“At the judgment the queen of the south will arise with this generation and condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and there is something greater than Solomon here.”
The scribes and Pharisees ask Jesus for a sign, and he tells them there will be no sign except the sign of Jonah the prophet. He then goes on to describe his death and resurrection. Just as Jonah was in the heart of the sea, Jesus predicts the same amount of time being in “the heart of the earth.” The queen of the South, the queen of Sheba, came from far away to hear the wisdom of Solomon. By referring to the prophet Jonah and Solomon, Jesus says there is something greater than Solomon (prophecy and wisdom), which he brings to all people.
God, I imagine that your son was frustrated to respond to the scribes and Pharisees who demand a sign. According to Matthew, by this point in Jesus’ public ministry, he had cured many people, exorcised demons, and calmed the forces of nature. Word gets out! How many signs would he have to perform before the scribes and Pharisees believed in his divinity? And that unbelief goes on today. How many days do I put on self-reliance and fail to see God at work in my life and in the lives of those around me? In the first reading from Micah, it is clear what God does not want: burnt offerings, thousands of rams, or myriad streams of oil. Instead, he says, “You have been told, O man, what is good, and what the LORD requires of you: Only to do the right and to love goodness, and to walk humbly with your God.”
Many voices rush in—what I should have said or done, what I will say or do. God is apart from that yet in it. Lord, I know you want me to walk humbly with you, so if only I let that expression of your love rest in my heart amid the day’s commotion, that will be my sign.
Today I want to live in the truth and realize that God has told me through the Word Incarnate, through the church, and through my conscience what is good. Let me not fall for the lie that what is good is relative or gray. Truth is goodness; goodness is truth. Knowing that is half the battle.