An Anointing of Wisdom

Although the Lord Jesus did not get the baptism of the Holy Spirit until he was approximately 30 years old, there were definite signs that Jesus had anointings and even the fullness of the Holy Spirit from the time he was a little boy. The gospels tell us that he was filled with wisdom and that he was remarkably keen.

Luke tells us what Jesus was like from infancy to adolescence. In his Gospel, Luke gives us insight into our Lord’s childhood.

For example, regarding the boy Jesus’ physical development, Luke states that he grew and became strong. Regarding his intellectual development, Luke tells us that the boy Jesus was filled with wisdom.

Luke says:

… the child [Jesus] grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was on him (Luke 2:40).

Since a human being's primary source of wisdom is the Holy Spirit, and only he inspires wisdom in people, we deduce that the boy Jesus had an anointing of wisdom from the Holy Spirit. How else did Jesus become so smart. How else would a man have become the greatest teacher the World has ever seen?

It was important for God to send a wise Savior to the World, don’t you think? Therefore, it’s suitable for the Heir of the Universe to have an anointing of wisdom from the Holy Spirit, don’t you agree? Well, that’s exactly what Jesus had as he grew up in the small village of Nazareth--the oldest brother of a large family.

Understanding of the Bible

A mere seven verses later, Luke tells us that, as an adolescent, Jesus’ understanding of the Scriptures was comprehensive. In fact, his understanding of the Scriptures was so comprehensive that the Jewish teachers at the Temple of Yahweh quizzed him and were amazed at his answers. The pre-teen Jesus had days of Q&A with the Temple teachers and they were amazed with him!

Read about it here:

Everyone who heard him [the boy Jesus at age 12] was amazed at his understanding and his answers (Luke 2:47).

This is another indication that the Holy Spirit remained with Jesus as he grew up. He continued to grant Jesus an anointing of knowledge well into Jesus' adolescence.

What about your kids? How are they doing? Is the Holy Spirit with them? Are they growing in knowledge? Do they have an anointing of wisdom?

For those who take Jesus' example to mean that Christian parents must push our kids hard in school and insist that they get straight As, reconsider. The understanding Jesus developed was an understanding of the Bible. Jesus was not a genius in math, sciences, engineering, geography, or languages. In fact, of those subjects Jesus had very little knowledge.

Jesus was no child prodigy. Everybody else in his community spoke Aramaic, Hebrew, and Greek and so did he. Everybody else knew some math, and so did he. Everybody else had some basic knowledge of science and geography. So did he. But not everybody loved the Bible as much as the boy Jesus.

Jesus didn’t attend the gymnasium where the children of the elite got a private Hellenistic education. Jesus never studied the Greek philosophers: Socrates, Aristotle, Plato, Epicurus, or Zeno. So you would think that he would have been invited to attend one of the prestigious Bible-centered yeshivas of his day. But no.

Although the teachers in Jerusalem were aware of the Bible-loving child from Nazareth, they didn’t try to recruit him to be tutored by any of the great rabbis of the day. Thank God they didn't! It would have ruined him.

The most renowned sage of Jesus' day was Gamaliel. He didn't select Jesus as a pupil. Gamaliel selected others, like boys who would later become leading Pharisees. One such boy was from Tarsus. He was named Saul.

But Jesus—being of more humble origins than Saul and the others chosen to teach the Bible—was not invited to participate in the programs of Israel's leading training centers, yeshivas. The two most famous ones of his time were the Hillel School and the Shammai School. There were also the Essenes who lived near the Dead Sea. Jesus wasn't selected for training with them either.

So, what do we learn from Jesus' experience as a boy growing in knowledge? We learn the approach we should take with our own children. Instead of focusing on a “top rated” academic institution for them, we should [to the degree possible] provide a community of Bible-believing neighbors and pray that they would be anointed by the Holy Spirit.

As you assure that your children's instructors are good people, Christian people, and that your children can develop Christian friendships, pray that they would be anointed by the Holy Spirit. That strategy will get your kids a lot further in life than an expensive private school. You’ll be making a much better investment in their future.

Wisdom vs. Information

Back to the boy Jesus: The fact that he had wisdom and understanding as a boy does not mean that he had a lot of information. The boy Jesus knew nothing of computers, calculus, political science, arithmetic, chemistry, or physics.

Our Lord certainly didn’t believe in Darwin's theory of evolution, the Big Bang theory, or that the stars prove how small and insignificant Earth is. On the contrary, the boy Jesus looked up at night with faith that his Father put the stars in the sky to illuminate the Earth.

Jesus believed that God created all things. Jesus believed that God created all things (even the furthest star) for man. Jesus saw humans as creatures made in the image of God.

Jesus believed in Adam and Eve. If someone were to go to a renowned university today and argue for the Garden of Eden as the origin of man, would that sound educated? Would it sound like the student had received a top education? Of course not.

But Jesus argued in public about the creation of Adam and Eve! And he used the Bible as his point of reference. That is a sign of wisdom! The wisdom of the Holy Spirit.

‘Haven’t you read,’ he replied, ‘that at the Beginning the Creator made them male and female’ (Matthew 19:4)?

Not Worldly Intelligence

The Scriptures connect Jesus to 4,000 years of human history--and Jesus knew that. Luke calculated the genealogy of Jesus' forefathers for us. Luke gives us the chronology of the patriarchs. If the lifespan of each patriarch is tabulated from the data in Genesis, then the years from Adam to Jesus would be approximately 4,000.

Jesus, when he began his ministry, was about thirty years of age, being the son (as was supposed) of Joseph, the son of Heli, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of Jannai, the son of Joseph… the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor…

… the son of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son of Lamech, the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Mahalaleel, the son of Cainan, the son of Enos, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God (Luke 3:23–38).

Jesus believed in the Scriptures, and so he believed in its chronology. The Bible was history for Jesus. Is the Bible history for your children?

Jesus believed not in the theory of a "3-billion-year old" planet Earth, but in an Earth that was 4,000 years old. He was a “young Earth creationist.” Today's most prestigious educators and scientists sneer at the young-Earth creationists. In most schools, people who hold to this view are silenced.

Let's be honest. Jesus would have failed science courses in Western universities. He would not pass the exams. He would displease professors. So, what exactly is this intelligence that the Holy Spirit gave our Lord Jesus as a boy? It definitely was not an intelligence the World gives.

Jesus knew spiritual truth. He was spiritually smart. How about you? How about your kids?

Jesus handled himself wisely. He knew when to speak and when to keep silent. How about you? How about your kids?

Wisdom is the knowledge of how to live right. Help your kids to get that kind of education. It will serve them much more than a tablet computer, a high GPA, or a college degree—really. The example of Jesus proves it!