Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said,
I give you praise, Father, Lord of heaven and earth,
for although you have hidden these things
from the wise and the learned
you have revealed them to the childlike.
His mother Mary had rejoiced in God that he had cast down the mighty from their thrones and lifted up the lowly. Now he himself celebrated, with joy in the Holy Spirit, the great reversal brought about by his Father's plan. In coming to be born among us Jesus did not address first or primarily the scholars, professional religious, leaders, or the great ones of the world. His parents were poor. Shepherds and other outsiders were among the first to recognize him while kings and scholars remained in their palaces and synagogues. Even when Jesus did speak to scholars they were often among the last people to give him credence. Their own worldly wisdom puffed them up with pride to such a degree that they couldn't recognize the simply and unvarnished truth revealed by Jesus. Only those who were childlike were able to accept him and become his disciples.
For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe (see First Corinthians 1:21).
Jesus came to reveal the Father. But in order to receive that revelation one would also need to except that the Son was the one uniquely positioned to give that revelation. This would have been difficult for those professionally invested in religion. Whatever they had of the law and the prophets it was not sufficient to say that, on that basis, they knew the Father. They still needed Jesus to enlighten their minds and open their hearts. But for most, this was a hard pill to swallow.
No one knows who the Son is except the Father,
and who the Father is except the Son
and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.
The Son desires to reveal the Father to all who will open themselves to receive that revelation. We know this, because God "desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth" (see First Timothy 2:4). What we need to realize is that the basis of this revelation is not our knowledge and is therefore not limited by our education or intelligence. There is much we can learn, and ample value in studying, especially in studying the word of God. But this must all be predicated on the submission of our intellects to Christ in faith. This is not an entirely blind submission. It is usually wise for a child to trust his parents. It is always wise for a creature to trust her creator.
Turning to the disciples in private he said,
"Blessed are the eyes that see what you see.
For I say to you,
many prophets and kings desired to see what you see,
but did not see it,
and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it."
We are among those who have been blessed by the revelation of the messiah, the desired of nations, for whom many prophets and kings longed. Let us thank God for the privilege of being alive during the messianic age and the grace of the humility to learn from the one who came to us as "a little child to guide" us. It is on the basis of childlike humility that the peace of the Kingdom, described poetically by Isaiah, can spread throughout our world.
Then the wolf shall be a guest of the lamb,
and the leopard shall lie down with the kid;
The calf and the young lion shall browse together,
with a little child to guide them.
The cow and the bear shall be neighbors,
together their young shall rest;
the lion shall eat hay like the ox.
The baby shall play by the cobra's den,
and the child lay his hand on the adder's lair.
There shall be no harm or ruin on all my holy mountain;
for the earth shall be filled with knowledge of the LORD,
as water covers the sea.
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