Resurrection Lutheran Church, St Catharines

Today’s Gospel reading (Matthew 22:15-22) is taken from a chapter where different parties of the religious elite were asking Jesus questions in order to trap Him. Either they wanted to stump Him so they could discredit Him as a teacher. Or, they wanted to catch Him saying something against the Old Testament Scriptures in order to prove Him a false prophet. But certainly, they wanted Him to say something incriminating so that they could accuse Him of blasphemy against God and have Him put to death.

 

In this chapter, however, Jesus silenced His opponents one after the other, as we see Him do throughout the Gospels. What are we to make of this? Certainly in each question period there is wisdom to be gained about the topic of choice. For example we do learn something about our responsibility to the state and to God in Jesus’ answer, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s” (Matthew 22:23). Likewise, we learn about marriage and about life in the resurrection in His answer to the next question. And we learn about love being the foundation of keeping the commandments in the next.

 

But when Jesus follows up all of the questions from the scrum with a question of His own, we learn what He is really concerned that we get straight. “What do you think about the Christ?” (Matthew 22:42). Well, what do you think about Him after hearing Him answering all of these questions intending to trap Him?

 

The Pharisees and the Herodians marveled, but they left Him and went away (Matthew 22:22). The crowd was astonished at His teaching (Matthew 22:33). And finally, no one dared to ask Him any more questions from that day on (Matthew 22:46). “What do you think about the Christ?”

 

Do you have any questions for Him? What are the motives behind your questions? Are you curious about some details of spiritual matters? Do you just need to be the one who knows all the answers? Do you have a question that will show everyone how intelligent or pious you are? Are you caught in some sinful situation and looking for a way out? Are you trying to discredit something Jesus said that is incompatible with the way you want to live your life, or your hope for how things will play out on the Last Day when He comes again?

 

The Old Testament Reading for today reveals to us that Jesus did not just come to give us the answers for the difficult questions of life. He certainly has them and gives them in His Word to the extent that we need to know them. But like His terminal question to the Pharisees, He wants to direct us to the one question that is truly important, the question upon which all other bits of knowledge rests. “What do you think about the Christ?”

 

Does He have all of the answers for you or is He just one source to go to as you choose what kind of answer you want to hear? Did He ensure that His answers were written faithfully in the Bible or is there some kind of mental exercise we have to go through in order to get to His answers for us somewhere behind the text of the Scriptures? Did He authorize apostles (like Paul in our Epistle reading today) to give answers on His behalf, or are only the parts of the New Testament printed in red binding for me, or perhaps just the answers that make sense to me or that fit in with the way I want to live my life and don’t cause too much friction with family or friends?

 

Proverbs chapter 8 speaks about wisdom, but in such a way that it is clear that it speaking about the One who became wisdom in the flesh. Jesus did not just possess wisdom or speak wisdom or impart wisdom. Jesus Himself is the Wisdom of God, the wisdom expressed in God’s Word, the Word made flesh who dwelt among us (John 1:14). In our Old Testament reading today it is demonstrated that 1) Wisdom is the one who possess the gifts of the Holy Spirit; 2) Wisdom is the source of righteousness; 3) Wisdom is an expression of God’s grace; and 4) Wisdom is the eternal person who was with God when all things were created.

 

1) In Proverbs 8 Wisdom possesses the gifts of the Holy Spirit. The gifts of the Spirit are given to all who are baptized into Christ Jesus, because Christ Jesus Himself possesses the Spirit in a unique way in order to bestow the Holy Spirit upon His people where and when He pleases. But Jesus’ possession of the Holy Spirit was demonstrated clearly at His Baptism when the Spirit descended upon Him in the form of a dove and remained upon Him (Matthew 3:16). Throughout His ministry on earth Jesus gave freely of this Spirit to His disciples, and to the apostles in particular (John 20:22).

 

Even when the Holy Spirit was evident upon all of the disciples on the Day of Pentecost, this happened when they were gathered in the name of the Jesus on the Lord’s Day. Then, when the crowd hearkened to Peter’s sermon, 3000 of them were baptized in the name of Jesus and received the Holy Spirit also (Acts 2:38).

 

In Proverbs chapter 8, Wisdom is said to possess particularly the gifts that are spoken of in reference to the Messiah. “I, wisdom,... find knowledge... the fear of the LORD.... I have counsel and [understanding]; I have insight; I have strength” (Proverbs 8:12-14). The prophet Isaiah makes it clear that these gifts identify the Saviour whom God sends into the world.

 

“There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse [a descendant from the family tree of King David’s father], and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and [strength], the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD” (Isaiah 11:1-2). Jesus Christ, the descendant of King David, and of David’s father Jesse, is this promised Saviour. He is the one who possesses these gifts of the Spirit.

 

Isaiah further prophesied the promise of God concerning the Saviour: “Behold My servant, whom I uphold, My chosen, in whom My soul delights; I have put My Spirit upon Him...” (Isaiah 42:1). Jesus Christ is the Saviour sent from God; He is the Son [or descendant] of David in the flesh. He is also Divine Wisdom, who possesses all of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, in such a way that the Holy Spirit proceeds from Him. “What do you say about the Christ?”

 

2) Jesus as Divine Wisdom is also the source of all righteousness, even the righteousness for this life. He does have the answer to questions that directly reflect our lives here and now. Jesus was asked, “Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” (Matthew 22:17). He answered, not just by way of advice or guidance. He answered as the One Person in human flesh who, as the Wisdom of God, determines what is right and what is wrong.

 

In our Old Testament Reading He had already answered the question. “By Me kings reign, and rulers decree what is just; by Me princes rule, and nobles, all who govern justly” (Proverbs 8:15-16). So, as Jesus said in His answer to the Herodians, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s” (Matthew 22:21). That is what is right. That is the righteousness of God for our life in this world.

 

When kings are honored and rulers obeyed, when princes are paid and nobles heeded, we recognize that behind them stands the righteousness of divine Wisdom. Behind them stands Christ Himself. He is the source of all just and right laws upon which all who are in authority build their systems of justice. It was to a king (King David) that God clearly promised the coming of Christ as one of David’s offspring who would rule over the kingdom of God forever, whose kingdom shall have no end, and whose righteousness is given to those who have faith in Him.

 

Jesus Christ is that one promised to King David. Jesus was born in David’s city and He is the One whom the wise men sought to worship as born King of the Jews (Matthew 2). This is the title under which Jesus was condemned, crucified, and died for His people (John 19). As King of kings and Lord of lords He will come to judge the living and the dead, and His kingdom will have no end.

 

In answer to our questions about whether or not to obey the government, we do not only have Jesus’ teaching but His very Person. It is in the shadow of such rulers as the Roman emperors Caligula and Nero that the apostles speak Jesus’ continuing wisdom to the church, as we find in Paul’s letter to the Christians in Rome: “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment” (Romans 13:1-2).

 

Only the Christ sent to suffer and die for the sins of the world under the Roman Governor Pontius Pilate can know and reveal the wisdom of submitting to such an authority. It is in line with the eternal divine wisdom of God that planned for salvation through the death and resurrection of Jesus, planned even before the world began. “What do you say about the Christ?”

 

3) The Wisdom who speaks in Proverbs chapter 8 is also an expression of God’s grace. He is God’s expression of unmerited mercy to all who place their faith in Him. “I love those who love Me, and those who seek Me, diligently find Me... enduring wealth and righteousness. My fruit is better than gold... granting an inheritance to those who love Me and filling their treasuries” (Proverbs 8:17-21).

 

God bestows His love upon all who love Him for that love. “We love because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19). He does not hide Himself away but reveals Himself to us by giving Himself in the Person of Jesus Christ. And when we find the gift of Divine Wisdom in the person of Jesus Christ, we find what God has sent out to us, presented to us, and held up in front of our eyes. We don’t deserve that kind of giving. He doesn’t make us earn a degree in higher education. He doesn’t make us climb a mountaintop to discover a secret in cave in which there is an ancient carving in the rock.

 

Jesus thanked the Father that the grace of God was revealed to little children, and was not reserved for the wise and understanding (Matthew 11:25). In fact, the worldly wise are the ones who have a hard time finding the kingdom of God. Just look at the Pharisees, the Herodians, and the Sadducees. That is because the kingdom of God is not obtained by intellectual accomplishments. It is rather a gift and so accessible to all.

 

It is a giving God who gives not just wisdom but treasures, too. When the gift of the Saviour was revealed to Mary, the mother of Jesus, she recognized that she had been given things to treasure and ponder in her heart (Luke 2:19). When Jesus preached the wisdom of God, that is when He preached about Himself, He told the people to provide themselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail (Luke 12:33). He gives and He is the gift, for He is the gift of Divine Wisdom who grants all of the eternal treasures of heaven to those who receive Him. “What do you say about the Christ?”

 

4) Solomon’s Book of Proverbs says that the LORD possessed this person of Wisdom at the beginning of His work of creation. That is, this person of Wisdom is eternal as God. And so it is revealed to us in the beginning of the Gospel of John, pointing us back to the existence of Jesus (the Word made flesh) alongside God the Father from eternity.

 

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him was not any thing made that was made.... The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:1-2, 14). “What do you say about the Christ?” Whose Wisdom is He?

 

What does this mean for the questions that you have for Jesus? He is not the One to go to if you want to ask things that will show off your intelligence. He is a giver of grace, not One before whom you have to prove how smart you are? Whose Wisdom is He? He is not One source of wisdom out of many. He is the only divine, eternal wisdom of truth and light and righteousness. Whose wisdom is He? He is not a source of trivia. He is not a citation to make acceptable the ways of the world or your own opinions about any number of issues. Whose Wisdom is He? He is the Wisdom of the Eternal God because He is the Eternal God.

 

Whose Wisdom is He? Most importantly He is your Wisdom. He is the Wisdom of God given to you as a gift, the Wisdom of God that proclaims your salvation through His own sacrificial death for the sins of the world. He is the Wisdom that planned for your salvation from before the creation of the world, who revealed that plan for your salvation throughout the history of the world, and not only revealed it in His own Person as Jesus Christ, but enacted it, proclaimed it, and made it the foundation of the Church. Whose Wisdom is He? He is your Wisdom united to you in Holy Baptism that you might receive all of His gifts, share and live in His righteousness, and have the enduring treasures of eternal life in Him.