The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here. The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with 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 greater than Solomon is here.

Matthew 12:41-42

The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation, and condemn them: for she came from the utmost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here. The men of Nineve shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here.

Luke 11:31-32

Jesus mentions two groups that the Scribes and Pharisees probably felt themselves superior to – the people of Nineveh and the Queen of the South. He also describes the two mortal men that taught them – Jonah and Solomon.

Jonah was a prophet of God, and his preaching to Nineveh convinced the entire city to repent from their sins. However, Jonah was just a man.

When the Queen of Sheba (of the South) visited Solomon in 1^st Kings, Chapter 10, she recognized that the God of Solomon was greater than any god of the world. Solomon was the wisest man in human history, but Solomon was just a man.

My point is this – by the preaching and testimony of regular humans, great leaders and entire cities have been convinced of the majesty of God and been brought to repentance. These two groups, who were outside the nation of Israel, recognized the wisdom and power of God even though they did not receive the special favor of God as a nation.

The unbelieving Jews had received favor from God for generations but when the Son of God comes on the scene, they reject Him in their arrogance and unbelief. Jesus was not just a man. Jesus is the eternal Son of God, and He performed miracles and said things that were far beyond any prophet or king. And yet, the leaders of the Jews rejected Him as Messiah.

We can clearly see that there was nothing that was going to convince these religious leaders of Who Jesus truly was. Why is that? Because someone who is dead in sin has no way to understand the gospel. It is like a foreign language to him. Consider this:

But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

1^st Corinthians 2:14

Furthermore, arrogance of human intelligence will blind anyone who thinks they know more than God!