In yesterday’s post, I highlighted the way Luke’s theme of exaltation through lowliness helped explain (1) the different way he introduces the Sermon (different from Matthew) and (2) the different way he presented the Sermon’s opening blessings. I want to make one more similar observation here.

Children of Wisdom

In Matthew 11 and Luke 7, both Gospel writers portray Jesus speaking directly to a growing controversy, a scandalous issue in Jesus’s ministry: How can Jesus and John announce the arrival of God’s long awaited kingdom and yet everyone around them responds with, “Meh. That can’t be what the prophets are pointing us towards. There’s no way these guys—John and Jesus—are kingdom come.”

The way Matthew and Luke bring Jesus’s response to a conclusion is slightly different, in one small but significant way:

Matthew 11:19 — Wisdom is justified by her deeds.

Luke 7:35 — Wisdom is justified by all her children.

Tax Collectors

Luke’s “by all her children” is important in the context of chapter 7. In the previous verses, Luke includes some unique material that connects directly to unexpected, lowly people “justifying” (δικαιόω) God and his wisdom.

In Luke 7:24–28, Jesus speaks directly to those following him and defends John the Baptist as “the greatest of those born among women … more than a prophet!” Jesus says that John is the true forerunner of God’s coming kingdom (Luke 7:26–28). Now the unique part, unique in comparison with Matthew. Matthew doesn’t have this tidbit about the tax collectors: In Luke 7:29–30, Luke records the response of certain people who listened to Jesus talk about John,

All the people who heard him—and the tax collectors—justified God because they had been baptized into the baptism of John, but the Pharisees and Torah specialists rejected God’s plan for themselves because they had not been baptized by John.

Connections

There’s at least three connections between the tax collectors in Luke 7:29 and the children who justify wisdom in Luke 7:35:

1. The context of both statements is about God’s wisdom: βουλή in 7:30 and σοφία in 7:35.
2. In both contexts, God and his wisdom are “justified” certain people: δικαιόω is the verb used in 7:29 and in 7:35.
3. In both contexts, it’s certain people who do the justifying, rather than mere deeds in Matthew.
   

There’s a fourth connection, too.

4. Both contexts include the little word “all” (πᾶς): “All the people” (πᾶς ὀ λαός) justify God in 7:29 and “all wisdom’s children” (πάντων τῶν τέκνων) justify wisdom in 7:35.
   

Conclusion

How does it help to see these connections? Making the connections above adds a rich layer of honor to the way you, as the reader of Luke, see and understand the tax collectors, and it adds dark hues to your perception of the Pharisees and Torah specialists of Jesus’s day, both of which are very much the rhetorical point of Luke 7. It also invites you as the reader to step into “all the people” that recognize God’s wisdom at work in Jesus and his way in the world.

The whole point of this chapter is to speak to the growing tension: “John and Jesus can’t be the ones!” Luke shows you in the poetic way he has arranged his stories that they most certainly are the ones, but you need a certain vantage point to see it. You have to be humble and lowly enough to see what is true in Jesus and John. You have to be children to see and justify this wisdom. The tax collectors are the positive exemplars, and the religious leaders are the negative. You, as the reader of Luke, have the opportunity to join “all the people” (πᾶς ὀ λαός) and justify God in Christ.

As a reader, if you see this point, it’s a good time to stop and pray, “Lord, help me to be like them. Don’t let me miss you and your wisdom in the world.”