Luke 10:22-24 22All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son and to whomever the Son wants to reveal.” 23And turning to the disciples, he said privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see! 24For I say to you that many prophets and kings wished to see what you see and did not see, and to hear what you hear and did not hear.”
These verses express the sovereignty of the Son and may be the content of “these things” over verse 21. Three key points are made about the Son. First, the Son’s sovereignty is evident by the Father handing everything over to him. The theme of the Son’s pre-eminence is also described in John 1:1-4 and Colossians 1:15-20. The Son is in charge of the Kingdom and all it represents. As sovereign, the Son is also the judge.
Second, the Son has special knowledge and knows the Father. The relationship of Father and Son is a significant theme in John’s Gospel (5:19-26) but rarely mentioned in the Synoptic Gospels. To know the Son is to know the Father. If we want to see what God is like, we look to Jesus, who is the perfect representation of God in human form (Hebrews 1:3).
Third, the Son has revelation given to those who believe in him. The Son may choose those who receive the revelation about him. This thought should be interpreted in the wider context of Jesus’ ministry of going to the whole world, to the “whosoever believes” of John 3:16. The emphasis may fit better the idea that Jesus is the only way and the gatekeeper to the Father (John 14:6; Acts 4:12). One cannot approach the Holy God without going through the Lamb who gave himself for the sins of the world.
The disciples had the blessed privilege of being given this revelation in the most direct route possible: they saw and heard in person the miracles and teachings of Jesus. They were the eyewitnesses about whom Luke wrote in 1:2. They received the full revelation of God’s plan of salvation. The prophets and kings of Israel longed for what the disciples were experiencing. We get to listen in and receive this same plan through their testimony. Jesus is emphasizing in this passage the responsibility of the disciples to continue the mission they had just experienced. God’s plan was being fulfilled right before them. They were “stewards of the divine mysteries” with the responsibility of sharing the revelation of these mysteries (1 Corinthians 4:1). Jesus emphasizes this responsibility later in 12:48. Those who have been given the gospel have a great responsibility to share this good news with others.
For older posts, click here.