” to hear about Jesus, we lean to making sure we don’t offend anyone and ruin the moment. Jesus used the opportunity to shoot an arrow at the bull’s eye and see who noticed.
I think I understood from a young age that repentance had to do with sin. It had something to do with admitting we were sinners. But it wasn’t the same as making an apology, or saying, “I’m sorry” and then promising to never do it again.
At some point, I understood that repentance is focused on a change of mind, not merely a change of behavior. In other words, while someone can change their behavior to try pleasing someone, or to avoid getting in trouble, it doesn’t mean they have changed their mind about what they believe is most satisfying in life.
Repentance, on the other hand, begins with a change of mind that then changes our behavior based on new beliefs and values. It is consistent with everything God does that aims at giving us new hearts so we can live in “the newness of life”.
In repentance, someone changes their mind about loving sin and hating God to loving God and hating sin. This change of mindstate obviously changes how we live since the things we love have reversed. When we did things out of love of sin, it certainly looked different than when we now do things out of love of God.
We can see the goodness of God in this as Jesus told the Jewish people that they were an evil generation. It would not be loving of Jesus to leave them perishing in their sins just because they thought they were okay because Abraham was their father. They had to understand that no earthly heritage can make up for our sin. Only being born again through an experience of repentance and faith can make us right with God.
When we hear Jesus call a growing crowd an evil generation, we must first deal with whatever is wrong with us in our evil world. But when we get right with God in repentance and faith, we must accept that it is a great kindness when we seek to show people “the whole counsel of God” in relation to both sin and salvation because “there is salvation in no one else (speaking of Jesus), for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).
It is still very much on my heart and mind that we must “Humble ourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt us, casting all our anxieties on him, because he cares for us” (I Peter 5:6-7, tense adjusted to fit the grammar). Repentance is a gift-word to describe how we humble ourselves concerning our sin, and faith is a gift-word to describe how we humble ourselves concerning our Savior.
There is a plumbline reality called “speaking the truth in love” that causes us “to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ” (Ephesians 4:15). Jesus spoke the truth in love to a crowd that had no clue how sinful they were, and how much judgment was against them. In his kindness, he was seeking to bring them to repentance for the forgiveness of their sins and the gift of eternal life.
There is clearly something in there we need for ourselves, and something we need to imitate in loving others as Jesus has loved us.
© 2025 Monte Vigh ~ Box 517, Merritt, BC, V1K 1B8
Email: in2freedom@gmail.com
Unless otherwise noted, Scriptures are from the English Standard Version (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.)
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