How do the simple and innocent attain true wisdom faster than others?

1. WISDOM OF
CHILDREN
GRACIOUS
JESUS 47

2. GRACIOUS JESUS
(MATTHEW’S PERSPECTIVE WITH GOSPEL PARALLELS)
1. Presenting the King (Matt 1-4)
2. True Blessedness (Matt 5:1-12)
3. Kingdom Lifestyle – Part 1 (Matt 5:13-
48)
4. Kingdom Lifestyle – Part 2 (Matt 6)
5. Kingdom Lifestyle – Part 3 (Matt 7)
6. Master Strokes (Matt 8)
7. The King Calls (Matt 9)
8. The King Commissions (Matt 10)
9. Signs, Sinners and the
Saviour (Matt 11)
10. Power Games and Names (Matt 12)
11. Hidden Wisdom (Matt 13:1-43)
12. Hidden Treasures (Matt 13:44-14)
13. The Gall and the Glory (Matt 15-17:9)
14. Winning Others Over (Matt 17:10-
18:35)
15. Kingdom Values, Kingdom Wealth
(Matt 20)
16. The King Enters Jerusalem (Matt 21)
17. The Chosen Few (Matt 22)
18. The King’s Glorious Coming (Matt
24:1-44)
19. The Final Countdown (Matt 24:45 –
25:46)
20. The King’s last days (Matt 26)
21. Desertion (Matt 26:36-75)
22. God’s Lamb Sacrificed (Matt 27: 1-50)
23. The King Conquers (Matt 27:51-28)

3. GRACIOUS JESUS
9. SIGNS, SINNERS AND THE SAVIOUR
1. Signs of the Messiah
2. True Greatness
3. Children of Wisdom
4. When profanity
surpasses piety
5. Wisdom of
Children
6. Soul Rest

4. PRESENTATION OVERVIEW
WISDOM OF CHILDREN
Passage/s: Matt 11:25-
27; 13:16-17; Luke
10:21-24
Context
Heart of Faith –
believe
Eyes of Faith - see
Walk of Faith -
perceive

5. OBJECTIVES
To understand:
• What qualities in children we
need to emulate to gain true
wisdom
• How we interpret these
qualities in a spiritual context

6. WISDOM OF CHILDREN
BIBLE PASSAGES
Passage/s: Matthew 11:25-27; 13:16-17; Luke
10:21-24
Matthew 11:25 At that time Jesus declared, “I thank
you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you
have hidden these things from the wise and
understanding and revealed them to little children;
26 yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. 27
All things have been handed over to me by my
Father, and no one knows the Son except the
Father, and no one knows the Father except the
Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to
reveal him. Matthew 11

7. WISDOM OF CHILDREN
BIBLE PASSAGE
Luke 10: 21 In that same hour he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit
and said, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that
you have hidden these things from the wise and
understanding and revealed them to little children; yes,
Father, for such was your gracious will. 22 All things have
been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows
who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except
the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal
him.”
23 Then turning to the disciples he said privately, “Blessed
are the eyes that see what you see! 24 For I tell you that
many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, and
did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.”

8. CONTEXT
In Matthew 11, Jesus talks of unrepentant cities and
contrasts them with the faith of His disciples. In
Matthew 13, it is in the context of parables, that Jesus
refers to the wisdom given to his disciples, his
children. In Luke it is in the context of the return of the
72 and the joy they receive in the power of Jesus)
Jesus highlights that God reveals the deep secrets to
“children”.
The foremost secret is that Jesus is the son of God.
Only God can reveal this to people. These have
supernatural perception and are blessed.

9. CHILDREN VS.
DISCIPLES
Jesus gives an object lesson on becoming
like this child as described in Matthew 18:2-
4.
In other passages as well we see the
interplay between these terms – children,
disciples, brothers and sisters – all the
same

10. CHRIST’S LITTLE
CHILDREN, DISCIPLES,
BROTHERS AND SISTERS
Matthew 18:2 And calling to him a child, he
put him in the midst of them 3 and said,
“Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and
become like children, you will never enter
the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 18:4 Therefore whoever humbles
himself as this little child is the greatest in
the kingdom of heaven.

11. CHRIST’S LITTLE
CHILDREN, DISCIPLES,
Matthew 19:14 But Jesus said, "Let the little
children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of
such is the kingdom of heaven"
Matthew 25:38-40 38 And when did we see you a
stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe
you? 39 And when did we see you sick or in prison
and visit you?’ 40 And the King will answer them,
‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least
of these my brothers, you did it to me.’

12. HEART OF FAITH
Luke 10:21 In that same hour he
rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and
said, “I thank you, Father, Lord
of heaven and earth, that you
have hidden these things from
the wise and understanding and
revealed them to little children;
yes, Father, for such was your
gracious will

13. HEART OF FAITH
“The secrets of the kingdom are not
revealed to those who are wise in their
own conceit, but to those who have the
meekness of infants and the child-like
eagerness for knowledge. In a special
Jewish sense “the wise and prudent”
are the Scribes and Pharisees.
The thought is of their helplessness
and dependence” [1]

14. HEART OF FAITH
A child completely trusts
their father
Realizes how small they are
Humbles themselves

15. HEART OF FAITH
As spiritual babes we are born
into God’s kingdom.
We are completely dependent
on our father to grow and
mature just as children.
Unless we realize and
internalize these facts, it will
be difficult to grow.

16. EYES OF FAITH
Luke 10:22 All things have
been handed over to me by
my Father, and no one
knows who the Son is
except the Father, or who
the Father is except the Son
and anyone to whom the
Son chooses to reveal
him.”

17. EYES OF FAITH
The literal translation from Greek
is as follows “In every way, to me
it has been given over from the
Father of mine and no one
recognizes the Son if not the
Father. Nor does anyone
recognizes the Father if not the
Son and to that one when he
might choose himself, the Son, to
reveal.” [2]

18. EYES OF FAITH
Just as the Son of God received “in every
way”. They were transmitted/ taught to
Him. God and His Son will “reveal” (or
uncover – as in the Greek connotation) to
their children who they (God and Jesus)
are.
Their children will “recognize” (Greek
connotation) both Jesus and His Father.
Only those whose spiritual eyes are open
will accept the true God and believe in
Him wholeheartedly

19. EYES OF FAITH
As we compare Jesus, God’s child,
who received everything from God as
He obeyed. We too will share some of
these benefits as our faith determines.

20. EYES OF FAITH - FAQ
How can we win over the lost?
Those who have heard the word but
still do not “see” the light and
accept Jesus. While we do need to
continue to witness to them by our
lives and words, it is necessary to
pray that they reach out in faith to
God. Only if God opens their eyes
will they see.

21. EYES OF FAITH - FAQ
Does this mean that the choice of the
saved belong to God alone? We see that
the ownership is with us – “unless you
become like little children”
God has given us a free will. When we
exercise is rightly in favour of God – He
then steps in and reveals things many can
never see.

22. WALK OF FAITH
Luke 10:23 Then turning to the
disciples he said privately, “Blessed
are the eyes that see what you see! 24
For I tell you that many prophets and
kings desired to see what you see,
and did not see it, and to hear what
you hear, and did not hear it.”

23. WALK OF FAITH
The Greek connotation is lucky or fortunate
are you – those who can see. “See” as in see
what is before you not so much as
understanding.
The Greek word translated as "prophets"
means "one who speaks for God",
"interpreter" and was the highest level of
priesthood in Egypt. Christ uses it to refer
not only to divine spokespeople but their
books in the Old Testament. It is the verb that
means "to shine before.” [2]

24. WALK OF FAITH
This walk goes one step
beyond “seeing” who God is. It
implies understanding and
listening. It implies obeying
God and walking with Him.
This is a beautiful cyclic
process of blessing – and
revelation: the more we see,
the more we walk. The more we
walk, the more we see.

25. WISDOM OF CHILDREN -
SUMMARY
Heart of Faith –
believe
Eyes of Faith -
see
Walk of Faith -
perceive

26. DISCUSSION
1. How do we know if our faith is
real?
2. How do we ensure we are
“shining before” others and
“walking” like the prophets, in
faith?

27. REFERENCES
1. Pulpit commentary
2. christswords.com