REVELATION TO THE LOWLY – JULY 13TH – WEDNESDAY

Matthew 11:25-27   ²⁵ At that time Jesus said, "I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants;  ²⁶ yes, Father, for such was your gracious will.  ²⁷ All things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.

1.      Just as Israel was wrongly secure in its status before God, as against the Gentiles, so the wise and the powerful failed to recognize that God formed the children, and the meek.

2.      God favours the weak, not the arrogant. Before the Lord of heavens and earth, human wisdom and power is nothing, so no one can protest if it was the Father’s purpose to hide these things from wise (Eg Father revealing Jesus’ son ship to Peter Mt: 16: 17)

3.      Jesus stands in contrast to the so called wise and learned. Jesus alone is in a position to declare exactly what God is like. Unlike the other sages Jesus gets revelation directly from the father.

4.      Little children are exalted precisely because they do not rely on their own resources, are open to receive the revelation.

5.      Scholar Plummer has this to say, ‘The heart, not the head, is the home of the gospel.’ It is not the cleverness which shuts out, it is pride. It is not stupidity which admits, it is humility. People may be wise as Solomon; but if they have not the simplicity, the trust, the innocence of the childlike heart, they shut themselves out.

For past three months, I had the privilege of going for Easter blessings to different families. One thing that struck me very much invariably was the deep and profound faith of the simple people. They do not know much of theology or philosophy, but they experience God’s loving providence and care everyday in their life. Sometimes we rationalize our faith too much that we fall under the category of practical atheists and thus fail to identify the Lord in our day today activities.

Reference

The New International Commenatry of the New Testament – R.T. France

The Gospel of Matthew – A Socio –Rhetorical Commentary – Craig S. Kerner