What does it mean that wisdom is justified by her children (Matthew 11:19)?

The words which follow are a true description of the generation which was privileged to see the King, Jehovah, manifested in the earth. "But to whom shall I liken this generation? It is like children calling to their companions, saying, We have piped to you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned to you, and ye have not wailed. For John has come, neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He has a demon. The son of man has come eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man that is eating and wine drinking, a friend of tax-gatherers, and of sinners; -- and wisdom has been justified by her children" (verses 15-19). In other words, the generation was a foolish lot of people who could not be suited by anything. They were like children. It is a wonderful declaration of our Lord of the condition of the people, His own to whom He came, and who received Him not. The illustration is taken from children playing with the real things of life, with joy and sorrow, and idling their time away. John appeared, among them and they were dissatisfied with him. He was too strict, too severe; they cared not for him, and because he would not sit down and eat and drink with them they said, he has a demon. Then the Lord came. Truth and mercy were revealed through Him. He sat down with the tax-gatherers and sinners and mingled with them, eating and drinking. Divine mercy towards the fallen and outcast was most blessedly shown -- the spotless One in touch with the defiled and lost, calling sinners to repentance. But they had no understanding for this, no heart for that wonderful grace. He was in their eyes but a man, for they said: "Behold a man -- eating and drinking." They put Him on the same level with the wine drinking company. Neither mourning nor rejoicing suited them. Behind it stands the evil heart, the natural man, never pleased with God's way, always finding fault. "The carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be" (Rom. 8:7). The words "wisdom has been justified by her children" has found many different interpretations. Its meaning is very simple. While the large mass of people were thus rejecting John and Christ, and had no understanding for God's love and mercy made known, there were others, a few indeed, and these accepted the teaching of John and believed in the Lord. "Wisdom" is an Old Testament name of our Lord. The whole book of Proverbs abounds with the word Wisdom and the speech Wisdom utters. The eighth chapter tells us that Wisdom is a person and that person is our Lord. Those who believed in Him are the children of Wisdom and they had no fault to find, neither with John's burning call to repentance, nor with the mercy of Christ in eating and drinking with the tax-gatherers and sinners. In this way Wisdom was justified by her children.

The wise are not the Pharisees and the scribes. In v. 29 it says that some justified God, that is, they bowed to God's testimony through John the Baptist and recognized that God was righteous in His condemnation of their sins. Many confessed their sins and took their place in the Jordan, owning in this way that death was what they truly deserved. Thus they proclaimed God's righteousness against themselves. And therefore they also received the grace of God in the person of Christ with all gratefulness, and justified it when many condemned it, showing themselves to be the children of wisdom in so doing. The way God in Christ's person had brought this wonderful grace within their reach was something they adored; they saw only wisdom in the way He had acted, and rejoiced in it. We find in this woman an example of those who justified this wisdom. She gave evidence that she was one of the children of wisdom by so doing. Everything in the story revolves around Christ's person. In other words God is here in Him, God's wisdom is presented in Him. Some felt in their heart of hearts that this was God's message that met their soul's true need; yea more, it filled their hearts to overflowing so that they adored the grace and gracefulness of God revealed to them in Christ. This verse is the culmination of what goes before, and is exemplified in the following story. The claims of wisdom are proved to be true by one of her children.

Let us take a closer look at their accusation before we continue. On the principle that a man is known by the company he keeps, they insinuated that He is congenial to tax collectors and immoral persons in character and tastes. There was a sting in this charge that He was a 'friend' of such people. Friend is a very strong word in a Jewish context. It is a word which makes somebody indebted to another; it implies an obligation on both persons involved in the friendship. In fact Luke is the author in the New Testament who uses this word most often. We get a deep impression of what this word meant in Christ's mouth when He said to His disciples: 'But I have called you friends' John 15:15. This charge of His relationship to the outcasts of the Jewish society recurs theme time and time again. The first time they made the accusation as recorded in Luke He answered them that He was among them as a physician with the express purpose of healing them-to call them to repentance (5:33). Here in this chapter He answers the same accusation by telling them that wisdom is justified by wisdom's children. The religious leaders questioned the propriety of the Lord Jesus' association with tax collectors and sinners, and drew negative conclusions as to His person that were unwarranted. However in this verse Christ affirms that the reception of God's grace transforms the sinner. Grace is the source of true holiness, not of licentiousness. In the story recorded immediately after this saying the effect of grace is so apparent in the behaviour of this woman that it should be possible to see even for a blind man like Simon.

Perhaps those who heard Christ's words the first time they were spoken might have had different thoughts as to who the 'children of wisdom' were. The way Luke brings these stories together in his gospel makes it perfectly clear who in this context is the child of wisdom-not Simon but the woman. Certainly a revolutionary thought to the Pharisees. They pretended namely to be 'the wise and prudent' Luke 10:21. The religious leaders of the people considered themselves, and were considered by the majority of the people, as the ones who had wisdom if any. A child of wisdom is a title of honour they would crave for themselves, but in this context they have already failed on the most fundamental point. They lack from the very start, the basis on which it could be built. They pretend to be wise enough to judge God, but not to judge themselves. In true wisdom there is a first requirement which is absolutely necessary for any further development in true wisdom-namely that God should have his place as God in sovereign majesty. Simon was obviously devoid of this basic element of true wisdom. 'The fool says in his heart: There is no God' Psalm 14:1. If God does not have His proper place everything is out of order and there is moral chaos. If there is true wisdom one will bow before God, condemn oneself and justify God. 'The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding' Prov. 9:10.

We have now, I take it, the complete hinge of the dispensation brought out. The Lord receives, and bears witness to John the baptist, not John to the Lord, and John receives Christ's testimony of Himself, and by report too. It was no longer preparing a people for the Lord, but receiving sinners, and raising the dead. Yet the fullest testimony is borne to John, and his work in baptism owned. They who had bowed to it among the Jews received the Lord's testimony concerning him. The Pharisees and Scribes rejected the counsel of God towards them, being not baptised of him. Thus again, while the Jewish work was owned it was owned from a higher ground, where the Lord in grace and living power, resurrection power, had placed Himself. This was based on entire rejection in and by the world, so that though He was doing all good, still it was: "Blessed is he whosoever shall not be offended in me"; see the end then of verse 28, as marking the change now taking place. But even John had advocated repentance, which was more than law, for law allows nothing of repentance nor grace, for admission of repentance is grace. Law, with God, recognises equivalent atonement. Elias was testimony, not to those under the law properly, but to apostate Israel having left the place of covenant. We find, in addition, the recognition of a class who did understand these things - wisdom as to John, or the Lord's ways. Wisdom is justified of her children - the wisdom of God's ways, all of them apparently quite different, but understood in grace, but it is wisdom's children, those who are identified with her, and take her view of grace from above, and God glorified in His dealings, dealings towards man ruined, not man's judgment of God as if he was, as a sinner, a competent judge. It is more than they are saved, justified. It is the children of wisdom justifying wisdom.

180 It is interesting to see how the change of dispensation connects itself with the state of souls. John comes as prophet with the testimony of fulfilment of prophecy. But now Christ, having given His own witness of Himself in grace to Gentiles and in power over death itself, does not receive testimony from John but gives it to him, and John comes in, in personal faith, as others do. But further, to meet man's need in grace, and detect man's false pride and glory, to put down flesh, He comes in utter humiliation. John's testimony is left behind; divine goodness and power gives witness to itself (chap. 7:22), but in such a state that flesh could not brook it, "Blessed be he whosoever shall not be offended in me." This manifestation of God reaches conscience on one side, and on the other gives perfect confidence in love. Conscience made, by grace, children of Wisdom. They owned God was right in His judgment of fruitless trees, and where flesh saw a devil they saw the true testimony of God as to themselves. When perfect love came down to their low estate, it was just what they wanted. They justified God, in that Wisdom was justified of her children. So the poor woman; and the stupid Pharisee who could not discover a Prophet when God was there and just because He was there. But it led farther to forgiveness, salvation by faith, and peace from the Lord Himself. John had come to the highest place of those who could be connected with Christ after the flesh, but the least in the kingdom, when the work would be accomplished and men in relationship with God by Christ, was greater. The promise fulfilling passed away - Israel would not have it - John who announced it had to believe on other ground - but it was only to make way for divine manifestation of grace to sinners which would triumph over death itself. The confidence of the sinner's heart won to God by the manifestation and exercise of perfect love towards it. It was not Christ with Israel, but sinners with divine love leading to the answer of peace.

The people, who had received with humility the word sent by John the Baptist, bore testimony in their heart to the ways and the wisdom of God. Those who trusted in themselves rejected the counsels of God accomplished in Christ. The Lord, on this, declares plainly what their condition is. They rejected alike the warnings and the grace of God. The children of wisdom (those in whom the wisdom of God wrought) acknowledged and gave glory to it in its ways. This is the history of the reception both of John and of Jesus. The wisdom of man denounced the ways of God. The righteous severity of His testimony against evil, against the condition of His people, showed to man's eyes the influence of a devil. The perfection of His grace, condescending to poor sinners, and presenting itself to them where they were, was the wallowing in sin and the making oneself known by one's associates. Proud self-righteousness could bear neither. The wisdom of God would be owned by those who were taught by it, and by those alone.

In both these cases God's wisdom was condemned by religious leaders. But all wisdom's children (genuine believers) fully justified that wisdom, whether in the stern message of John or in the gracious ministry of the Lord Jesus, for both were in perfect place. Faith recognized this, while unbelief remained undiscerning and insensible.

But wisdom was justified of her own children. These (children of wisdom) at least recognized God's distinct and different means of dealing as being in perfect order, recognizing God's righteousness in John's Ministry and His great grace in that of the Lord Jesus.

"But Wisdom is justified of her children." John was right and the Lord was right. John had justified Him and others had too. It is a true test. The dying thief very blessedly justified Him. In Luke 7 the Lord uses the same words (ver. 35), and immediately after you get the woman of the city coming to anoint Him.

"But wisdom is justified of all her children." The robber vindicated the wisdom of God; for he confessed the Messiah when the High Priest, the Roman Procurator, and the Tetrarch of Galilee, in that day, mocked, rejected, and condemned the Lord and Saviour. That robber gave the lie to the wisdom of the world.