Matthew 12:42, commentary and pictures

The queen of the south will rise in the judgment with the generation that rejected Jesus and condemn it. She traveled from the farthest regions to hear the wisdom of Solomon, while One far greater than Solomon stood present among them. That greater One is Jesus Christ Himself, God manifest in the flesh and one with God, standing before the Jews. Her eager seeking of lesser light exposes their refusal to receive the greater light in Christ. Those given great light and privilege are accountable for it, and will be judged in comparison with those who had fewer advantages yet earnestly sought eternal life.

Setting and Plain Meaning

Jesus spoke these words as part of His bold denunciation of the scribes and Pharisees after they charged Him with casting out devils through the power of Satan. His words and works created tumult and brought reproach upon His brothers. At that time He was laboring incessantly, devoting entire nights to prayer while His days were thronged by great companies, so that He had no time so much as to eat. His friends felt He was wearing Himself out, and some feared His reason was becoming unsettled. His brothers, alarmed and indignant and keenly feeling the reproach, decided together with Mary to persuade or even constrain Him to cease this manner of labor and to work with more prudence.

The queen of the south will rise up in the judgment with the generation that rejected Jesus and will condemn it. She came from the uttermost parts of the earth, traveling from far away, to hear the wisdom of Solomon. Yet while she made that long journey for Solomon's wisdom, One far greater than Solomon was present among that generation. That her journey makes the neglect of those who received great light and opportunity but failed to use it especially blameworthy is part of what the contrast teaches.

The One greater than Solomon is Jesus Christ standing before the Jews. Her eager response to lesser light exposes that generation's refusal to receive the greater light in Christ. She sought out Solomon's lesser wisdom from afar, while they rejected Jesus, who is greater than Solomon, though He stood present among them.

Christ Greater Than Solomon

Solomon was one of the greatest kings that ever wielded a scepter, extolled and honored by the Jews and extolled by other kingly powers for unsurpassed wisdom. He built the magnificent temple at Jerusalem as a marvel of richness and glory unequaled by any work of human art, and he gave character and greatness to the Jewish nation. His wisdom was a gift entrusted to him by God that should have reflected honor upon the Giver. The wisdom and glory revealed in the temple came from God its true designer, not from Solomon, yet the honor that belonged to God was diverted from God and given to Solomon, whose pride could not stand the flattery.

The One greater than Solomon is that divine source and designer of the temple. The queen of Sheba's visit shows this, for after seeing and hearing what God had given Solomon she praised the Lord rather than Solomon. Her response proves that Solomon's wisdom and the temple's glory were meant to direct people to God their true source, and her journey to hear Solomon's wisdom illustrates the response to that wisdom and points to the greater wisdom revealed in Jesus. Solomon perverted his God-given wisdom when he turned from God to seek wisdom elsewhere.

Christ is greater and wiser than Solomon because He is God manifest in the flesh, one with God. He appropriates to Himself the title of authority with rightful claim to entire service and allegiance. Patriarchs and prophets longed to sit at His feet and learn of Him and would have counted it high honor to minister to Him, so those who see and hear Him are blessed. The disciples later recognized that the One who had instructed them was wiser than Solomon, yet they had failed to understand who He was because unbelief, earthly concerns, and opposition from religious leaders had clouded their minds.

Christ's wisdom is more desirable and essential than Solomon's highly desirable wisdom or any learning gained through education. Knowing God and Jesus Christ is life eternal, and it is the first business of life to know God and Jesus Christ and obey God's Word. This knowledge is eternal life and is the foundation for every other study and skill. True wisdom is learned from God and Christ, not through human wisdom and interpretations that lead to false education. Solomon's wisdom is rightly sought only after learning from Christ, rather than turning to human sources in pursuit of true wisdom. Education alone cannot bring a person to Christ, but through Christ students can reach the highest aims of learning and become complete in Him.

Judgment and Accountability

Light and solemn warnings create accountability, and those who receive them will answer in the judgment for how they responded. If such appeals are disregarded, they will stand against the hearers and condemn the course of life pursued. This is especially true of those who turn to vanity, levity, and pride instead of heeding what they heard. The queen of the south will rise in judgment and condemn those who received great light and opportunities but failed to use them. Her journey from far away to hear Solomon's wisdom makes their neglect especially blameworthy.

Those who received great religious light and privilege will be judged in comparison with those who had fewer advantages yet earnestly sought eternal life. The faithful with less light will stand as witnesses against those who rejected mercy and used their opportunities to serve evil. In this sense the heathen world will stand in judgment against the favored who worked against God, and those who received great light and favor from heaven will face judgment for using power and opportunity for evil. That evil use of advantage is illustrated by forcing harmful trade upon other nations, and by forcing soul-destroying narcotics upon them for profit. Likewise those who profess the truth are accountable for how they represent it, and if they fail to show its power and to represent it as it is in Jesus, they may be condemned in the judgment by those who responded faithfully to the light they received.

The same principle applies within the family, for unrestrained children whose parents failed to restrain and correct them will rise in the judgment and condemn those parents. Such parents are unfaithful, and their neglect contributed to the destruction of their children. More broadly, those who reject truth will be condemned by those whose lives they helped ruin. As an example, thousands will rise in judgment and charge Voltaire with leading them away from God.