Matthew 11: Taking the Kingdom by Force (4)

Pray Psalm 31.1-5.
In You, O LORD, I put my trust;
Let me never be ashamed;
Deliver me in Your righteousness.
Bow down Your ear to me,
Deliver me speedily;
Be my rock of refuge,
A fortress of defense to save me.
For You are my rock and my fortress;
Therefore, for Your name’s sake,
Lead me and guide me.
Pull me out of the net which they have secretly laid for me,
For You are my strength.
Into Your hand I commit my spirit;
You have redeemed me, O LORD God of truth.

Sing Psalm 31.1-5.
(Brother James’ Air: The Lord’s My Shepherd, I’ll not Want)
In You, O Lord, I refuge take; let me not come to shame!
In righteousness deliver me, according to Your Name.
Incline Your ear, my prayer to hear, my Fortress strong to save!

For You my Rock and Fortress are; in Your Name lead and guide.
You rescue me from ev’ry net which wicked men might hide.
My Refuge strong, my spirit long in Your hand shall abide.

Read Matthew 11.1-19; meditate on verses 16-19

Prepare.
1. How did people respond to John and Jesus?

2. How is wisdom justified?

Meditate.
Jim Kennedy would illustrate the many flimsy excuses people gave for not believing the Gospel, by telling about a man who came to borrow his neighbor’s plow, only to be told, “I’d love to lend it to you, but my wife’s combing her hair with it right now.” To which the astonished neighbor replied, “Your wife is combing her hair with your plow?” Then the explanation, “Well, not really, but when you don’t want to do something, one excuse is as good as another.”

Jesus might have told this story to the people who heard Him. It didn’t seem to matter what John or He did or said, people had a ready excuse for not believing. John was too ascetic, they insisted. Jesus, too liberal (v. 18). It didn’t matter what tune John or Jesus played, some folks just weren’t going to join the dance (v. 17). They considered themselves wiser than John or Jesus, and not in need of any repentance or faith; their preferred religious traditions suited them just fine.

Were they really wise in thinking this? Jesus insisted that “wisdom is justified by her works” (not children, as in NKJV). What a strange and enigmatic summary of this teaching! What did He mean?

Let’s not allow ourselves to be misled by the feminine pronoun her. Its antecedent is wisdom, which in both Hebrew and Greek is a feminine noun. In English, we don’t classify our nouns as masculine, feminine, or neuter. They’re just nouns. Other languages use gender for various nouns, and in both Greek and Hebrew, nouns which are abstract – like wisdom – are typically feminine. This does not suggest gender as we normally think of it. However, since wisdom gives birth to good works; thus, wisdom was considered to be a feminine noun.

Actually the “wisdom” Jesus refers to here is Himself. We’ll see who’s really wise, Jesus was saying. His message and His mission are justified by the many good works, first, which He was doing, then, multiplied throughout the ages, that His followers would do in His Name. The Hebrew traditionalists of Jesus’ day didn’t have many works to boast about. Nor do those who, for whatever shabby reason, reject Jesus today.

They may all excuse themselves from believing, but our calling is to continue to show and tell them the Good News of the Kingdom of God.

Reflect.
1. Why are people reluctant to believe in Jesus?

2. What excuses have you heard from people who do not want to believe the Gospel?

3. What would you point to in your own life as justification for the Gospel?

Jesus is Wisdom itself not because of his acts of power but by his very nature. Everything has capability, but capability is demonstrated in actions. Thus an act of goodness is not the same as goodness itself, just as an effect is distinguishable from its cause. Hilary of Poitiers (315-367), On Matthew 9.9

Help me to be more effective in making the Good News known, O Lord, especially today as I…

Pray Psalm 31.19-24.
How will the goodness of the Lord show through you today? Commit your day to the Lord. Bask in His steadfast love, and seek His guidance for doing the good works of the Gospel today.

Sing Psalm 31.19-24.
Psalm 31.19-24 (Brother James’ Air: The Lord’s My Shepherd, I’ll not Want)
How great the goodness You reserve for those who fear You, Lord,
Who rest in You and boldly stand before men in Your Word.
You cover them from plots of men; You shelter them, O Lord!

Blessed be the Lord, for He has shown His steadfast love to me!
In my alarm I cried to Him; He heard my fervent plea!
In fear and dread with You I pled; You heard and rescued me!

O love the Lord, all you, His saints!  He keeps us faithfully.
But all who act in sinful pride His wrath shall surely see.
Be strong and let your heart not fret; wait on Him constantly!

T. M. Moore

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. All psalms for singing adapted from The Ailbe Psalter. All quotations from Church Fathers from Ancient Christian Commentary Series, General Editor Thomas C. Oden (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2006). All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter (available by clicking here).