At that very moment he rejoiced [in] the holy Spirit and said, “I give you praise, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike. Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will. 22 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.”
23 Turning to the disciples in private he said, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see. 24 For I say to you, many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, but did not see it, and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it.”
25 There was a scholar of the law who stood up to test him and said, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 Jesus said to him, “What is written in the law? How do you read it?” 27 He said in reply, “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” 28 He replied to him, “You have answered correctly; do this and you will live.”
Jesus, filled with the holy Spirit, praised his Father for revealing the nature of His kingdom to the disciples (Lk. 8:10), the relationship between Jesus and the disciples, and the relationship between Jesus and God (v. 22). The disciples must have a childlike relationship with God. Jesus said, “All things have been handed over to me by my Father (v. 22) which contrasts with the devil’s false promise to Jesus, “I shall give to you all this power and their glory; for it has been handed over to me, and I may give it to whomever I wish. All this will be yours, if you worship me (Lk. 4:6-7).” Jesus revealed knowledge of God to his disciples that was not revealed to the prophets, the religious leaders, or rulers of the past.
A lawyer who had been present tried to test Jesus by asking, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life (v. 25)?” Jesus answered by asking him what the Law said and he replied by quoting the Law “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” (v. 27: Dt. 6:5; Lv.19:18). The Law stated the same thing Jesus used in his reply to another scholar of the Law when asked, “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” (Mt. 22:36-39).
Almighty God, you teach the childlike the secrets of the kingdom of Heaven. Teach us to be obedient and to love you above all things that we may enter into your rest so that you may reign and rule in our hearts. This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen!
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References
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Faculty of the University of Navarre. The Navarre Bible: New Testament Expanded Edition. Expanded Edition, Four Courts / Scepter, 2008.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
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