August 10 - Spirit of Knowledge in Jesus

August 10 - Spirit of Knowledge in Jesus
Isaiah 11:2

“The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him – the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord – and he will delight in the fear of the Lord.”

None of this should be surprising to us if we have read the Gospels at all.  We read in Luke 2:47 that “Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers.”  

In Matthew 13:54, we see the amazement of those who heard him teach.  “Coming to his home town, he began teaching the people in their synagogue, and they were amazed. “Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?”

That really is something many of us would like to be said of us.  Being thought of as brilliant and wise is a great compliment.

The Scarecrow had come up with many reasons that having a brain would be a good thing.

I could while away the hours,
Conferrin' with the flowers,
Consultin' with the rain.
And my head I'd be scratchin'
While my thoughts were busy hatchin'
If I only had a brain.
I'd unravel every riddle
For any individ'le
In trouble or in pain.
 --Scarecrow, The Wizard of Oz

If you look at the original scripture passage, the last phrase is what brings it all together for me, though.  The prophecy in Isaiah regarding Jesus tells us that he will delight in the fear of the Lord.  Jesus does exactly that.  His entire being was centered around his relationship with God.  He didn’t have to shut his eyes to pray, he didn’t have to concentrate to be able to say the right things. He didn’t have to study and learn to understand what it was that was happening around him. He didn’t have to spend hours worrying that he might not be walking in God’s will.  Every bit of his essence was tied to God.

He’d had an opportunity to make a different choice.  Satan tempted him in the desert, but Jesus had long since made his choice. Whether he was in heaven or on earth, he would be one with God.

We can have all the knowledge in the world, all the wisdom and understanding of the greatest minds that ever existed, but it will be worthless to us without fear of the Lord.