The wise and learned – those with great success business success go on talk shows to say how to say save the world – whether it is Bill Gates – Jeff Bezos – or Elon Musk - … - Politicians who cite their office and the authority of their office to set out at save the world with their wisdom and experience – academics, Neil deGrasse Tyson being the who look at their degrees and credentials – and speak on everything and anything with authority and certainty – even if their studies have nothing to do with it – they have studied and have success – but perhaps they are not always as wise as they think.
Image someone is in the middle of nowhere – no civilization in sight – and his car is broken – it will not start – how, some other people are traveling that road – and they stop by to try and help.
First is a businessman with an MBA from Harvard. He gets out of his car and takes a look - “I can’t fix your car, but you know, a lot of people likely break down out here, and as it’s far away, a towing company might be able to charge a lot of money. There is a great business opportunity here! Let me know when you get to town, and we can talk about starting a towing business!” - he gets in his car and drives off - … - wise and learned – but not very useful.
Next is a scientist with a doctorate in Material science from MIT. - “To understand what happened to your car, we need to replicate the failure – then we can isolate the cause to understand what failed and why; perhaps the heat caused a reaction between the different materials. Let me know when you get into town to get your car to the lab.” – wise and learned - good scientific process – but not very useful right now Third is a philosopher, a lover of wisdom with his doctorate from Oxford - perhaps he can help? - “Hmm, this is an interesting phenomenon of the ontological reality of cars. Is there such a thing as carness? Or is it an artifact and not truly a substance? And if a car does not start, is it truly a car anymore?” He continues to ponder as he gets into his car and drives off … - wise and learned? Perhaps – but most definitely - not helpful.
Finally, someone else comes by, but there is not much hope of him helping; he is in a truck that looks at least 30 years old – With all the rust and grime, it is unclear how it does not fall apart. Out comes an old farmer. What can this person do that the wise and learned?
Yet he takes a look at the car - “Hmm, this is not so bad, just a stuck valve and a loose hose.” He goes to the back of his truck and gets a hammer, WD-40, and some duct tape. Whacks at a few things with the hammer, sprays some WD 40, tapes a few things, turns the key, and the car starts right back up. – It might not be pretty – he might not have fancy credentials – but the car is running.
Help and salvation did not come from the “wise and learned” – but from the humble farmer.
Hidden from the wise and learned but revealed to the little ones. It is with simple things, such as getting a car running – it turns out it is even more true of things that matter the most in life.– The wise and learned in the 1st Century were the scribes and Pharisees – they studied the law and were masters of the text – but they did not merely miss how to get a car running – they missed the word incarnate, for Christ was in front of them, but they could not see Him – caught up in themselves and their studies – to confident in their own ability - what does this son of a carpenter have to say? He is from Nazareth – a town that most maps do not even have on them – what could he possibly say?
In many ways, the scribes and Pharisees are not that different from the businessman, the scientist, or the philosopher – caught in questions and their own ability and experience and missing what is in front of them. With no humility, they missed Christ. – They thought they were the answer – instead of looking for Christ who was the answer – and they could not provide it – to themselves or those who followed.
But not everyone missed Christ – the humble could hear Christ – and those that hear and follow? - “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.”
There are experts wise and learned all around – on the TV – or today, on YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, or just introduced, Threads – there are experts ready to give advice – those who have great wealth and business success in various ventures – bestselling authors – academics with doctorates from prestige universities – all ready to explain how things work and how to solve the problems of the world – yet somehow – in pride trying to master and solve the issues - all of these sometimes miss what really matters – they often do not even see the problem – and definitely do not find rest – for that is only found in Christ – something only the little ones hear – something we only hear if we are humble – and go to Christ – “although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to little ones.”