Luke 11 v 31. The Queen of the South will rise at the judgement with the men of this generation and condemn them; for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon’s wisdom, and now one greater than Solomon is here.”
The Queen of the South’s (read about her visit to Solomon in 2 Chronicles chapter 9) attitude to supernatural widsom was in sharp contrast to that of our Lord’s contemporaries.
The only clue she had was a report of a rumour she had heard of a remarkable king. Yet so strong was her desire to benefit from this wisdom that she travelled a very long distance to listen to Solomon.
But now someone greater than Solomon is here! Compared to Christ’s wisdom, Solomon’s appeared ordinary and mundane. But the people then, like many today, had no interest in the Wisdom of Jesus, the Incarnate Son. Their spurning of Him will be the ground of their final condemnation at the Judgement.
We should remember that though Christ no longer walks on earth, His wisdom, words and salvation have reached us who live today. We are expected to follow it up, to seek it, to ask, seek, and knock until we find Him. If we fail to be interested enough to seek the Lord that very lack of interest will eventually be the grounds of our damnation.
We see this gain in the contrast between the Ninevites to whom Jonah preached and the contemporaries of Jesus.
Remember, the Ninevites had no Law of Moses to instruct their consciences, no priests to teach them as Israel had. They heard the simplest of messages from Jonah – a simple warning of Judgement and they repented en masse.
It is interesting that Christ’s teaching, even his great Sermon on the Mount, provided no great movement of repentance. Why is this?
We will look at the reason for this turn of events tomorrow. But first we must search our own hearts to see how seriously we take the person of Christ. Are there those who will stand up on the Day of Judgement and confirm our guilt? Or on the other hand are there those who at that same Judgement will testify that they are glad we crossed their path?