Vindicating Wisdom

July 5, 2020 Background Scripture: Matthew 11:1 – 19 Lesson Passage: Matthew 11:7 – 19 Oh, how often I have laughed at the question posed by a missionary on a popular sitcom in the past, “Are you ready for Jehovah’s return?” It is not the question that is humorous, but the character portrayed by the person asking the question. The character presented herself as a pious believer who cared about the welfare of others’ souls. However, you didn’t want to rub her the wrong way! You would soon learn that piety for her was a very thin veneer that covered a streetwise fighter who could hold her own in a “knock-down drag-out”. The pious missionary wanted people to respond to her in the same manner she presented herself to them. That’s not how the world works. In our text, Jesus criticized the pious religious leaders for their behavior towards servants of God. Like the character from the sitcom, those religious leaders wanted others to respond to them in ways that they would specify. Note, I did not say “specified” but “would specify”. The difference is in whether they would be consistent in their character or fluid. Jesus pointed out that they had chosen inconsistency. No matter what manner of person God sent to help them, the religious leaders rejected them. God sent John the Baptist to them. They sized John up and decided that he was possessed by a demon. John must have appeared to be quite antisocial to them based on how he dressed and what he chose to eat. Furthermore, John did not become one of their own, but stood in stark contrast to them. John did not wear fancy robes and clothes and yet he had the audacity to criticize them publicly for being hypocrites. John spoke the truth of God’s word with boldness. He was one of the first persons recorded to have spoken truth to power—both religious and political. John’s words were heeded mainly by the least, the left out, the left behind, and the socially overlooked. They hungered and thirsted after God, and John provided the spiritual nourishment they needed. Many of the pious religious leaders saw it as a sideshow. They went out to investigate but only as an attempt to uncover something to criticize John for. John did not appear to have eaten or drank with any of the people. It was easy to see him as an unsocial person with a big mouth. In contrast to John’s character, God sent Jesus to the same people. Jesus proclaimed the same truths of God that John proclaimed. Jesus was much more social. He was invited to eat with many—Pharisees and publicans alike. Jesus accepted their invitations and he sat with them at the table. Jesus noted that some criticized him as being greedy and a drunkard. Because the pious religious leaders criticized Jesus’ character, they also rejected his message—as they did with John. God sent the same message by two persons with contrasting social styles. The message was rejected in both cases by the pious religious leaders who wanted to decide the “proper” character of the messengers rather than accept the content of the message. However, in both cases, the message was received by the least, the left out, the left behind, and the socially overlooked. These recipients became the offspring, or children, of Wisdom. Although the pious religious leaders would not accept the wisdom God sent them through the message, Wisdom demonstrated her righteousness through her children who received her. Robert C. Hudson June 22, 2020