Jesus is Smart

Matthew 22:46

And no one was able to answer him a word, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions.

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Whenever I read this chapter, I am reminded that Jesus was an amazing wit. He is often remembered for his healings and his even for his eloquence, but rarely is it mentioned that Jesus could hang with the smartest and most winsome debaters of his day. After completing a round of parables, Matthew 22 enters into a four-part battle of wits in which Jesus comes out on top.

(1) Taxes. How would you like it if a group of people "plotted how to entangle" you in your talk? Sounds a little foreboding, but Jesus took it in stride, answering the Pharisees' question about taxes with one of his most famous responses. Give to Caesar what is Caesar, and to God what is God's. This is probably not a comprehensive approach to church and state, but it wasn't meant to be. It was meant to make them marvel (verse 22).

(2) Resurrection. This was indeed the hot topic of the day for these religious leaders. When asked about the hypothetical case of the seven brothers and one widow, Jesus gives his typical mouth-stopping answer: You are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God. He then makes his case on the grounds of Scripture that God is not a God of the dead, but of the living.

(3) The Greatest Commandment. Yet again, the teachers look for a way to make Jesus stumble, but yet again, he fails to disappoint. I am amazed at how humble the Son of God became to have to calmly and graciously answer theological questions that were given from hardened hearts. Oh Lord, never let my doubts and questions about you come from an insincere heart of stone! I want to love You with all my heart, and my neighbor as myself.

(4) Messiah. Finally, the tables are turned, and Jesus poses a question to them. They should have known the answer, but for some reason it had never occurred to these religious scholars that the Messiah might be more than a human king. He might actually be divine.

And no one was able to answer him a word, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions.