Complaining against the complainers... but are we complainers too?

When Jesus speaks of "this generation" I always wonder if he's speaking to our generation too... or to all generations; after all, we're not that good at change. Today's study listens in while Jesus complains against the complainers. But we're still pretty good at complaining today...

(29) Signs of Dark and Light

Last time, we saw Jesus accused of working through Beelzebub. His response included the familiar and difficult to understand teaching about “the unpardonable sin,” or “sin against the Holy Spirit.” Do passages like Matthew 12:31-32 make you feel safe or worried?

The following parable might be an explanation of Jesus’ teaching or a complaint against the complainers. Read Matthew 12:33-37

1.       Are you surprised to find another (or a lengthier) passage promising condemnation?

2.       Are you surprised to find the “tree is known by its fruits” passage included a second time in Matthew (see 7:16)?

3.       Are you surprised to hear pious gentlemen referred to as a “brood of vipers”?

a.       A viper was believed to hatch in its mother’s stomach and eat its way out, killing her. How offensive might such an image have been?

b.      Why might Jesus have chosen such an offensive image? How vivid is it in context?

4.       In verse 36 what are empty/idle/careless  words? Are the words the sin, or just the result of sin?

5.       What might that mean for words poured out on social media, or spewed by people who are drunk or drugged today?

6.       When might our words, or the words of other Christians, condemn us? And what can we do about it?

Read Matthew 12:38-42, Luke 11:16

1.       Gideon asked for a sign (Read Judges 6:17, 36-40) and wasn’t condemned. What’s different here?

2.       We’re told to ask and it will be given to us (Read Matthew 7:7). Again, what’s different?

3.       Have you ever asked God for a sign? What happened?

4.       Read Mark 8:11-12 In what sense was “no sign” given?

5.       Read Luke 11:29-30 How was Jonah a sign to the people of Nineveh?

6.       Why does Matthew mention three nights? (Read Jonah 1:17)

7.       Who is the Queen of the South (Read 1 Kings 10:1)? What might she have in common with the men of Nineveh?

Read Matthew 12:43-45

1.       Is this just another condemnation of “this generation” or is it connected to the previous passage?

2.       Read Luke 11:24-26. If the parable applies to that particular generation, what do you know of Jewish history (up to Roman rule) that might parallel the unclean spirit which has left them?

3.       What might parallel the “swept clean” state of Judaism in Jesus’ time?

4.       What might parallel that state, say, in the time when Rome became Christian? In the time of the Reformation? In the present day?