Wisdom is not a matter of book-learning. It requires eyes
and hearts that have been opened to it. Jesus was sowing a wisdom of such exceeding
value that prophets and kings had longed to understand it:
·
“I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth,
that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed
them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. (Luke
10:21; John 3:19-20)
However, even the “wise and understanding” were not amenable
to such wisdom. Wisdom comes with pain to those who have lived in the darkness
and are not accustomed to the light. Therefore, Jesus had been cultivating the
soil of the hearts of His disciples to receive His precious life-changing seeds
of wisdom and understanding. He informed them:
·
“To you it has been given to know the secrets of
the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given…But blessed are your
eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. For truly, I say to you, many
prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it,
and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it. (Matthew 13:11, 16-17 ESV)
They were being blessed even though it might not have been
apparent to them. Jesus had just taught them a parable about His seed and that
different soils into which His seed had been sown. Jesus subsequently explained
to His disciples that they were the good soil, but what characterized good soil?
Understanding:
·
When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and
does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown
in his heart. This is what was sown along the path. (Matthew 13:19)
The devil’s strategy is diametrically opposed to God’s. The
devil seeks to sow confusion, anything to obstruct the growth of God’s seed. He
seeks destruction and darkness, while God seeks to impart light and spiritual
transformation through the understanding of the truth.
However, some soils might only seem to be fertile. They
receive the Word of God with joy, but this “joy” anticipates immediate gain:
·
As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is
the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, yet he has no
root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution
arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away. (Matthew 13:20-21)
This soil fails to understand what is truly at stake. Real
joy rests with our anticipation of being with our Beloved forever. If, instead,
our hope is based exclusively upon here-and-now benefits, “tribulation or
persecution” will certainly drive us away.
The good soil has to be made willing to undergo severe
pruning (John 15:1-2). Their eyes have been opened to see that Jesus is worth
any costs. Jesus likens Himself to a pearl which is so valuable that we are
willing to sacrifice all that we have for it:
·
“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant
in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and
sold all that he had and bought it.” (Matthew 13:45-46)
As our eyes become accustomed to the life-giving light, we
begin to see that Jesus is of such surpassing value that we become willing to
sacrifice our comforts and earthly dreams for His sake (Matthew 6:33; 10:37-39),
the “pearl of great value.”
Jesus then analyzed the next form of infertile soil:
·
“As for what was sown among thorns, this is the
one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of
riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.” (Matthew 13:22)
Here too, the seed did not produce fruitfulness. This person
was willing to allow the “deceitfulness of riches choke the word.” His own desires
did not enable Him to see the “pearl of great price.” Therefore, he remained in
the darkness.
What characterized the cultivated soil which had been
enabled to receive the seed?
·
As for what was sown on good soil, this is the
one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in
one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.” (Matthew
13:23)
Such a person not only hears the Word but also understands
it. As a result, his/her life is fruitful, while the others were totally
unfruitful, as God regards fruitfulness (Hebrews 11:6)
Why does Jesus (and the rest of the Bible) place such a high priority
on wisdom and understanding? Isn’t love the greatest of all possible
fruits? Yes, but a tree cannot bear good fruit unless it is first a good tree
(Matthew 7:15-21), and part of being a good tree is having the light of wisdom.
Without such wisdom, all of our attempts to love may be marred by enablement
and demotivation of those we are seeking to love. If we remain in the darkness,
our good deeds will become further marred by our self-serving motives, pride,
arrogance, or even resentment when the objects of our love do not reciprocate
according to our expectations. In contrast, while Jesus was experiencing the
most excruciating and undeserved crucifixion, He still prayed that they would
be forgiven.
Love can quickly morph into arrogance as even a gourmet meal
will rot when left outside. Without wisdom and understanding, many of the most
successful people become further hardened and corrupted by what is normally
good. This is why Jesus had taught that love depended upon understanding, and
understanding depended upon cultivated soil.
Wisdom is a matter of seeing clearly. Wisdom has eyes, which
allow us to navigate the traffic. Wisdom
is also our inner eye. It keeps watch over our lives so that they will align with
our values. When wisdom is abandoned in favor of “love” or mystical experiences,
it is like navigating without a roadmap, compass or GPS. Eventually, we will
get lost and frustrated.
Today, wisdom has been rejected in favor of “You’ve got to find your own truth. No one can tell you what you should believe.” Consequently, there is nothing to learn, no elders to seek out. Instead, “If it feels right, it is right.” Therefore, we can no longer see beyond our reactions and feelings, and these have become our masters. Without an objective wisdom, we become morbidly self-absorbed.
Today, wisdom has been rejected in favor of “You’ve got to find your own truth. No one can tell you what you should believe.” Consequently, there is nothing to learn, no elders to seek out. Instead, “If it feels right, it is right.” Therefore, we can no longer see beyond our reactions and feelings, and these have become our masters. Without an objective wisdom, we become morbidly self-absorbed.
Hope dies with wisdom. All that remain are our animalistic feelings
and drives, and these cannot satisfy, not for long.
In contrast, Jesus found hope, truth, and wisdom through the
Word of God. Therefore, in answering the devil, He quoted Deuteronomy 8:2-3:
·
But he answered, “It is written, “‘Man shall not
live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” (Matthew
4:4)
Wisdom would have us do no less.
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