Download Failing to Recognize the Messiah – Pt. 3

11-10-02
“FAILING TO RECOGNIZE THE MESSIAH – PT. 3”
Matthew 12:42
INTRODUCTION:
-for the last two weeks we have been looking at the words of our Lord Jesus here in Mt. 12:38-42; we
have considered His rebuke to that unbelieving generation, and made some applications to our
own day
-we saw from His words that the generation of Jesus’ day missed the sign of the resurrection, as
exampled in Jonah being three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish
-we also saw the significance of true repentance from the heart before God, as modeled by the men of
Nineveh when they repented at the preaching of Jonah
-and today we are going to focus on the third example given by our Lord, the lesson on the need for
steadfastness of resolution to find true wisdom, as exampled by the actions of the Queen of the
South
-all three of these accounts in Scripture, which were familiar to these scribes and Pharisees, stood in
stark contrast to the evil and hard hearts of the leadership of the nation of Israel in Jesus’ day
-v. 42 is our text today, but let’s once again read through the context of this section:
-read Mt. 12:38-42
I.
The Persistence of the Queen of the South v. 42a
A.
Her Stature as Queen
-Jesus said, “…she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon…”,
the reference is to the account recorded in 1 Ki.10:1-13
1 Kings 10:1-3
1 Now when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the LORD, she
came to test him with hard questions. 2 She came to Jerusalem with a very great retinue, with
camels that bore spices, very much gold, and precious stones; and when she came to Solomon,
she spoke with him about all that was in her heart. 3 So Solomon answered all her questions;
there was nothing so difficult for the king that he could not explain it to her.
-this took place during the 10th C. BC; King Solomon, the son of David, reigned in
Jerusalem over all of Israel for a 40 yr period
-King Solomon had brought the nation to its zenith through the hand of God; Israel was
at the most prosperous state since its inception
-King Solomon’s buildings, including the Temple of Jehovah, were internationally
known works of art, and his wisdom excelled all the wisest of men
-Jesus simply refers to this woman as the Queen of the south; and from 1 Kings 10 and
2 Chron. 9 we know that she was the ruler over the country of Sheba
-Sheba (or Saba, or Azab) was normally believed to have been in the same area as
Yemen of today on the western edge of the Arabian peninsula (although there
are traditions that this Queen was actually from the area of Ethiopia on the
African side of the Red Sea)
-Jesus said, “…she came from the ends of the earth…”; since Sheba was on the western
edge of the Arabian peninsula, it would have been around a 1000 mi. journey to
Jerusalem, and it would have taken at least 75 days to get there
-the Queen of Sheba came to King Solomon to search out all that she had heard
concerning him, as 1 Kings10 states: …concerning the name of the LORD…
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-so it wasn’t just the man, Solomon, but the glory of his God that drew this woman from
such a far country; and Jesus uses her as one who’s actions would condemn that
generation
-1 Kings 10:2 states…She came to Jerusalem with a very great retinue, with camels that
bore spices, very much gold, and precious stones… the kingdom of Sheba was
known for its myrrh, frankincense, and cinnamon; and because of its position
along the Red Sea, it was very involved with foreign trade
-therefore the commodities brought with the Queen were probably those from the
international trading markets (gold>Ophir) v. 10: 120 talents = $3.5 mil.
-it is interesting that history documents the Sabaeans had queens for their sovereigns
and not kings, at least up until the time of Solomon’s day
B.
Her Seeking Out of the Truth
-the lesson that Jesus desired His generation to learn from the account of the Queen of
Sheba centers around her persistence and resolution to find the truth about these
reports she was constantly hearing in her own land
-she had to find out for herself: was what she had heard about King Solomon, and his
wisdom, and his God true? she was willing to go to great inconvenience and
expense to find out
-she was not a skeptic, but a seeker, although she was not one who was easily
convinced, as she herself states in 1 Kings 10:7…However I did not believe the
words…; a skeptic would not have gone through all the trouble and expense at
just a rumored report
-so what is the difference between a skeptic and a seeker?
-A skeptic is one who has an attitude or doubt or a disposition to incredulity
either in general or toward a particular object; one who instinctively or
habitually doubts, questions, or disagrees with assertions or generally
accepted conclusions
-A seeker is one who has an inner drive to find out the real answers to his
questions, and will go to great lengths to ferret it out
-the religious leaders of Jesus’ generation were skeptics and not seekers of truth; they
had built their wall of self-righteousness and self-importance and became blind
to the Son of God in their midst
-it is interesting that the example of the Queen of the South was even a greater picture
of faith than the men of Nineveh in v. 41
-the men of Nineveh, Gentiles, had the message brought right to their homes by Jonah;
but the Queen of Sheba, also a Gentile, traveled over 1000 mi. (over a 2 ½
month journey) to just verify the wonderful things she had been continually
hearing
-let’s go back to 1 Kings 10 and read the outcome of her searching
1 Kings 10:4-13
4 And when the queen of Sheba had seen all the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, 5 the
food on his table, the seating of his servants, the service of his waiters and their apparel, his
cupbearers, and his entryway by which he went up to the house of the LORD, there was no
more spirit in her. 6 Then she said to the king:
"It was a true report which I heard in my own land about your words and your wisdom. 7
However I did not believe the words until I came and saw with my own eyes; and indeed
the half was not told me. Your wisdom and prosperity exceed the fame of which I heard.
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8 Happy are your men and happy are these your servants, who stand continually before
you and hear your wisdom! 9 Blessed be the LORD your God, who delighted in you,
setting you on the throne of Israel! Because the LORD has loved Israel forever,
therefore He made you king, to do justice and righteousness."
10 Then she gave the king one hundred and twenty talents of gold ($3.5 million), spices in great
quantity, and precious stones. There never again came such abundance of spices as the queen
of Sheba gave to King Solomon.
11 Also, the ships of Hiram, which brought gold from Ophir, brought great quantities of almug wood
and precious stones from Ophir. 12 And the king made steps of the almug wood for the house of
the LORD and for the king's house, also harps and stringed instruments for singers. There
never again came such almug wood, nor has the like been seen to this day. 13 And King
Solomon gave the queen of Sheba all she desired, whatever she asked, besides what Solomon
had given her according to the royal generosity. So she turned and went to her own country,
she and her servants. NKJV
-now before we go back to our text in Mt., I’d like to mention this:
-there is a tradition among some in Ethiopia that when the text says in 1 Kings 10:13
that King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba all she desired, whatever she
asked…, that her request was she be impregnated with the king’s seed, so she
could have a child that would be as wise
-Adam Clarke’s Commentary includes this record:
(from Adam Clarke's Commentary, Electronic Database. Copyright (c) 1996 by Biblesoft)
“…There can be no doubt of this expedition (by the Queen of Sheba); as Pagan, Arab, Moor,
Abyssinian, and all the countries around, vouch for it nearly in the terms of Scripture. Her
name, the Arabs say, was Belkis; the Abyssinians, Maqueda….
The annals of the Abyssinians…say she was a pagan when she left Azab (Sheba), but, being full of
admiration at Solomon's works, she was converted to Judaism in Jerusalem, and bore him a
son whom he called Menilek, and who was their first king.
The Abyssinians, both Jews and Christians, believe the forty-fifth Psalm to be a prophecy of the
queen's voyage to Jerusalem; that she was attended by a daughter of Hiram's from Tyre to
Jerusalem; and that the last part of it contains a declaration of her having a son by Solomon,
who was to be a king over a nation of the Gentiles (although it should be seen as prophetic
of the coming Son of God, Jesus Christ).
To Saba or Azab (Sheba), then, she returned with her son Menilek; whom, after keeping him some
years, she sent back to his father to be instructed. Solomon did not neglect his charge, and he
was anointed and crowned king of Ethiopia in the temple of Jerusalem, and at his
inauguration took the name of David.
After this he returned to Azab, and brought with him a colony of Jews, among whom were many
doctors of the law of Moses, particularly one of each tribe, to make judges of in his kingdom;
from whom the present umbares, or supreme judges (three of whom always attended the
king) are said and believed to be descended.
With these came also Azarias, the son of Zadok the priest, and brought with him a Hebrew
transcript of the law, which was delivered into his custody, as he bore the title of nebret, or
high priest; and this charge, though the book itself was burnt with the church of Axum, in
the Moorish war of Adel, is still continued, as it is said, in the lineage of Azarias, who are
nebrets, or keepers of the church of Axum, at this day. All Abyssinia was thereupon
converted, and the government of the church and state modelled according to what was then
in use at Jerusalem.
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By the last act of the queen of Saba's reign, she settled the mode of succession in her country for the
future. First, she enacted, that the crown should be hereditary in the family of Solomon
forever. Secondly, that, after her, no woman should be capable of wearing that crown, or
being queen; but that it should descend to the heir male, however distant, in exclusion of all
heirs female, however near; and that these two articles should be considered as the
fundamental laws of the kingdom, never to be altered or abolished. And, lastly, that the heirs
male of the royal house should always be sent (as a kind of) prisoners to a high mountain,
where they were to continue till their death, or till the succession should open to them.
The Queen of Saba having made these laws irrevocable by all her posterity, died after a long reign
of forty years, in 986 Before Christ, placing her son Menilek upon the throne, whose
posterity the annals of Abyssinia would teach us to believe, have ever since reigned.
So far, indeed, we must bear witness to them that this is no new doctrine, but has been steadfastly
and uniformly maintained from their earliest account of time; first, when Jews, then in later
days, after they had embraced Christianity. We may further add, that the testimony of all the
neighbouring nations is with them on this subject, whether friends or enemies.
-let’s get back to our text in Mt. 12; would the generation in which Jesus ministered
have the same persistence and resolution to seek Him out as their Messiah?
There were individuals that did so, but as a nation, apparently they did not
John 1:11 He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. NKJV
-why wouldn’t they as a national leadership open their hearts to Jesus? Probably for the
some of the same reasons men do not do so today: man does not want to
relinquish control of his life to God
-we can become so “convenience-oriented” in his life; if there’s sacrifice involved, if
there’s possible disruption in routine, if there’s major inconvenience—we tend
to just “call it off”, and not make the effort; and the basis of this is selfishness
and pride
-now some will sacrifice in areas that are meaningful to them personally, as long as it
fits their goals and objectives for life; think of all the Olympic athletes that
sacrifice so much for that one chance for the gold medal
-but when it comes to "denying self and taking up your cross daily” to follow the
disciplines of the Christian life, even Jesus said that relatively few will go down
that road
-how about us? let’s say we took a piece of paper and drew a line down the center of it;
on one side we would write down all the things we sacrifice for, work hard for,
stay up late for, get up early for, go in debt for;
-and on the other side of the sheet of paper we list the spiritual disciplines we have
embraced to allow the Holy Spirit to work in us to bring us closer in fellowship
with God and in reflection of His glory to the world
-if we did this activity it would be used by the Lord to show us where we are most
willing to make sacrifices; and hopefully it would lead us to ask Him to make
the necessary changes in our lives for eternity’s sake
II.
THE PERSON OF CHRIST GREATER THAN SOLOMON V. 42B
A.
A Greater than Solomon
-the generation of Jesus’ day, and especially the religious leaders, did not come to hear
and consider the words and works of Jesus; they had come to find fault and to
find cause to destroy Him
-they couldn’t perceive that, indeed, a greater than Solomon was here
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B.
A Going After That Which Does Not Profit
-how many people over the centuries have searched the vast libraries of the world,
seeking for that one “out-of-print copy” of someone’s treasured thoughts!
-how many have become professional students at colleges and universities, filling their
minds with the philosophies of the world’s famous thinkers, yet they will not
labor to study the Word of God—to ponder and meditate over the words of our
Lord Jesus, who is greater than the wisest man on earth
-and even after they may have considered His words and works, will they humble their
hearts and embrace Him alone above all others? Only God knows.
-do we as believers approach the Word of God through the gridwork of other men’s
thoughts, and judge if what it presents is valid only if it lines up with the
conclusions of others?
-as we close this morning’s message, listen to the Apostle Paul speak of the difference
between the wisdom of man and the wisdom of God in the first chapter of 1
Corinthians:
1 Cor 1:18-31 NLT
18 I know very well how foolish the message of the cross sounds to those who are on the road to
destruction. But we who are being saved recognize this message as the very power of God. 19
As the Scriptures say, "I will destroy human wisdom and discard their most brilliant ideas."
20 So where does this leave the philosophers, the scholars, and the world's brilliant debaters? God has
made them all look foolish and has shown their wisdom to be useless nonsense. 21 Since God in
his wisdom saw to it that the world would never find him through human wisdom, he has used
our foolish preaching to save all who believe. 22 God's way seems foolish to the Jews because
they want a sign from heaven to prove it is true. And it is foolish to the Greeks because they
believe only what agrees with their own wisdom. 23 So when we preach that Christ was
crucified, the Jews are offended, and the Gentiles say it's all nonsense. 24 But to those called
by God to salvation, both Jews and Gentiles, Christ is the mighty power of God and the
wonderful wisdom of God. 25 This "foolish" plan of God is far wiser than the wisest of human
plans, and God's weakness is far stronger than the greatest of human strength.
26 Remember, dear brothers and sisters, that few of you were wise in the world's eyes, or powerful, or
wealthy when God called you. 27 Instead, God deliberately chose things the world considers
foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose those who are powerless
to shame those who are powerful. 28 God chose things despised by the world, things counted as
nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important, 29 so
that no one can ever boast in the presence of God.
30 God alone made it possible for you to be in Christ Jesus. For our benefit God made Christ to be
wisdom itself. He is the one who made us acceptable to God. He made us pure and holy, and he
gave himself to purchase our freedom. 31 As the Scriptures say, "The person who wishes to
boast should boast only of what the Lord has done."
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