Luke 11:30

11:30 For just as Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, ¹  so the Son of Man will be a sign ²  to this generation. ³ 

Luke 21:7

21:7 So ⁴  they asked him, ⁵  “Teacher, when will these things ⁶  happen? And what will be the sign that ⁷  these things are about to take place?”

Luke 21:25

The Arrival of the Son of Man

21:25 “And there will be signs in the sun and moon and stars, ⁸  and on the earth nations will be in distress, ⁹  anxious ¹⁰  over the roaring of the sea and the surging waves.

¹ tn Grk “to the Ninevites.” What the Ninevites experienced was Jonah’s message (Jonah 3:4, 10; 4:1).

² tn The repetition of the words “a sign” are not in the Greek text, but are implied and are supplied here for clarity.

³ tc Only the Western ms D and a few Itala mss add here a long reference to Jonah being in the belly of the fish for three days and nights and the Son of Man being three days in the earth, apparently harmonizing the text to the parallel in Matt 12:40.

⁴ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of Jesus’ comments about the temple’s future destruction.

⁵ tn Grk “asked him, saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant in English and has not been translated.

⁶ sn Both references to these things are plural, so more than the temple’s destruction is in view. The question may presuppose that such a catastrophe signals the end.

⁷ tn Grk “when.”

⁷ sn Signs in the sun and moon and stars are cosmic signs that turn our attention to the end and the Son of Man’s return for the righteous. OT imagery is present: See Isa 13:9-10; 24:18-20; 34:4; Ezek 32:7-8; Joel 2:1, 30-31; 3:15.

⁸ tn Grk “distress of nations.”

⁹ tn Or “in consternation” (L&N 32.9).