11. (a) What authority should primarily guide us in determining how to apply he ge·ne·aʹ hauʹte? (b) How did this authority use the term?

¹¹ Of course, Christians studying this matter guide their thinking primarily by how the inspired Gospel writers used the Greek expression he ge·ne·aʹ hauʹte, or “this generation,” in reporting Jesus’ words. The expression was consistently used in a negative way. Thus, Jesus called the Jewish religious leaders “serpents, offspring of vipers” and went on to say that the judgment of Gehenna would be executed on “this generation.” (Matthew 23:33, 36) However, was this judgment limited to the hypocritical clergy? Not at all. On a number of occasions, Jesus’ disciples heard him speak of “this generation,” applying the term uniformly in a far wider sense. What was that?

13. In the presence of his disciples, whom did Jesus identify and condemn as “this wicked generation”?

¹³ Later in 31 C.E., as Jesus and his disciples set out on their second preaching tour of Galilee, “some of the scribes and Pharisees” asked Jesus for a sign. He told them and “the crowds” who were present: “A wicked and adulterous generation keeps on seeking for a sign, but no sign will be given it except the sign of Jonah the prophet. For just as Jonah was in the belly of the huge fish three days and three nights, so the Son of man will be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights. . . . That is how it will be also with this wicked generation.” (Matthew 12:38-46) Obviously, “this wicked generation” included both the religious leaders and “the crowds” who never came to appreciate the sign that was fulfilled in Jesus’ death and resurrection.d