Matthew chapter 12. And I first started to entitle
this message, Behold, a greater than Solomon is here. You see
that in the last part of verse 42. The Queen of the South came
to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and our Lord declared, A greater,
a greater than Solomon is here. And then again He says, over
here in verse 41, talking about Jonah, the prophet of God, and
he was a prophet of God, but not like the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Lord Jesus Christ is the greatest prophet. A greater than
Jonah is here. And then over here in chapter
12, verse six, our Lord said, but I say unto you that in this
place is one greater than the temple. So the title that I've
settled on is the greater one is here. The greater one is here. The Lord Jesus Christ, he is
here. He is here. Now we know that
Solomon was a wise and great king. He was king in Israel for
40 years. But that's nothing compared with
the king of kings and Lord of lords, our Lord Jesus Christ.
He is Lord above all, isn't he? Our Lord Jesus Christ wisely
rules and sovereignly reigns over all the earth. The Lord
Jesus Christ is God over all the earth, all things. He's over all things eternally,
from everlasting to everlasting. The psalmist David writes this,
God, our God, is the king of all the earth. Sing praises with
understanding. God reigneth over the heathen.
God sit on the throne of his holiness. Our Lord Jesus Christ
is God over all. Bless forever. Bless forever. Now, again, we see the enemies
of the gospel, these scribes who were the ones who transcribed
the written word, and then the Pharisees were the enforcers
of what they wrote down in the Law of God, copying the Law of
God from the Law of Moses, but they were always attacking the
Lord Jesus Christ, sometimes outwardly, visibly, sometimes
subtly, sometimes behind the scenes. But here these Pharisees
come again and the scribes, the self-righteous. They thought
they were saved under the law of Moses. They thought they were
righteous because they thought they did the law of Moses. But
they come to the Lord Jesus Christ and they say to him, before,
you remember what they said? They said, he has a devil. He
is operating in the power and realm of the devil. You remember
in this same chapter? Look at verse 24. When the Pharisees
heard that the people said, this is the Messiah, this is the son
of David, in Matthew 12, 24, when the Pharisees heard it,
they said, this fellow doth cast out devils by Beelzebub, the
prince of devils. Now they come to the Lord Jesus
Christ, after he rebuked them about that, now they come to
the Lord Jesus Christ and call him master, which means rabbi
or teacher. Now, do you remember Nicodemus
came to the Lord and called Him a teacher? He said, we know you're
sent of God, so no man can do these things that you do except
he be sent of God. So Nicodemus recognized that
he was sent from God, but these fellows in a way of mockery call
him master or rabbi or teacher. Now, they weren't ready to sit
and listen to the word of the Lord. They were just seeking
opportunity to criticize him and to embarrass him. They say,
Master, boy, show off. Just show off a little bit. Show
us a sign. Go down far from heaven like
Elijah did. Show us a sign. How many times
did he prove to them over and over and over again he raised
the dead? He healed those who were deaf,
who were dumb, who were demon-possessed. He gave eyes to the blind. He
did all these things and yet they were not satisfied, were
they? Show us something more. Show us something more. The scribes
and Pharisees again asked the Lord to prove that He is Messiah,
prove that He is God. These same folks accused him
of doing miracles in the name of Beelzebub. Now they come to
the Lord in a more subtle way, addressing him as master, saying
unto him, show us a sign and we'll believe you if you just
show off a little bit. Remember, the Apostle Paul writes
in 1 Corinthians, for the Jews require a sign, the Greeks seek
after wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, the wisdom and power
of God. Saving faith is not looking for
signs. Saving faith is looking to Christ. Saving faith comes by the word
of the Lord. We know that the Lord knew their
heart. The Lord knew their motives.
You remember what we read in verse 25? Jesus knew their thoughts. He knew their heart. He knew
their wicked intentions. Remember, they said, this same
crowd, you remember what they said to him when he was nailed
to the tree on Calvary's Hill? Turn over here to Matthew 27.
Matthew 27. This same crowd mocked the one
whom they said, we have no king but Caesar. In Matthew 27, 39,
they that pass by reviled him, wagging their heads, saying,
thou that destroyest the temple and buildest it in three days,
save thyself. If thou be the Son of God, come
down from the cross. You got it, Matthew 27, 41. Likewise,
also the chief priest, mocking him who's described in the elders
and said, he saved others, himself he cannot save. If you be the
king of Israel, let him now come down from the cross and we'll
believe him. Just show us a sign and we'll
believe you. He trusted in God, let him deliver
him now, if he will have him, for he said, I am the son of
God. You see how they mocked him?
They would not have believed Him if He did come down from
the cross because of the wickedness of their heart. What further
proof was needed to clearly demonstrate that He was the Messiah, that
He was the one Son of God? He gave them proof after proof
after proof. Sinners are no different today.
Are they? They're no different. Oh, generation
of vipers, he says in verse 34. People are no different today.
Sinners are no different today. They claim a willingness to believe
if they just had some proof. Is not the Word of God alone
proof enough and evidence enough? You have it right there in your
hand, right there on your lap. All Scripture is given of God.
All Scripture is given to show us that Christ, the Lord Jesus
Christ, is our God and our Savior. We need no further proof. Holy
men of old, because they were moved by God. What you have in
your hand is a verbally inspired, inerrant Word of God. We read
it as such, believe it as such, receive it as such, don't we?
As it is in truth, the Word of God that effectively works in
us who believe. True faith in Christ cannot be
produced by wonders, signs, feelings, ceremony, and tradition. Saving
faith is a gift of God. It's a gift of God. Saving faith
does not look for signs. It looks for Christ. When we
read the Book of God, the Word of God, what do we look for? It's just not information, historical
information. We're looking for Christ. When
you read the Word of God, look for the Lord Jesus Christ. Look
for Him. We don't look for signs, wonders,
or feelings, do we? I remember another old hymn.
We sing that song, A Mighty Fortress Is Our God by Martin Luther.
But he also wrote this hymn 500 years ago. comparing feelings
to the Word of God. Here's what he says. Here's what
he writes. Feelings come and feelings go, and feelings are
deceiving. My want is the Word of God. Nothing
else is worth believing. Though all my heart should feel
condemned for want of some sweet token, I know one greater than
my heart whose word cannot be broken. So I'll trust God's unchanging
word till soul and body sever. The words of man will pass away.
God's word abides forever. He said heaven and earth going
to pass away, but my word will never pass away. True faith in
Christ comes as a sovereign gift of God. It is the fruit of the
spirit. It's a sovereign gift of God
that comes by the word of God, fully convincing us that salvation
is of the Lord. Just as Jonas said. Jonah said
that my salvation is of the Lord. That's every believer's confession.
The only way we can see and experience the glory of God's salvation
is to fully and only look to the Lord Jesus Christ who is
all our salvation. He that hath the Son hath life.
He that hath not the Son hath not life. We look to the Lord
Jesus Christ for all of salvation, nothing more, nothing less, and
nothing else. Neither is there salvation in
any other but the Lord Jesus Christ alone. You see salvation
in a person, not in a place, not in a position, not in a pool,
not in a church, in a person, the Lord Jesus Christ. Always
looking, always coming, always coming, always looking to Christ
alone. So Master, we would see a sign
from thee And the first thing he says as an answer, he answered
unto them and said, the first thing he said, look what he said,
you're evil. You're evil. You're evil. He didn't say, well, now, wait
a minute, you're just a little bit confused on this issue, but
can't we all just get along? Can't we all just be friends?
He said, you're evil. You're an evil generation. You're
an adulterous generation. You seek after signs. There shall
be no sign given to this generation or any other generation but the
Word of God. When he's saying but that of
Jonah, he's referring to the Word of God, the Word of God
alone. The Lord plainly describes their
problem and our problem. We all are a wicked generation. We're all evil by nature. We're
all generation of vipers. How did we get that way? And
Adam, you remember Romans chapter 5 verse 12, when Adam all died
and Adam all sinned? Think about this, Adam was the
only man who became a sinner by sinning. We're born in sin, shapen in
iniquity. What he did, we did. His guilt
was imputed to us, imparted to us. We stand guilty before God
and add and we've sinned. God said there's none righteous,
no not one. God said we've all sinned and
come short of the glory of God. If you know that, if you know
that you're sinful, that you're born sinful, that you're born
in sin, if you know that, you should rejoice in the Lord because
it causes you to look to the Lord Jesus Christ for all of
salvation. All of salvation. What does this
wicked generation need? Same thing they needed in that
day. They needed Christ. They needed Christ alone for
all their salvation. They desperately needed a suitable
and all-sufficient Savior and Mediator, we need that today,
don't we? There's just one Mediator, there's
just one God, one Mediator, and that is the God-Man, the Lord
Jesus Christ. We have in the Lord Jesus Christ
all righteousness and all redemption. That's what we desperately need,
my sin put away and righteousness to stand before God. God made
him to be sin for us who knew no sin that we might be made
the righteousness of God in him. The Lord Jesus Christ answered
the question of his apostles when they asked him, Lord show
us the way. He said, I'm it. I'm the way.
I am the way. I'm the life. I'm the truth.
No one comes to the Father but by and through me. There will
be no sign given to this wicked generation or any other wicked
generation but that which has already been given, which is
the word of God. Now hold your place here in Matthew
12 and turn over here to Luke 16. Remember the story of the
rich man who died? And being in torment, he lifted
up his eyes and he cried for a drink of water. He said, I'm
tormented in these flames. And then he said this in Luke
16. He said, verse 27, I pray thee, therefore, father, that
thou wouldest send Lazarus back from the dead to my father's
house, for I have five brethren, that he may testify unto them,
lest they also come to this place of torment. And Abraham said,
they have Moses and the prophets. Let them hear them. And the rich
man said, nay, father Abraham, but if one, but if If one went
unto them from the dead, they would repent. And he said unto
them, if they hear not Moses and the prophet, neither will
they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead. One did rise
from the dead, the Lord Jesus Christ. Man will not be convinced
of their need of salvation until God Almighty does a work of conviction
in their heart, a work of regeneration in their heart to show them their
need of Christ. You can't give a sinner something
he does not need. When God shows you your need
of Christ, you look to Him for mercy. Now in this story of Jonah
and in the story of the Queen of Sheba, these stories were
given in the scripture to enable us to preach the gospel to our
generation. Remember in Luke 24 the risen
Lord said these are the words which I spake unto you While
I was yet with you that all things must be fulfilled which are written
in the law of Moses and in the prophet and in the psalm Concerning
me to him give all the prophets witness all the prophets. They
all witnessed one message in salvation Christ is all Christ
is all now who is this one greater than the temple and Well, we
know it's the Lord Jesus Christ. We know it's the Lord Jesus Christ.
Who is this one that's greater than the prophet Jonah? Well,
it's the Lord Jesus Christ. Who is this one, who is the one
that's greater than Solomon? You know the answer, don't you?
A greater than Solomon is here in the Lord Jesus Christ. The
Lord Jesus Christ, he's above and beyond all things and all
people and all dominions. I found this scripture in Ephesians
chapter 1. Let me read it to you. He's far
above all principality and power, might and dominion, every name
that is named, not only in this world, but in that which is to
come. All things are put under his feet and given unto him. He had to have all things are
put under him. The father loved the son and
had given all things into his hand. Everything is under his
dominion. It's a sovereign dominion. It's
an everlasting dominion. A greater than Jonah is here. One greater than the temple.
Boy, they revered that temple, didn't they? Think about it for
a moment. The Lord Jesus Christ is the
everlasting King and God. The whole life of Jonah And his
remarkable story only took place that the Lord, on this day, when
he faces these enemies, could say, a greater than Jonah is
here. Everything was arranged, all through providence. God decreed
this from eternity, set up this meeting, caused all that to happen
to Jonah, so he could say, a greater than Jonah is here. greater than
Jonah is here. Jonah in his life was a providential
type of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. I'm going to remind
you what we read a moment ago. You remember the sailors when
there was a great storm that came up and they suspected the
storm was on the count of Jonah. The sailors cast Jonah into the
sea and there was a great calm. The Lord Jesus Christ was despised
and rejected of men and cast out. Through the Lord Jesus Christ
being crucified, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus
Christ. There was peace because he took
our wrath, our sin, our judgment. Jonah, we know, was swallowed
by a whale, by a great fish that God had prepared. He spent three
days and three nights in the whale's belly, in his bowels. Now, some think that Jonah actually
died. in that whale's belly, and was
resurrected and spit out on dry ground. And if you use that analogy,
it's a better type and picture, isn't it, of Christ's resurrection
from the dead. He spent three days and three
nights in the whale's belly, in the bowels of that great fish,
and on the third day, he was spit out on dry land, and Jonah
confessed what he said. Salvation is of the Lord. My
salvation is of the Lord. And we know the Lord Jesus Christ
died for our sins according to Scripture and was raised again
the third day. He was delivered for our offenses
and raised again for our justification that we might have our salvation
of the Lord. Had his life and ministry restored,
he went finally to Nineveh and preached the word of the Lord.
And the Lord granted them repentance to turn from their evil ways. Now think about the power of
the word of the Lord. Here is this great mighty city
of Nineveh. Jonah went there and finally
spoke eight words. Forty days, this city is going
to be destroyed. And they repented at the preaching
of Jonah. The Lord Jesus Christ, being
raised from the dead, because He made complete atonement for
our sin, is exalted to give repentance unto His people. He now sends
His word out with power, and when sinners are convicted of
their guilt by the power of God the Holy Spirit, they willingly
turn to God from their idols. That's repentance. being turned
to God, and when you turn to God, and that repentance is a
gift of God. It's a gift of God. Repentance
comes by the sovereign will of God. When God grants a sinner
repentance, we turn to God, and we turn from our idols. We turn from our false hope of
salvation, and we declare as Jonah did that our salvation
is of the Lord. Salvation is of the Lord in its
origination. It all starts with him. He's
the author and finisher of it. Salvation is of the Lord in its
accomplishment, in its application, in its doing, and its ultimate
perfection. Salvation is all of the Lord. Now look at verse 41. He said,
The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation.
And they shall condemn it because they repented. That's the preaching
of God's prophet. And he said, behold, a greater
is here. God is going to hold them accountable
in that day. The Lord Jesus Christ is the
greater prophet. The Lord reminds these evil Pharisees
And that the sinners in Nineveh repented, and will stand in judgment
as a witness against them, because they repented at the preaching
of the word. And these Jews who had the glory
of the Lord in their midst, refused to bow to His Lordship, even
though He clearly and powerfully demonstrated to them that He
is the Lord. I am the Lord. And He said, Behold,
a greater than Jonah is here. The Lord Jesus Christ is the
greater prophet, with a greater, more powerful word of truth,
with a clear command of repentance toward God, and faith toward
the Lord Jesus Christ. May God grant us repentance and
faith in Him. May He convince us in our heart
that our salvation, first of all, that our need of salvation,
and that our salvation need is met in Christ and Him crucified. May we be convinced of that.
for all of our salvation is in Christ. Now, one more verse,
verse 42. The queen of the south will rise
in judgment with this generation or against 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 whole, behold a greater than Solomon is here. The Queen of
Sheba will stand in judgment against these self-righteous
Jews and condemn them because she left her throne and traveled
a great distance to hear the wisdom of Solomon. Solomon was
God's anointed, God's king, and to see the glory of God's kingdom,
she bowed herself before King Solomon, honored him with her
substance she brought, she listened to his words of wisdom, And Solomon
answered all her hard questions. It says there in 1 Kings that
she came to prove him with her hard questions. And she presented
those questions, and here's what the queen of Sheba said, the
half has not been told. He answered all her questions.
And she went home satisfied. And our Lord said, Behold, a
greater than Solomon is here. You see, everything about the
Lord Jesus Christ is great, is it not? Can you think of any
attribute of the Lord Jesus Christ that's not great? His great love
wherewith he loved us. How shall we escape if we neglect
so great salvation? Everything about the Lord Jesus
Christ is great. He's great in his person. He's
great in his attributes. He's great in his mercy towards
sinners. Everything about him is great.
Now we know in comparison, Solomon here is a personal type of the
Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ was a prophet.
like Moses, he was a priest like unto Aaron and Melchizedek, and
he was a king like David and like Solomon, the son of David.
We know that Solomon was a wise man. God gave him all those Proverbs. God gave him the Song of Solomon,
we studied that. God gave him the Book of Ecclesiastes
that we read. God used Solomon to pen the Word
of God. God gave him wisdom. But the
Lord Jesus Christ is wisdom himself. The Lord Jesus Christ is the
one who made Solomon a wise man. You see, all the wisdom of God
is completely and totally vested in the Lord Jesus Christ. All
hid in Him. The Queen of Sheba came to hear
wisdom, the wisdom of Solomon. The Lord Jesus Christ came to
give us wisdom. She went to hear wisdom. The Lord Jesus Christ gives us
wisdom. He's made unto us wisdom. But of Him are you in Christ,
who God has made unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification,
and redemption. The Lord Jesus Christ not only
gives us wisdom, He gives us understanding of who He is, that
He is the only wise God, our Savior. Solomon had great wealth. Solomon had a great kingdom.
Solomon's kingdom came to an end, didn't it? What happened
to Solomon's temple? Solomon's temple was destroyed,
wasn't it? It was destroyed by the Babylonians.
Nebuchadnezzar came. They took and destroyed the temple.
They took all those vessels, the mercy seat, all those different
things that were in the temple. They took them all back to Babylon
and they used them in their practice of idolatry. Killed how many
thousands and thousands and thousands of people. Kept Israel in bondage
for 70 years. The king of Israel, Zedekiah,
died in captivity. Solomon had great wealth and
a great kingdom, but it came to an end. Solomon reigned 40
years, and his kingdom was rent from him. and the kingdom was
destroyed. The Lord Jesus Christ has greater
wealth, a greater kingdom, and he's made his people heirs of
God and joint heirs with the Lord Jesus Christ. We have in
Christ an eternal kingdom. We have in Christ a temple, a
dwelling place that will never be destroyed. You know, those
Pharisees, turn over here to Matthew 24, Matthew chapter 24. They were so impressed. You know,
when the Lord Jesus Christ, look at Matthew 24, verse 1. The temple that Solomon built
was destroyed. Remember we studied the book
of Nehemiah and Ezra, and many of those who were in captivity
came back and reconstructed some sort of a temple, not like it
was originally, but some sort of a temple. And here's what we read in Matthew
24, Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and his disciples
came to him for to show him the buildings of a temple. And the
Lord said unto them, See ye not all these things? Verily I say
unto you, there shall not be here left here one stone upon
another that shall not be thrown down. What happened to the temple
in Jerusalem in 40 years after the Lord was crucified? Do you
remember what happened? The Romans came and destroyed
the temple again. You see these Jews today, that
wailing wall? That's just a part of a wall
that's left. The temple's been destroyed.
The Lord Jesus Christ is our temple. He is our dwelling place. We have an eternal. Solomon had
a peaceful reign for 40 years. His name means peace. But his
reign of peace had an end. It was just temporary. If you
read 1st Kings chapter 11, you see a very sad end to Solomon's
life. But the greater Solomon, the
Lord Jesus Christ, he is the Prince of Peace. He made peace
for us with his own blood. His kingdom is an everlasting
kingdom which shall never end. He gives us eternal life. He
saves us with an everlasting salvation. Solomon was a great
builder. David wanted to build that temple,
but God wouldn't allow him to do it. Solomon, we studied through
You remember 1 Kings, the greatness of that temple, the greatness
of the building, that's nothing compared to the Lord Jesus Christ.
The greater Solomon, the Lord Jesus Christ, is a superior builder. He says, you know what makes
up his temple? He said, you are living stone,
build up a spiritual house. You are the temple of God. Did you know that? He has built
us up in Christ a mighty great temple that will never be destroyed. Remember he said in Matthew 16,
I'll build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail
against it. A greater prophet, a greater
temple, a greater king. a greater salvation we have in
the Lord Jesus Christ. May the Lord be pleased to grant
us repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ
and reveal unto us just how greater, superior, and better the Lord
Jesus Christ truly is. In Him dwells all the fullness
of a Godhead bodily and we're complete in Christ. Christ is
all and in all. The Lord Jesus Christ is better.
I mean, He's the best. God provided the best for us.
We've been studying through the book of Hebrews, and the word
that's repeated over and over again is the word better. Remember? Better. Christ is better. Better. The law made nothing perfect
but bringing in of a better hope did in Christ. The Lord Jesus
Christ is called the surety of a better covenant that's established
upon better promises. We have a better inheritance.
We have a better priesthood. We have a better everything in
Christ is better. Why would you look elsewhere? Look to him. Our Lord said in
Isaiah 45, He said, I'm the only just God and Savior. Right? He
said, beside me there is no other. Remember what He said next? Look.
You understand that word? L-O-O-K. Look. I'm looking at
you. You're looking at me. He said,
look to the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved. Salvation is in
a look. Did you know that? Looking at
Christ. For He is salvation.