Matthew 11: Taking the Kingdom by Force (4)
Pray Psalm 31.1, 2.
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.
Sing Psalm 31.1, 2.
(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!
Read Matthew 11.1-19; meditate on verses 16-19.
Meditate on the word “wisdom”.
Prepare.
1. How did people respond to John and Jesus?
2. How is wisdom justified?
Meditate.
People, it seems, are always ready with an excuse for not wanting to heed the Lord’s call or command. It didn’t seem to matter what John or He did or said, some people could justify not believing. John was too ascetic, they insisted. Jesus, too liberal (vv. 18, 19). 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 frequently feminine. This does not suggest gender as we normally think of it. However, since wisdom gives birth to good works, wisdom was considered to be a feminine noun.
Actually the “wisdom” Jesus refers to here is Himself (cf. Prov. 8; Col. 2.1-3). 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, those His followers would do in His Name (cf. Jn. 14.12). 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, and to bear the fruit of Wisdom.
Treasure Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162
But Wisdom is justified by His children.
The reason Jesus Christ our Savior came to earth was to reclaim His helpless and sinful children for Himself.
We could not keep the Law. We were displeasing to the Father. We needed help; and He came to provide that.
“But God demonstrates His Own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5.8).
But then Jesus sent us out to work in His Kingdom.
To invite others to come along on the journey—forgiven, loved, and sent.
Saved not by keeping the Law; but saved to keep it.
To live our lives in accordance with it.
“But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth, to which He called you by our gospel, for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Thess. 2.13, 14).
As Paul explained in his speech to the men of Athens:
God “…is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and have our being,
as also some of your own poets have said,
‘For we are His offspring.’ Therefore, since we are the offspring of God,
we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone,
something shaped by art and man’s devising.
Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked,
but now commands all men everywhere to repent,
because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness
by the Man Whom He has ordained.
He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead” (Acts 17.27-31).
We are God’s offspring—His children.
“Known to God from eternity are all His works” (Acts 15.18).
And He desires that His works praise Him.
“Let everything that has breath praise the LORD.
Praise the LORD!” (Ps. 150.6)
If you have raised your children to use a napkin, and they do, your effort is justified.
If Jesus has sent us out to “make disciples…
teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you” (Matt. 28.19, 20),
and we go and do what He has commanded, then His great sacrificial gift of salvation is justified.
By His offspring. His beloved children. Let’s not be a disappointment to Him.
“His message and His mission are justified by the many good works, first, which He was doing, then, multiplied throughout the ages, those His followers would do in His Name.”
Reflect.
1. What opportunities will you have today for showing the wisdom of Jesus?
2. How should you prepare to make the most of those opportunities?
3. Will any of them have follow-up opportunities during the week to come? Which? And what?
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
Pray Psalm 31.21-24.
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 31.21-24.
Brother James’ Air: The Lord’s My Shepherd, I’ll not Want
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. and Susie Moore
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment to give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).
We invite you to join us in ReThinking Church. We explain further at our ReThinking Church page, here.
Other columns of interest: This week: The Read Moore podcast continues readings from our book, The Kingdom Turn. Our Crosfigell teaching letter presses ahead in a series on the state of the Church in Europe at the time of the Celtic Revival. The ReVision column begins to examine the hope for the church, especially struggling churches. Click here to see all the other columns and writers available to you.
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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter.
