Luke 10:21 - 24
21 In that same hour he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will.[b] 22 All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”
23 Then turning to the disciples he said privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see! 24 For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.”
Questions:
ReplyDelete1. What things that have been hidden are Jesus referring to?
2. What criteria does Jesus use in choosing whom to reveal the Father?
3. What is Jesus referring to when He tells His disciples that they are blessed to see what they see?
https://hartmangroupdevotions.blogspot.com/2015/07/matthew-1125-30-25-at-that-time-jesus.html?zx=e4afc016b42906d8 says:
ReplyDeleteMy study bible has the following interesting note: "The Son reveals only as much as we have the capacity to receive." If we are to take seriously yesterday's condemnation of the cities where this message has been rejected, and the implied responsibility revelation confers on each of us, then it must be that revelation is limited to the extent of our capability to receive, to perceive and to understand. Rejection must clearly be an act of will: therefore our paradox, in which the simple and meek accept and understand, and the more wise and intelligent fail, is one that is just. No one is turned away or without the capacity to receive, to understand. It is a question of a deep internal choice at some level.
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Are we willing to imagine that we are infants, those utterly vulnerable and dependent on God for all things? There are times, of course, when that realization is unavoidable – when brought low by the loss of work, or health, or a loved one, or a future. But day to day, most of us – and definitely myself included – try to avoid any sense of vulnerability and instead try to secure for ourselves and our loved ones a future that is secure, safe, and stable.
When I think of it this way, it suddenly seems so hard to be a disciple that it almost feels out of reach and I’m ready to give up. And then I hear the other part of Jesus’ words – that he invites all of us to come, whether we are aware of our vulnerability and need or not. Because, the thing is, we all carry heavy burdens. It’s just that it’s only when we realize it that Jesus’ invitation makes any sense and suddenly is no longer hard but easy, even welcome.
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The well-known Christian philosopher John Lennox once said, “When Jesus told us to have a child-like faith, he wasn’t telling us to be stupid.” While a theology degree is not a precondition to salvation, we should not be content with a simple understanding of the gospel either. On the contrary, child-like faith calls us to do the opposite – it calls us to pursue Christ with the curiosity of a wide-eyed child, constantly asking, “Why?” It calls us to seek Him with an eager desire to learn more, and to discover the richness of the gospel.
There’s something to be said for the devotion and certainty in the gospel in which “simple faith” is grounded. But that doesn’t mean that there shouldn’t be further exploration of the gospel. That doesn’t mean we should reject intellectual discussion and education.
1 Corinthians 13:11 presents the child metaphor in a different way: “When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me.” Understanding the basics of the gospel – summed up in John 3:16 – is crucial to our salvations. But our faith does not end there. God wants us to grow and mature in our faiths, eventually putting our childish ways behind us. He invites us to read His Word, and to ponder deeply about the scriptures, about our lives, and about the significance of our faith in the world today. If we are ever content with our understanding of the gospel and the Bible, then we lack a child-like faith.
https://hartmangroupdevotions.blogspot.com/2015/07/matthew-1125-30-25-at-that-time-jesus.html?zx=e4afc016b42906d8 continued:
ReplyDeleteWhat is it that Jesus sees in little children? There must be certain characteristics that are inherent in young children that made Jesus say what he did. It is ESSENTIAL that true seekers grasp this most basic and simple truth. If you love the Lord, and truly want to know God as your father, you must relate to Him as a little child.
Maturing into a relationship where one knows God involves becoming like a small child in your heart. Jesus said that you must be “trusting, lowly, loving, forgiving”. Think about it. Contrast how we “mature” adults handle life with what are very young children are like?
Do they wrangle over whose church or pastor is the best?
Do they handle conflict and difficult situations all on their own?
What happens when they get hurt? With tears coursing unashamedly down their innocent cheeks, they rush to the open arms of their parents, seeking - and receiving - the loving comfort that only a parent can give.
Are they stressed out over meetings and deadlines and financial bottom lines?
Do they worry about what they will eat or be clothed with? Do they not trust their earthly parents to provide those things, just as we are supposed to trust our Heavenly Father? (See Matt 6:25-34)
Are they rushing through life, so busy about many things, that they neglect to enjoy the beauty and wonder of God’s creation? No! A child delights in the simple beauty that the Father has so lovingly placed all around us. Notice a child’s delight as he discovers a fuzzy caterpillar, beautiful flower (i.e. dandelion J) or a mud puddle. Simple, abandoned joy – delighting in the moment.
Young children idolize their daddies. No one is “bigger or stronger or better” than my daddy. Perhaps we should let down our ecclesiastical, self-righteous, ‘know-it-all’ Christian façade, and consider approaching our Heavenly Father as His child, rather than as His equal.
A child freely gives love to those who love him or her, often throwing chubby little arms around the neck of their parent and smothering their cheeks with wet kisses. There is no holding back in their love and affection. No pretense and no facades. Yet how often we “mature” Christians pretend with our loved ones. We wear a mask, hiding our true feelings. We tell people we are “just fine” when we are in desperate need of their friendship and understanding. Or we pretend to love and care about one another, then viciously gossip and attack them later. What phony hypocrites we can be!
Now that we understand what “Abba Father” means, the next passage speaks to us of maturing in the family of God. Yes, even children must mature and grow. Even Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.
Maturity doesn’t mean we revert back to being self-righteous know-it all Christians. Maturing has to do with understanding what our Father desires, and responding in obedience, desiring always to please Him.
https://hartmangroupdevotions.blogspot.com/2015/07/matthew-1125-30-25-at-that-time-jesus.html?zx=e4afc016b42906d8 continued:
ReplyDeleteMy 2 cents:
I think the above articles addressed the questions (plus a lot else). Here is my attempt to summarize in my own words. I'll ask each question again separately and provide what I think the answer is.
1. So, should we be stupid and ignorant to hear from God?
We should do whatever we can to gain wisdom and learning, but we should realize we are little children before God. The danger of gaining a little wisdom is that we start to rely on it and become proud of it as we compare ourselves with others. At that point we stop learning from God. God can only teach us when we have a teachable heart. That is, when we realize how ignorant we are before God and how much we need Him to know anything.
2. It seems like it's saying here that the only way to know God is through what Jesus reveals to us.
I've been taught a lot of times that to get close to God, I have to do spiritual disciplines, when in fact spiritual disciplines are our response to our desire to be close to God. A pharisee does spiritual disciplines, but they aren't about God and they rely on them and become proud of them. A child just loves God and just wants to spend time with Daddy and help Him do stuff - so spiritual disciplines are a natural outcome of this. Jesus is the one who reveals Daddy to us.
3. So the Christian life is a restful and easy one?
I struggle with this one. This is where my faith is at it's weakest. I look at people like Paul and Jeremiah, who constantly worked and suffered for God. Yet, they probably understood exactly what Jesus said. I think Jesus was describing a person who truly has come to Him and handed her/his life over. At that point, that person doesn't have to worry about anything. They will be passionate about Jesus' yoke for them and work hard under it. But, in many ways it will be gentle and easy - and we will find peace for our souls if we could just give in.
https://www.preceptaustin.org/luke-10-commentary says:
ReplyDeleteThis was the joy experienced by Christ when the seventy returned. Souls had been snatched from the grip of sin and death, for the power of God over evil had been exercised by men.
For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; 27 but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, 28 and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, 29 so that no man may boast before God. (1Co 1:26-29)
Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you thinks that he is wise in this age, he must become foolish, so that he may become wise. (1Co 3:18)
Only those who humbly admit their inability to know God in their own wisdom and knowledge apart from His revelation of Himself can be saved. Jesus was pleased with that truth because it gives all glory to God (cf. 1 Cor. 1:29, 31). Salvation belongs not to the intelligent, wise, proud, conceited, and boastful (1 Cor. 2:14), but rather to those who are admittedly ignorant and foolish, humble, broken, and contrite (Isa. 57:15; 66:2).
For the first time, then, our Lord looked upon the successful work of a group from the rank and file of His followers. Their success brought Him deep joy. It is a significant fact that whenever Christ's church has been content for her preachers to do all the work, that church has waned and declined in spiritual power. It is the divine plan that all the disciples of Jesus shall be His witnesses. The layman is as much called to be a witness for Jesus Christ as the preacher. In a sense, every saved soul is an ambassador for Jesus Christ. And our Lord looked that day upon seventy laymen who had gone out and thrust their sickles into the ripe, waving harvest fields, and had come back with exceeding joy and strength, and with many trophies for their Master. That was what made Him rejoice!
https://www.preceptaustin.org/luke-10-commentary continued:
ReplyDeleteClearly Jesus is claiming equality with God. How can we be so certain? In John 5:18 we read "For this reason therefore the Jews were seeking all the more to kill Him, (Why did they seek to KILL HIM?) because He not only was breaking the Sabbath, but also was calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God." Jesus the Man claimed to be God because He is God!
William Barclay - To the Greeks God was unknowable. There was a great gulf fixed between matter and spirit, man and God. "It is very difficult," they said, "to know God, and when you do know him it is impossible to tell anyone else about him." But when Jesus came He said, "If you want to know what God is like, look at Me." Jesus did not so much tell men about God as show them God, because in Himself were God's mind and heart.
Anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal - Verses like this make some people chaff, but the verse expresses the truth that the only ones who can truly know God as their Father are those to whom Jesus reveals this otherwise hidden spiritual truth. Jesus made a similar statement in John declaring that "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day." (Jn 6:44) He added "that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father.” (John 6:65)
The fact that all things were handed over to Him by the Father shows Jesus’ humanity; the fact that only Jesus can reveal the Father to us shows His deity, because no mere man nor any created being could reveal the eternal God to us. “As the Son he was equal to the Father, but as man he was beneath the Father and received ‘all things’ from him”
- We are dependent on God to reveal His salvation to us because we are spiritually blind by nature.
As Paul explains, the “natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised” (1 Cor. 2:14, emphasis added). Just as a blind man cannot see a beautiful sunset because he lacks the necessary organs to do so, even so a sinner who does not have the Holy Spirit cannot grasp the things of God. When Jesus gives eternal life to those whom the Father has given Him (John 17:2), He imparts to them the capacity both to understand spiritual things and also to know God personally in Christ. As Jesus prayed, “And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent” (John 17:3). Without such spiritual life in Christ, we are no more capable of knowing God than a corpse is capable of seeing and knowing a living person. But being spiritually dead and blind is not our only problem.
- We are dependent on God to reveal His salvation to us because we are under the domain and power of Satan. The fact is, it takes the defeat of Satan to save a soul, because he has “blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (2 Cor. 4:4). When God saves us, He delivers us from the domain of darkness and transfers us to the kingdom of His beloved Son (Col. 1:13). We cannot free ourselves from this bondage to Satan. God must do it for us (2 Tim. 2:25-26).
- We are dependent on God to reveal His salvation to us because there is nothing in us that obligates God to reveal Himself to us. Clearly, Jesus’ words would make no sense if He revealed the Father to everyone equally. As revealed throughout all of Scripture, God chooses certain individuals and reveals Himself to them, but He lets others continue on in their spiritual darkness. In case we missed the point, Paul strongly asserts, “So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy” (Rom. 9:16).
https://www.preceptaustin.org/luke-10-commentary continued:
ReplyDeleteJohn MacArthur adds that "The things they were privileged to see and understand include the great truths that the Messiah had come, the salvation of God had been revealed, the work of redemption accomplished, the promised kingdom offered, all the Old Testament prophecies, promises, and covenants fulfilled in Christ, who would make the final offering for sin. Satan had met his conqueror, demons were completely dominated, disease vanquished, nature submissive, death defeated through Christ, and forgiveness and eternal life granted to all who believe."
Of course the greatest sight that blessed their eyes was to see (and understand Who they were seeing) Jesus the Messiah! That will one day be our greatest blessing as believers when "we will see Him just as He is."
William Barclay - Luke 10:23-24 tell us that Jesus is the consummation of all history (cp Eph 1:10-note). In these verses Jesus said, "I am the One to Whom all the prophets and the saints and the kings looked forward and for Whom they longed." Jesus was the peak to which history had been climbing, the goal to which it had been marching, the dream which had ever haunted men of God. If we desire to express this in terms of modern thought we might dare to put it this way...in Him man meets God; and He is at once the perfection of manhood and the fullness of godhead (Col 2:9-note).
“it was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you, in these things which now have been announced to you through those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven-things into which angels long to look” (1 Pet. 1:10, 12). Because of this great salvation, we who believe should “greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory” (1 Pet. 1:8).
Questions and findings:
ReplyDelete1. What things that have been hidden are Jesus referring to?
What the kingdom of God really looked like. What God had planned all along - the plan that Israel's leaders totally missed. The plan that Jesus was coming into the world to die for us and redeem a people for His kingdom.
2. What criteria does Jesus use in choosing whom to reveal the Father?
Theologians disagree on this. Calvinists say that God uses His own mysterious criteria to pick whom He wills, without regard to the will of the person He chooses (irresistible grace). Arminianists say that God chooses those who freely choose Him, and that everyone has the ability to do so. Molinists say that God puts everyone into the place and time in which they will choose Him, if there is any place and time in which a person would choose Him.
Personally, I have serious issues with both Arminianism and Calvinism. Arminianism doesn't (successfully) address the clear Biblical passages about God's sovereignty. Calvinism makes a mystery of man's free will (and some deny it, which I believe is logically incongruent).
Molinism proports a workable solution (in my opinion) that recognizes both God's sovereignty and man's free will. However, just because it solves the problem, doesn't mean it's correct. It is a manufactured solution.
3. What is Jesus referring to when He tells His disciples that they are blessed to see what they see?
I think this is very much related to question #1. The were blessed to see (and be involved in) the inauguration of the Kingdom of God.