Jesus, the Revealing Lord

In Matt. 11:25-27, we see Jesus is the Revealing Savior, the One who reveals God to the world.

Verse 25 is a prayer of praise to the Father. The intimacy of Jesus' relationship with God is revealed as He calls Him Father, 6:9. Lord of heaven and earth is a title of sovereignty that brings comfort and security. Father rpeps us for Son in v. 27. Lord of H&E preps us for a discussion of God’s sovereignty in vv. 25-26. God is merciful. His revelation of saving truths to mankind is our only hope of being saved. The wise & intelligent think they are, yet stubbornly refuse to repent & learn from Jesus, 13:10-16. Little children are those who innocently receive Jesus' revelation of the Father. People will reject Him, but there is another side of the story; a brighter side of the picture that brings joy not gloom; souls that hunger & thirst for salvation will find it in Christ. God has hidden the knowledge of these things, salvation truths, the gospel of the grace of God in Christ, from the prideful & arrogant, who failed to see spiritual reality. The babes come to Jesus with humility and the faith of a child 18:1-4; 19:13-15. Humility is needed for receiving God’s revelation. 1 Cor. 1:21, 27-29 wisdom apart from God is foolishness. We are to be wise and intelligent but not in the worldly sense of human experience and ideas. God chooses the weak and foolish things to frustrate the arrogant and boastful. Those who have the humility to admit their spiritual helplessness receive revelation from God of saving truths, 1 Pet. 5:5, God is opposed to the proud but gives grace to the humble.

Verse 26 shows it is the Father's sovereign prerogative to do as He pleases with those He has made. He owes nothing to anyone and chooses according to His good pleasure alone. He character is perfectly consistent and in harmony...His love, mercy, grace, justice and kindness perfectly fit together. God's revealing and hiding are based on what is good to Him from His perspective, a holy sinless one vs. human perspective, unholy and sinful. God does not need to explain or justify Himslef to mankind concerning His redeeming plan and sovereign work, Rom. 9:20. This concealing and revealing is not an act of injustice, as it would be if we did it, but an act of judgment. The truth is, all are sinful and guilty before God, and He is not obligated to reveal anything to anyone.

Verse 27 shows that one cannot come to God without accepting Christ, 1 John 2:23. Know is epiginosko, which means more than know, involves the most intimate and fullest acquaintance. It is not merely knowing facts about someone, it is firsthand experiential knowledge. Like marriage is meant to be. The Father, by doing what was well-pleasing in His sight, had withheld or revealed the truth about Jesus. Jesus had been given the same authority to reveal the Father to whomever He willed. Such a claim of power & authority was shocking to His hearers. The Father and Son have a mutual, intimate relationship. This led the Jews to accuse Jesus of blasphemy, for making Himself equal to God. They knew He was saying it, and they wouldn't believe it. All things being handed over to Jesus include the power and prerogative to reveal the Father to whomever He wills. Gives greater meaning to Jesus' statement in John 14:6 no one comes to the Father, except through Me. 11:27 Jesus is claiming equality with the Father. These vv. Put a huge emphasis on who Jesus is and what He can do in terms of authority.

Matt. 11:25-27 is all about how Jesus wants us to humbly admit our need for Him so that we would come to know Him.  Jesus wants us to know the greatness of the Father is revealed exclusively in the Son so that we would trust in Christ for salvation and not the wisdom of man. I want to point out two important truths that these verses reveal and how we see it played out in the Christmas story and in our lives.

I. God reveals Himself to the humble & hides Himself from the arrogant. 11:25-27 There is a promise here for all who believe. He gives to us. Those who will admit their need of Jesus get it, they understand, those who don't do not. You see it in the Christmas story. To the humble ones...the prophets and people before the time of Christ...entering into the pre-Christmas anticipation. Is. 7:14, 9:4. To Joseph and Mary. Matt. 1:18-25. To shepherds. Luke 1-2. Simeon and Anna. To wise men. Luke a bit more time delayed than most nativity scenes show. From the proud...Herod. Luke. To the world. Luke 2:14. God with us. God incarnate. Savior. Lord. God is sovereign. He came up with the plan. He set it in motion. He arranged the details. He carried it out. You see it in daily life. He reveals Himself through His Word. He assures believers of His presence. He gives general revelation to all, including an inner awareness of His presence, Rom. 1. He has given specific revelation, through the prophets up to John the Baptist He openly proclaimed the coming Messiah. But He only reveals gospel truth to those who admit their need, while hiding it from those who sense no need for His truth. 2 Cor. 4:3-4 the gospel is hidden to the perishing.

II. The humble receive Christ, the arrogant reject Him. We respond to Him. Some come to know Him, others do not. You see it in the Christmas story. God revealed Himself to Joseph and Mary. Mary said be it done to me as you have said. Joseph took Mary to be his wife. Matt. 1:18-25. Shepherds listened to the angels. Luke 2:8-20. Wise men followed the star. Matt. 2:1-12. Herod tried to destroy Jesus, killed many innocent children. Saw only a threat when he should have seen a blessing. You see it in daily life, in all times and places and where we live. 11:20-24 pictured man responding to a holy God. 11:25-27 pictures the electing grace of God. We need to acknowledge both, both are taught in Scripture, believers agree they freely chose to follow Jesus, and also agree that God has chosen and drawn them to Himself. The language of 11:25-27 hidden, revealed, your good pleasure, chooses points to God’s sovereignty. The language of 11:20-24 points to human responsibility, where people are judged for rejecting Jesus. As does 11:28-30 where Jesus offers salvation to those who will respond favorably. God is sovereign in salvation. It is a sovereign act of God. Man is accountable to God for his response to Him. We are called to preach the gospel to all people. Matt. 28:18-20. Calling people to repentance and faith so that they might believe and be saved. Share the gospel in the power of the Holy Spirit trusting God with the results. What a person needs to know to come to faith in Christ is God loves them so much He sent His Son to die in their place, Christ shed His blood on the cross to pay the penalty for their sin, He was buried and rose from the dead, securing forgiveness and new life for all who believe.

Jesus reveals Himself to those who admit their need for Him, so that they would come to know Him.

Soli Deo Gloria