MAKING WISE THE SIMPLE

          Paul declares, without faith it is impossible to please God (Heb.11:6).  A similar corollary, though not derived from any one particular Biblical citation, might read:  without humility it is impossible to have faith.  It was to those with child-like faith (a spirit of humility) that the wisdom from above was revealed by God (Mt.11:25-26).  Throughout the Bible we sense a strong antipathy between God and the high-minded intellectual elites.  This is especially noticeable in the New Testament - - in the fourfold gospels one observes a steady clash between Jesus and the Pharisees. 

          Without a doubt Jesus’ most strident and censorious words were directed at the scribes and Pharisees (cf. Mt.23:1ff).  Since Jesus was “God in the flesh” one could reasonably ask, Why was God so condemnatory of the scribes and Pharisees?  The answer comes in a saying that many of us have heard in our growing up years:  THEY WERE TOO BIG FOR THEIR BRITCHES.   To denounce all of the scribes and Pharisees would be to paint  with a brush too broad.  However, the exceptions do appear to be few and far between.  In all fairness, it would not be correct to conclude that all scribes and Pharisees were arrogant beyond measure.  The Jewish historian Josephus estimated that some 6,000 Pharisees lived during the time of Jesus.  Among these we only read of humility among three:  Nicodemus (Jn.3:1-2); Joseph of Arimathea (Lk.23:50-51); and Gamaliel (Acts 5:34).  God’s Word is undeniable clear:  God is opposed to the proud but gives grace to the humble (Js.4:6 - - cf. Ps.138:6; Prov.3:34; Mt.23:12 & 1Pet.5:5).  

          An upbeat Solomon exhorts, trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding (Prov.3:5).  A somewhat down-cast Solomon confesses, In much learning there is much grief (Eccl.1:18).  There is a significant difference between human knowledge and Divine wisdom.  Have you ever known a really smart person who seems to lack “wisdom from above”?  When we dethrone God and Christ as the true fountain of wisdom, we’re headed for ultimate disaster.  This was precisely the problem with the scribes and Pharisees.  Though highly intellectual, the Pharisees lacked two essential pre-requisites for faith:  humility and wisdom.  Jesus emphasized these virtues in a picture story aimed squarely at them - - He told this parable to certain ones who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and viewed others with contempt (Lk.18:9).

          In the days of Noah, the world viewed the words and works of Noah to be foolish and foolhardy.  Sadly, as a result only eight souls were saved from the flood.  In our day there remains many, like those of the first century, who deem the word of the cross to be foolishness (1Cor.1:18).  As an apostle, Paul was a bright light, a rare learned intellectual among the apostolic band.  Yet Paul was utterly humbled by the message of the cross. In writing to the church of Corinth, a culture immersed in and mesmerized by the so-called wisdom of Pythagoras, Herodotus, Herodotus, Socrates, Archimedes, Plato, Aristotle, Seneca, etal., Paul asserts, I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified (1Cor.2:2).

                                                                                                          Terry Siverd / Cortland Church of Christ