However, Luke tells us this about the Lord’s adolescence: Jesus increased in wisdom… (Luke 2:52). We may not fully understand this, but we can believe it. Jesus grew in wisdom as He grew in physical stature.
What must have been the mechanism for His growth in wisdom? Perhaps, three. First, as James exhorts us to do, Jesus likely asked the Father for it, the God “who gives generously to all without reproach” (Jas 1:5). Second, Luke 12 tells us about that trip to the temple, where He sat with the teachers listening to them and asking them questions. If this kind of thing was a habit, we could say Jesus spent time with the wise, which Proverbs 13:20 says is a pathway to wisdom. Third, His command of the Scriptures by the age of 12—and even more so by the time of His public ministry—indicates countless hours of personal study and meditation, no doubt much of that included time in the wisdom literature.
In other words, Jesus likely grew in wisdom as we grow in wisdom. That should encourage us. When we see Jesus’ wisdom displayed in the Gospels, we ought not think it is out of reach. Likewise, when we read the wisdom literature of the Bible, our minds should turn quickly to Jesus as the one who best epitomized their practice.
I have found it a helpful exercise as I am reading Proverbs to look at it not simply as a repository of wise sayings, but to look there for the character and work of Christ. When I see Proverbs as book read by Him, a book which contributed to His growth in wisdom and even filled up His understanding of His own mission, it not only causes me to love wisdom, but to love Jesus, who embodies wisdom. My pursuit of both become all the richer.
I’d like to encourage you to read Proverbs with an eye toward the things of Christ, both for the purpose of growing in wisdom and for the purpose of growing in affection for Him. Look for principles exemplified by Jesus or fulfilled in the mission of Jesus.
To get you started, I’ve put a few examples below. Each of these are either principles exemplified by Christ or verses pointing to the mission of Christ. They would be good conversation starters around the table with the family or over coffee with a friend.
17:15 He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous are both alike an abomination to the LORD.
3:19 The LORD by wisdom founded the earth; by understanding he established the heavens…
11:4 Riches do not profit in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death.
14:10 The heart knows its own bitterness, and no stranger shares its joy.
16:6 By steadfast love and faithfulness iniquity is atoned for, and by the fear of the LORD one turns away from evil.
16:32 Whoever is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city.
18:24 A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.
16:25 There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.
21:3 To do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice.
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