Learning from Jesus in Proverbs

Bible's most well-known book of wisdom, Proverbs.

Let me ask you, how do you read it and interpret it?

For that matter, how do you read and interpret any Old Testament book?

Do you read it the same way as an Orthodox Jew would read it today?

You know, a faithful Jewish person believes that the Old Testament is the Word of God.

But they do not believe that Jesus is the Old Testament's promised Messiah.

They do not believe that the New Testament is the authoritative Word of God.

An Orthodox Jew would read the book of Proverbs to learn lessons on how to live wisely.

How to live a morally good life.

But he or she would not consider how Jesus Christ fits into Proverbs.

Nor would they turn to the New Testament and allow God's Word there shed light on understanding Proverbs.

They wouldn't do that with any Old Testament book.

I want us to understand this morning.

I want us to be real, very clear.

We as Christians must not read Proverbs or any book of the Old Testament as if Jesus had never come.

As if He had never come into this world.

As if He has not come into this world and taught and died on the cross for our sins.

And risen and ascended back into heaven.

And sent His Holy Spirit.

And gave us a fuller explanation of who God is and what God's doing in this world through the New Testament.

In the life and ministry of Jesus.

God reveals Himself and His plan.

His plan of salvation.

His plan for what He's doing in this world period.

He reveals it more clearly and more completely than He did in the Old Testament.

And the Bible explains that.

Look on the screen at Hebrews chapter 1.

Hebrews 1 · chapter mention

The first three verses.

It says,

In the past, God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways.

Now that writer is explaining how God has spoken through the Old Testament.

But in these last days, He has spoken to us by His Son.

Whom He appointed heir of all things.

And through whom also He made the universe.

The Son is the radiance of God's glory.

And the exact representation of His being.

Sustaining all things by His powerful Word.

The book of Hebrews is a great place to look, to study.

To understand the Old Testament as we should understand it today.

For an example, in the book of Hebrews, you'll find that the Old Testament sacrifices,

the temple, the priesthood, things like this.

They were signs that pointed to Jesus Christ.

They pointed way into the future.

To the coming of Jesus.

And who He was and what He would do.

Hebrews describes these things in the Old Testament as being like shadows.

But the reality is found in Jesus Christ.

Now that Jesus has come.

He's completed His work of providing salvation.

Those signs from the Old Testament are no longer needed.

They have served their purpose.

They now are still the Word of God.

But what they pointed to has come in Jesus.

For an example,

why don't we ever go,

why don't we think we have to go to Jerusalem and worship in the temple?

Why don't we continue to offer animal sacrifices

and observe those dietary laws and rituals that we learn about,

for example, in the book of Leviticus?

The reason being,

those shadows have been replaced by the reality of what God has done in Jesus.

In who He is and in what He did when He came into this world.

Understanding this will help us to see why we must read the Old Testament

in light of God's more complete revelation detailed in the New Testament.

That means we must not leave Jesus out of our study of the Old Testament,

including the book of Proverbs.

You know, Jesus made it clear to both His own disciples and to His enemies

that the Old Testament reveals me.

Jesus told them,

I'm there.

You just haven't read it.

You just haven't understood it.

Let me give you two examples.

Jesus actually condemned His opponents.

Those Jewish leaders who were always trying to trap Him,

out to get Him.

He condemned them for not believing what the Old Testament taught about Him.

Look in John chapter 5.

John 5 · chapter mention

Jesus said,

You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life.

And it is they that bear witness about me.

Jesus was chastising them,

condemning them,

because they failed to see Him in the Old Testament.

Going on in Luke chapter 24,

Luke 24 · chapter mention

following His resurrection,

Jesus rebuked two of His own disciples

for their failure to see Him in their Scriptures,

which was the Old Testament.

Look at it.

And He said to them,

O foolish ones,

and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken.

Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things

and enter into His glory?

And beginning with Moses and all the prophets,

He interpreted to them in all the Scriptures,

I underline that and put it in bold on the screen,

the things concerning Himself.

As we study Proverbs,

it's important that we open that book

and read it, study it, interpret it,

just like any other book of the Bible that we open.

As we read in Proverbs in the weeks to come,

and I don't think I said it in case you're here for the first time,

we're in a study called Becoming Wise.

We're going to be focusing primarily on the book of Proverbs.

As we open these pages in the book of Proverbs,

we're going to be looking at the meaning of words.

We're going to think about the day in which they were written,

their context that way.

We're going to look at the context,

where they're found,

the Scriptures before them and after them.

But we're also going to look at the big context of the Bible.

The book of Proverbs does not exist in isolation.

The book of Proverbs is a part of the Old and New Testament together,

our Bible.

That means we need to read Proverbs in light of

the person and work of Jesus Christ

as explained in the New Testament.

That's the goal of today's message.

I want us to see how we as Christians

should study Proverbs

in light of God's fuller revelation of Himself

and His plan in Jesus

and in the New Testament witness to Jesus.

I'm going to use some material from a man

by the name of Anthony Salvaggio.

Anthony Salvaggio.

He is a pastor and theologian from New York.

And he has written a little commentary,

not real long,

on the book of Proverbs.

And he pointed out some things about how

Jesus fits into Proverbs

and explained it so well

that I want to share some of it.

I'm adapting it some.

If you've got his book,

you may say,

well, you misrepresented him.

So I'm not going to say,

I'm saying everything he said.

But I am using his material a good bit.

It's a good little study,

what I've read of it,

but this part especially.

If you're interested in further study,

pick it up.

In our first study of Proverbs two weeks ago,

we began in chapter 1, verses 1 through 6.

And we found that the purpose of this book,

the book of Proverbs,

is to make us wise.

We saw in that message

that while Proverbs will certainly teach us

much about wisdom,

and we need it, don't we?

The greatest source of wisdom

is found in Jesus Christ.

And Jesus makes that very clear

in the New Testament.

And we read it last week,

but let me refresh your memory.

Actually, two weeks ago.

Matthew chapter 12.

Matthew 12 · chapter mention

Jesus said this,

The queen of the south

will arise at the judgment

and with this generation

and condemn it.

For she came from the ends of the earth

to listen to Solomon's wisdom,

and now one greater than Solomon

is here.

Proverbs begins.

These are the Proverbs.

These are the sayings,

the teachings of Solomon.

They're not all from Solomon,

as we saw two weeks ago.

But the book of Proverbs,

we normally associate

the wisdom of Solomon,

the wisest man who ever lived.

And Jesus says,

in himself,

well, look at me.

One greater than Solomon,

one wiser than Solomon,

is here before you.

That's why we need to listen to Jesus

as we study wisdom

wherever in the Bible.

Let's look in more detail now

at what Jesus

and how Jesus

will teach us wisdom.

First,

Jesus taught

that the entire Old Testament

points to him.

Jesus himself taught,

you cannot have a full understanding

of the Old Testament

if you leave me out.

Look at what he said.

I want to read one verse.

It's the same as several verses

we saw a minute ago

or from several verses.

Luke 24, 27.

And beginning with Moses

and all the prophets,

he interpreted to them

and all the scriptures

the things concerning himself.

But then Jesus went on

in that same chapter 24 of Luke

to say this.

It's on the screen.

Then he said to them,

these are my words

that I spoke to you

while I was still with you

that everything written about me

in the law of Moses

and the prophets

and the Psalms

must be fulfilled.

That was his way

of describing

the whole Old Testament.

Then he opened their minds

to understand the scripture.

Understand the scriptures.

That's verse 45 there.

I want you to think about that.

Jesus opened their minds

to understand the scriptures.

Do you know that

while we should,

we must read the Bible

for ourselves.

I mean,

God expects you.

God will never give you knowledge

just out of the blue.

He's not going to just zap you

and make you wise

about the things of God.

God expects us

to open the Bible,

to read it,

to study it,

to think about it.

Just let it sink in.

Try to understand it.

Try to figure it out.

But the only way

that we're ever really going

to understand

what God is saying

and how it applies

to our lives

is if God enables us.

And God will enable us

if we're Christians

through his Holy Spirit

who lives within us.

That's what Jesus was telling

his disciples there

about himself.

The English Standard Version,

ESV Study Bible,

has a good note

on verse 45.

Look at it.

They say,

true understanding

of the Scriptures

so that one understands

how all of redemptive history

fits together

is a gift of God.

God has to be the one

to sort of turn the light on

for us to understand

his Word

and to understand

how the New Testament

completes,

fulfills

that which is taught

in the Old Testament.

Let's look now

more specifically

at why we cannot

exclude Jesus

from our study

of wisdom

in Proverbs.

Number two,

Jesus demonstrated wisdom

throughout his earthly life.

I want you to really

pay attention here.

I want you to note

with me

how from childhood,

from childhood,

Jesus Christ

was wise.

He demonstrated it.

He grew in wisdom

as the God-man

that He was.

Jesus revealed wisdom,

His wisdom,

at the beginning

of His life.

Luke chapter 2,

Luke 2:40

verse 40.

The very first description

of Jesus as a child

says this,

and the child grew

and became strong,

filled with wisdom.

The only things

that we know about

Jesus as an infant,

as a little child,

Matthew 1

and Luke chapter 2.

Luke 2 · chapter mention

Luke is telling us here,

after he's told us

about the birth of Jesus,

Luke is doing

sort of a summary statement here.

Jesus still,

this little child,

how He grew,

became strong,

and even then

filled with wisdom.

The next thing Luke tells us

is the only information

we have

from Jesus

as a little child

until He was 30 years old.

That's a big gap,

isn't it?

Jesus as a little child

and then He's 30 years old.

What happened?

Well, we don't know.

And I want to encourage you,

don't waste your money

and time reading a book

that fills in the story

for you

as to what Jesus did,

what was going on

between His childhood

and adulthood.

Nobody knows.

We're not intended to know

because it's not

in God's Word.

But there's one incident.

One thing did happen

that the Scripture tells us about

when Jesus was 12 years old.

He went to the temple.

He sat with the Jewish teachers.

He sat with the scholars of His day.

And He listened to them teach.

He understood what they were talking about.

He asked questions.

And just by, I guess,

the way He sat there,

the way He listened,

and the questions that He asked,

they were just blown away.

They were just so impressed

with the 12-year-old Jesus.

And this is how Luke describes Him.

Luke chapter 2, verse 47.

Luke 2:47

And all who heard Him

were amazed at His understanding

and His answers.

Smart people.

Jewish scholarly types,

as well as the common people.

all were amazed

at His understanding

and His answers.

Not questions here.

And His answers.

Now Luke goes on

in this same chapter

to conclude this account

of Jesus' early life like this.

Luke 2, 52.

And Jesus increased in wisdom

and in stature

and in favor

with God and man.

man.

Jesus is described

as being wise

as we see Him.

He demonstrates it

as a 12-year-old.

He's described here

as one who was wise

and grew in wisdom

as He grew into adulthood.

Now Jesus also revealed

His wisdom

throughout His public

teaching ministry.

There's many examples

we could turn to.

Jesus' wisdom

was evident

in the way He taught,

the content of His teaching.

Here's an example

from Mark chapter 6

Mark 6 · chapter mention

and verse 2.

It says,

And on the Sabbath,

He began to teach

in the synagogue.

And many who heard Him

were astonished,

saying,

Where did this man

get these things?

What is the wisdom

given to Him?

See,

when Jesus came on the scene,

He was unknown.

Or the ones who knew Him,

they knew His parents.

He was not

a well-trained,

formerly trained rabbi.

But they were blown away

with what Jesus taught,

the content of His teaching,

the wisdom

that He displayed.

And then Jesus' wisdom

is also seen

in one of His primary

teaching methods,

the parable.

If you know anything

about the teaching of Jesus,

if you know anything

about Matthew, Mark,

and Luke especially,

Jesus taught many things

about the kingdom of God,

about life,

by telling little stories,

parables.

Now, the Greek word

translated parable

in the New Testament

comes from the Hebrew word

for proverbs

in the Old Testament.

So Jesus taught,

we can say,

by using proverbs.

Just like we see

in the book of Proverbs,

except He demonstrated

and He taught

greater wisdom.

Jesus demonstrated wisdom

throughout His life.

It was an obvious characteristic

that He possessed.

It's who He was.

And it came out

in the things that He did

and the things that He taught.

Jesus is the perfect

proverbs man,

a man of wisdom.

But wisdom is not just evident

in the earthly life

and teaching of Jesus.

Number three,

Jesus embodies wisdom.

This is more,

this is a more difficult concept

to understand,

to grasp hold of,

but the Scripture teaches it.

And so bear with me here.

Let's look,

let's think about this

real carefully.

The Apostle Paul

describes Jesus

this way

in 1 Corinthians 1,

1 Corinthians 1:30

verse 30.

By the way,

Paul describes Jesus

as being the wisdom of God

in various ways

in 1 Corinthians 1

and 2.

But look at this.

Paul writes in,

because of Him,

God,

because of Him,

he's talking about God

in the previous verse.

Because of Him,

because of God,

you are in Christ Jesus

who became to us

wisdom from God.

Jesus is a gift of wisdom.

He embodies it.

Look at what Paul said

in Colossians 2.

He says,

My goal

is that they may be

encouraged in heart

and united in love

so that they may have

the full riches

of complete understanding

in order that they may know

the mystery of God,

namely Christ,

in whom are hidden

all the treasures

of wisdom

and knowledge.

Paul,

in writing

the letter

to the Colossians,

makes much

of the glory

of Jesus Christ.

I mean,

he just points out

the supremacy

of Jesus Christ

in creation.

And a part of what

he's talking about here,

look at it there.

It's still on the screen.

Look at it.

The mystery of God,

namely Christ,

in whom are hidden

all the treasures

of wisdom

and knowledge.

Old Testament scholar,

Tremper Longden,

says that Paul

is teaching us

that Jesus

is the very

incarnation

of wisdom.

That means

he personifies

wisdom.

He embodies

wisdom.

It might help us

to think

along this line.

If you want to see

one of the greatest

demonstrations

or displays

of wisdom

in print,

read the book

of Proverbs.

I mean,

if you really want

to study

a body of material,

you can read it.

Something that's

in print.

Great wisdom.

Then you'd read

the book of Proverbs.

But,

if you want

to see

the greatest

display

of the wisdom

of God

in human form,

look at Jesus.

Jesus,

he modeled it.

He personified it

in just

who he was,

what he taught,

how he taught.

Let's look at

one more reason

for not leaving

Jesus out of our

study of Proverbs.

Jesus is the

ultimate wisdom

God calls us

to choose

to follow

in life.

Jesus is the

ultimate wisdom

that God

calls us

to make

the choice,

make the decision

to follow

in life.

Throughout the

book of Proverbs,

we're going to be

called to choose

the way of wisdom

instead of the

way of foolishness.

Throughout the

book of Proverbs,

the writer's

going to say,

if you want to

live a way

that's wise,

that'll be to

your advantage,

a way that

will make you

or enable you

to live just

the best possible

life,

then you live

this way.

Or you can

live this foolish

way.

It's up to you.

The paths

are laid out

for us.

If you live

this way,

it'll result

in you being

wise,

and it'll be

the best way

you can live.

If you live

this way,

it's a fool's

way,

and it can

kill you,

but it will

certainly hurt

you even

if you live.

Well,

in a similar

way,

we're called

in the New

Testament to

choose the way

of God

instead of

the way

of the world.

The Apostle

Paul explains

it in terms

of choosing

the secret

wisdom of

God,

now revealed

in Jesus,

instead of

the foolishness

offered by

the world.

Look with me

if you would,

1 Corinthians

1 Corinthians 2 · chapter mention

chapter 2.

But we

impart a secret

and hidden

wisdom of

God,

which God

decreed before

the ages

for our

glory.

None of the

rulers of

this age

understood

this,

for if they

had,

they would

not have

crucified the

Lord of

glory.

You know

what that

secret wisdom,

secret knowledge

is that he's

writing about?

It's about

Jesus,

the Son of

God,

the Messiah,

coming into

this world,

but not like in

the Old Testament

they thought he

would,

not like the

Jews thought he

would.

They thought and

hoped he would

come in as a

political leader,

as a military

leader.

In the first

century, the

Jews had this

hope that the

Messiah, when he

comes, he's going

to destroy the

Romans.

He's going to

set us free from

Roman rule.

He's going to

set up a new

earthly Jewish

kingdom, like we

enjoyed under

David and under

Solomon.

But God's plan

was to send his

son, the Messiah,

to save the

world a different

way.

God's plan was to

send Jesus into

the world to die

on the cross, to

pay the penalty for

our sins, so that

through faith in

him, all people

could be liberated

from sin.

All people could

be saved from

death and hell.

All people could

be free, truly,

spiritually, and

eventually, physically,

in a new heaven and

a new earth, eternal

life.

That was the great

mystery.

God was going to

unite all people in

Christ, the suffering

servant of God

through his death

on the cross.

Old Testament

scholars Raymond

Dillard and

Trimter Longman

describe this

connection between

Proverbs and Jesus

like this.

Look at it.

Thus, as Christians

read the book of

Proverbs in the

light of continued

revelation of the

New Testament, they

are confronted with

the same questions as

the ancient Israelites,

but with a different

nuance.

Will we dine with

wisdom or with

folly?

Foolishness.

The wisdom who

beckons us is none

other than Jesus

Christ, while the

folly that attempts

to seduce us is any

created thing that we

put in the place of

the Creator.

If you want to be

wise and live this

way of wisdom, you

will do it by

following Jesus.

What they're saying

is the foolish way is

just choose whatever

else you want to

choose.

Anything other than

Christ.

You can choose to

follow the crowd.

You can choose to

follow money.

You can choose to

follow popularity.

You fill in the

blank.

But in the end, the

way of following

Jesus is the wise

way.

And everything else

eventually will prove

to be the foolish

way.

As we study the

wisdom of Proverbs

over the coming

weeks, we're going

to see what God is

saying in that Old

Testament book.

Proverbs speaks to

us today.

It's relevant for

our lives today.

We're not just going

to stop with what we

see in that book as

if Jesus has not

come.

God has given us an

even greater source of

wisdom that will help

us to better understand

and live according to

the wisdom of

Proverbs.

The source of

wisdom is the person

and work of Jesus

Christ as explained,

as presented in the

New Testament.

Here's what I want us

to understand.

Jesus does more than

just help us to

understand what it

means to be wise.

Jesus can actually

help us if we are

His to live wisely

through His

indwelling Spirit.

When a person

becomes a Christian,

the Holy Spirit,

the Spirit of Christ,

the Spirit of God

comes to live within

us.

And He's the one who

will enable us to

put into practice the

teachings that we

learn, the truth that

we learn about wisdom

in the book of

Proverbs.

If we seek to live

wisely as Proverbs

teaches and the Holy

Spirit enables us,

we will be living more

and more like Jesus.

We will be conforming

more and more to His

likeness, developing His

character, which is

God's goal for us, as

you well know, as we've

studied on other

occasions.

But before we can ever

really live like Jesus,

we've got to have a

relationship with Him.

And I want you to

listen very carefully.

We're about at the end

because this is vitally

important.

Do you truly have a

relationship with Jesus

Christ?

He is your Savior and

Lord of your life.

If you have such a

relationship, you should

be able to point or

point out the way God

has and is changing

you and conforming you

more and more to the

likeness of His Son.

In other words, helping

you to develop Christ-like

character.

Lisa and I went to fall

for Greenville Friday

night.

Ate a lot of junk food,

things that, you know,

not good and healthy for

you, but we enjoyed it.

Well, in that sea of

people, we came to one

spot and there were some

individuals there who were

passing out tracts,

religious tracts.

And one person handed one

to Lisa.

He didn't hand one to me.

And I just thought, he must

think Lisa needs it more

than I do.

The little tract said,

are you born again?

Lisa brought it home and I

looked at it when we got

home.

It was an excellent tract.

It asked the question, are

you born again?

And as you opened it up, it

explained from the book of

1 John how a Christian will

live.

Very biblically sound.

If we're Christians, we will

live a certain way.

It will be evident in our

lives that God has put his

spirit in us.

We'll have a desire to love

God, to do his will, to obey

his word.

We'll have a desire to love

one another.

The book of 1 John tells us

it's written to give Christians

assurance of their salvation and

it explains what really will

happen, how a Christian will

think, how a Christian will

feel, how a Christian will

want to live in this world.

Salvation is by the grace of

God through faith in Jesus.

But saving faith is

continuing faith.

Saving faith is not invisible.

James tells us, as we've said

it on Sunday morning even, not

too long ago.

Saving faith is life-altering

faith.

If we truly are believers in

Jesus Christ, it'll be evident

in the way that we live our

lives in our home, where we work,

where you go to school, wherever

you are.

Is such faith, saving faith, life-altering

faith evident in your life?

It really does not matter if you

claim to be a Christian.

I'm a Christian because I prayed a

certain prayer.

You won't ever find anything in the

Bible that tries to offer you any

assurance based on you praying a

prayer.

Or because you walked down an aisle

in a church and spoke to some

pastor.

Or even because you were baptized.

Saving faith will be evident in

your life by the way that you live,

by the way you seek to know and

love and serve God, please Him by

doing His will, love other people and

serve other people truly.

Is saving faith evident in your life?

If it is, thank God because it

itself is a gift from God.

Continue to cooperate with Him and

to obey Him and live for His glory.

Live according to the leadership of

His Spirit.

You have to have that.

But saving faith is really not

evident in your life.

But you want to be right with God

today.

You want to have a real relationship

with Jesus Christ.

I want you to understand that can

happen right now.

If you'll admit to God that you are

a sinner, that you are guilty of sin

against Him and truly repent.

That means change your mind about it.

Turn away from it.

Hate it.

And ask God to deliver you from it.

And as you turn from your sin, you

turn to Jesus Christ.

In faith and trust, you're confident

that when He died on the cross, He

actually died for you to pay the

penalty for your sins.

And if you'll truly call upon Him to

save you as you turn from your sin,

He will.

The Bible says that whoever will call

upon the name of the Lord will be

saved.

God will save you now if you will

humbly, sincerely, wholeheartedly

turn from your sin, put your trust in

Jesus and surrender control of your

life to Him.

He's got to be Lord of all.

Or as that little cliche says, He will

not be Lord at all.

The wisdom of God certainly is revealed

throughout the Bible, especially in the

book of Proverbs.

God is the most powerful

but most powerfully seen and experienced

in the person of Jesus Christ.

Make sure you have a relationship with

Him if you truly want to be wise and have a

relationship with God now and forever.

Let's pray together.

Father, show each person in this room how

they should respond to you and your word

this morning.

Lord, especially make it clear

that salvation is by your grace.

It's undeserved.

It is through faith in Jesus Christ.

But help everyone here to understand that

saving faith,

it continues.

It is evident by the way that we live.

Help everyone here to understand that

if you have saved them, your spirit's in

them and they will know it.

They will know it by looking at their life.

Other people will know it.

Help them to ask questions if they need to.

But right now, dear God, make it clear

how we all should respond to you and to Jesus.

In an attitude of prayer, you respond to the Lord.

If I could help you, pray with you,

talk with you right now, I'll be happy to hear

it at the front.

But the important thing is you respond to the Lord

as He speaks to you right now.

Let's do that.