Wise men know that anything that is not eternal will soon be out of date.
1 Corinthians 1:20-21 So where does this leave the philosophers, the scholars, and the world’s brilliant debaters? God has made the wisdom of this world look foolish. 21 Since God in his wisdom saw to it that the world would never know him through human wisdom, he has used our foolish preaching to save those who believe.
Throughout history wise men have always been very difficult to find, it can be so challenging for us to be wise that God gave us an entire book of the Bible dedicated to teaching us about wisdom. Wise men are so rare that when the queen of Sheba heard about Solomon she had to take a road trip to check it out.
The most famous wise men are the ones that came to meet baby Jesus, they just suddenly show up in the Christmas story without an introduction but if you are a student of the Bible you will realize how they knew about Jesus. These guys didn't get a grand and glorious announcement from a bunch of angels, they didn't need all of that, they already knew what was going on when they saw the star.
The wise men probably learned about the Hebrew faith and the arrival of the Messiah while the Jews were living in captivity. The persecution in the New Testament isn't the first time that God was glorified as a result of his people being scattered around the world.
Israel didn't realize that their exile was really a mission trip and what looked like a bad thing in their day we now know was being used by God to spread the good news of the gospel around the world.
Since God is the source of wisdom we need to study the truth about wisdom found in his word so that we will be truly wise.
Simple Truths About Wisdom
The Wisdom Of The World Is Dated
Wise men from every age have had their wisdom questioned by the next generation. So much of the wisdom from my grandparents generation is seen as foolishness by my generation and the next. Pick a topic and do some research and you will find that today's experts disagree with the past and a lot of things that were supposed to be true are laughed at today. Each generation thinks that their experts are the ones that are better than the previous ones.
If you monkey with the classic Christian faith and change it so it is up to date you will create for yourself a faith that soon will be laughable and obsolete.-Timothy Keller
Christianity is the same way, today's experts have decided that the old ways are out of date and that we need to change our theology to fit with the times. Too many people act like we should know better than to believe those ancient words found in the Bible.
The Wisdom Of The World Is Shallow and Inadequate
The world has many theories about how to make myself a better version of me but none of their teaching takes care of my sin problem. The world's answers are shallow and inadequate when it comes to restoring my relationship with God.
I know that no matter how good I am I will never measure up to the level of goodness that is required to stand before a holy God. Without an intervention I would never find peace with God on my own.
The Wisdom Of The World Is Narrow And Exclusive
The gospel is usually seen as narrow and exclusive from those on the outside but really it is the world's wisdom that is. The world tells you that you need to be pretty and have power and possessions in order to matter but the gospel is for everyone, the rich wise man and the poor unclean shepherds are on the same level in their need for a savior.
God's wisdom chooses to use the lowly and despised to accomplish his work, even the choice of Mary to be Jesus mother. A poor, uneducated, unmarried pregnant girl that would lose any status she could have had before she became pregnant.
The hope of Christmas is still available to those that put aside man's wisdom. We need to be prepared like those men that heard the teaching about the savior that would come hundreds of years later. When they saw the star they knew that the savior had arrived and they couldn't wait to worship him.
Based on a sermon by Timothy Keller "Jesus, Our God"
The Name God Gave His Son (desiringgod.org)
