The Pharisees and teachers of the Law were well versed in the Scriptures and the Laws of the Prophets. So Jesus gave them two great examples. The Queen of Sheba was amazed and acclaimed the teachings of Solomon, she traveled a long distance just to listen to him. Prophet Jonah spent three days and nights in a fish. The people listened to him and turned from their sins, he was indeed a prophet.

They were blind to Jesus. Jesus was greater than Jonah or Solomon and all the prophets but they could not see. No miracles would be given to them except for them to witness Jesus spending three days and three nights in the dark tomb and rose again. That was the greatest miracle ever. The Queen of Sheba and all the people converted by Prophet Jonah will surely accuse the Scribes, Pharisees and teachers of the Law, what blessings for them to witness the coming of the Son of Man, to have Him live in their midst yet they did not listen and turn from their sins.

As for us, we are living in the time after the victim of redemption, that is Jesus Christ as Lamb of God, had been killed. His blood sealed the New and Everlasting Covenant between God and Man.

With this Covenant, the Old Ones had to be done away with. Yet Jesus said that, He had not come to do away with the Words of the Prophets, but He had come to fulfill and made perfect, the promise that God made with the people through the Old Covenants and Words.

The Ten Commandments given through Moses on Mount Sinai were laws of justice, but Jesus came to perfect that Law of Justice by adding Love and selflessness, as He was the expression of that virtue.

Jesus as Son of Man, lived a selfless life, serving not Himself, but all His fallen, sinful and most unworthy neighbors, whom He took as His personal, blood brethren. Indeed as the First-born Son of Man, who was in and with God, as His Word, as St. John spoke about. In the beginning was the Word. The Word was with God. The Word, was God. God became flesh, in Jesus Christ, the anointed, consecrated and First-born Son of Man, who became a Sacrifice or Victim, as Lamb of God, for the Son of all Humankind. As the First-born Son of Man, He became the High Priest, for all Man.

He took upon Himself the consequence or the price caused by sin. Mankind because of sin fall shorts the glory of God and finally brings about eternal death, but Jesus came to restore that spiritual blindness and by His rising from the death, He became the first to rise among all those who had died a physical death. By this phenomena, He had brought about hope to all who died, believing, trusting and uniting with His Spirit, eternal life.

This was the only miracle that the people of Jesus' time would see. In fact the Story of Prophet Jonah, was pointing to Jesus, who would be buried in the grave for three days. After the third days, Jonah was brought by the fish to its destination at the other side of the shore. This was also pointing to Jesus, who crossed over, from the boundary of Heaven to earth, in order to rescue all those who trust and believe in Him, so that He could bring them to safety, into heaven. The grave did not consume Jesus, so too, Jonah stayed safely in the stomach of the fish, yet did not die.

Indeed, the people of Jesus' time were privilege lot. Most of us would long to live in that time when the Kingdom of God, came in Jesus Christ. It reigned after His death, resurrection, ascension and descend of the Holy Spirit. The force that empowers His reigns on earth, world below and heaven was/is the Holy Spirit. We were in fact more privilege than the people of Jesus' time, Why?

Because, we have seen the passing of the time when salvation had been completed in Jesus Christ. We have seen with a bird-eye view of all the mystery of God and Man, fulfilled. They were in the pre-establishment, but we are in the establishment and merely await the fulfillment of God's reign in the 'New Heaven' and the 'New Earth'.

We are now in the time of the reign of Jesus Christ, in the world, not as the unseen God, but as a Glorified Human Being, in the Power of the Holy Spirit. The reign was handed over by the Father to His Son, until God put all Jesus' enemy as footstool for Jesus. Jesus' role as redeemer and Savior would be accomplished when all that were to be saved are save. Then Jesus as redeemer would hand over His power over mankind, as its Savior and Redeemer, of which was given by God the Father, back to Him. Then God would be all in all. Mankind would be one with Jesus Christ. God would look with love and marvel at His own plan of salvation, when He see with His Eyes, the purified and saved Children of His, were perfectly the Image and Likeness of His Son, Jesus Christ.

We too, were no exception. We too resemble, the Pharisees and Scribes in so many ways. Sincerely, had we not asked God to show wonder and sign of the presence of God's Spirit in the world today. Many would want proves and signs, in order to believe. Is that not what the Pharisees and Scribes were asking?

Jesus always performed miracle to reveal to mankind, who He really was. All these were for their own good, not Jesus. Jesus did not want a person to praise and glorify Him, but God, either that is in Him or the Father, the Unseen, in heaven.

His miracles and wonders were merely for the purpose of opening the spiritual sight of those who, considered themselves blind and sinners. For these miracles, were meant for those, who really need a spiritual doctor. Jesus was/is the doctor of the souls, spirits and the bodies.

Jesus angrily condemned, the Pharisees and Scribes that were too blind to acknowledge and see with their own eyes, the coming of God's Kingdom to earth. The 'hand' that came to feed them were fiercely rejected and bitten. Jesus was angry for their own good. Their vision and hope of God's Kingdom were merely, on the manifestation of physical and earthly power, like what happened to King David and all those powerful king, that the Jewish people were so proud about. But they could not see, that what happen to the kings that were anointed and obedient to God, received great power, blessing and protection from God, were in fact lessons for them to learn. The choice of kings and leaders, were quite unexpected. David was an insignificant little boy, but rose to great height of power, was a lesson to us all too. God's choice was not what we expect. He chooses those whom the world considered as foolish, unlearned, outcast, inferior, etc, as leaders for His people. Many priests, bishops, religious and anointed laities were not from an influential or highly regarded by the society. Most come from a very humble background and with little wisdom of their own. With these emptiness and shortness of essential wisdom, is like an empty case, which God decided to fill with abundant of blessing, so that those who acknowledge themselves as spiritual blind could see, what marvel, the Lord had done for us. Yes! Indeed, we were glad.

Signs and wonders, were meant for those 'unbeliever', just like the language of 'tongue', of which others could not understand(1Corinthians14:22). The unbelievers of which St. Paul said, were those who, do not want to believe, when they hear the Words of God, in their own language and tongue of which they understood. They preferred to hear that strange noises and chanting, of which they believe were presence of a powerful spirit. Yet they would not believe and obey. Therefore, signs and wonders, manifested by God's instruments must not be used as sole prove of God's Almighty presence in our lives, rather as channels to save as many souls as possible. There ought not to happen any hustle and bustle about the concentration of His Power in any human being. Nothing belongs to us, so there is nothing to boast about personally. We, were just channels for the transmission of His power and grace. What we ought to praise, glorify and boast about is the marvel of God at work in the salvation of mankind. Therefore do not be amazed or puzzled, when we enter into His glory, we find, what we thought, as unworthy people in a better position then we, who think are so much worthier.

God manifests His presence in His Instruments in many ways. Some had great virtues of humility and obedient. For St. John the Baptist, Jesus said, 'What do you go out to see? A straw blown and swaying with the wind in all direction?', John was a very firm man, He was one of the greatest prophets in God's plan of salvation. He lived a life different from others. Prophets, Apostles and disciples of Jesus were all unique and lived extra-ordinary lives. All of them had special roles to play and ways, to fulfill the will of God. Every prophet, apostle and true disciple, were in fact living a solitary life. They were all martyrs, although some to not died that ways, but if they had no other choice they would. True servants of God were in fact, in love with God and His Word.

Praise the Lord. Amen.