All things have been handed over to me by my Father.
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.”
Jesus, as the Son of the Father, receives all things to give us at his own good pleasure, to any to whom he wishes to grant his revelation. He in turn calls us to be childlike to receive it. Jesus himself is the Word, the revelation of the Father. His entire being comes forth eternally from the Father. In order to receive that Word we are called to become like that Word. We are called to be childlike, sons and daughters in the Son.
The Son is the one who reveals the Father. But we see that the Trinity at work in that the Father at the same time reveals himself through the Son.
And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. (see Matthew 16:17).
Further, to receive the revelation of the Father from the Son we need the Holy Spirit. Just as the Spirit of the LORD was upon Jesus and anointed him we too need to be anointed with and walk by the Spirit.
no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit. (see First Corinthians 12:3).
It is this Spirit which is from the Father and the Son that dwells within us to undergird the very profession of the truths we believe. He is the one that says Jesus is Lord from within our own hearts.
For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” (see Romans 8:15).
What we begin to see is that the revelation to the childlike is not a revelation that consists in information or data. It has a concrete and historical component to it. But first a foremost it is a revelation of relationship that is given by experience and transformation. May we be humble and childlike enough to listen as the Spirit cries from within our own hearts.
When we receive the revelation of the Triune God we begin to walk in victory. The anointing of the Spirit is something with which the full force of the enemy cannot contend. Jesus himself was triumphant over Satan when he fell from heaven, and by his cross cast destroyed his power over the earth. He has shared the power of that victory with us. But he wants us to realize the point of victorious lives. They do not consist primarily or even necessarily in health and wealth.
Nevertheless, do not rejoice because the spirits are subject to you,
but rejoice because your names are written in heaven.
This is why we rejoice to see Jesus, whom many prophets and kings desired to see but did not see. In him our names are written in heaven. To see him and believe is itself the reward of eternal life
And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. (see John 17:3).
Sometimes we get carried away with trying to understand the LORD. We insist on fitting everything into a mental model of ours in which things make sense. But just as Job could not do this neither can we. There was a sense in which Job was among those that longed to see Jesus but could not. He longed for the revelation which would make his own life and suffering make sense. And the state of his heart was finally prepared to receive it in today's reading.
I have dealt with great things that I do not understand;
things too wonderful for me, which I cannot know.
I had heard of you by word of mouth,
but now my eye has seen you.
Therefore I disown what I have said,
and repent in dust and ashes.
When we suffer and we are tempted to become angry with God or to lose our trust in him let us remember that we, much more than Job, can remain as children of the Father. Even in the most difficult times our eyes can turn to that which kings and prophets longed to see. We can remain victorious over the enemy. Our names can remain written in heaven.
The revelation of your words sheds light,
giving understanding to the simple.
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