Luke Ten Twenty Two

When the seventy returned to Jesus, thrilled by their success, Jesus claimed that he saw Satan fall from heaven suddenly in a flash, as if a bolt of lightning. That statement could have been one of two things. Either Jesus used it as praise for the success of the seventy, or Jesus made the statement as a one-up – as if to tell them he was around back in the day and saw the original devil subjected to the will of God.

Then Jesus prayed openly. Both the seventy and the disciples heard the prayer, after which Jesus turned to his disciples to speak privately. Between the prayer and turning to his disciples, Jesus made a statement, and it is that statement I wish to examine here. I find it difficult to place that statement either fully with the prayer, or yet again, fully with his private words for his disciples.

If it may be a part of either, it is more likely to belong with the prayer. Yet, it does not seem to me to be a part of the prayer. It seems altogether a stand-alone statement. Perhaps it was a statement of exaltation (Luke 10:21, “In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit”.) More than the realization of success in part of the plan, there was a more nearly complete realization of the full will of God.

Here is the statement: “All things are delivered to me of my Father: and no man knoweth who the Son is, but the Father; and who the Father is, but the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal him.”

The statement may be divided into three sections. In the first, it is as if Jesus realizes, or claims for the benefit of the listeners, heirship to the Father. According to the dictionary, that is the position or rights of an heir; the right of inheritance. I think all of us can get behind such a claim with a fairly complete understanding.

The remaining sections are what I find most deserving of closer inspection. I would like to contrast the sections against one another. There are two types of knowledge here, or revelation. First, knowledge of the Son of the Father is revealed only to the Father. God alone knows who his Son is. The fact that we use a capital 'S' in son should be kept in mind. It is developmental in the sense of one who has come into one's own – someone who has finally 'arrived'.

There is no addendum to this statement. It is simply a knowledge that is revealed to the Father alone. Second, knowledge of the Father is revealed only to the Son of the Father. This second statement, reverse in the sense of a mirror image, does have an addendum. Not only to the Son of the Father is the Father revealed, but also to whoever the Son will share the knowledge.

Shall we consider the difference between the two revelations as insurmountable? Is it that Jesus will tell us who God is, but God will not tell us who Jesus is? Well, that's just confusing! As I have stated earlier, Jesus is God's communication of self to mortal man. In that sense, God does reveal the knowledge of his Son. The Son also, as the message, reveals knowledge of the Father . . . that's sort of the point I think.

So, is there anything really withheld? I am mindful of some other things revealed by Jesus. In the prayer he had just prayed for all to hear, he said this – “thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.” I am also mindful that the truth of parables was revealed to some and withheld from others.

I guess it all boils down to a single fact: some people get it and some people don't. Revelation is not some random bit of trivia available for public consumption. Spiritual knowledge is subjective rather than objective. Synonyms of the word 'objective' include detached, neutral, dispassionate, uninvolved, and disinterested. Revelation of the Father is personal. Revelation of the Son is personal. Revelation of heirship is personal.