Jesus, The Wisest Man To Ever Live

From the heart of Dr. R. L. Taylor, Th.D., Bible Teacher & Expositor. In this teaching, I’m going to contrast King Solomon to Jesus the Christ. And I’m going to make much of Solomon, in order to make even more of Jesus! I’m going to talk about the greatness of the gift of wisdom that God gave to Solomon, not so you think highly of Solomon, but so that you think highly of Jesus whose wisdom exceeds that of Solomon’s. His reputation for wisdom was so great that the Queen of Sheba resolved she was going to believe enough with that reputation to make the 1,200 or so mile journey to Jerusalem and see if it was really so. In 1 Kings 10:6-9, the Queen of Sheba acknowledges the truth of the reports she heard about King Solomon's wisdom stating that the reality exceeded even the most glowing accounts. But 26 generations later, one of Solomon’s own descendants was born. His name is Jesus. He went around teaching and proclaiming the Kingdom of God. One day, He made this claim concerning Himself. He said, “The Queen of the South will rise up with this generation at the judgment and will condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, something greater than Solomon is here” (Matthew 12:42). Solomon’s reputation spread around the world, and yet Jesus said He was greater than Solomon. The queen of the South is also known as the Queen of Sheba. She heard about the wisdom of Solomon and the splendor of Israel under his rule and traveled great distances to see it with her own eyes. She recognized Solomon’s wisdom enough to sacrifice to get it, to make that long journey. In contrast, this generation of Israelites would not even receive Jesus—far greater than any other king—when He appeared in person and performed miracles right in front of them (Matthew 12:9–13; 22)! Jesus has now declared Himself to be greater than the temple (Matthew 12:6), greater than the prophet Jonah (Matthew 12:41), and greater than King Solomon. His words and deeds proved this to be true, as did the prophecies of Scripture (John 5:39–40). Still, the Israelites of His day would not believe. They grossly underestimated Jesus and the greatness of His person and of His wisdom. Well then, in what ways was Jesus greater than Solomon? Well, Solomon’s kingdom was wealthy beyond anything the Queen of Sheba had ever seen; Jesus is the owner of every atom in the entire universe (Colossians 1:16-17). Solomon’s wisdom penetrated great mysteries, but there are no mysteries to Jesus. Solomon’s glory was great but temporary. Jesus’s glory is ultimate and eternal, and His glory is going to radiate the New Jerusalem so that you don’t need any sun, moon, or stars, or any lamp (Revelation 21:23). So, my final application to the reader is this: Delight in the infinitely superior wisdom of Jesus the Christ. He is a greater, wiser king than Solomon. What He did at the cross and at the empty tomb is infinitely greater than what God did at the original creation. Be encouraged!