Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Luke 7:35
But wisdom is justified of all her children.
35. But ] Literally, “And,” but the Greek kai often has the force of ‘and yet.’
wisdom ] The personification of God’s wisdom was common in the later Jewish literature, as in the Book of Wisdom. It is also found in the Old Testament (Pro 1:20; Pro 1:9, &c.).
is justified of all her children ] Rather, was justified by, i.e. has from the first been acquitted of all wrong and error, receives the witness of being just, at the hands of all her children. The “children of wisdom” genei-ally (Pro 2:1; Pro 3:1, &c.) are those who obey God, and here are those of that generation who accepted the baptism of John and the ministry of Jesus, without making a stumbling-block of their different methods. The Jews, like the petulant children, refused to sympathise either with John or Jesus the one they condemned for exaggerated strictness, the other for dangerous laxity: yet the Wise, Wisdom’s true children once for all declare that she is righteous, and free from blame: for they know that wisdom is polu- poikilos, ‘richly-variegated,’ ‘of many colours,’ Eph 3:10. The world ’ s wisdom was foolishness; those whom the world called fools were divinely wise, Joh 3:33. Wisdom is thus justified by her children both actively and passively; they declare her to be just and holy, and the world ultimately sees that her guidance as exemplified by their lives is the best guidance ( Wis 5:5 ; Wis 5:4 ; Psa 51:4; Rom 3:4). The reading ‘works’ for “children” in may be derived from the variant reading in Mat 11:19.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Luk 7:35
But wisdom is Justified of all her children
Wisdoms justification
We trace the truth and the applicability of this saying–
I.
IN THE DIFFERENT FIELDS OF PURELY HUMAN INTEREST AND STUDY. Each subject that engages the attention of man has a wisdom, that is to say, governing principles, methods, modes of thought and inquiry–in short, a philosophy peculiar to its own. Those who have mastered this wisdom even in part are prepared for results which are startling or absurd in the eyes of others who are strangers to it.
II. IN THE REGION OF HUMAN CHARACTER. That which enables us to do justice to character is sympathy with it.
III. IN REGARD TO THE CHRISTIAN CREED. Here, too, it is clear, upon reflection, that wisdom is justified of her children. The word wisdom in our Lords mouth had a special significance. His more instructed hearers would recognize in it an ancient and consecrated word (see Pro 8:1-36.). This Eternal Wisdom, born of a virgin in the fulness of time, crucified, bruised, risen, ascended, is at once the Teacher, and in the main the substance, of the Christian creed. Two practical lessons:
1. Nothing is so fatal to the recognition of moral and religious truth as a scornful temper.
2. Wisdom may and must be won by prayer. (Canon Liddon.)
Wisdom justified of her children
Justified means acquitted, recognized, or acknowledged. Of means by. And Christ says, Wisdom is recognized by her children. The wisdom of a Divine life had appeared in two forms–ascetic in John the Baptist, social in Christ. The world recognized it in neither. In John they said it was insanity; in Christ worldliness and irreligion. To the world Christ replies that they were incompetent judges. None could recognize the Divine life but those who lived it; none justify wisdom except her children. The Divine life was always the same, but it expressed itself outwardly in no special single form of life. Wisdom, under whatever form she might appear–the life of asceticism or the life social–would be justified or recognized by her children.
I. THE TONE OF MIND WHICH CAPACITATES FOR JUDGING HUMAN CHARACTER. By sympathy alone can you judge of character. This is the doctrine of the metaphor. A mother, changing her garb, may be mistaken by strangers, but under every metamorphosis she is recognized by her children, who know her voice by the secret tact of sympathy. Would you judge of Christ? Feel Christ. Learn to love one living man.
II. THE TONE OF MIND WHICH INCAPACITATES, AND THE HINDRANCES TO RIGHT JUDGMENT OF HUMAN CHARACTER.
1. The habit of insincere praise incapacitates for forming a right judgment of character. During the life of Jesus the Pharisees and Sadducees alike flattered Him. To their unreal flatteries He returned indignant replies: Why tempt ye Me, ye hypocrites?
2. A light, satirical, and irreverent spirit also incapacitates. See how ribaldry unfitted them for judging, and how even a Divine character could be made to seem ridiculous! That such cannot judge of character is intelligible. One reason is–
(1) Because excellence of character is not shown them; and another,
(2) because this spirit withers all it touches.
3. Jealousy incapacitates for forming a right judgment. The scribes were jealous of Christ, because His teaching was on a principle different from theirs; the Pharisees, because His righteousness was of a different stamp. Josephs brethren, Haman–examples of jealousy. (F. W. Robertson, M. A.)
Lifes gladness, its joy, its humour, and its mirth, are sometimes stumbling-blocks to serious people. Wisdoms children, in the main, we charitably and devoutly hope they are, but none the less we see in them a touch and trick of the children in the market-place. There is a foolish seriousness, and there is a wise mirth. How often do we see pathos and humour, tears and laughter, rapidly following each other, even joining and blending in the person of some strong, wise man, whom we can both respect and love; while the stolid people, who pride themselves upon their seriousness, too dull for mirth, are amongst the most unlovable. Robert Hall was conspicuous for the blending in his fine nature of the pathos and humour that we speak of. On one occasion, when he had preached a most solemn and pathetic discourse, and was followed in the evening by a serious brother, when the days work was done, he was as witty as he was wise, mirthful and jocund, and the cause of wit in others. The serious brother at length remonstrated. Mr. Hall, I am surprised at you, sir, after the solemn discourse you preached this morning, that you should trifle as you are doing now. Are you, sir, replied Mr. Hall; , shall I tell you the difference between you and me, sir? You talk your nonsense in the pulpit, I talk mine out of it. A bit of sound philosophy l for the bent spring when released will recoil, and where the mind of a man has been wrought up to the highest tension, the reaction, by Gods great mercy, comes as one of the conservators of the forces of life. And herein, also, is wisdom justified of her children. (J W. Lance.)
If wisdom was justified in the cases both of John and Jesus, it follows
I. THAT WISDOM IS COMPATIBLE WITH VARIOUS WAYS OF LIFE.
II. THAT WISDOM IS NOT A TIME-SERVER, SEEKING TO PLEASE THE WORLD BY FOLLOWING ITS FASHION. Many men, many minds. It is hard to please all, and best not to try. Following fashion is wearisome, for fashion changes fast. (A. B. Bruce, D. D.)
Waywardness and wisdom
I. WE HAVE HERE A CONTRAST PRESENTED. On the one side the perverseness and waywardness of man; on the other side the sympathy of wisdom with wisdom; the kindred and affinity which exists between the voice of God in His Word and the voice of God in the heart and conscience of His creatures.
II. THE WAYWARDNESS OF WHICH OUR LORD HERE SPEAKS IS MORE OR LESS IN ALL OF US.
III. THE MOST DISTRESSING OF IT IS THAT IN WHICH IT RUNS ON INTO THE AFFAIRS OF THE SOUL. (Dean Vaughan.)
Seeing wisdom.
They whose hearts are softened by a true self-knowledge, and enlightened by a real communion with God; they who are wise in that wisdom of which the condition is humility, and the beginning the fear of the Lord, will see wisdom in that which to the caviller is folly, will recognize a Divine harmony where all is discord to the self-confident, and own an abundance of resource worthy of the All-wise and the Allmerciful, in that variety of evidence which affords to different minds and, perhaps, to different ages of the world, their appropriate, as well as conclusive, reason for believing. The very things which others calumniate are to them indications of wisdom. They see how the message of the Baptist and the habits of the Baptist–the office of the Saviour and the life of the Saviour–are severally harmonious and of a piece. (Dean Vaughan.)
Wisdoms justification
The union of good men is internal, though there may be outward differences. The union of selfish men may be external, but there are always inward differences. The children of folly may unite for a common purpose, may be allied together as Herod and Pilate were allied against Christ. Pirates may join for plunder; the children of this world, for power, pleasure, and earthly gain, But there is no inward union, and, as soon as the outward advantage of the alliance ceases, the partnership is dissolved. But good men, though separated outward-y, are inwardly at one. They belong to one invisible and indivisible Church. By and by they shall come together outwardly, and see eye to eye. The inevitable logic of faith and reason shall at last unite them, and then wisdom shall be justified of all her children. John the Baptist will understand Christ; Barnabas will comprehend Paul: Fenelon and Martin Luther, Athanasius and Arius, Dr. Channing and Dr. Beecher, will recognize each others worth, and bless God together for what each has accomplished for the kingdom of heaven. So shall wisdom be at last justified of all her children. So shall all good men, sincerely desiring to do right, be found at last to be walking together on the same road towards the best things. Wisdom is not sectarian nor bigoted; she has a large Church, and many children, and is justified of them all. (James Freeman Clarke.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 35. Wisdom is justified, c.] Probably the children of wisdom is a mere Hebraism here for the products or fruits of wisdom hence the Vatican MS., one other, and some versions, have , works, instead of , sons, in the parallel place, Mt 11:19. True wisdom shows itself by its works; folly is never found in the wise man’s way, any more than wisdom is in the path of a fool. Theophylact’s note on this place should not be overlooked. , ‘ , Wisdom IS JUSTIFIED, that is, IS HONOURED, by all her children.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
But wisdom is justified of all her children. That is, Christ, who is the wisdom of God, and who acted the wise part, in behaving in such a free manner with all sorts of men, and even with publicans and sinners, whereby he became useful to their souls, called them to repentance, converted and saved them: and these are his children, which were given him by the Father; for whose sake he partook of flesh and blood, and whom he redeemed, that they might receive the adoption of children; and to whom, believing in him, he gives power to become the children of God: and these justify him from all such scandalous imputations, and by their lives and conversations show, that the doctrine of Christ is not a licentious one, or leads to libertinism, and indulges men in their carnal sensual lusts and pleasures; but, on the contrary, teaches them to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts, and to live soberly, righteously, and godly: the word “all”, is inserted by Luke, which is not in Matthew; signifying, that this is the universal sense and practice of all the real offspring of Christ, the sons of wisdom, who are wise to do good.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Of all her children ( ). Here Mt 11:19 has “by her works” ( ). Aleph has here. The use of “children” personifies wisdom as in Luke 7:8; Luke 7:9.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
1) “But wisdom Is justified,” (kai edikaisthe he sopia) “And wisdom is and was justified,” wisdom from above, Divine wisdom, 1Co 1:21-24; Mat 11:19. Both in the fruit of John the Baptist’s followers (disciples) and Jesus’ followers or disciples, referred to as children of wisdom.
2) “Of all her children.” (apo panton ton teknon autes) “From, of, and by all her children,” 1Co 2:11; 1Co 2:14-15, such as are wise in faith and obedient indeed, Rom 5:1; Eph 2:19; Jas 1:22.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
35. And Wisdom is justified This passage is variously explained by commentators. Some maintain that Wisdom was acquitted by the Jews, because, conscious of guilt, and judges of their own unbelief, they were compelled to acknowledge, that the doctrine which they rejected was good and holy. By the children of Wisdom they understand the Jews who boasted of that title. Others think that it was spoken in irony: “It is in this manner that you approve of the Wisdom of God, of which you boast that you are the children? ” But as the Greek preposition ἀπό (27) does not properly relate to an agent, some explain it, that Wisdom is acquitted by her children, and is no longer under obligation to them, in the same manner as when an inheritance is transferred to another. Thus Paul says, that Christ was justified ( δεδικαίωται) from sin, ( Rom 6:7,) because the curse of sin had no longer any power over him.
Some interpret it more harshly, and with greater excess of freedom, to mean that Wisdom is estranged from her children But granting that this were the import of the Greek preposition, I look upon the other meaning as more appropriate, that Wisdom, however wickedly she may be slandered by her own sons, loses nothing of her worth or rank, but remains unimpaired. The Jews, and particularly the scribes, gave themselves out as children of the Wisdom of God; and yet, when they trod their mother under their feet, they not only flattered themselves amidst such heinous sacrilege, but desired that Christ should fall by their decision. Christ maintains, on the contrary, that, however wicked and depraved her children may be, Wisdom remains entire, and that the malice of those who wickedly and malignantly slander her takes nothing from her authority.
I have not yet brought forward that meaning which appears to my own mind the most appropriate and natural. First, the words of Christ contain an implied contrast between true children and bastards, who hold but an empty title without the reality; and they amount to this: “Let those who haughtily boast of being the children of Wisdom proceed in their obstinacy: she will, notwithstanding, retain the praise and support of her own children. Accordingly, Luke adds a term of universality, by all her children; which means, that the reluctance of the scribes will not prevent all the elect of God from remaining steadfast in the faith of the Gospel. With respect to the Greek word ἀπό, it undoubtedly has sometimes the same meaning as ὑπό. Not to mention other instances, there is a passage in Luke’s Gospel, ( Luk 17:25,) where Christ says, that he must suffer many things, καὶ ἀποδοκιμασθὢναι ἀπὸ τὢς γενεᾶς ταύτης, and be rejected B y this generation. Everybody will admit, that the form of expression is the same as in the corresponding clause. (28) Besides, Chrysostom, whose native language was Greek, passes over this matter, as if there were no room for debate. Not only is this meaning more appropriate, but it corresponds to a former clause, in which it was said, that God was justified by the people, (v. 29.) Although many apostates may revolt from the Church of God, yet, among all the elect, who truly belong to the flock, the faith of the Gospel will always remain uninjured.
(27) “ Le mot Grec que nous avons rendu par De ; ” — “the Greek word which we have translated by.”
(28) “ On void bien que la ce mot De se rapporte a la personne qui fait, et non pas a celuy qui souffre;” — “It is very evident that the word By relates to the person that acts, and not to him who suffers.”
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
“And wisdom is justified of all her children.”
Thus the proverb was clearly true. The wisdom of the Scribes had produced children suited to it, who could not agree with any but themselves. While those who have found the true wisdom and responded to Jesus have entered under His kingly Rule. Their wisdom too, received from the Master, has produced its children with their fruit.
Jesus Is Greeted By the Transformed Prostitute, Who Has Believed And Reveals It By Her Purified Love, A Picture of Restored Israel (Eze 16:59-63) And Of The Fact That The Kingly Rule of God Is Available To All Who Seek Him and Hear Him (Luk 7:36-50).
One of the most vivid passages of the Old Testament is where Ezekiel speaks of Jerusalem as having become like a prostitute who has sold herself to the highest bidder (Eze 16:15). Then God declares, ‘I will remember my covenant with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish with you an everlasting covenant. Then you will remember your ways and be ashamed — I will establish my covenant with you and you shall know that I am the Lord, that you may remember and be confounded and never open your mouth again because of your shame, when I forgive you all that you have done, says the Lord God.’
So when a prostitute (she had unbound hair) comes to the feet of Jesus, and speaks never a word, but washes His feet with her tears and wipes them with the hairs of her head, did not Jesus remember these words? And do we not here have a picture of the fallen people of God and their way back to forgiveness? And the result is that the Messiah, Who introduces the everlasting covenant, the sure mercies of David (Isa 55:3), comes and receives her under His Kingly Rule,and declares that she is forgiven ‘all that she has done’ (‘her sins which are many’).
The incident may be analysed as follows:
a And one of the Pharisees desired Him that he would eat with him. And He entered into the Pharisee’s house, and sat down to a meal (Luk 7:36).
b And behold, there was a woman who was in the city, a sinner; and when she knew that He was having a meal in the Pharisee’s house, she brought an alabaster cruse of ointment, and standing behind at His feet, weeping, she began to wet His feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head, and kissed His feet, and anointed them with the ointment (Luk 7:37-38).
c Now when the Pharisee who had bidden Him saw it, he spoke within himself, saying, “This man, if He were a prophet, would have perceived who and what manner of woman this is who touches Him, that she is a sinner” (Luk 7:39).
d And Jesus answering said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he says, “Teacher, say on.” “A certain lender had two debtors, the one owed five hundred shillings, and the other fifty. When they had not wherewith to pay, he forgave them both. Which of them therefore will love him most?” (Luk 7:40-42).
e Simon answered and said, “He, I suppose, to whom he forgave the most.” And He said to him, “You have rightly judged.” (Luk 7:43).
d And turning to the woman, He said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered into your house, you gave me no water for My feet, but she has wetted My feet with her tears, and wiped them with her hair. You gave Me no kiss, but she, since the time I came in, has not ceased to kiss My feet. My head with oil you did not anoint, but she has anointed My feet with ointment.”
c “For this reason I say to you, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.”
b And He said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”
a And those who sat at the meal with Him began to say within themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?” And He said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you, go in peace” (Luk 7:49-50).
Note than in ‘a’ Jesus ‘sat at the meal’ with the Pharisee and his guests, and in the parallel those who ‘sat at the meal’ with Him gave their reactions. In ‘b’ the woman comes in and reveals her loving gratitude to Jesus, and in the parallel He says, “Your sins are forgiven you.” In ‘c’ the Pharisee mutters to himself that if Jesus knew what kind of woman she was He would not allow her to touch Him, and in the parallel Jesus points out that the reason he does so is because she is truly forgiven. In ‘d’ Jesus asks which debtor will love the most and in the parallel reveals how the woman has loved the most. And in the centre the point is made that it is the one who is forgiven the most, who loves the most.
Perhaps before we look at the text in more detail we should consider the logic behind the story. And central to it, and clearly shown, is the fact that she was NOT forgiven because she loved Jesus. Rather she loved Jesus because she was forgiven. That is the point of the parable. Each debtor loved because he was forgiven, and the one who was forgiven the most loved the most. This is then made clear by the fact that it is her faith which has saved her. Thus her forgiveness has come through faith.
And that brings out that when Jesus saw this disreputable woman come towards Him to touch Him He knew at once the reason why. It was because she had been listening to His preaching and had repented and had received forgiveness, and now wanted to reveal her gratitude. That is why He did not rebuke her.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Luk 7:35. But wisdom, &c. See the note on Mat 11:19.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
DISCOURSE: 1501
THE PERVERSE CHILDREN
Luk 7:31-32; Luk 7:35. And the Lord said, Whereunto then shall I liken the men of this generation? and to what are they like? They are like unto children sitting in the market-place, and calling one to another, and saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned to you, and ye have not wept.But wisdom is justified of all her children.
THOUGH man is distinguished from all other animals by the faculty of reason, he is far from submitting readily to its dictates. In things that are agreeable to his mind he is easily persuaded: but where he is at all swayed by prejudice, or passion, or interest, he cannot be prevailed upon, even by the clearest arguments, to embrace truth, or to fulfil his duty. Thus it was with the Pharisees in our Lords time; on which account he compared them to perverse children, who could not be induced by their companions to participate in their amusements, notwithstanding every endeavour on their parts to accommodate themselves to their wishes [Note: It was customary to use pipes both at marriages and at funerals; at the one in cheerful, at the other in plaintive strains. And the children, in their play, are supposed to represent first the festivity of a marriage, and afterwards the lamentations of a funeral: in neither of which could they get their companions to join them.].
In this parable our Lord intimates,
I.
The reception which his Gospel meets with
God has used a great variety of means in order to recommend his Gospel
[He published it to the Jews under types and shadows, and gradually unfolded it to them in a long series of prophecies. When the time came for its more general promulgation, he sent the Baptist to prepare their minds, and the Messiah himself to preach it to them, and to confirm his word by miracles without number. He endued also a few poor fishermen with miraculous powers, and sent them to publish the glad tidings, that their divine mission being unquestionable, their testimony might be universally received. Nothing was wanting that could in any wise promote the acceptance of the truth.]
But in every place the Gospel has been rejected by those to whom it has come
[The Jews rested in the letter of their law, but hated the spirit of it; they embraced the shadow, but rejected the substance. By whomsoever the Gospel was preached, or under whatsoever form, the great majority of that nation could not be prevailed upon to receive it. Thus at this day, the truth of God is generally disregarded and despised. Men, it is true, profess to be followers of Christ, and to approve of his religion: but they are not suitably affected with it in any respect; they neither rejoice in its promises, nor are humbled by its threat-enings; if we pipe to them, they will not dance; and if we mourn to them, they will not lament. Notwithstanding there is such a transcendent excellence in the Gospel, and such an exact suitableness to mens necessities, yet we still have reason to complain, Lord, who hath believed our report?]
It is a matter of no small importance to ascertain,
II.
The true ground of this reception
The ostensible ground is, that the Gospel is not properly administered
[The Jews could not confute the arguments of the Baptist or of Christ; but they took occasion from the peculiarities of each to reject their testimony. John, agreeably to the dispensation under which he ministered, was austere in his manners; and Christ, agreeably to the dispensation which he came to introduce, was affable and social: yet, so far were the people from being pleased with either, that of one they said, He hath a devil; and of the other, He is a glutton and a drunkard.
Thus it is at this time: men will not say, I hate the Gospel, and therefore will not attend to it; but they will find fault with the persons who administer it; and make their peculiarities a plea for despising their message. At one time they represent the ministers of Christ as speaking too much about faith, and thereby depreciating morality: at another time, as insisting so strongly on good works, that they drive men to despair. Sometimes they will object to the truth because it is not read to them from a written discourse: and sometimes because of the earnest and impressive manner in which it is delivered. Even the virtues whereby ministers endeavour to adorn and recommend the Gospel, are often made occasions of offence; and the strictness of their lives, the condescension of their manners, and their assiduity in labours, are stated as grounds of heavy complaint. And as no terms were too opprobrious to be applied to the Baptist and to Christ, so there is no name so ignominious, nor any treatment so harsh, but it is thought a proper portion for every faithful servant of the Lord.]
The true ground, however, must be found in the perverseness of mankind
[We, at this distance of time, see clearly enough the perverseness of the Jews in their treatment of Christ and his Apostles: but we are not aware of the same principle operating in ourselves. Nevertheless the truth is, that we have imbibed notions, which we do not like to have controverted; and have adopted practices, from which we will not recede. The Gospel proposes humiliating doctrines which we are too proud to receive; and self-denying rules of conduct which we cannot endure to follow. Hence we must either acknowledge that we ourselves are wrong, or find some reason for rejecting the truth. But we cannot altogether profess ourselves infidels and despise the Gospel as a fable; we therefore are constrained to blame the mode in which it is administered, and to condemn the preachers of it in order to justify ourselves. But the real ground of our conduct is, that we love darkness rather than light; and, if Jesus Christ himself were again to preach to us, the same conduct which he formerly pursued would give the same offence to his hearers, and be made a pretext for rejecting his testimony.]
But in the close of the parable, our Lord suggests,
III.
The encouragement which ministers, notwithstanding this reception, have to preach the Gospel
The Gospel of Christ, when justly stated, is the truest wisdom
[It is called by St. Paul, The wisdom of God in a mystery: and the wisdom of God does indeed beam forth in every part of it, whether we consider the mysteries it reveals, or the mode of its administration. Who can contemplate the method prescribed by God for effecting our reconciliation with him, or for fitting us to enjoy his presence, and not be filled with rapture and amazement? The more we consider the satisfaction of Christ, or the agency of the Spirit, the nature of faith or the beauty of holiness, or, in a word, the union of Gods glory and mans happiness in the whole scheme of redemption, the more shall we be overwhelmed with wonder at the depths of wisdom contained in it.
The progressive steps also by which it has been dispensed, together with the means by which it has been confirmed and propagated, yea, even the manner in which it has been brought home with power to our own hearts and consciences, will furnish abundant matter to increase our admiration.
And must not the consideration of this be a rich encouragement to ministers under all the contempt and obloquy with which they and their ministrations are regarded? Yes, they know that what the world account foolishness is indeed the wisdom of God [Note: 1Co 1:23-24.]; and that if they be beside themselves, it is to God [Note: 1Co 4:10 and 2Co 5:13.].]
Moreover, the children of wisdom will assuredly receive their testimony
[They are the children of wisdom who are willing to sit at wisdoms gates, and to obey her dictates; and, such are to be found in every place, notwithstanding the generality prefer the ways of sin and folly. Now of all these the Gospel will be approved, embraced, justified. They will shew to the world, both by their profession and conduct, that it is indeed worthy of all acceptation. While others pour contempt upon it, these will be nourished by it; and while others make it a stumbling-block, over which they fall and perish, these will be rendered by it wise unto salvation.
What can a faithful minister wish for more? He knows that his labours shall not be altogether in vain, but that there shall be some who shall be saved by his means, and be his joy and crown of rejoicing for evermore: and this far outweighs all the injuries and insults, which in the discharge of his office, he meets with at the hands of a perverse ungrateful world.]
To improve this subject, observe,
1.
What enemies are men to their own happiness!
[What end had the Baptist or Christ in view, when they preached to the people? Was it to raise a party? to get a name? to gratify their own vanity? Was it not rather to instruct and save mankind? Yet, men every where set themselves against them. And of what concern was it to John or Christ that they were called by opprobrious names? But to those who thus despised them it was of infinite moment; because they thereby ensured and aggravated their own eternal condemnation. Thus it is of small concern to us to be loaded with ignominy and reproach: but to those who thus requite our labours, it is an awful matter; for they despise their own mercies, and accomplish their own ruin. Let those who are thus disposed, remember, that they are far greater enemies to themselves than they are to us.]
2.
What a blessing is an honest and good heart!
[They alone who possess this gift can profit from the Gospel. With such a disposition men will overlook the little peculiarities which there may be in those who minister the word, and will endeavour to derive benefit from the word they hear. They will consider that every minister has his proper gift; and that the method which they disapprove, may be well suited to others. They will be thankful that the glad tidings are sent to them; and will receive the word with the affections suited to it [Note: Act 17:11.]. They will either dance or weep according as the subject calls for humiliation or joy. Thus, instead of rejecting the counsel of God against themselves, they will justify God [Note: ver. 29, 30.] by an unfeigned acknowledgment of his truth, and a ready compliance with his will.
Let us then cultivate this disposition; so shall that which is to many a savour of death unto death, be to us a savour of life unto life [Note: 2Co 2:15-16.].]
Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)
34 The Son of man is come eating and drinking; and ye say, Behold a gluttonous man, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners!
35 But wisdom is justified of all her children.
Ver. 35. Of all her children ] That is, her disciples, Psa 34:11 .
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Luk 7:35 . , etc., and wisdom is wont to be justified by all her children; by all who are themselves wise, not foolish and unreasonable like the “generation” described. On this adage vide notes on Mat 11:19 . Bornemann thinks that this verse is part of what the adverse critics said, of course spoken in irony = their conduct shown to be folly by results; what converts they made: the refuse of the population!
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
But = And yet.
wisdom. See note on Mat 11:19.
children: i.e. those produced by her. See App-108.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Luk 7:35. ) and wisdom has been (habitually) justified by [on the part of, owing to] all who are her sons. has the force, and; for Jesus manifestly continues His complaint (comp. Mat 11:19, where He does not express until the end of Luk 7:25 that which these words might otherwise be thought to denote, but all her children have justified wisdom): and moreover transfers, as it were indirectly, the complaint from the hypothesis, viz. concerning the perverseness of the men of that time, to the thesis, viz. concerning the perpetual and habitual characteristic of the Jewish people, just as He has also transferred it in ch. Luk 11:47-48. It is to this that the adjective , all, has reference: this also is the intention of the use of the past time (wherein often is included the force of the verb, is wont) in has been (habitually) justified (whereas, ye say, in the present time, precedes: Luk 7:34): this also is the reason of the employment of the term, Wisdom [viz. as appropriate when speaking, as here, of a fact habitual in all times]; for He is no longer now called the Son of man, as in the preceding verse, but Wisdom: and of these terms the one (Son of man) is suitable to Christs manifested state; the other (Wisdom) to all times: ch. Luk 11:49. Furthermore He is called in this place Wisdom, inasmuch as He Himself best knows what is to be done; and His own actions, replete with the purest accommodation [adaptation] to sinners, ought not to have been called to account. Add Pro 8:1; Pro 8:32. The children of this Wisdom are not Pharisees, and those like them (which otherwise would not be inappropriate to be said here; comp. ch. Luk 13:34, at the end, and Mat 8:12); but the Apostles, as well as all publicans and sinners who had been converted to Jesus out of the whole people; whom He thus names, in order to show His own tie of connection with them, and His right of associating with them, and the perverseness of the calumniators. In Thucydides and other writers, , to justify, when used of a person, denotes to pass sentence or fix a punishment against (to be inflicted on) any one, and that a just sentence or punishment; when used of a thing, it denotes to account anything just. Gataker, Diss. de stilo Novi Instr. cap. 8, proves this in opposition to Pfochenius, and considers this to be an altogether striking instance of Biblical Grcism beins different from the Greek style of the heathen classics: for in the sacred writings , , signifies to give ones judgment in favour of any one, or in other words, to pronounce one just, whether by a just or unjust judgment. Comp. note on Rom 3:20. , Sir 18:22, is the same as : for he who owes a debt is as it were arraigned [a defendant]; he who pays it [], or makes good what he was bound to make good, is set free []. French, sacquitter [to pay off, lit. to acquit ones self]. And yet we are not to think that both senses of the term cannot be reduced to the one notion, justifying; for the judge accounts that satisfaction has been given him, both in the case of him who has borne his full punishment, and in the case of him who has been acquitted, and thence that both are in his eyes just. There is in the former use of the word the additional element of an Euphemism, which is not needed in the latter. In this passage also is employed in the good sense: and , has been justified, contains a Metonymy of the consequent for the antecedent (for every justification presupposes an accusation, a cause at issue and some controversy, Rom 3:4; Gen 44:16, LXX.: [and so here the consequent, has been justified, is put instead of the antecedent, has been subjected to trial]), combined with a strong Euphemism. Wisdom has been justified; that is to say, accusers have brought her to trial, have been offended at her, Luk 7:23, and have brought the matter to such a pass, that she has been at length obliged to have herself justified, and to be vindicated as just, and that it should be shown, that all her actions have been so ordered as to swallow up (counteract) injustice, and fulfil righteousness; whereas, however, she ought to have been embraced without any objection being raised to need justification of her. A similar passage occurs, Rom 10:21; 1Co 4:12-13. Wisdom has been defended and justified from the taunts of gluttony and wine-bibbing, thrown out against her; and that too by () her own children, and by them all: on the part of all her own sons arose to her the necessity of justifying herself, and of defending all her actions along with them [as well as defending them]. See ch. Luk 5:22; Luk 5:30; Luk 5:33, Luk 6:2; Luk 6:7, and in this 7th chapter itself Luk 7:40; Luk 11:17; Luk 13:16; Luk 15:3; Luk 19:7; Mat 15:2. Comp. the use of a , Luk 19:3 [He was not able, , owing to the throng]; 2Co 2:3,[76] Luk 10:7; Heb 10:22; LXX. Ecc 8:11; Isa 25:9; Job 35:9; Psa 28:1 (Psa 27:1), Psa 33:8, Psa 119:53, and Isa 49:19; Isa 2:3, in the Hebr. . So , on account of, LXX. Psalms 67(Hebr. 68):29 [ , on account of, because of, thy temple at Jerusalem; as here, Because of her children, Wisdom has had to be justified], where and are parallel.
[76] Have sorrow, , arising from those from whom I ought to have cause of joy. So here, Wisdom has needed to justify her actions, the need arising on the part of her children, whom, as well as herself and her actions, with respect to them she has had to justify.-ED. and TRANSL.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Luk 7:29, Pro 8:32-36, Pro 17:16, Hos 14:9, Mat 11:19, 1Co 2:14, 1Co 2:15
Reciprocal: Luk 5:33 – but 1Co 1:24 – called
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
CHILDREN OF WISDOM
But wisdom is justified of all her children.
Luk 7:35
Our Lord is discussing the criticisms which the Jews of His day made upon Himself and upon John the Baptist. Whatever they might be, whatever they might do, it seemed that neither our Lord nor the Baptist would be free from censure. And our Lord accounts for this by describing the Jews of that generation as entirely wanting in seriousness. He compares them to children playing in the public thoroughfare. And in the eyes of these Jews the Baptist and the Divine speaker Himself were like ill-natured playfellows who did not enter into their games, or who, at any rate, would not take the parts assigned to them. And the Jews condemned them for contradictory reasonsJohn for not being what our Lord was; our Lord for not resembling John. It could not be otherwise. That generation of Jews would know no better, but the true children of the Divine wisdom would know that both John and our Lord were right in adhering to their different modes of life. Wisdom, He says, is justified, is done justice to as being wisdom, by all her children.
It will be useful, perhaps, if we consider this saying of our Divine Lord somewhat more in detail.
I. We trace the truth and the applicability of the principle of this saying, first of all, in the different fields of purely human interest and study.Each subject that engages the attention of man has a wisdom, that is to say, governing principles and methods, modes of thought and inquiry, in short, a philosophy peculiarly its own. Those who have mastered this wisdom, even in part, are prepared for results which are startling or absurd in the eyes of others who are strangers to it. In this sense each kind of human wisdom is justified by its children, and by its children only.
II. And next we see the truth of the principle in the region of human character.In good men there are constantly features of character which those about them cannot account for. They are reserved or they are impetuous; they are high-spirited or they are depressed; they deviate in many ways from conventional standards; they baulk expectations; and they are pronounced morbid, eccentric, inconsistent, as the case may be. They act when we expect them to hold their hands; they are quiet when all seems to call for action. We perhaps say that they are unintelligible, and so it may be that they are to us, only because we are not in the secret of their characters. For each character, like each pursuit, like each art, like each science, has a wisdom of its own, its own governing principles, its own ruling instincts, its own constant tendencies. Only when we enter into this can we hope to understand it, only when we place ourselves at the point of view of the speaker or the agent who perplexes us, only then do we see consistency in motive where else so much seems to be so unaccountable and so strange. Here, too, Wisdom is justified of her children, while the rest of the world finds fault with her. That which enables us to do justice to character is sympathy with it.
III. And once more our Lords words hold good of the Christian creed.Here, too, it is clear, upon reflection, that Wisdom is justified of her children. Let us remark that the word wisdom, in our Lords mouth, had especial significance. As He pronounced it His more instructed hearers would have recognised an ancient, and I may say a consecrated, word. In the book of Proverbs the Wisdom of God is no mere quality or attribute, corresponding in God to what would be wisdom in man. It is more than an attribute: it is almost what we should call in modern language a person. Read the great appeal of Wisdom in the first chapter of Proverbs; read the sublime passage in the eighth chapter, in which Christianity has always recognised the pre-existence of the Eternal Son. This Wisdom of God, dwelling with Him from all eternity, being Himself, and yet having a personal subsistence of its own, was, we may be sure, in the thought of our Lord when He used the word. It was the Wisdom of God, as He elsewhere says, who sent to His people the prophets, the wise men, the scribes; nay, it was this Wisdom which was incarnate in Jesus Himself. No longer something abstract and intangible, this Wisdom had taken flesh and blood; it had entered the world of sense; it had displayed itself in acts which struck upon the eye, and in words which fell upon the ear; this eternal Wisdom, born of the Virgin in the fullness of time, crucified, buried, risen, ascended, is at once the teacher, and in the main the substance of the Christian creed; and of this, too, it is true that Wisdom is justified of her children. When men nowadays reject Christianity, they reject it, as a rule, bit by bit. They first find one truth incredible, then another; until at last, so far as their minds are concerned, the whole edifice of faith is crumbled away.
IV. There are two practical lessons to be borne in mind.
(a) One is that nothing is so fatal to the recognition of moral and religious truth as a scornful temper. Scornfulness blinds the eye of the soul with fatal completeness. Its telling epigrams, He hath a devil, Behold a gluttonous man, may command a momentary applause, but they are dearly paid for.
(b) Secondly Wisdom may and must be won by prayer. It is the first of the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit which God the Father gives to them that ask Him. Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom, and with all thy getting get understanding. Then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord and shalt find the knowledge of God.
Rev. Canon Liddon.
(SECOND OUTLINE)
PERVERSENESS AND SYMPATHY
I. We have here a contrast presented.There is
(a) On the one side, the perverseness, the waywardness of man; his disposition to cavil at all Gods appointments, especially at those which concern religion, revelation, and the soul; his readiness to complain of each as inappropriate, inadequate, inconclusive, or unreasonable; his proneness to say to each, If it had been thus, and not thus, it would have been more satisfactory, more impressive, or more convincing; I should have felt it so, and God, if He had sought my good, would have thus arranged it.
(b) On the other side, there is the sympathy of wisdom with wisdom; the kindred and affinity which exists between the voice of God in His Word and the voice of God in the heart and conscience of His creatures; the certainty that what God speaks, and the way in which He speaks, the persons by whom and the circumstances amidst which He speaks, will commend itself to those who are wise indeed, wise in the humility of a true self-knowledge, wise in the genuine insight of an illumination from above.
The waywardness which is here expressly rebuked was exhibited in the manner in which the Jews of that time received the mission of the Baptist and the mission of the Saviour.
II. There are those who judge in much the same manner now of God and His revelations. If He says what we know, or think we know, already, it is superfluous; we do not want a revelation to teach us that. If He says one word beyond what nature or reason might have taught us, it is irrational; the word must be brought to the bar of a pre-existing faculty within, and whatever that faculty does not instantly ratify must be condemned as a fancy or an imposture. The real dislike is to revelation; the real repugnance is to the idea of being taught anything from above; the ground of the refusal of this and that as an item of truth or as a mode of demonstration is, in fact, an overweening estimate of the power and sufficiency of man, insomuch that, whether the heavenly music be gay or grave, it will alike in either case be unresponded to; whether the messenger be the Baptist, he will be said to have a devil, or the Saviour, He will be accused of companionship with the sinful.
III. Here, also, Wisdom is justified by her children.They whose hearts are softened by a true self-knowledge and enlightened by a real communion with God, they who are wise in that wisdom, of which the condition is humility and the beginning the fear of the Lord, will see wisdom in that which to the caviller is folly, will recognise a Divine harmony where all is discord to the self-confident, and own an abundance of resource worthy of the All-wise and the All-merciful in that variety of evidence which affords to different minds, and perhaps to different ages of the world, their appropriate as well as conclusive reason for believing. The very things which others calumniate are to them indications of wisdom. Where they do not see this they yet trust. Not blindly, nor in the dark, for they know Him Whom they have believed, and judge of that which they discern not by that which they have already known. Thus they live, thus would they die. They cannot part with what they have till they have found something better.
Dean Vaughan.
Illustration
The original expression lies in a very beautiful order: Wisdom is justified of her childrenall of them. It is laid down, then, that until you stand in a certain relation to God, you cannot approve Him in any of His waysbecause you cannot understand Him in any of His attributes. And the experience of the whole world will confirm this truth. What a really unread page is the whole page of naturewhat a riddle is Providencewhat an inscrutable mystery is the method of Divine grace in saving a sinnerwhat an unreality is the inner life of a spiritual man to any one in whom there has not yet taken place a certain inward transformationa teaching, purifying, assimilating process. Hence every heart, in its natural state, is always mistaking God; always misjudging Him in everything God says, and everything God does. And the misconstruction is always deepening, just in proportion as the subject rises. In the outer circle of Gods works, there is ignorance; and in the inner circle of His glorious Gospel, utter blindness and universal distortion. Just like the children in the market-place, in the music of Gods love, they see nothing but melancholy; and in the solemn denunciations of His wrath they find no fear.
Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary
Verse 35
Is justified; is recognized and honored.
Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament
Despite the rejection of the Jewish leaders, those who accept God’s plan (Luk 7:30) as John and Jesus announced it demonstrated its rightness. Their lives were testimonies to the truthfulness of what they had believed, which John and Jesus had proclaimed. Jesus stated this truth as a principle. The behavior of good children (i.e., disciples) normally points to their having wise parents (i.e., John and Jesus). John and Jesus had also behaved as good children of God and had vindicated His wisdom by their behavior.
Luke’s account of these condemnatory words is fuller than Matthew’s. Luke focused on the religious leaders’ rejection whereas Matthew applied Jesus’ words to all the unbelieving Israelites that He faced more generally.