The Beginning and End of Wisdom - Monergism Books

Greater Than Solomon?The Beginning and End of WisdomJesus made many striking claims. Perhaps the most striking waswhen he referenced the queen of Sheba’s visit to King Solomon. OurLord said, “The queen of the South will rise up at the judgmentwith this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends ofthe earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, somethinggreater than Solomon is here” (Matt. 12:42). I love that. Really,Jesus, you are greater and wiser than the wisest man ever to live?Well, what if he is? What if Jesus is, as the apostles testify, wisdomtruly and fully and ultimately embodied? What if, as Paul says inColossians 2:3, “all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” arehidden in Christ?Let’s think about this a bit further. Jesus certainly spoke like asage, the sage par excellence:Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed.The sick need doctors, not the well.No one can serve two masters.The measure you give will be the measure you get back.Many are called, but few are chosen.A tree is known by its fruits.One’s life does not consist in the abundance of one’s possessions.A city set on a hill cannot be hid.All that defiles comes from within.Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring troubles of its own.All who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves be exalted.Whoever seeks to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses it will save it.The first shall be last, and the last first. 16Jesus’s proverbial sayings, parables, beatitudes, and many otherfigures of speech—including his allegories and hyperboles—wemight call Proverbs 2.0: conventional wisdom style, unlimitedwisdom capacity. 17 Like the sage of Proverbs 1:2–6, Jesus taught44