Luke 10:21

The Bible says in Luke 10:21, “In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes: even so, Father, for so it seemed good in thy sight.” In this verse Jesus is talking to God the Father. That’s what prayer is: talking to God. If you can communicate with another human being, then you can communicate with God. In this prayer Jesus did not ask the Father for anything. He simply thanked the Father. "In all things give thanks." It’s okay to pray and to not ask for anything when you pray.

In this prayer Jesus thanked the Father, and Jesus also emphasized the rule and authority of the Father. He called the Father, “Lord of heaven and earth.” If we are going to live by faith on this earth, we must always remember that God is Lord of both heaven and earth. Nothing happens without God’s involvement, and nothing happens without His permission because He is Lord. Do what you think you ought to do. Make plans and preparations. Have hopes and dreams. But remember that God is Lord, and be thankful that He is Lord, just like Jesus was. Things may appear to not be going well, but there is nothing to worry about, because God is Lord of all.

One of the things about living in this world that can be unpleasant for believers is the vast number of unbelievers who stand in opposition and sometimes animosity to the believers. Jesus made this issue the central thing for which He thanked the Father. Jesus thanked the Father that certain things were “hid” from unbelievers. In order for people to know something of spiritual value, it must be revealed to them from God. If it is not revealed to them from God, it remains hidden. This is a great spiritual law and the spiritual reality of life on earth. Many people are in darkness, spiritual darkness. There is only one way to be delivered from the darkness. Unless God Himself opens the eyes of someone, that person will remain in darkness.

There is something important to notice about the people from whom are hid spiritual truths. Jesus said that they were “wise and prudent.” Normally, we would think it to be a good thing that someone be called wise and prudent, but not in this context. For one thing, there are two different kinds of wisdom. There is the wisdom of the world that humans can get from natural means, but then there is a wisdom that can come only from God. One of the problems with the wisdom of this world is that it lifts up man and causes man to think more highly of himself than he ought to think. The acquiring of the knowledge of this world can have the negative effect of causing the one who is learning to become vain and puffed up. This puts them in an unenviable spiritual situation because pride goes before a fall and because certain very important spiritual truths are “hid from the wise and prudent.” Those who think they are wise may very well be the most foolish of all. The Bible says in First Corinthians 3:18-20, “Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seems to be wise in this world, let him become a fool that he may be wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He takes the wise in their own craftiness, And again, the Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain.”

In contrast to the wisdom of the world, there is a wisdom that comes only from God. In Luke 10:21 Jesus said something that reveals a requirement for a person to come to have some spiritual understanding from the all-wise all-knowing God. Jesus said to the Father, “Thou hast revealed them unto babes.” What can an adult learn from a little child that will make the adult capable of learning from God? I think it’s a willingness to learn, a hunger for knowledge, and a humility that makes one able to say that one does not know what one needs to know and one must look to a stronger power outside of and beyond himself. You must know that you do not know all that you need to know, and that your only hope is God if you are to learn more. Jesus said, “Seek and you shall find.” James wrote, “If anyone lack wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally.”

The most important thing of all that you can only learn from God is found in Luke 10:22 where Jesus said, “All things are delivered to me of my Father: and no man knows who the Son is, but the Father; and who the Father is, but the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal him.” There is nothing more important than knowing the truth about who is Jesus, and you can only know this truth if God Himself reveals it unto you. That’s why some people do not know it. They have not bowed before God to receive it. Peter came to know the truth about who is Jesus. Peter said to Jesus of Nazareth, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And then Jesus said to Peter, “Flesh and blood has not revealed this unto you, but my Father who is in heaven.”

The greatest of all blessings is to know and understand the truth about Jesus. It’s the difference between heaven and hell. It’s the difference between darkness and light. It’s the difference between slavery to sin and freedom from the power and guilt of sin. Jesus said, “You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.” The Bible says in Luke 10:23-24, “And he turned him unto his disciples, and said privately, Blessed are the eyes which see the things which you see: For I tell you, that many prophets and kings have desired to see those things which you see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which you hear, and have not heard them.”

Jesus was reminding the disciples of the great privilege and benefit that they had been given. They lived in a wonderful time. They lived in the time when Christ was on the earth, and they walked with Him and heard His life-changing words. How blessed they were to have been there at that time. It was a time of opportunity that the world had never seen before. Similar things could be said about the day in which we live. We have the complete written Word of God. We have the life and teachings of Christ to read over and over as our source of faith and practice. We have the examples of the great heroes of the faith over the last two thousand years, of whom the world was not worthy. We have the challenge and the opportunity to live for God in these last days, when the harvest is plenteous but the laborers are few. If Jesus stood here and spoke to us the way that He spoke to the disciples, undoubtedly, He would tell us the same things. How blessed we are to know the things that we know and to hear the things that we have heard.

From what we just read, the emphasis is on what we believe and the importance of believing the right things about Jesus the Son of God. But faith without works is dead. The next things we are going to read in Luke chapter 10 correlate faith and practice. The Bible says in Luke 10:25-28, “And behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? He said unto him, What is written in the law? How do you read? And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself. And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live.”

The question that the man asked Jesus was a good question to ask. As a matter of fact, it is the most important of all questions to ask. “Master, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” You are going to live on the earth for a few years, but you are going to live somewhere else forever. This man asked the right question, and he also went to the right individual to find the answer. He went to Jesus with his question.

Notice that Jesus told the man he could find the answer in the Scriptures. God had already given the answer. That’s still true. If you want to know more about God, you do not need to be given a vision and you do not have to wait for God to speak to you audibly. You can find the answer in the Bible. Open the Bible and read it. In the teachings of the Bible you will find the path to eternal life, and you will find the answer to all the other important spiritual questions of life. That’s why God gave us the Bible: so that we would know what we need to know about Him.

Salvation is by grace through faith. If you look at the sinfulness of man, you must conclude that salvation is by faith without works because we are sinners. Once we have sinned, we have come short of the glory of God. The final result of the holy law is to condemn each of us once we have broken the law. The law could have brought righteousness, if only humans had kept the law. The law of God is a very high standard. There are no compromises. There are no situations where the breaking of the law is justified. This man who spoke to Jesus understood the very high standard that is found in the law. He also understood the two greatest commandments found in the Bible.

The greatest commandment of all was quoted by this man from Deuteronomy 6:5. The commandment says, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind.” If you want to obtain eternal life by the means of your works, then obey this command always and forever without fail. Anyone who thinks truthfully about this great requirement would have to admit that there is no chance of obtaining eternal life because the only hope of obtaining eternal life would be dependent upon the keeping of this commandment without fail every moment of every day. We are given the highest of all standards, but thank God for mercy and forgiveness that is found in Christ Jesus.

Have you tried to love God with all your heart, and all your soul, and all your strength, and all your mind? You might think that you have done it for a few seconds or a few minutes, but before long selfishness or forgetfulness will undoubtedly take over. Seriously try to obey this commandment, and before you are finished, you will bow your head and say, “God, be merciful to me a sinner.”

The greatest commandment in the Bible is to love God. The second commandment is like unto it: to love “thy neighbor as thyself.” If you can obey these two commandments: to love God and to love thy neighbor, then you will obey all the other commandments in the Bible. All the other commandments involve loving God or loving your fellow man. Love is the answer. Love is the basis of two greatest commandments. That’s not surprising, since God is love.

This man said nothing about the first commandment, but he did ask Jesus a question about the commandment to love thy neighbor as thyself. The Bible says in Luke 10:29, “But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbor?” The very clear answer that Jesus gave is that your neighbor is any human being with whom you come into contact who needs your help, even if it’s a person in a different group, or a different religion, or a different race than you are in.

The Bible says in Luke 10:30-37, “And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his clothing, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own animal, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever you spend more, when I come again, I will repay thee. Which now of these three do you think was neighbor unto him that fell among the thieves? And he said, He that showed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.”

Samaritans were looked down upon by Jews, but God looks at the heart. Jesus spoke to the Jews and gave them an example of members in organized religion who failed to obey the commandment to love thy neighbor. What is in your heart is much more important than what religion you are a member of. The world would be transformed overnight if people would put into practice the great commandment that Jesus gave to love thy neighbor as thyself. All racial and religious hatred would stop immediately. The poor and the needy would be helped as never before. Government social programs would be unnecessary, because people would know that their neighbors would always be there to help. There is a great wisdom in the teachings of Jesus. He is the Savior and He is also the Master, the Great Teacher. You can know Him as your Savior and Teacher, if you will turn from your sins and turn to Him.

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