In Matthew 11:19 Jesus says to the Pharisees that accused Him of having a devil because He came "eating and drinking" that "wisdom is justified of her children."
Mat 11:16 But whereunto shall I liken this generation? It is like unto children sitting in the markets, and calling unto their fellows, Mat 11:17 And saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned unto you, and ye have not lamented. Mat 11:18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He hath a devil. Mat 11:19 The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners. But wisdom is justified of her children.
Clearly, Jesus is saying that proper judgment is related to the offspring it produces. Good children must mean "good judgment" then and bad children must mean "bad judgment."
But besides this plain meaning of the phrase "wisdom is justified of her children" where can we find the attributes of this woman named wisdom and what attributes would her children possess? I began to ask this when I was studying the SS lesson for Thursday, May 15th "Hanging out with Undesirables" when this first was used as part of the lesson.
To me the phrase seems to have not just been a saying that Jesus used, a curt response to obviously mean and spiteful comments by the Pharisees. Jesus knew these men and knew that they had extraordinary knowledge of what the scriptures said, but not what the scriptures meant. So I decided to find out if Jesus was pointing these men to something in the Old Testament; something that they would know and have knowledge of what it is that wsidom would produce in "her" children.
I found it in Proverbs 8:1 through Proverbs 9:12.
Here, we can see specifically how Jesus not only attributes what wisdom produces in her children, but these very scriptures attribute Jesus to being wisdom. Verses 21 through 31 especially point to Jesus, and His role in creation.
Proverbs 8 goes on to point to Jesus in this way:
Pro 8:32 ΒΆ Now therefore hearken unto me, O ye children: for blessed [are they that] keep my ways. Pro 8:33 Hear instruction, and be wise, and refuse it not. Pro 8:34 Blessed [is] the man that heareth me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors. Pro 8:35 For whoso findeth me findeth life, and shall obtain favour of the LORD. Pro 8:36 But he that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul: all they that hate me love death.
To me this phrase that Jesus was using wasn't just meant to sound cute and to put the Pharisees in their place, it was meant to point these men back to the very scriptures they claimed to know so well. Wisdom was giving her children instruction.
Author
Topic: Wisdom is justified by her children (Read 13243 times)
