Matthew 12: 34-45

The sign of the prophet Jonas

 

O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.  A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.  But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.  For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.  Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee.  But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas:  For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here.  The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here. The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.  When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none. Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished.  Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation. (Matthew 12: 34-45)

The Pharisees said that Jesus 'power came from Satan in order to cut down Jesus' power. Then, through the logic that Satan does not fight in the house, Jesus said that his power is not from Satan, but from God and fighting Satan. After all, it is a testimony that Jesus is the Messiah of God.

Jesus told some of the scribes and Pharisees seeking signs that Jonah's sign was the only sign that would save mankind from death after dying and resurrecting in three days. And as Jesus said, by resurrecting three days after he actually died on the cross, He showed us a marvelous sign that opens the way to human salvation. Another sign of Jesus, the Messiah, is the authoritative words. These words of authority are the only words of truth that can save mankind. In this world, only God has the authority to judge sinners. Jesus said that God would judge those who deny Jesus. Jesus is the Messiah, showing a sign that evil will perish.

The southern queen Jesus spoke of is the Ethiopian nation, and is the queen who ruled in Solomon's time. The Queen of the South traveled thousands of miles through the Arabian Desert to Jerusalem to meet Solomon as Queen Sheba.

In 2 Chronicles 9: 5-8, Queen Sheba heard a rumor in Ethiopia. The rumors refer to God's relationship with Israel and God's plan to establish Solomon. Queen Sheba heard the news of God at one time while watching her work.

 Thus, she set aside the Queen's work to confirm the authenticity of the news she had heard, and came to Jerusalem, to confirm with her own eyes rather than rumors, and to learn more about God in more detail from Solomon.

Queen Sheba valued knowing about God rightly rather than doing her job. As a result, the Queen's kingdom began to be believed in Judaism from 3,000 years ago, and in the early days of the New Testament, a royal servant who came to Jerusalem to become a Christian nation by hearing the gospel from Deacon Philip.

But why did Jesus say that this queen will condemn people of this generation? If you look at the people of Jesus' day, Jesus himself preached the word of heaven to people with words of power that no one had ever heard. Most of the people who came to hear the word were poor. Jesus saw their hunger, and the Lord Himself fed them through a miracle of feeding 5,000 people with two amazing fish and five loaves.

However, they did not know about the kingdom of God. Perhaps that is what Queen Sheba heard in rumors. Jesus will teach more precisely than Solomon, but people will not come closer to Jesus.

 Rather than the scribes and Pharisees who came before Jesus come closer to Jesus and tell him about the mysteries of heaven, he said to the Lord, "If you are truly the Messiah, do a great miracle, and we will believe." It is.

The Queen of the South stopped the Queen's work and went that long way to learn even Solomon, incomparable to Jesus, compared to the Queen who wanted to know the Word of God, there are too many Pharisees who do not get closer to Jesus, and many people of this age, especially Christians, do not yet know about God and the secrets of the kingdom.

Why do they not know God's kingdom? They make excuses for being busy with their work. When Queen Seba comes to these people, it will become a measure of their judgment. Anyone who knows the truth more preciously than the world will try to save it like Queen Sheba,
those who do not know the value do not make a small sacrifice.

Therefore, through Queen Sheba, many people who love Jesus only with their mouths and say that I have seen the truth will be ashamed on that day.

 

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