A well-recognized notion within the historical world was a touring instructor who may draw a crowd. Lecturers like that got here and went. However within the first-century Roman Empire, an itinerant instructor, who grew up within the village of Nazareth, impacted the land of Israel in a means that no earlier instructor had achieved. Jesus of Nazareth taught with unprecedented authority (Matt 7:28–29), and he demonstrated knowledge superior to even probably the most educated rabbis, scribes, and Pharisees (Matt 13:54).
In Israel’s historical past, there was an awesome king whose fame outstretched the promised land and drew the lots. King Solomon was the wisest of kings and males. However as nice as Solomon’s knowledge was, Jesus surpassed him.
The 4 Gospels depict Jesus as a real and larger Solomon, and we should always consider their portrayal. On this article, we’ll think about 4 ways in which the shadow of Solomon is current within the life and ministry of Jesus.
Desk of contents
- Items from Gentile lands
- A surprising declare of greatness
- Sensible solutions and unmatched educating
- Using a donkey into Jerusalem
Conclusion
1. Items from Gentile lands
Someday after the delivery of Jesus, Gentiles from the east came over him. The sensible males arrived in Jerusalem as a result of they knew that was the town the place a king dominated. They requested, “The place is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we noticed his star when it rose and have come to worship him” (Matt 2:2). In brief order, the magi discovered what the Outdated Testomony prophesied: the promised king can be born in Bethlehem, so to Bethlehem they went (2:3–9).
Arriving on the acceptable home in Bethlehem, the magi opened the presents they’d introduced him: gold and frankincense and myrrh (Matt 2:10–11). These three presents may look like unusual issues to deliver to a small little one, however the presents symbolized the devotion and deference of the magi, in addition to the royal standing they believed the kid possessed. They bowed earlier than the king (2:11).
The echo of 1 Kings 10 is heard on this magi scene. In response to 1 Kings 10:1–10, the queen of Sheba got here to Solomon with presents. She had come to see and listen to this nice and sensible king. An entourage had accompanied her. She introduced “spices and really a lot gold and valuable stones” (1 Kgs 10:2). She “gave the king 120 abilities of gold, and a really nice amount of spices and valuable stones. By no means once more got here such an abundance of spices as these that the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon” (10:10).
Achieve insights on the New Testaments’s use of the Outdated Testomony utilizing the Necessary Passages in Logos’s Guides.
Psalm 72 additional establishes a connection between Solomon and the longer term Christ, by way of presents of devotion and status-recognition. This psalm is both written by David for Solomon, or it’s written by Solomon. Irrespective of if the writer is David or the son of David, the content material of Psalm 72 has in view the covenant guarantees of a king who would reign ceaselessly (see 2 Sam 7:12–13), and such a king would obtain the presents and worship of others. For instance, Psalm 72:10 says, “Could the kings of Tarshish and of the coastlands render him tribute; could the kings of Sheba and Seba deliver presents!” And Psalm 72:15 says, “Lengthy could he dwell; could gold of Sheba be given to him!” These traces from Psalm 72 are about Gentiles bringing presents that embody gold, and such homage was evident within the lives of Solomon—and Jesus.
Matthew 2 echoes these royal presents from Gentiles in 1 King 10 and Psalm 72. The purpose: Jesus is a Solomonic determine.
Thirty years earlier than his public ministry, his standing was acknowledged and revered by Gentiles. Not even Solomon’s greatness was acknowledged so early.
2. A surprising declare of greatness
Second, Jesus himself claimed to be larger than Solomon.
All through Jesus’s ministry, he taught a wide range of truths in regards to the kingdom’s presence (Matt 4:17), individuals (Matt 5:3–16), ethics (Matt 5:17–7:14), and future (Matt 24–25). He additionally taught about himself—making claims about his origin and id. His claims included, “I’m the dwelling bread that got here down from heaven” (John 6:51); “I’m the sunshine of the world” (John 8:12); “I’m the nice shepherd” (John 10:11); “One thing larger than Jonah is right here” (Matt 12:41); and “One thing larger than the temple is right here” (Matt 12:6).
Jesus’s many claims didn’t allow his hearers (and now readers) to conclude that he was merely an excellent human instructor. His claims signaled far more than that. As an illustration, in Matthew 12, Jesus made a declare about himself that invoked Solomon’s identify. He was speaking to some scribes and Pharisees (Matt 12:38) in regards to the future judgment upon his era. He stated, “The queen of the South will stand up on the judgment with this era and condemn it, for she got here from the ends of the earth to listen to the knowledge of Solomon, and behold, one thing larger than Solomon is right here” (Matt 12:42).
The “queen” in Jesus’s phrases was the queen of Sheba in 1 Kings 10. She got here to listen to Solomon’s nice knowledge, as a result of his fame for knowledge had reached the ears of individuals exterior the promised land. The rationale for Solomon’s nice knowledge was God’s reply to the king’s prayer. The Lord had informed him, “Ask what I shall offer you” (1 Kgs 3:5), and Solomon replied, “Give your servant due to this fact an understanding thoughts to control your individuals, that I’ll discern between good and evil” (3:9). The Lord gave Solomon “a sensible and discerning thoughts,” telling him that “none such as you has been earlier than you and none such as you shall come up after you” (3:12).
The Lord’s language emphasised the distinctiveness of Solomon. There was no previous, current, or future ruler who may match the prevalence of the king’s knowledge. The biblical writer says that Solomon’s knowledge and understanding had been “past measure” (1 Kgs 4:29), and his knowledge “surpassed the knowledge of all of the individuals of the east and all of the knowledge of Egypt” (4:30). Solomon was not solely Israel’s wisest king, however the language in 1 Kings 3:12 signifies that he was the world’s wisest king.
Jesus claimed to be larger than the wisest king the world had ever identified. The sheer magnitude of the declare is staggering.
Think about the shock, then, when Jesus says, “Behold, one thing larger than Solomon is right here” (Matt 12:42). He does greater than examine himself to Solomon; he claims to be larger. However larger in what means? Jesus’s phrases discuss with the queen of the South who got here to listen to Solomon’s knowledge (12:42), so knowledge is the characteristic of Solomon that Jesus has in thoughts.
Speaking to scribes and Pharisees in Matthew 12, Jesus claimed to be larger than the wisest king the world had ever identified. The sheer magnitude of the declare is staggering. The implication was that Solomon was now not the wisest man who had ever lived. Jesus was a larger Solomon.
3. Sensible solutions and unmatched educating
Third, Jesus demonstrated his surpassing knowledge to others.
Anyone could make claims, however not everyone can substantiate the claims they make. Solomon’s knowledge was evident to individuals who got here to him with questions, and this Solomonic shadow is current within the ministry of Jesus.
In 1 Kings 3:16–28, Solomon solved a dispute between two ladies concerning a baby. When all Israel heard of Solomon’s judgment, “they stood in awe of the king, as a result of they perceived that the knowledge of God was in him to do justice” (1 Kgs 3:28). As Solomon’s fame of nice knowledge prolonged past the land of Israel, “individuals of all nations got here to listen to the knowledge of Solomon, and from all of the kings of the earth, who had heard of his knowledge” (4:34). The queen of Sheba informed Solomon “all that was on her thoughts” (10:2), and he “answered all her questions; there was nothing hidden from the king that he couldn’t clarify to her” (10:3).
Solomon’s knowledge, then, was not solely one thing he personally possessed, it was additionally one thing he publicly demonstrated. So too the general public demonstration of knowledge characterised the ministry of Jesus, and on this means the echo of Solomon’s greatness is discernible.
Folks approached Jesus with all types of questions, although typically the questioner had dishonorable motives. For instance, throughout Ardour Week, a few of the Pharisees and Herodians strategy him “to lure him in his discuss” (Mark 12:13). Regardless of the evil motives of a few of the leaders, Jesus answered questions and averted their traps.
He taught boldly and with authority, typically leaving the listeners astonished. After the sayings comprising the Sermon on the Mount (Matt 5–7), the writer says, “The crowds had been astonished at his educating, for he was educating them as one who had authority, and never as their scribes” (Matt 7:28–29). Some officers as soon as informed the Pharisees, “Nobody ever spoke like this man!” (John 7:46).
The knowledge of Jesus was evident earlier than his public ministry. In response to Luke 2:41–52, Jesus remained in Jerusalem after Mary and Joseph departed with a caravan again to Nazareth. Once they ultimately situated him, they discovered him “within the temple, sitting among the many academics, listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard him had been amazed at his understanding and his solutions” (Luke 2:46–47). The biblical writer tells us that Jesus “elevated in knowledge and stature and in favor with God and man” (2:52).
Throughout Jesus’s ministry, his sensible and authoritative phrases had been each compelling and divisive. Crowds had been astonished. Non secular leaders had been indignant. Generally his phrases left them speechless. In Matthew 22:46, “Nobody was in a position to reply him a phrase, nor from that day did anybody dare to ask him any extra questions.”
4. Using a donkey into Jerusalem
Fourth, Jesus rode a donkey to Jerusalem as an indication of his kingship.
The occasion of Jesus’s procession to Jerusalem was Sunday of Ardour Week, and he rode a donkey in achievement of Scripture. In response to Matthew 21:4–5, Jesus’s well-known trip fulfilled Zechariah 9:9, which was a prophecy about Jerusalem’s king coming into the town mounted on a donkey.
However the image of a king on a donkey didn’t seem for the primary time in Zechariah 9:9. There’s a story about Solomon that precedes it.
In 1 Kings 1, David is close to dying, and his son Adonijah needs to grab the throne (1 Kgs 1:5–10). David makes clear that Adonijah wouldn’t be the subsequent king; quite, Solomon—the son of David—was the inheritor to the throne. David offers orders to a number of males (Zadok, Nathan, and Benaiah):
Take with you the servants of your lord and have Solomon my son trip by myself mule, and produce him right down to Gihon. And let Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet there anoint him king over Israel. Then blow the trumpet and say, “Lengthy dwell King Solomon!” You shall then come up after him, and he shall come and sit on my throne, for he shall be king in my place. (1 Kgs 1:33–35a)
So Solomon rode David’s mule to Gihon, which was a water supply close to Jerusalem. This trip by David’s son was an illustration of his kingship, and his route was accompanied by the shouts and acclamations of the individuals. Zadok the priest anointed Solomon, the trumpet blasted, and folks stated, “Lengthy dwell King Solomon!” (1 Kgs 1:39). The music and rejoicing was so nice “that the earth was cut up by their noise” (1:40).
This trip by David’s son would sooner or later be surpassed by David’s larger son. On the primary day of Ardour Week, Jesus rode a donkey to Jerusalem, the town of the king.
Like the primary Solomon, Jesus rode to reign. He had come to avoid wasting, to meet his mission of enthronement.
The phrases and actions of the group accompanied his trip. Folks unfold cloaks and tree branches on the street (Matt 21:8), and the crowds shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes within the identify of the Lord! Hosanna within the highest!” (Matt 21:9). By declaring Jesus to be the “Son of David,” they weren’t equating him with the traditional king who rode his father’s mule. They had been making a good larger assertion. Jesus was the promised Son of David—the Christ (2 Sam 7:12–13).
Like the primary Solomon, Jesus rode to reign. He had come to avoid wasting, to meet his mission of enthronement. Because the true and larger Solomon, Jesus’s enthronement can be by means of his struggling and dying and resurrection, in order that his ascension as king can be to own an authority and rule that may by no means finish.
Conclusion
This sequence of connections between Solomon and Jesus usually are not exhaustive, however they show the intention of the Gospel writers to depict Jesus in ways in which remind us of Solomon’s life and reign. We are supposed to discern such echoes. They illuminate issues Jesus stated and did, in addition to issues stated to and about him.
The Solomonic shadow in Jesus’s life and ministry is one thing the very first verse of the New Testomony prepares us to see. Matthew describes the primary Gospel as “The e book of the family tree of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham” (Matt 1:1). The phrase “son of David” thus indicators to us that we are able to count on a narrative about David’s son, the long-awaited Christ. Echoes from Solomon’s life hook up with this Christological hope, and they’re in keeping with the New Testomony’s opening verse.
Mitch Chase’s recommended assets for additional research
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