Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples ³ and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” ⁴ And Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: ⁵ the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. ⁶ And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.” – Matthew 11:2-6 ESV

When Jesus said in Matthew 11 that “wisdom is justified by her children,” He wasn’t tossing out a philosophical slogan. He was making a statement about how God’s truth often shows itself. In that moment, both John the Baptist and Jesus Himself were being criticized. John had lived a wilderness life (actual and spiritual) calling people to repentance, and many said he had a demon. Jesus lived among people, eating with sinners and offering grace, and they accused Him of being a glutton and a drunkard. No matter what approach God’s servants took, the critics found a way to dismiss them.

“But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their playmates,

 “‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance;
    we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.’ – Matthew 11:16-17

But Jesus didn’t try to win the argument by defending Himself point by point. Instead, He pointed to something deeper. He pointed to the results. The blind were receiving their sight. The lame were walking. The poor were hearing the good news of the gospel. In other words, Jesus was saying, “Look at what God is doing.” Wisdom, He said, is justified by her children. Or to put it in more everyday language: wisdom proves itself by what it produces.

One of the first lessons we need to learn from this is that God’s wisdom is not validated by public approval. John the Baptist was rejected. Jesus was rejected. The problem wasn’t their message or their ministry—it was the hard hearts of the people listening. We need to pray for the hard-hearted. We were all in this category if we are honest.

People love to judge things based on popularity. If something is widely accepted, we assume it must be right. If something is criticized or misunderstood, we assume something must be wrong. But Jesus shows us that this way of thinking doesn’t hold up when it comes to the things of God.

God’s wisdom shows itself through spiritual fruit. When Christ is at work, lives begin to change. People repent of sin. Hearts soften. Love for God grows. Faith deepens. Those kinds of things may not impress the world, but they are unmistakable signs that God is moving. This isn’t pure pragmatism, it is God’s wisdom demonstrated by what it produces according to God’s will.

So if we’re going to live by this principle, we have to learn to loosen our grip on the need for public approval. Faithfulness to God doesn’t always look impressive in the eyes of others. Sometimes it’s quiet. Sometimes it’s misunderstood. Sometimes it even draws criticism. But if God’s character is being reflected and His purposes are moving forward through Christ, then wisdom is already being reflected.

For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ ³⁴ The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ ³⁵ Yet wisdom is justified by all her children.” – Luke 7:33-35 ESV