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 rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and praised his Father for revealing the nature of His kingdom to the childlike and humble and not to the rich and learned (Js. 4:6). Jesus told his disciples about the unique relationship he shared with the Father and that the Father had entrusted all things to him. He told them that he could reveal the Father to those whom he chooses and that they had been blessed to see and understand what had been revealed to them because many past prophets and kings were not granted that privilege.
Luke created a transition to the parable of the Good Samaritan which follows (Lk. 10:29-37). A lawyer who had been present tried to test Jesus by asking, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life (cf. Lk. 18:18)?” Jesus asked him what the Law said about eternal life. The scholar replied by quoting the two great commandments (Dt. 6:5; Lv. 19:18). Jesus told him that if he lived those two commandments, he would inherit eternal life (Mt. 22:37-40).
Almighty God, you teach the childlike the secrets of the kingdom of Heaven. Teach us to be childlike in obedience so that you may reign in our hearts, and through our love for you we may be made worthy of eternal life. 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.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
Orchard, Bernard, et al. A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture. Feb. 1953.
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