During Jesus’ time on earth he performed many miracles that pointed toward the kingdom of God. However, just like the skeptics of today, many people at that time were cynical and critical of Jesus. It didn’t seem to matter how great the miracle he performed, in many towns the people were not repenting and putting their trust and faith in him. In Matthew 11:20-30 Jesus addressed this issue. He first denounced the towns in which he performed the majority of his miracles because the people there did not repent. Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children” (Matthew 11:25). In this verse, Jesus is saying that the truth of God’s Word has been hidden from those who are wise in their own eyes. Individuals who are wise in their own eyes lack a fear of God, and they make their own way in the world rather than relying on God. In this verse, these “wise” individuals didn’t believe in Jesus’ message because his message challenged their worldly values.
This is still true today. Many people don’t trust the Word of God and instead would rather trust in their own knowledge of how the world works. They believe that their own knowledge and reasoning are all they need. The truth has been hidden from these individuals because they are not willing to see it. Not so for the little children, Jesus says. By little children Jesus is referring to those who are meek and humble rather than those who are filled with pride. Those who accepted Jesus’ message had a childlike faith and believed in his Word even though it was often contrary to their worldly values. Jesus has given us a choice. We can trust in our own knowledge, which brings about skepticism and doubt in the Word of God, or we can have childlike faith that God’s wisdom is far better than our own.
What Does This Teach Us About Jesus?
We have to understand that Jesus was not performing miracles for his own glory, but to point the way toward the kingdom of God. Jesus came to save all people! However, not all people believed and many people distrusted the sincerity of Jesus’ message. In many of the towns where Jesus performed his miracles, repentance was not taking place. People believed in the miracles but not the man. This did not deter Jesus and he persevered in his obedience to his Father.
How Does This Apply To Us Today?
We have to realize that our knowledge ultimately comes from God, and only God has all of the answers. Our own human wisdom is nothing compared with the godly wisdom we seek from our Creator and Redeemer. This does not mean that we shouldn’t gain worldly knowledge, but rather that we should give thanks to God for this knowledge and ask him to reveal his infinite wisdom to us in his time. We need to seek the truth with the faith of a child (without questioning or doubting) and be confident in God’s promises. When we believe fully in Jesus’ message, and submit to his authority, our eyes will be opened to the full glory of God.
Take Action: What do you rely on when you feel burdened, stressed, or tired? Make a list and then determine if what you depend on has a worldly focus or a godly focus. If your list has more worldly focused solutions, figure out ways to make these more Jesus focused solutions. An example might be that when you feel stressed, instead of complaining (which is worldly focused) you turn to God and take your issues to Him through prayer.
Meditate on Scripture – James 1: 5-6 – If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. But 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.
Awesome blog, I really enjoyed reading it! Can it be shares on social media?
Hi Carla, Thanks for the response. You should be able to share this on Facebook and Twitter by clicking on either of those icons at the bottom of each post.