Skip to main content

169. Unstoppable Praise!


Key Verse: At that time Jesus said, "I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children."
Matthew 11:25

Remember, this outburst by Jesus is in response to the good report of the successful ministry of the 72 he had sent out. They were excited that they were actually able to do Jesus’ Will. Jesus is excited that they obeyed and were successful.

When Jesus says, "I Praise You, Father, Lord of Heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children," He is rejoicing in the fact that it was the simple, not the religious leaders, who were successfully bringing the Kingdom of God to the masses. The "wise and learned," had erected walls between God and man. The humble and obedient had opened the way. "The wise and learned," had made the relationship between God and man a system of rules. The simple had made it a matter of belief and faith.

This is what God had intended all along. Before the fall, He had walked with Adam and Eve in the garden. It wasn't just Adam and Eve who suffered the loss of God's presence in the fall. God had lost the companionship of man. Now Jesus was rejoicing because the walls were coming down and it was those with the child like faith in Him that were doing the work.
Have you ever done something for the Lord and just felt His pleasure because both you and He knew that you've nailed it? That's what is going on here and that's why Jesus breaks forth in praise.

Then, in Luke, Jesus mentions the prophets. "Blessed are the eyes that see what you see. For I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it." (Luke 10:25) Yes, they were seeing Jesus, which the prophets before had prophesied about. How many of those prophets went to their graves without seeing Jesus and also felt like failures in their call because the people had not responded? Jonah was successful, but not with the Israelites. The prophets cried out with God's warnings and begged the people to repent, but the people turned a deaf ear to their pleas, most of the time.

These seventy-two experienced success because of Jesus. Can we? Yes, if we stop defining success in our terms, as the Pharisees did, and define success in God's terms, as Jesus did. The good news of the kingdom was preached and the people were blessed. It did not result in a larger following at the time, but it planted seed. God and Man worked together to proclaim "The Kingdom of God is at hand."

Hymn: "Praise to the Lord, the Almighty"   King’s College Choir
            Praise to the Lord, the Almighty      Fernando Ortega

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

211. The Sons of Thunder's Request

Matthew 20:20-28 , Mark 10:35-45 , Key verse: "Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all." Mark 10:43B-44 In our readings for yesterday, in which Jesus outlined what was about to happen to Him, for His disciples, the passage in Luke ends: "The disciples did not understand any of this. It's meaning was hidden from them, and they did not know what He was talking about." ( Luke 18:34 ) Now, we see just how truly clueless they were. Jesus had laid out a plan before them of pain and suffering and death and now James and John are focused on a promotion. The disconnect is so obvious. It's really not important to know whether James and john came up with this request on their own or if their mother put them up to it. The request was made and James and John thought that they could handle the responsibility that would come with it. What is that saying, "Fools rush in where angels fe...
Post a Comment
Read more

These Boots are Made for Walking

Scripture: Ephesians 6:10-15 These Boots are Made for Walking. Of course, I picked that title because it has a reference to popular culture, and it connects with our text today about “feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.” I was tempted to play the video of that song, but it’s really not amenable to worship. If you remember that old song, it was quite confrontational. The singer had a righteous complaint against a boyfriend or spouse who was cheating on her. She’s not going to put up with that, and the song goes on to say, “One of these days these boots are gonna walk all over you!” And that “take a stand” bravado made her a hero! It was a #1 hit in 1966. I mention it because it has one interesting parallel and one major contrast with the message of grace and forgiveness. That parallel is this. God has a righteous complaint against the entire human race for cheating Him out of the loving relationship He desires with us. As the God who created us, he h...
Post a Comment
Read more

186. Ten Healed, Or One?

Luke 17:11-19 Key Verse: Then He said to him, "Rise and go; your faith has made you well." Luke 17:19 At last, Jesus has left the crowd behind and again is continuing His journey toward Jerusalem. His path takes Him and His disciples along the border of Judea and Samaria, between the pure Jews, and the hated half breeds of the day. On His way, Jesus encounters an interesting group of people. We only learn the nationality of one of them and, though we don't know the nationality of the others, because Jesus sends them to the priests in Jerusalem we can probably assume that at least some of them are Jews. Isn't it interesting that through leprosy, a disease that causes much suffering, the dividing wall of hatred has come down for the sake of companionship? We encountered one leper earlier on our Journey. Lepers were the dreaded untouchables of the day. Their disease cut them off from all they loved. It was a very lonely life. No wonder these people had ...
Post a Comment
Read more