Seeing Jesus' Wisdom (Part 12)

One characteristic of Jesus that believers can only partially imitate is His wisdom. Jesus had understanding and skill in living life and in handling every situation He faced. Because He is God, He possesses that wisdom to a perfect and incomparable level.

Sometimes Jesus' wisdom was on a very practical level, as He dealt with ordinary problems and situations that all humans face. Jesus displayed wisdom as He faced potentially dangerous situations. The Pharisees conspired to kill Him, "but Jesus, aware of this, withdrew from there" (Matthew 12:15). "He was unwilling to walk in Judea because the Jews were seeking to kill Him" (John 7:1). Another time "Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple" (John 8:59). For safety's sake, He spent time in the wilderness country instead of in public areas (John 11:54). Jesus was wise enough not to live carelessly or take unnecessary risks.

Jesus also showed wisdom regarding normal human pain. He faced a time of sorrow and mourning when John the Baptist was killed. In His wisdom "Jesus withdrew from there . . . to a secluded place by Himself" (Matthew 14:13). Later, when He dealt with an extremely challenging personal trial, He sought support from His closest friends, asking them to stay with Him and to join with Him in prayer (Matthew 26:40).

Jesus showed wisdom as He evaluated people. He discerned the weaknesses of would-be followers (Matthew 8:18-22). He showed discretion as He determined His methods for teaching different groups of people (Matthew 13:10-11). Because He understood men's hearts, Jesus knew better than to depend on the shallow and fickle nature of mankind (John 2:23-25). In fact, Jesus even knew men's thoughts when they did not verbalize them (Matthew 9:4).

Jesus demonstrated wisdom as He answered people's questions. The Pharisees in particular were constantly coming to Jesus with challenging or argumentative questions. When the questions were difficult or thorny, Jesus always had an insightful and accurate answer. Often the questions were not even sincere, and Jesus had wisdom to avoid every potential trap, answering questions with skill that left His listeners speechless. Jesus discerned the motives behind the questions; He then provided the needed answer, which did not always match the requested answer. Jesus also effectively deflected questions that He deemed inappropriate to answer. (For examples, see Matthew 12:10, 12:25, 15:3, 16:2, 19:4, 19:17, 21:24, 22:18, 22:23, 22:34, and John 21:22).

Jesus' wisdom was effective because of its source. When tempted by Satan, Jesus took His defense from Scripture (Matthew 4). When people had a lesser focus, Jesus turned the conversation to the Scripture (Matthew 12:38-40). Even when people tried to create controversy, Jesus was able to redirect the attention to the truth of Scripture (Matthew 15:3, 22:29-32, 22:42-44). Jesus often quoted or referred to Scripture in His interactions and conversations.

Because of Jesus' divine nature, there never was and never will be another person with such a level of wisdom. "The crowds were amazed at His teaching" (Matthew 7:28) and "astonished" at His wisdom (Matthew 13:54). Eventually they would not even "dare . . . to ask Him another question" (Matthew 22:46). While believers can never match Jesus' wisdom, they can learn from His example, drawing their wisdom from the Bible and turning conversations to truth. They can grow in discernment for answering questions and evaluating people or situations. They can make wise choices in the circumstances and events of life. Most wonderfully, they can rest with confidence in a Savior whose wisdom is boundless, knowing that He will provide them with answers when they need them and will guide their lives perfectly as they trust Him.

"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding" (Proverbs 9:10).