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You may turn in your Bibles to 
Matthew chapter 12. Matthew chapter 12, our focus 
this morning will be verses 38 to 45. I do, however, want to 
begin reading in verse 22 to remind us of the context. Then 
one was brought to him who was demon-possessed, blind and mute, 
and he healed him, so that the blind and mute man both spoke 
and saw. And all the multitudes were amazed 
and said, Could this be the son of David? Now when the Pharisees 
heard it, they said, this fellow does not cast out demons except 
by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons. But Jesus knew their 
thoughts and said to them, every kingdom divided against itself 
is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against 
itself will not stand. If Satan casts out Satan, he 
is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? 
And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them 
out? Therefore they shall be your judges. But if I cast out 
demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has 
come upon you. Or how can one enter a strong 
man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong 
man? and then he will plunder his 
house. He who is not with me is against 
me, and he who does not gather with me scatters abroad." Therefore, 
I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the 
blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men. Anyone 
who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven 
him. But whoever speaks against the 
Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in 
the age to come. Either make the tree good and 
its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad, 
for a tree is known by its fruit. Brood of vipers, how can you, 
being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the 
heart the mouth speaks. A good man, out of the good treasure 
of his heart, brings forth good things. And an evil man, out 
of the evil treasure, brings forth evil things. But I say 
to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give 
account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be 
justified, and by your words you will be condemned. And some 
of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, Teacher, we 
want to see a sign from you. But he answered and said to them, 
An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign 
will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For 
as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great 
fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights 
in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh will rise 
up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because 
they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and indeed a greater 
than Jonah is here. The queen of the south will rise 
up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for 
she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, 
and indeed a greater than Solomon is here. When an unclean spirit 
goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and 
finds none. Then he says, I will return to 
my house from which I came. And when he comes, he finds it 
empty, swept, and put in order. Then he goes and takes with him 
seven other spirits, more wicked than himself, and they enter 
and dwell there. And the last state of that man 
is worse than the first. So shall it also be with this 
wicked generation. Amen." Well, let us pray. Our 
Father, we pray now for the ministry and the aid of Your Holy Spirit. 
We pray that He would guide us and lead us into all truth. We 
pray that You would illumine our hearts, that You would give 
us grace to receive the things that You have for us. Certainly 
a very solemn and sobering passage of Scripture. We pray as well, 
Father, for those outside of Christ, that You would speak 
to them today by Your Word and by Your Spirit, and cause them 
to come to the Lord Jesus Christ. May today, in fact, be the day 
of salvation for sinners in this place sinners throughout this 
earth. We pray, as the psalmist said, 
to let your face shine upon the nations. Let the nations be glad. And we ask this through Jesus 
Christ our Lord. Amen. Well, as we have seen in 
our studies in the Gospel according to Matthew, specifically in chapters 
11 and 12, we see varying responses to our Lord Jesus. And the emphasis 
seems to be on rising opposition. But as chapter 12 closes, you'll 
see that it wasn't all opposition. God willing, we'll look at that 
section next Lord's Day. But for the most part, what Matthew 
is introducing here will come to pass or will serve as the 
basis and foundation for all that follows in this gospel record. 
when we get to chapters 26 and 27, we see the crowd crying out, 
away with him, away with him, crucify him. We'll know why. 
These things were already in place. Jesus was opposed every 
step of the way by the religious leaders, the bulk of them, not 
every single one, and he was opposed by, as he calls it in 
this passage, this wicked generation. So as we consider verses 38 to 
45 this morning, I want to look at two broad concerns. First, 
the request for a sign posed by the scribes and Pharisees, 
verse 38. And then there is the response 
of the Lord Jesus in verses 39 to 45. And that's a fourfold 
response, or at least how I understand it. So we'll look at those things 
as the basis of the bulk of our message this morning. But notice 
first the request for a sign. Then some of the scribes and 
Pharisees answered saying, Teacher, we want to see a sign from you. Now this is absolutely amazing 
in light of what's been going on in the gospel record up to 
this point. When John the Baptist sends two 
of his disciples to ask Jesus if in fact he is the coming one 
or do they look for another, Jesus is able to summarize and 
encapsulate his ministry in Matthew 11 verses 4 to 6 this way. He says, go and tell John the 
things which you hear and see. The blind see, and the lame walk, 
the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear. The dead are raised 
up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed 
is he who is not offended because of me." It's a great summary 
statement of what Christ had been doing. Remember in chapters 
5-7 we see the authority of Christ in His words or in His doctrine. 
Chapters 8 and 9, we see the authority of Christ in his actions, 
in his ability to do these particular things. So when we come to chapter 
12 in verse 38, and these scribes and Pharisees answered, and they 
say, teacher, essentially they're saying, we demand a sign from 
you. It's a question of authority. 
Notice they respectfully call him teacher or rabbi. but they 
reject his messianic claims. This continues to demonstrate 
their unbelief. It continues to demonstrate this 
rising opposition. It continues to demonstrate how 
persons, apart from the power of the Holy Spirit, view the 
Lord of Glory. The sign that they requested 
was normally a miraculous token to be fulfilled quickly or at 
once to confirm a prophecy. Now there's an Old Testament 
pedigree. There are certain men in the 
Scriptures, in the Old Testament, that asked of God for a particular 
sign. In those contexts, that's not 
wicked. It's not wretched for Gideon 
to call upon his God and say, Lord, would you provide for me 
a sign? It wasn't necessarily wicked 
for an Elijah or for Moses. to invoke God and ask for a sign. But those were different contexts. 
These men have seen nothing but signs. They have seen nothing 
but mighty works. They have seen nothing but miracles. 
And again, it centers on the issue of authority. They want 
to know if He is authorized. They want to know if He has the 
power from on high. They want to know if, in fact, 
He is God's Christ. It's similar to what we find 
in Matthew chapter 21 in verse 23. Now, when he came into the 
temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people confronted 
him as he was teaching and said, by what authority are you doing 
these things? And who gave you this authority? 
Or in Matthew 16 verse 1, then the Pharisees and Sadducees came, 
and testing him, asked that he would show them a sign from heaven. So they want validation, they 
want confirmation. If you were here in our study 
yesterday, these were empiricists, these were evidentialists, these 
were men that had to see for themselves, they had to touch, 
they had to taste, they had to hear, and even in the midst of 
all of that, they still reject the evidence. And they always 
want more. They always want addition. The 
problem with these kinds of men is not the lack of evidence. 
It is not the lack of validation. It's not the lack of authentication. It is the lack of faith in the 
risen Christ. If you are here this morning 
and you are not a believer, do not blame it on the lack of evidence. 
Do not say, well, there's simply not enough to compel me to believe 
in the existence of God. May I suggest after the service 
you just look up... That's all you have to do. Psalm 
19 says, the heavens declare the glory of God. And the firmament 
highlights His righteousness. It's not a lack of evidence. 
It's not a lack of study on the person and the work of the Lord 
Jesus Christ. It's not a lack of validity. 
Did this Jesus really live? in time and space, you need to 
be born again. Your heart needs to be changed. 
You need to throw down your weapons and you need to close with Christ. 
You need to believe on the Lord Jesus and repent from your sin. This was the fundamental problem 
with these scribes and Pharisees. It wasn't that he didn't do signs. It wasn't that he didn't speak 
with authority. It's that they were hardened 
in their hearts They were rebel sinners and they preferred to 
stay in the darkness rather than to come to the light lest their 
evil deeds be exposed. In short, quit playing games. When you talk to unbelievers, 
you talk to sinners, and you say, why are you not a believer? You hear all kinds of answers. 
You hear all kinds of interesting things. But you know what the 
foundational bottom line issue that few are willing to actually 
admit? I love my sin more than I want 
God. That's it. It's an ethical rebellion. It's not a lack of evidence, 
it's not a lack of knowledge, it's not a lack of God hasn't 
shown himself. God has done nothing but show 
himself. In the language of the Apostle 
in Romans chapter 1, when he shows himself to man who is created 
in his image, who cannot escape the knowledge of God, that man 
takes that revelation from the Lord and he suppresses that truth 
in unrighteousness. He doesn't suppress the truth 
because It doesn't meet the criteria for validity in the academic 
realm. He suppresses the truth in unrighteousness. Just be honest. I prefer my sin more than I want 
God. At least with that kind of honesty, 
we're able to say there's great hope for sinners like you. There 
is great blessing for sinners like you. There's a Redeemer 
who came for sinners like you. Because we would all admit the 
very same thing. We loved our sin more than we 
wanted God. We loved our wickedness more 
than we wanted God. We loved our rebel ways more 
than we wanted God. I'm sure every believer here 
can testify the same thing. If you're open with your own 
self, you're open with your own Bible, you will have to admit 
that what Paul describes in Romans 3 was absolutely true of you. There is none righteous, no, 
not one. There is none who seeks after 
God. Now, you may have sought after 
a god. You may have preferred Baal. 
You may have preferred Asherah. You may have preferred Mammon. 
You may have had something in your life that you'd cast religious 
devotion on. But when Paul says, there is 
none who seeks after God, he's speaking of Yahweh. He's speaking 
of the God and Father of our Lord Jesus. He's speaking of 
the triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He is speaking 
to the reality that man in rebellion and man in sin doesn't seek God. Paul underscores in Romans chapter 
3 all of this by saying there is no fear of God before their 
eyes. Isn't that the explanation for 
the world around us? Why is it that babies are murdered 
in their mothers' wombs? Because there's no fear of God 
before the eyes of men. Why is it that the elderly and 
the infirm are being targeted for execution? Because there's 
no fear of God before their eyes. Why is it that crack or meth 
or whatever other drug becomes an idol in a person's life? Because 
there's no fear of God before their eyes. Why is it that sex 
so entrances a man or a woman's heart that they give themselves 
fully to this pursuit, because there's no fear of God before 
their eyes. What is it about self-righteousness? Those who 
please themselves with the thought that they're not like other men, 
they're not bad people like crack dealers or like meth monkeys, 
they are legitimate, they go to church, they do this and that, 
but there's no fear of God before their eyes. They're not in Christ. This is the problem in verse 
38. Some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, Teacher, we 
demand to see a sign from you. You haven't done enough. Is that 
your disposition? God hasn't done enough? God hasn't 
proved himself enough? God hasn't shown you enough? 
At what point in the history of the cosmos did somebody ordain 
that you were the center? At what point in Earth's history 
did somebody come along and say to you, you're the most important 
being in the world and God should seek to please you? That's the 
heart of man who does not fear God. That's their problem. That's their issue. Calvin says 
there can be no doubt that they ask a sign in order to plead 
as a plausible pretense for their unbelief. That Christ's calling 
had not been duly attested. Give us a sign all the while 
to mask, hide, or as they think, camouflage their wretched rebellion 
and unbelief. It's terrible. And if I sound 
adversarial, you're not a believer, I don't want to. We're in the 
same boat. Everybody here that names the 
name of Christ was in the same boat. It's not like there's a 
group of people that were predisposed to believe on Jesus because they 
were good. That's just not the way it is. Dead in trespasses and sins. Miserable under the wrath of 
God and in His grace and in His mercy, He laid hold of us. He said, here's your sin, here's 
my son, go to him. That's the glory of the Christian 
gospel. These men missed it. These men 
rejected it. These men masked their wickedness 
by this request for a sign. Now notice our Lord's response. 
As I said, it's fourfold. Just give you the heads now and 
then we'll fill them in. First, the identification of 
the seekers. The identification of the seekers. 
Secondly, the declaration of the sign. Thirdly, the condemnation 
of the generation. And then fourthly, the warning 
concerning their condition. Note first the identification 
of the seekers. Again, here Jesus would probably 
be not looked upon favorably in an age where tolerance is 
the chief virtue. I mean, isn't that the chief 
virtue in 21st century North America is that they're tolerant? 
Isn't this why Christians and people committed to the Lord 
Christ are bad? Because we're intolerant, we're 
bigots, we're prejudicial. I mean, intolerance is the blasphemy 
of our age. It is the blasphemy of liberalism. 
It is the blasphemy of unbelieving thought. Would Jesus be looked 
upon as a tolerant man? Look at what he says. He answered 
and said to them, an evil and adulterous generation seeks after 
a sign. Do you think these men were happy 
with this identification? Do you think these men cheered 
him? Do you think these men said, wow, he's right. We are an evil 
and an adulterous generation. You've got to understand something 
about these scribes and Pharisees as well. They knew their Bibles. They knew their Old Testament 
Scriptures. They would know when Jesus puts 
together, groups together certain words, it would alert them. It 
would cause them to reflect. It would cause them to think. 
Much the same way when you're talking to somebody and they 
mention a part or a paraphrase or a portion of a Scripture verse, 
your mind, the light bulb pops on, you say, oh yeah, that's 
John 3, 16. Oh yeah, that's Ephesians chapter 1 verse 7. Or, oh yeah, 
that's Romans chapter 12 verse 2. Right? You do that, don't 
you? I hope you do. That means that 
it's in there. You can't recall that which isn't there. So put 
it in there so that you can recall it. 2014, read your Bible and 
pray. Gotta make sure we get that in. 
Because it's vital, crucial to your well-being as a Christian 
man or woman, or boy or girl. You need to nourish yourself 
upon the truth of God, so that you can recall. Well, when Jesus 
calls them an evil and adulterous generation, their minds would 
have gone back to Deuteronomy. Deuteronomy chapter 1, verse 
35. When Moses is rehearsing, or 
God, through Moses, is rehearsing the history of Israel, and He's 
dealing with that wilderness generation, He calls them an 
evil generation. They were an evil generation. You say, well, that doesn't seem 
too cool. They worshipped a calf. They danced around a golden object. They engaged in idolatry, they 
failed to believe God, and as a result they were judged by 
God. Deuteronomy 32, reflecting upon 
Israel's history. They are called a perverse and 
crooked generation. Hopefully recall is happening. 
Paul in Philippians 2 tells the people of God to shine as lights 
in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation. What is 
our response to a crooked and perverse generation? We're to 
shine as lights. We're to let our lights so shine 
before men that they see our good works and give glory to 
God. Jesus is shutting these men down with their own scripture. 
Verse 20 of Deuteronomy 32 speaks of God's judgment upon this perverse 
generation. He says, you are an evil and 
adulterous generation. Just read the prophets sometime. 
If you've not read the prophets, may I commend to you to read 
the prophets? How many times is Israel indicted 
and upbraided for adultery? Yes, in the physical realm, the 
violation of the seventh commandment to be sure, but there's the spiritual 
adultery that Israel is guilty of. God refers to Israel as harlots. God says in Ezekiel 16 that you 
spread your legs to every passerby to multiply your harlotry. Just 
to show you where our sensitivities lie, the new King James smooths 
out Ezekiel 16.25. I quoted from the New American 
Standard. It's very vivid, very powerful. I remember preaching 
this many, many years ago before I ever came to Chilliwack, and 
somebody got upset. Did you hear what he said? He 
complained to my pastor. Did you hear what he said? You 
see, the rub is, I didn't say it. I simply quoted God. Here's 
what God says concerning spiritual adultery. You spread your legs 
to every passerby to multiply your harlotry. That's what your 
sin looks like in the covenant community. Lest we think lightly 
of sin, read Ezekiel 16 sometimes. Then God, through the prophet, 
says this, you're not like the typical prostitute. Typically, 
men pay the prostitute. Israel is so debauched. Israel 
is multiplying her harlotry so much that she pays her lovers. It's terrible, isn't it? It's 
vile. It's gross. It's wicked. It's 
evil. What's Jesus saying to these 
men? It's vile, it's gross, it's wicked. Christ is the promised 
Son of David. Christ has done nothing but to 
manifest that and evidence it through His doctrine and through 
His actions, and they have the gall to come and demand from 
Him another sign? Jesus is not some circus freak. He is not some sideshow magician. He is not there to please you 
and bend over to serve every particular need that you have. 
He is the Son of God. He is the Son of David. And what 
He says to these men highlights this reality. They are an evil 
and an adulterous generation. They reject his doctrine, his 
miracles, therefore they reject him. More signs will not make 
them believers. They need to believe on him and 
repent from their sin. France says their demand for 
a sign after so much clear evidence betrays their fundamental opposition 
to God's purpose as it is now focused in the ministry of Jesus. Powerful. an evil and adulterous 
generation seeks after a sign." Now notice, secondly, he declares 
that there will be a sign. Now, if you compare Mark's gospel, 
Mark doesn't tell us anything about the sign of the prophet 
Jonah. And some people say, well, there is contradiction. Jesus 
tells them the same thing as Mark. I am not going to perform 
a sign for you right here, right now, so that you, in your autonomous 
thought, can somehow make a choice for Jesus. They say the same 
thing. But what Christ does here, in 
calling upon the sign of the prophet Jonah, is to introduce 
something that has been foreshadowed thus far, but will become primary 
in the Gospel record. So let's look at this. He says, 
and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet 
Jonah. He then says in verse 40, For 
as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great 
fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights 
in the heart of the earth. The Lord Christ here tells them 
about his death and resurrection. Jonah functioned typically as 
a sign. Jonah's time in the belly of 
the great fish was a sign and a representative and a typical 
foreshadowing of what the Son of Man himself would undergo 
on behalf of sinners. The Son of Man, like Jonah, would 
be in the heart of the earth. He wouldn't be in the belly of 
the great fish, but rather he would be in the heart of the 
earth. Notice as well how Jesus treats Jonah. Stand up in a university 
setting today and cite the prophet Jonah and highlight the reality 
that he spent three days and three nights in the belly of 
a whale. The belly of a great fish. Do you think your professor 
will say that's good scholarship? That's great. That's astounding 
that you subscribe to that account in the prophet Jonah. Jesus doesn't 
have a problem citing as a factual event that was typical of his 
own death and resurrection the account of Jonah. Does he? We shouldn't be embarrassed about 
such things. We shouldn't hide in academia 
because there's narratives concerning great fish swallowing men. Jesus 
didn't hide. Jesus didn't give an apology. 
Jesus didn't meekly answer. Jesus didn't say, well, there 
is this story that really didn't happen. Well, if that's the case, 
this story that really didn't happen, then how can we trust 
the three days and the three nights in the heart of the earth? 
How can we suggest that that really happened? And for those 
of you math majors out there saying, but he really wasn't 
in the tomb three days and three nights. He was probably in there 
for about 36 hours. The Jews reckoned any portion 
or part of a day would include the day. You can see that in 
the Old Testament scriptures. You can see that in the latter 
chapters in Matthew's Gospel. The Jews that went to ask for 
guards to be posted on the grave said, he himself said, he'd rise 
on the third day. It was a way of reckoning. Three 
days and three nights, a portion or a part of those days, fulfill 
that idiom or that convention. Notice, the Lord Jesus Christ 
says that He will be in the heart of the earth for three days and 
three nights. The reference is obvious to the 
death on the cross. Just as Jonah was in the belly 
of the fish, so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the 
earth. Death! This is going to be a 
sign for this evil and adulterous generation. This is going to 
be the grand confirmation that the seed of the woman has crushed 
the head of the serpent. This is the Davidic son of promise. 
This is Isaiah's servant of the Lord. This is everything the 
Old Testament scriptures prophesied. It is the death, and I think 
resurrection is certainly here implied. Because what happens 
if we would have continued reading in Jonah 2.10? What happens? The great fish vomits Jonah out 
onto the dry land, right? Doesn't stay in the great fish. 
He doesn't set up house in the great fish. He doesn't have a 
couch in the great fish. He doesn't eat his supper in 
the great fish. The great fish spits him up onto dry land. Death 
and resurrection. Jonah goes into the belly of 
the whale, Jonah comes out of the belly of the whale. Jesus 
goes into the heart of the earth, Jesus comes out of the heart 
of the earth. He is telling them the grand 
sign that will shut them down once and for all will be the 
very redemptive act that God has ordained for the salvation 
of His elect. Chamberlain says, whether others 
of this generation, including these scribes and Pharisees, 
will see this sign and be saved from their wickedness and infidelity 
depends on their hearing and believing the apostolic proclamation. It's very intriguing to me as 
we move now thirdly into the condemnation of the generation. 
Jesus uses two from the past to tell us that they will condemn 
this generation in the future. He speaks of the men of Nineveh 
and he speaks of the Queen of Sheba. Now the men of Nineveh 
didn't see any miracles, did they? I mean, if they had known, 
and some speculate that they would have known, that Jonah 
was spit up onto the dry land. If they had known that, that 
would have been, wow, that's a sign. But for the most part, 
all that we have written and recorded for us in Jonah chapter 
3 is the spoken word. What about the Queen of Sheba? 
Some say, some speculate, some of the Jewish authors say that 
Solomon had the power to do some miracles. I don't know about 
all that. But in the narrative in 1 Kings, when the Queen of 
Sheba goes, she hears. It's His Word. In fact, an interesting 
thing, parallel passage, you can look at this in Luke chapter 
11. Luke chapter 11, verses 29 to 32, is parallel to what we 
are studying here this morning. Luke puts the narrative concerning, 
well, he puts a narrative prior to this that highlights what 
I'm trying to get at in verse 28. Remember, it's not all chronology. That's what the gospel writers 
are doing. They're thematic in their approach because they're 
teaching theology. They're weaving together true 
historical factual events in a particular theological order 
to set forth Christ as they plan to. Notice in verse 28 of Luke 
11. He said, more than that, blessed 
are those who hear the Word of God and keep it. Blessed are 
those who hear the Word of God and keep it. In both instances, 
with the men of Nineveh and with this Queen of the South, they 
were those who heard the Word of God. They weren't seeking 
signs, they weren't asking these things, they weren't demanding 
from Jonah or from Solomon that they perform. They heard the 
word spoken and they responded. So let's look at this in the 
men of Nineveh, verse 41. He says, the men of Nineveh will 
rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, 
because they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and indeed 
a greater than Jonah is here. This generation, again, this 
is something that the Lord Jesus speaks to here, speaks to it 
in 1717, and he speaks to it again in 2336-39. This generation, 
you can't miss that. He's not saying every other generation 
is upright, holy, and pure, but he's saying this generation has 
some privileges and some benefits that no other generation has 
had. The Lord of glory has come to them. The Lord of glory dwelt 
in their midst. The Lord of glory came to his 
own, but his own received him not. You should notice this. The idea here is similar to what 
we've already seen in chapter 10, verse 15, and in chapter 
11, when Jesus upbraids the cities, Chorazin, Bethsaida. Why? Because they saw His mighty deeds 
and they did not repent. What does He say? He says, woe 
to you, it will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the 
Day of Judgment than for you. And to this generation, look 
at what He is saying, the men of Nineveh will rise up with 
this generation in the judgment and will condemn it." Now I think 
the men of Nineveh work in the story well because of the Jonah 
reference. But we ought not to forget that 
the men of Nineveh and the Queen of Sheba are Gentiles. This evil and adulterous generation 
thinks they're the favorite of God. They think that everything 
is good because they're sons of Abraham, physically descended 
from Him. And now the Lord Christ tells 
them that in the judgment to come, these Gentiles from Nineveh, 
which was a particularly nasty city until Jonah came, and then 
after Jonah left, about a year later, they went back to their 
wicked and nasty ways. The prophet Nahum prophesied 
concerning their destruction. But albeit the same, they listened 
to Jonah and they repented. They're going to stand up, they're 
going to rise up, the word for resurrection, in the judgment, 
and they will condemn this generation. I don't think it's because they're 
going to be wagging their fingers at them, but it's going to be 
this reality. When unbelieving Israel, or unbelieving 
Chilliwackians, or unbelieving North Americans, or unbelieving 
whoever's, stand in the day of judgment, and there's those Ninevites, 
It will highlight and underscore our lack of repentance. These 
pagans, in a place where they had never heard of Jonah, they 
had never heard of his God, he comes in and he says, in 40 days, 
if you don't repent, your city will be shut down. They repented! The Son of God is in their midst, 
in their presence, doing signs and signs and signs and signs, 
and they don't repent? Kelvin says, the ungodly men 
concerning Nineveh, who never had heard a word of the true 
God, repented at the voice of an unknown and foreign person 
who came to them. While this country, which is 
the sanctuary of heavenly doctrine, hears not the Son of God and 
the promised Redeemer. It's rejection. And then note 
the Queen of Sheba. Verse 42, the Queen of the South 
will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn 
it. For she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom 
of Solomon. And indeed, a greater than Solomon is here. This is 
amazing. Have you ever read the account? 
If you haven't read the Kings, read the Kings. So you've got 
a couple of assignments today. You're going to read the prophets 
this year, and you're going to read the kings. Interestingly 
enough, kings were classified as the former prophets. From 
judges to second kings would be classified as the former prophets. So you read those. But in 1 Kings 
10, verses 1-13, the Queen of Sheba, the Queen of South, heard 
about Solomon's glory. She heard about this man. She 
heard about his power. She heard about his reign. She 
heard about his rule. She heard about his wisdom. And 
it's very intriguing that in the text, it specifies that she 
went specifically to test him with hard questions. Sheba goes to a king, or the 
queen of Sheba goes to a king to test him with hard questions. You see some similarities here? 
The scribes and the Pharisees go to a king to test him with 
hard questions. Davies and Allison say, the queen 
of Sheba came to Solomon to test him with hard questions, so like 
the Pharisees, she tested a king. But unlike them, she could see 
truth When she returned, she was amazed. When she returned, 
she was confirmed with all that she had heard, all that she had 
been told. She had seen it for herself. 
She had brought gifts to this particular king. It's a parallel 
with the Magi in Matthew chapter 2. Pagans come from the East 
to present gifts to Israel's God. The same thing is what's 
going on here. Jesus is shutting down this evil 
and adulterous generation, and he is using these two particular 
examples. The Ninevites, the men of Nineveh, 
and this queen of Sheba. Gentiles, outsiders, heathen, 
pagans, those who did not receive the oracles of God, what they 
heard, what they got, they acted upon. And here's this evil and 
adulterous generation who's had nothing but the doctrine, nothing 
but the oracles, nothing but the prophetic scriptures, and 
nothing but the embodiment of the Messiah Himself standing 
before them, so He tells them, in the judgment, they will condemn 
you. And lest you think we missed 
something, consider what He says about Jonah. He says, there is 
a greater than Jonah here. Consider what he says about Solomon. There is a greater than Solomon 
here. Remember way back in our studies 
in Matthew 12, 6, he says there's something greater than the temple 
here. He takes those threefold offices, 
prophet, priest, king. He says that he is the embodiment, 
he is the superior one, he is the quintessential prophet, priest, 
and king. And for these men to reject him 
and continue to demand signs from him indicates and validates 
and evidences that they are in fact an evil and adulterous generation. France says, if something more 
greater than all these key authorities is now present, and if, moreover, 
all their functions have now been brought together into a 
single person, Jesus' questioners have a thought-provoking basis 
on which to consider the question of his authority. Temple and 
priesthood, prophet, king, and wise man, something greater is 
now here. And He is answering their request, 
isn't He? We want to see a sign. What's 
the big issue? We want to know if you have authority. We want to know if you can back 
up your claims. Jesus says, I exceed the temple. I exceed Jonah. I exceed Solomon. I am the prophet, the priest, 
and the king that the old scriptures testified concerning and that 
all the prophets and all the priests and all the kings before 
typified. Now in this one glorious person 
we have everything we could ever possibly want for life, for salvation. It truly is an amazing response 
to a wretched question which evidences their evil and adulterous 
natures. And then finally, look at the 
warning concerning their condition, verses 43 to 45. He tells a parable. I don't know that we should get 
all of our demonology out of this particular passage. It certainly 
links with the context. It certainly links with what 
we've already seen in verse 22, when he casts out the demon from 
this blind and mute man. And interestingly enough, they 
then charge him with making or doing this in accordance with 
the power of Beelzebub. What he tells them in 43-45 is 
simply this, I don't operate according to Beelzebub, but rather 
this evil and adulterous generation operates according to Beelzebub. 
He gives a parable. A demon's cast out. The demon 
then goes through arid places. It goes doing whatever demons 
do when they've been cast out from a particular man, seeking 
rest, and he finds none. Look at what happens. Verse 44. 
Then he says, I will return to my house from which I came. And when he comes, he finds it 
empty, swept, and put in order. Sounds like moral reform, doesn't 
it? Spurgeon says, Reformations, 
which are not the work of conquering grace, are usually temporary 
and often lead up to a worse condition in after years. That is precisely what we see 
in this parable. Verse 45, Then he goes and takes 
with him seven other spirits, more wicked than himself, and 
they enter and dwell there. And the last state of that man 
is worse than the first. That's his parable. That's his 
analogy. That's his instruction. That's 
what he wants to convey to these people. Israel, this evil and 
adulterous generation, had the preaching and the ministry and 
the teaching of John the Baptist. Israel, this evil and adulterous 
generation, had the preaching and the teaching and the ministry 
of Jesus Christ. Israel, as an evil and adulterous 
generation, felt something of the power and the sanctifying 
influence of these two figures in their history. But because 
Israel, as an evil and adulterous generation, refused and rejected 
the Son of God, whatever sanctifying influence that was present in 
his life and ministry would be removed. And they would become 
a den, a haunt, of spirits. These evil spirits would re-inhabit, 
would take up place in their home, and they would be in a 
worse state than they were before. Now, there is a general application 
of this principle to each and every human being. When we hear 
the gospel, we come under the influence of God's people, we 
come in amongst the people of the Lord, we get some sense of 
what's happening in the church, we get some sense of camaraderie, 
we get some of the social interaction that is scented with the fragrance 
of Christ, and then we refuse that, we reject that. We are 
opening ourselves up to a more hardened condition and a more 
wretched state than we were prior to that. 2 Peter 2, 20-22 deals 
with teachers. He says it would have been better 
for them never to have known than to have known and rejected. 
That's a general application and that's legit, but Jesus tells 
us specifically what he's talking about at the end of verse 45. So shall it also be with this 
wicked generation. Israel had benefit. Israel had 
become a place where the Son of God was in her midst, really 
casting out demons from people, expelling them, exercising them, 
getting them out, getting the riffraff gone. And because Israel 
does not repent and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, when the 
Spirit comes back, it brings seven more spirits to inhabit 
this land, and it brings it into a cursed position and into a 
cursed place. Several of the commentators state, 
and I think correctly, that ultimately the recompense for this attitude 
and disposition was what occurred a generation later in A.D. 70. As Jesus says in Luke 21, 
when you see Jerusalem surrounded by enemies, then know that its 
desolation is near. Interesting, prior to the Olivet 
Discourse in Matthew 24, in Matthew 23, after highlighting the guilt 
of this generation in 36-39, he says, Behold, your house is 
being left desolate. There is a general application 
to be sure, but remember, rising opposition on the part of the 
Scribes and the Pharisees is met with rising opposition on 
the part of the Lord Christ, and He is promising them ultimate 
doom. Gil says, the parable fitly suited 
them, the scribes and the Pharisees and the men of that generation 
from whom in some measure the unclean spirit might be said 
to depart through the doctrine and miracles of Christ to go 
into the Gentile world. But being followed there with 
the preaching of the gospel by the apostles returns to the Jews 
and fills them with more malice, blasphemy, and blindness than 
ever, which issued in their utter ruin and destruction, of which 
this parable may be justly thought to be prophetical." You say, 
well, that seems a stretch. By the time you get to Matthew 
24, it is sheer prophecy. It is this wicked generation 
that is being targeted. Now, when I say that, don't say, 
well, we're okay then. No, we're a wicked generation 
too. We're not this wicked generation in Matthew chapter 12. Osborne 
says, no wonder the final condition is worse. A perfect picture of 
Israel after rejecting their Messiah and allowing Satan to 
have full sway. Some people interpret the book 
of Revelation in what's called a preterist manner. I happen 
to be one of those people. That's not a test of orthodoxy. 
You can disagree on that particular. Our confession states very Very 
vaguely, not vaguely in the sense that it's not clear, but eschatological 
positions are many. Some people think that Revelation 
is John's Olivet Discourse, and he highlights in more detail 
what is to take place at the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 
70. It's interesting, in Revelation chapter 9, there's these locusts 
that are coming out of the bottomless pit. Demons. unclean spirits overtaking this 
house. Whether you agree with that or 
not, I offer it to you to consider. So another Another assignment 
this year, read the book of Revelation. Don't be afraid of Revelation. 
Revelation is a fantastic book that sets forth the glory of 
Jesus Christ as prophet, priest, and king. Well, there's exposition. In conclusion, we need to understand 
with reference to the context We do not do well in studying 
the Bible or interpreting the Bible by failing to reckon with 
context. You have to understand what's 
going on in the context. And in this context, they were 
an evil and adulterous generation that witnessed the power and 
glory of Jesus Christ and would ultimately consign Him to the 
cross. They will be condemned in the 
judgment by Gentiles, men of Nineveh, by a heathen queen from 
Sheba, the fact that the Ninevites responded to Jonah's preaching, 
the fact that the queen of Sheba affirmed and confirmed everything 
she heard from Solomon, will stand as a witness against this 
generation that rejected the Son of God that was in their 
midst. They had rejected Him and hence they became the dwelling 
place of foul spirits. 43 to 45 is a parable that speaks 
to this wicked generation. And as I've already mentioned, 
in essence, they had rejected the Word of God. Signs and wonders 
do not convert men. It is belief in the truth of 
the gospel. It is repentance unto life. You could see all the signs and 
wonders in the world and then conclude that, wow, this is an 
interesting place where strange and bizarre things happen. The 
contextual application to this is Jesus' generation who had 
in their midst the Lord of glory and they crucified him. Secondly, 
though, We ought to draw out some contemporary application. We ought to see how this does 
apply to us. And I think in the first place, 
it ought to tell us this, hear the word, believe the word. There 
can be no better way to start 2014 than in Christ. There can 
be no better way than to believe the gospel. There can be nothing 
better than ending this day by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. 
This is everything. This is what matters. This is 
the all-important. If you survey the news, there's 
a lot of things happening in the world. There's a lot of issues 
going on throughout the world. I'm not saying we shouldn't care 
one bit. Faithful men, godly men, godly 
women, sigh and cry over the abominations in the land. They 
are astute, they know what's happening. The sons of Issachar 
knew the times in which they lived. That is a commendable 
trait. But in spite of all those happenings, all those goings-on, 
the most important thing for you here this morning is where 
do you stand with God? Because you will die. You will 
die. You will pass into judgment. I don't care how old you are 
today or how young you are today. All of us will die. The scriptures 
promise this. It is appointed for men to die 
and then comes judgment. For the wages of sin is death. Every single one of us, we have 
sinned. Every single one of us will die. The physical body will stop. As Moses, the man of God, asked 
in Psalm 90, when that happens, you will fly away. Where will 
that be? Can you think of anything more 
important? It just caught my eye this morning or yesterday. 
Fallujah has been recaptured. Why did they fight for so long 
to get Fallujah? I mean, wasn't that what we were 
doing in Iraq? Overnight, it's done. Reversal. 
That's huge. Imagine if you lost a son or 
a daughter fighting for Fallujah, which many people have. That's 
serious. That's heavy. That's real. This 
is life. People get cancer. People get 
hit by cars. People have struggles and trials. 
And I don't want to minimize that. I don't want to diminish 
that. I want to make sure that we honor those people that honor 
is due to. But when all is said and done, 
what is more important than this thought that one day you will 
stand before Jesus Christ to give an account of things done 
in the body, whether good and evil. And may I remind you that 
this Lord Jesus tells us that by... I say to you that for every 
idle word men may speak, they will give account for it in the 
day of judgment. You're going to give an account for idle words? 
What about your blasphemies? What about your lies? What about 
your oaths that you've ruined? What about your vows that you've 
broken? What about the fact that you have trashed the truth over 
and over again? If we're going to give an account 
for an idle word, there's nothing more important. 
Children, I realize you don't think about these things. We 
talked in the last hour, we studied in our Confession of Faith, chapter 
23, in the London Baptist Confession of Faith, of lawful oaths and 
vows. Seems an odd study, doesn't it? 
It's rooted in the third commandment of our God. It's rooted in the 
ninth commandment of our God. But we had cause to wander along 
the way. We still think about this. We sign contracts. We sign 
away our lives. We do all this stuff. Oh, what 
do we do? I don't know. Just sign my name. 
People are sworn in courtrooms to tell the truth, the whole 
truth, nothing but the truth, and then they actually invoke 
God as witness by saying, so help me God. They're actually 
calling an imprecation down upon their own heads, should they 
lie. And it's like they don't care. 
We have political leaders swear to do things on the up and up, 
and they don't. We expect that. We just don't 
even think about truth. We don't even think about oaths. 
We don't even think about vows. Well, I know when you're a little 
guy or a little girl, you don't think about dying. You don't 
think about standing before Jesus when you're 15, or 16, or 17, 
or 18, or 19, or 20. You just think about fun. You 
think about iPods. You think about boys. You think 
about girls. Right? Is that what you think about? 
It's typical. You think about school. Think 
about how much you don't like school. Think about your parents. 
Think about your siblings. Think about your friends. Think 
about your pets. Think about all these things. But do you 
ever stop and take thought to the reality that one day this 
heart is going to stop and I'm going to stand before the God 
of heaven and earth, the God who has made this world, the 
God who governs this world, and the God who has given me 10 words 
that I've broken over and over and over and over again. This 
is real. This is absolutely crucial. hear 
the word. Jesus says, blessed are those 
who hear the word and keep it. We ought to see as well from 
the parable that Jesus spoke, the folly of moral reform Moral 
reform says, I'm going to leave here today and I'm going to get 
better. I'm going to leave here today and I'm going to stop seeing 
this girl. I'm going to stop seeing this boy. I'm going to 
stop smoking this weed. I'm going to stop drinking this 
drink. I'm going to stop putting this in my vein. I'm going to 
stop listening to this. I'm going to stop beating people 
up. I'm going to stop all these things. I'm going to fix my life. 
Sounds just like what we have here. Then he says, I will return 
to my house from which I came. And when he comes, he finds it 
empty, swept, and put in order. as moral reformation without 
the conquering grace of the gospel. Spurgeon again says, the devil 
has no objection to his house being swept and garnished, for 
a moralist may be as truly his slave as the man of debauched 
habits. So long as the heart is not occupied 
by his great foe, God, and he can use the man for his own purposes, 
the adversary of souls will let him reform as much as he pleases. 
Who cares? Stop this, stop this, stop this, 
stop this. You're still going to go to hell. 
It isn't moral reform that is absolutely crucial. When that 
man was going to plunge that sword into his body to kill himself, 
because he knew that was his fate at the hand of the Roman 
magistrate when the prisoners escaped, and Paul says, don't 
do that, and he falls down before Paul and Barnabas and says, sirs, 
what must I do to be saved? Paul's instruction is not. Go fix your life. Go make it 
better. Go add some religious observances. Stop doing this and stop doing 
that. That's not gospel. That's law. Gospel is believe on the Lord 
Jesus Christ and you shall be saved. That's the answer. It's not moral reform. Gospel 
reform. So when we, by God's grace, believe 
on the Lord Jesus Christ, we receive His Holy Spirit, we receive 
a love for His law, and we want to walk in newness of life and 
obedience to the Lord. Don't get it backwards. And thirdly, 
in terms of the contemporary application, the greater our 
privilege, the greater our punishment. The men of Nineveh rose up on 
the Day of Judgment to condemn this generation. If the Queen 
of Sheba will rise up in the Judgment to condemn this generation, 
then certainly they and she will rise up to condemn this generation. We may not have had Messiah living 
right in our midst. We couldn't say with John in 
John 1, 14, he tabernacled among us. Now certainly he tabernacles 
among us by his word, by his spirit. He's present in that 
blessed way among his lampstands. We didn't feel him, touch him, 
see him, and be able to lay our hands on him. But we've had 20 
centuries of exposition of that. We've had 20 centuries of explanation 
of that. Some of you have probably lived 
all your lives coming to churches and hearing that over and over 
and over and over again, being called upon to believe on the 
Lord Jesus Christ. How do you think it's going to 
be when the men of Nineveh and the Queen of Sheba rise up in 
this judgment? Well, you know, it's you. You're 
okay. You could reject Jesus. No! There'll be condemnation. There'll be condemnation. And 
then finally, we cannot leave this passage without appreciating 
the high Christology. Jesus is greater than the temple. Jesus is greater than the prophet 
Jonah, and by implication, all the prophets. Jesus is greater 
than King Solomon, by implication, all the kings. He is, as the 
confession of faith tells us, as our catechism affirms, a prophet, 
priest, and king. We need a prophet, because we're 
ignorant. We need a prophet because we're 
foolish. We need a prophet because we 
need instruction. We need a king to rule over us. 
We need a king to govern us. We need a king to defend us. 
And we need a king to protect us. And don't we need a priest? We need a priest to sacrifice 
for us. We need a priest to intercede 
on our behalf. And in Jesus we have both aspects. He sacrifices himself and he 
always lives to make intercession for his people. Truly, in Christ, 
we have everything. In Christ, we have every spiritual 
blessing in the heavenly places. If you are not in Christ, come 
to Christ. Believe on Him, and He will save 
you from your sins. Let us pray. Our Father, we thank 
You for Your Word, and we thank You for this section of Scripture, 
and it truly is Frightening on many levels. I pray that you'd 
help us to have ears to hear and help us to do what the Word 
of God says. I pray that you'd open hearts 
today. I pray that you would cause by the Spirit people to 
believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and to repent from their sins. 
We ask that you would go with us now. We ask that your peace 
would be our portion and our lot. I ask that you would forgive 
me for my sins and I pray in Jesus name. Amen.