on October 17, 2013
Luke 10:21-24 – At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure. “All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and no one knows who the Father is except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.” Then he turned to his disciples and said privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see. For I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.”
It’s noteworthy to read that the Man of Sorrows was “full of joy through the Holy Spirit” at that time! At a time when souls were being won to the Kingdom and saved from Satan’s grip, Jesus rejoices! Not only is He rejoicing because more names are being written in heaven, but because His disciples GET IT! This mystery of redemption and reconciliation that God has kept hidden for ages has been revealed to the 72! His rejoicing is centered in praise to the Father, the Lord of heaven and earth, for two significant reasons: [1] That He has hidden these things from certain individuals, and [2] revealed them to certain others. God’s secrets of redemption and reconciliation are not unveiled by human wisdom and education. God, in His great Wisdom, has chosen to hide these things in such a way that they will be understood only by REVELATION! These eternal secrets are kept HIDDEN from the scholarly Pharisees and Scribes, who considered themselves to be highly enlightened, and they were REVEALED to fishermen and common folk, who were uneducated and untrained. Without REVELATION, all of our learning and educational enlightenment cannot save us from our sins and unite us to God!
Jesus expresses that the Father chose for it to be this way for His own “good pleasure.” So too, we should thank God, not so much for the honor He has bestowed upon us children, as for the honor He brought to Himself in perfecting strength out of weakness. At the same time God revealed His secrets to children, He hid them from the wise, the philosophers, the rabbis and the religious elite. He DID NOT reveal the things of the gospel to THEM, nor did He commission THEM to preach His Kingdom! Praise God that He did not recruit His apostles from their universities and seminaries! Had He done so, they would have been likely to corrupt the doctrine of Christ by mixing in their educated notions, which we saw happened later on in the early history of the church. In the early ages, philosophies of Plato and Aristotle and the influence of Judaizers added their “wisdom” and education to the REVELATION given to the church. We may also reasonably conclude that if rabbis and philosophers had been made apostles, the success of the gospel would have been credited to their learning, wit, eloquence and reasoning. So, God in His GREAT Wisdom chose to hide it from them, lest they should think of themselves too highly, and others may attribute too much credit to them. They were passed by for much the same reason as Gideon’s army was reduced – too much power for it to be evident that this was God’s doing!
God acted in His Sovereignty in giving His grace and the knowledge of His Son to those that are deemed unworthy and unlikely, and He does NOT give it to others whom we may think would be more capable of delivering it effectively. This pleases God, whose thoughts are infinitely higher than ours! He chose to reveal the knowledge of His Son’s identity, and the secrets kept between them, to those whom most humans would deem unlikely – children! Jesus was full of God – all God’s fullness dwelt in Him – He was fully God! This is the essence of the Gospel, it is the foundation of the Church, and flesh and blood cannot reveal it by any programs or institutions. These things are ONLY REVEALED by the Father to those whom He chooses. Blessed are the eyes that see what the 72 could see – exactly who Jesus is!
Thursday: Meet together with at least 1 or 2 other believers to enter the Throne Room of Grace.
Friday: Pray for the Good News families of the week: Joan Doud, John & Christine Fargo (Giovanni, Isabelle, Claire), Dave & Ilene Fetzner.
Saturday: Praise God for His sovereign wisdom!
Sunday: Worship the One who reveals His grace and truth to children and has hidden it from the wise.
Monday: Rejoice that God has revealed who Jesus is to you!
Tuesday: Pray that the Light will come to others and that they will receive Christ!
Wednesday: Celebrate your place in the family of God as one of His children.