Journey to ResolveResolution 13: Rely on the Wisdom of God

 

The Parthenon. Not the famous one in Greece, but “the world’s only exact-size replica of the original Parthenon in Athens” (https://www.nashvilleparthenon.com/). You can visit it in Nashville, Tennessee.

It seems like the one in Athens would’ve been a great place to exchange wisdom. It certainly looks like the perfect venue, but the Parthenon is not known for that.

There is a place where wisdom and truth was taught at a temple where similar columns once stood. It’s called the Second Temple, a rebuilding of Solomon’s Temple. It’s also known as Herod’s Temple, and it’s where Jesus taught at times when He was in Jerusalem. There, at the Second Temple, Jesus shared His perfect wisdom with Jews and Gentiles alike, depending on where he was on any given day. He spoke about life as He expressed the truth of God to eager listeners (Mark 12:41, Mark 14:49, John10:23, Luke 19:47-48).

 

I’m pleased that we have the opportunity to hear from Jesus in a few resolutions beginning with the last one and continuing into this one and the next. If Jesus walked the earth today, we would surely want to hear from Him. Who better to learn from than the One who is perfectly in tune with God, His Father.

The religious leaders failed to recognize the awareness and wisdom of Jesus, as we will explore in Luke 20 where we find our 20:26 verse for this resolution. Jesus had entered Jerusalem during His final week on earth. He rode in on a donkey and made His way to the Second Temple where he drove out those who were using the temple courtyard for their own financial gain (John 2:13-16, Luke 19:45-46). They were taking advantage of the Jews who came to worship and disrupting the atmosphere outside of the temple walls where the Gentiles worshiped.

Afterwards, He taught at the temple every day even though the religious leaders wanted to kill Him. His following was great, so they needed a good plan. Since they didn’t have a case to incriminate Jesus from a religious standpoint, they tried to trick Him into offending the civil powers. They wanted the governor to have reason to prosecute Jesus. Their plan: spies would pretend to be people in the crowd and ask Jesus a question about taxes that would expose His devotion to God instead of Rome.

 

So the spies questioned him:
“Teacher, we know that you speak and teach what is right,
and that you do not show partiality but teach the way of God and the truth.
Is it right for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?

 

Luke: 20:21-22

 

Jesus saw right through their deception (Luke20:23) and left them speechless in our 20:26 verse for this resolution.

 

“Show me a denarius. Whose image and inscription are on it?”
“Caesar’s,” they replied.
He said to them, “Then give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s,
and to God what is God’s”
They were unable to trap him in what he had said there in public.
And astonished by his answer, they became silent.

 

Luke: 20:24-26

 

If they had actually known Jesus, they wouldn’t have been astonished. But for us, this illustrates Resolution #13: I will rely on the wisdom of God. Here are a couple ways this story illustrates the help we gain when we rely on the wisdom of God.

1. Relying on God’s wisdom helps avert issues we may not even know about.

God helps us. Sometimes we notice or recognize this in hindsight.

Our Savior knew the spies were not just people in the crowd. He also knew they weren’t simply imposters but were bad guys on a mission. The parallel passages in Matthew 22:15-22 and Mark12:13-17 identify the spies as Pharisees or disciples of Pharisees. We already discussed the fact that there is an organized attack against anyone who follows Jesus – organized by Satan, the leader of this world (see Resolution 9: RiseAbove the Naysayers).

There are spiritual forces out to get us, waiting to trip us up, working to defame us, scheming to lure us away from Jesus, planting doubt into the cracks of our faith. But we have the wisdom of God that is aware of the danger that slips past us, no matter how guarded we may be. And along with God’s wisdom, He gives us His peace, so we don’t need to be paranoid about our opposition (Philippians 4:6-7, 1 Peter 5:7).

 

**** Click to tweet ****

God helps us.
Sometimes we notice.
God is aware of the danger
that slips past us.

****

 

Our own wisdom or the wisdom of others may not align with God’s wisdom, so we’re certainly not talking about wisdom in general. We’re talking about God’s wisdom. We can tell if we’re allowing God’s wisdom to guide us. It will be evident in our character: “pure, peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere” (James 3:17, read verses 13-18 as well along with Ephesians 5:6-10 for a description of contrasting ungodly wisdom).

God’s wisdom is not passive. It is productive. With God’s wisdom, our everyday lives include living rightly, loving peace, showing mercy, and other God-inspired activities. This puts us in a ready position, even when we don’t realize we’re under attack. So, our second example of the help we gain when we rely on the wisdom of God is this:

2. Relying on God’s wisdom helps us respond productively.

For Jesus, relying on God’s wisdom helped Him speak the right words which silenced the Pharisees. We may not have perfect reliance on God to respond with the creative wisdom of our Savior, but He will give us wisdom when we ask for it (James 1:5-8). We can trust Him to supply the right words and the appropriate prompting for action.

 

**** Click to tweet ****

We may not have
perfect reliance on God
to respond with the
creative wisdom of our Savior,
but He will give us wisdom when we ask for it.

****

 

…when you ask, you must believe and not doubt,
because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea,
blown and tossed by the wind.

 

James 1:6

 

Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways submit to him,
and he will make your paths straight.
Do not be wise in your own eyes;
fear the Lord and shun evil.

 

Proverbs 3:5-7

 

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge,
but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

 

Proverbs 1:7

 

Our own idea of wisdom can get in the way of God’s productive wisdom. Relying on God’s wisdom begins with knowing He is present, obeying Him, and trusting Him and His promptings in our hearts. So, if you feel a nudge when you interact with people, consider that it is coming from God and respond accordingly.

Let us rely on the wisdom of God. God is aware of hidden traps, and He prompts us with productive action.

 

2 more resolutions coming soon...

The resolutions and Bible books in this series:

I will…

1.    Worship God Alone (Exodus 20:24)

2.    Be More Holy (Leviticus 20:24)

3.    Aim High (Numbers 20:24)

4.    Trust in God’s Strength (Judges 20:25)

5.    Nurture Quality Friendships (1 Samuel 20:25)

6.    Stand for God’s Government (2 Samuel 20:25)

7.    Follow God through Highs and Lows (1 Kings 20:25)

8.    Let God Win My Battles (2 Chronicles 20:25)

9.    Rise Above the Naysayers (Job 20:25)

10. Trust God’s Ways (Proverbs 20:25)

11. Allow God to Correct Me (Ezekiel 20:25)

12. Serve Others Without the Glory (Matthew 20:26)

13. Rely On the Wisdom of God (Luke 20:26)

14. Trust the Words of My Savior (John 20:26)

15. Complete the Work God Has for Me (Acts 20:26)

 

If you want to dialog more about God’s wisdom, feel free to leave a comment or email me at authordlv@att.net.

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