Jesus as Divine Wisdom

Scripture — John 1:1-3 (NRSV)

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being.

Devotion

In the first year of my PhD program, I was assigned a paper on the prologue to the Gospel of John (1:1-18). As I began my research, I assumed that I would learn a lot more about the “Word” of God who figures so prominently in this passage. I did indeed learn plenty, some of which surprised me.

The main surprise had to do with the extent to which John’s portrayal of the Word reflects the Jewish understanding of divine Wisdom. Before beginning my research, I assumed that the Word in John 1 was connected mainly to God’s creative and prophetic word in the Old Testament and also to the rational word (logos) in the Greek world. What I discovered confirmed this hunch, but added a whole new perspective. The Word of God in John 1 sounds a whole lot like Wisdom in ancient Jewish writings such as Proverbs.

For example, compare the following passages:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being (John 1:1-3)

[Wisdom says:] The LORD created me at the beginning of his work,

     the first of his acts of long ago.

Ages ago I was set up,

     at the first, before the beginning of the earth. . . .

When he established the heavens, I was there,

     when he drew a circle on the face of the deep,

when he made firm the skies above,

     when he established the fountains of the deep,

when he assigned to the sea its limit,

     so that the waters might not transgress his command,

when he marked out the foundations of the earth,

     then I was beside him, like a master worker;

and I was daily his_ _delight,

     rejoicing before him always (Prov 8:22-23, 27-30).

When you put these two passages side by side, you can see how profoundly John’s portrayal of the Word has been influenced by the Old Testament depiction of Wisdom.

Both Word and Wisdom were in the beginning.

Both Word and Wisdom were with God.

Both Word and Wisdom were active in creation.

If you were to go through the rest of John’s prologue, you’d find many more parallels between the Word and Wisdom.

What you will not find in ancient Jewish teachings on Wisdom, however, is the idea that Wisdom became incarnate in one, unique human being. In the book known as The Wisdom of Jesus the Son of Sirach, or simply Sirach, which was written a couple of centuries before the birth of Jesus of Nazareth, divine Wisdom does come to dwell in Israel. Yet Wisdom comes, not as a person, but as the divine Law, the Torah (see Sirach 24:1-29).

The Gospel of John, however, reveals that God’s Word/Wisdom “became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). A couple of verses later it says, “The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known” (1:17-18).

As Christians, we certainly believe that God’s Wisdom is reflected in God’s Law. But we understand that the ultimate revelation of Wisdom has come, not in the Law, but in the person of Jesus Christ. He is the Word/Wisdom of God incarnate (1:14). Thus, if we seek wisdom, if we want to be wise in our thinking and acting, in our leading and following, we need to know Jesus. We need to receive him, as John writes in verse 12, by believing in him.

Such belief isn’t a momentary affirmation so much as the beginning of a lifelong relationship with Jesus, the very Wisdom of God. Indeed, later in the Gospel of John, Jesus invites us not only to believe in him but also to abide in him, to make our home in him and his love (15:4-9). Not only will this enable us to grow in wisdom, but also, as Jesus promises, it is the path to complete joy (15:11).

Find all Life for Leaders devotions here. Explore what the Bible has to say about work at the unique website of our partners, the Theology of Work Project’s online commentary. Reflection on today’s Life for Leaders theme can be found here: Your Work Matters to God (John 1:1–5,14).