Luke 2:40 And the child grew and
became strong, filled with wisdom. And the favor of God was upon
him… 52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor
with God and man.
Next to the
writer of the Letter to the Hebrews, Luke’s is the most eloquent Greek in the
New Testament. Every word is intentional, and he adapts many Old Testament
Hebrew writing styles and blends them with the most current Greek trends of his
day. An example of this is the parallel statements above. They seem to say much
the same thing: As Jesus grew up physically, he also grew in wisdom, and, as a
result, he increased in “grace” (charis) with
God and people.
It is
interesting the Luke put these sentences as a sandwich around the story of
Jesus staying behind in the temple in Jerusalem and impressing the teachers of
the law that a twelve year old would understand more than they did. This
certainly serves as an example of Jesus’ growth in wisdom and favor. While
these verses give us a lot to think about in the nature of Jesus’ incarnation as
one fully God yet still needing to grow in wisdom, they also give us a lot to
think about in our own lives.
Note the direct
connection between our level of wisdom and our level of favor with God and
others. Wisdom (sofia) in the Greek
world was not just knowledge, but an understanding of how to apply that
knowledge to life and living accordingly. The smartest people are not always
the wisest, but wise people are always in huge demand. Just ask any employer.
Growing in wisdom helps us in every area of life. How can we grow wiser? James
tells us to ask God for it (James 1:5), and Paul prays for God to give wisdom
to his readers (Eph 1:17 & Col 1:9). Similarly, Solomon’s wisdom was a gift
of God after his own prayer for it (I Kings 4:29). It is my daily prayer that
God would grant me wisdom and the courage to use it. May he increase your
wisdom and favor today, as well.
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