The Smartest Person Who Ever Lived

The Smartest Person Who Ever Lived

I want them to have complete confidence that they understand God’s mysterious plan, which is Christ himself. In him lie hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

Colossians 2:2-3

The people were amazed at his teaching, for he taught with real authority—quite unlike the teachers of religious law.

Mark 1:22

To those who listen to my teaching, more understanding will be given, and they will have an abundance of knowledge. But for those who are not listening, even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them.

Matthew 13:12

Who is the smartest person you know? Do you know anyone who knows the answer to every question when you watch a game show on TV, or someone who uses big words you’ve never heard before and actually understands what they mean?

Who would you say is the smartest person who ever lived? We don’t necessarily think about Jesus as being brilliant intellectually—perhaps because we read in the Gospels of his ordinary upbringing and his interaction with common people. He didn’t go to college or have advanced degrees. The idea that Jesus is a master of algebra, economics, physics, or French literature may have never crossed our minds.

But could Jesus be Lord of this universe if he weren’t smart? Could he be unintelligent or uninformed and still be divine? If you think about it, how could we truly worship him if we didn’t respect him as the smartest person who ever lived, the one person with the best information on the most important subjects? Jesus is worthy of being our teacher. Under his instruction, we can learn how to think, what to do, and what really matters.

DISCUSSION STARTERS

What kinds of things cause you to think that a person is smart?

How could thinking of Jesus as the smartest person who ever lived change how you interact with him and how you worship him?

Think through various areas of knowledge and expertise, and then discuss what it means that Jesus knows more about those areas than any other person.