Some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law had come to Jesus asking for a sign. Jesus was clearly not very pleased with their request telling them that their request shows that they are wicked and adulterous. He says that they will be condemned by the Queen of the South, and then he says that they will be like an empty house that has an impure spirit and seven of his best friends move in with him.
Ouch!
Why is Jesus being so harsh with these Pharisees? They only asked for a sign, didn’t they? Hasn’t Jesus been performing signs on a regular basis for other people?
Yes, he had, and that was exactly the point. The signs that Jesus was performing were intended to be confirmation of his words. The people should have been able to see and understand that his words were from God because, beyond his teaching, Jesus was also performing signs that only someone who had come from God could do.
And yet, instead of listening to his words, the people were more interested in seeing more signs. They wanted to see another miracle. Instead of believing Jesus, instead of believing in him, they wanted to see more signs.
Jesus said that the Queen of the South would condemn the people of this generation. He was specifically speaking to those Pharisees and teachers of the law when he said:
The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon’s wisdom, and now something greater than Solomon is here.
Matthew 12:42
Who is this Queen of the South? Jesus is referring to the Queen who had come from Sheba, the area that is present-day southern Arabia and possibly also the horn of Africa, in the time of Solomon:
When the queen of Sheba heard about the fame of Solomon and his relationship to the LORD, she came to test Solomon with hard questions. Arriving at Jerusalem with a very great caravan —with camels carrying spices, large quantities of gold, and precious stones—she came to Solomon and talked with him about all that she had on her mind. Solomon answered all her questions; nothing was too hard for the king to explain to her. When the queen of Sheba saw all the wisdom of Solomon and the palace he had built, the food on his table, the seating of his officials, the attending servants in their robes, his cupbearers, and the burnt offerings he made at the temple of the LORD, she was overwhelmed.
She said to the king, “The report I heard in my own country about your achievements and your wisdom is true. But I did not believe these things until I came and saw with my own eyes. Indeed, not even half was told me; in wisdom and wealth you have far exceeded the report I heard. How happy your people must be! How happy your officials, who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom! Praise be to the LORD your God, who has delighted in you and placed you on the throne of Israel. Because of the LORD’s eternal love for Israel, he has made you king to maintain justice and righteousness.”
And she gave the king 120 talents of gold, large quantities of spices, and precious stones. Never again were so many spices brought in as those the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.
1 Kings 10:1-10
Why is Jesus making a reference to this Queen of the South? He is making a comparison to a queen who had come to Solomon from outside of Israel – therefore a Gentile – and believed. She came to listen to the son of David and heard all that he had to say, believing that God had truly blessed him and the kingdom of Israel.
She believed that God was with Solomon. She believed that God was with Israel. But now, Jesus says someone even greater than Solomon had come.
The people asked themselves as they heard and saw Jesus, “Could this be the Son of David?” And by this, they wondered if Jesus was the Messiah king that would rise up to restore the kingdom back to Israel.
Jesus is telling the Pharisees that they are wicked, adulterous, and that the Queen of the South will condemn them. Why? Because instead of believing him…instead of believing that the Son of David – that is, Jesus – was even greater than Solomon, the first son of David, they just asked for a sign. They wanted more signs, when instead what they needed to do was listen and believe, doing what he said to do. That is what the Queen of the South did, and that is what they must do as well.
For us, Jesus’s words are also a warning. For those that don’t believe, they must hear so that they can know Jesus and come into relationship with God through him.
For those that do believe, we must believe to the extent that we do what Jesus says to do, treating him as the king and the Lord that he is, the ruler over all of heaven and earth, just as he has called each of us to do.