The Queen of the South
and the Men of Nineveh
By Jonathan Mitchell
What was the judgment, to which Jesus referred, in Mat. 12:41-42?
Jesus made a comparison between His contemporaries and non-Jewish (Gentile) people from Israel's past. The setting for this incident is found in Mat. 12:
38. At that point some of the scribes (scholars; theologians; experts of the Law) and the Pharisees gave a calculated response to Him, one after another, saying, "Teacher, we continue wanting to see a sign from you!"
39. So He, making a decided reply, said to them, "A good-for-nothing, worthless, base, knavish, grievously oppressive and wicked - even adulterous (unfaithful and immoral) - generation repeatedly seeks intently for a sign! And yet a sign will not proceed to be given to it - except the sign of Jonah the prophet.
40. "You see, just as Jonah was within the midst of the belly of the huge fish (or: sea monster) [for] three days and three nights [Jonah 1:17], thus in this way will the Son of the Man (humanity's son; = Adam's son) continue being within the heart of the earth [for] three days and three nights.
Now the context of the analogy which Jesus presented, in vss. 41-42 below, is "the scribes (scholars; theologians; experts of the Law) and the Pharisees" (vs. 38) of that "good-for-nothing, worthless, base, knavish, grievously oppressive and wicked - even adulterous (unfaithful and immoral) - generation" (vs. 39), representatives of which stood before Him, asking Him for "a sign."
Jesus rooted His response to them in the story of the prophet Jonah, beginning with Jonah's experience in the belly of the huge fish (Jonah 1:17), then referencing that experience to the eschatological end of their present, worthless age, and the presence of "the Son of the Man" (an oblique reference to Himself) spending three days and three nights "within the heart of the earth." They would have known that this enigmatic title (from Dan. 7) signified the coming messiah; now He tells these theologians that their messiah was going to die - but would be in the Unseen for only three days, implying that He would rise from the dead. What must they have thought of this statement? But He goes on, without rehearsing the story which He knew that His opponents would have known by heart, and He assumes their familiarity with how the book of Jonah ends: the Ninevites, the non-Jewish (Gentile) to whom Jonah was sent, believed the message given by Jonah, and repented. Therefore...
Take note that Jesus was speaking of His contemporaries, when He said, "THIS generation," and is contrasting His contemporary opponents to "the men of Nineveh." Yet He does not stop with this one OT reference, but anchors His analogy with another incident: the Queen of Sheba made a visit to King Solomon in order to learn from the wisdom that Yahweh had given to him. Again, giving no details, He simply made a parallel analogy, using another non-Jewish (Gentile) figure from Israel's history:
42. "[The] queen of [the] south will proceed to be aroused and raised up in the separating and deciding (the judging) with this generation, and she will progressively make a corresponding decision about (or: condemn) it, because she came from out of the extremities of the land to hear the wisdom of Solomon - and take note of this, something more than Solomon [is] here!
Once again, He repeats the context from vs. 41, stating that He is speaking about His contemporaries, "THIS generation."
Before continuing with our theme, observe that Jesus does not tell His audience that "someone greater" than Jonah and Solomon is there, with them, but that "something more than" Jonah and Solomon was in their presence: it was God's reign; His kingdom; His sovereign influence and activities.
But now to the question that began this study: to what judgment (better rendered: judging) was Jesus referring, in vss. 41 and 42? Mainline Christian tradition has assumed the Jesus was referring to a fictional "final judgment" which would happen at some imagined "end of time." Please note: the phrase "final judgment" appears nowhere in the Scriptures, but is rather a theological creation that has come to be assumed. What God is He will always do, and He is the Judge of all (Heb. 12:23) and so He will always be judging (making evaluations and decisions). So with this in mind, let us observe the qualifier that indicates what "judging" it is of which He was speaking.
Verse 42 specifies that it is "in the separating and deciding (the judging) with this generation." This was speaking of Jesus' contemporaries. Where else does Jesus speak of a judging coming to His audience? Well, consider Mat. 24 and Lu. 21. We submit that the results of this specific decision came in AD 70, which was within that generation.
The phrase,
"will proceed standing up (or: will one-after-another rise again, or up),"
is said to have had one, Semitic, meaning of "to appear in court with someone." This seems to be the primary meaning of Jesus' context, for He said of these folks that they,
"will progressively make a corresponding decision about (or: condemn)"
that generation, that is, about His contemporaries. Now rhetorically speaking, Jesus may have been speaking symbolically about "standing up," meaning that the witness of their stories (within the OT texts) would stand as a testimony against Jesus' present generation, which included these Law experts and Pharisees standing before Him. Recall what Jesus said, in Jn. 5:45,
"Stop thinking (supposing; presuming; having opinions) that I, Myself, will publicly speak down against (or: accuse) you folks to the Father; the one constantly accusing (publicly speaking down against) you people is (or: exists being) Moses..."
These stories (witnesses from their Scriptures) would have been a warning to these Judeans, similar to His advice that is recorded in Mat. 5:25,
"Be in the habit of quickly having continued thoughts of wellness toward your opponent in a lawsuit (or: of being quickly well-disposed and kind-minded with your plaintiff; or: Be quickly having your mind progressively at ease in relation to the person setting himself to resist or oppose you in matters of daily living) settling matters while you continue being with him on the road [to court] (or: while being with him within the Way - the Path [of this Life]), lest at some time the plaintiff (person having a complaint against you in some legal matter) may hand you over (or: transfer or commit you) to the judge, and then the judge to the court officer, and next you may be thrown into prison (jail; a guardhouse)."
The "prison/jail" was a symbol for the judgment that would soon happen to them.
That said, the verb "stand up/arise" is the source of the noun normally rendered "resurrection." And then, in vs. 42, we have another verb, "be aroused and raised up" (note the "divine passive"), which is also used with reference to being "resurrected." Thus, it seems, with these two verbs as witnesses, that Jesus is speaking about a resurrection. Does this point to there being a resurrection connected with the coming of Jesus in the judgment that came upon Jerusalem, in AD 70?
A parallel passage is found in Lu. 11, and there, vs. 31 states distinctly:
"A (or: [The]) 'Queen of (or: from) [the] South' will proceed being aroused and raised up in union with the decision (or: in this judging; in the midst of the sifting and separation for discerning) with (or: accompanying) the adult men of this generation, and she will continue making a corresponding decision about (condemning; bringing a down-judgment upon) them..."
With this in mind, consider what Paul said, in 1 Cor. 6:3,
We suggest that "the Queen of the South" and "the men of Nineveh" are likely within that cloud.
Return To Jonathan Mitchell's Page