Luke 10:22-24
The Gospel of Luke • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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-Let me invite you to turn in your Bibles to Luke 10...
And we’re going to be picking back up in Verse 22.
-We started this final section...
…of the Narrative of the Seventy...
…last week...
…by looking at Verse 21.
In it, we saw the focus turning...
From the rejoicing of the Seventy
To the rejoicing of the Savior.
And we saw that what brought rejoicing...
…to Jesus’ heart...
…was the fact that the Father had...
…exercised his Divine Sovereignty in a way...
…that had prevented ANYONE or ANYTHING...
…from ever robbing Him...
...of the glory that he deserves...
…in the salvation of sinners!
-Well, in this morning’s verses...
…we see the primary focus shifting once again.
Today, Luke shines the spotlight...
…on The Sovereignty and Supremacy of the Son
We’ll begin reading back in Verse 21.
This is the Word of God
Luke 10:21–24 (ESV)
21 In that same hour he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will.
22 All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”
23 Then turning to the disciples he said privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see!
24 For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.”
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Pray
-Let’s begin by briefly reviewing Verse 21.
Look at it with me: (Read and Expound)
Luke 10:21 (ESV)
21 In that same hour he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will.
Luke 10:21 (NASB95)
21 ...Yes, Father, for this way was well-pleasing in Your sight.
i.e., because it pleased you to do so.
That’s the reason!
And, remember this piercing quote...
…that we read from Calvin about that:
And certainly, though this appointment of God contradicts our senses, we discover not only blind arrogance, but excessive madness, if we murmur against it, while Christ our Head adores it with reverence. — Calvin
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-Now, verse 22 continues on...
...with this same theme of Sovereignty...
But instead of speaking to the Father...
(as He had in Verse 21)
...Jesus is now speaking about the Father.
Look at what He says:
First:
Luke 10:22 (ESV)
22 All things have been handed over to me by my Father...
Remember, that the context is...
The victory over Satan, that was seen in...
The evangelistic success of the Seventy.
So, Jesus is giving...
…yet another explanation...
…for the phenomenal occurences...
…that the Seventy had been celebrating in Verse 17.
You see, there’s a chain of authority in view, here:
“You were able to defeat Satan and the Demons...
Because I gave you that authority.”
“I possess that authority (in my humanity)...
Because my Father has handed it over to me.”
Certainly this brings to mind the language of...
Daniel 7:13–14 (ESV)
13 “...with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him.
14 And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him...
And I certainly think, that...
...that’s a fitting correlation to make.
It aligns with passages like:
Matthew 28:18 (ESV)
18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
Or even, Paul’s treatise (in Ephesians 1) on the...
Ephesians 1:19–22 (ESV)
19 ...the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe...
20 that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places,
21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named...
22 And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church,
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But, what’s the problem with...
…looking to these as the way to understand our text?
They weren’t technically realized, until...
The Cross
The Resurrection
The ASCENSION and SESSION!
But... the verb “handed over” in our text...
…is in the Greek Aorist tense.
That means that it’s probably referring to...
A single act
Probably occured in the past!
-So, how should we understand...
…what Jesus is saying here?
-Well, remember two things:
1.) The last thing Jesus had said...
…was about the eternal, hidden decrees of the Father.
So given that, it would make sense...
…that Luke would use an Aorist, here.
This “handing over” to the Son...
…was decreed before the dawn of time!
2.) “All” doesn’t always mean “all” . . .
…in the way we tend to think.
What I mean by that, is...
…that there is (as usual) a particular area of focus...
…behind the expansive language...
...that Luke is using here:
Consider Jesus’ High-Priestly prayer, in...
John 17:1–2 (ESV)
1 When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you,
2 since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him.
He prayed this before the Cross
We see the same principle...
…fleshed out in...
John 3:35–36 (ESV)
35 The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand.
36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.
Calvin Summarizes that first clause in Verse 22, like this:
Having formerly asserted that the Church proceeds from the secret source of God’s free election, he now shows in what manner the grace of salvation comes to men — Calvin
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i.e., through Jesus...
…and only through Jesus!
(But… don’t get discouraged...
…by the limitations of scope...
…that I put on this (Hopefully biblical limitations)
We’re still going to see...
…Jesus’ absolute sovereignty in this passage...
...Just a little later on)
But notice first...
…how He further develops this thought...
…back in Verse 22:
First, consider the logical progression:
Luke 10:21 (ESV)
21 ...“I thank you, Father . . . that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children...
Luke 10:22 (ESV)
22 All things have been handed over to me by my Father...
Then He makes this absolute statement:
Luke 10:22 (ESV)
22...and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son...
Now, he’s reaching beyond his earthly ministry...
…and into time immemorial.
Ryken says this:
Due to his divine identity, the Son has perfect knowledge of the Father, in the same way that the Father has perfect knowledge of the Son.
The Father and the Son share mutual intimacy with the Spirit in the fellowship of their triune being.
Only God can know God perfectly, and therefore no one knows the Son as does the Father, or the Father as does the Son. — Philip Ryken
And, lest we think that Ryken...
…is reading too much into this...
…consider the manifold scriptures...
…that espouse the same notion:
John 1:18 (ESV)
18 No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.
Hebrews 1:1–3 (ESV)
1 Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets,
2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son...
3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature...
Couple that with:
John 17:5 (ESV)
5 And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.
Consider also passages like:
John 8:19 (ESV)
19 They said to him therefore, “Where is your Father?” Jesus answered, “You know neither me nor my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father also.”
That’s true for the Muslim
That’s true for the Jew
That’s true for the “Christian Cultist”
If you don’t believe in the biblical Jesus...
…you do not have a relationship with God. (full stop)
2 John 9 states that clearly as well:
2 John 9 (ESV)
9 Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God. Whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son.
Then there’s the exclusivity...
…that Jesus claims in:
John 14:6 (ESV)
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
And finally, Paul’s words in:
2 Corinthians 4:6 (ESV)
6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
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There is no clear, saving knowledge of God...
…apart from faith in Jesus Christ!
Are you Convinced?
-Now, look back at the final clause in Verse 22.
As if it couldn’t get any grander...
…Jesus says this:
Luke 10:22 (ESV)
22...no one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”
That just got deep.
In the previous verse...
…Jesus had asserted the ABSOLUTE...
Sovereignty of the Father.
He had said that...
…the ultimate and final determiner...
…of Men’s Salvation...
Was God ALONE!
(There can be only ONE absolute Sovereign)
Jesus had said that is was the Father’s will that had...
Brought Judgment to the Proud
And Salvation to the Humble!
Now, in Verse 22, he is saying...
…that the Saving Grace of God comes, to..
Luke 10:22 (ESV)
22 ...anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”
So, which is it?
The Will of the Father?
The Will of the Son?
Yes!!!!
And, what does that tell us...
…about the identity of Jesus Christ?
That He is one with the Father and the Spirit
That while He remains distinct in his person...
...He yet shares in the singular divine essence!
He is God, the Eternal Son!
And as regards his Divine Nature...
…He is, himself, the absolute Sovereign of the Universe:
Ryken, again explains:
When Jesus said that the Father had given him all things, he was making the strongest possible claim to his own deity.
All things belong to Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Not a single atomic particle in the entire universe is outside his supreme lordship — Philip Ryken
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This is impossible apart from the doctrine of the Trinity!
-Now, is the will of the Father (in Verse 21)...
…being set in contrast to the will of the Son (in Verse 22)?
Of course not!
Look at...
John 10:27–30 (ESV)
27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.
28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.
29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.
30 I and the Father are one.”
And they understood him perfectly:
31 The Jews picked up stones again to stone him.
-Now, watch what Jesus says next, in...
Luke 10:23 (ESV)
23 Then turning to the disciples he said privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see!
That’s the language of the Covenant Blessing of God!
And, what have his disciples seen...
…that would indicate that God’s Blessing...
…was resting upon them?
Him!!!
And in Him...
The Father!!!
They’re blessed because they Know God!
Intimately
Personally
-Would the gift of land...
…even compare to this?
God… is now their inheritance.
His blessing rests upon them...
Because the Father and Son have chosen them...
And the Holy Spirit has given them eyes to see!
Earthly fortunes can’t even be compared to this!
-And he goes on to make that point, in Verse 24:
Luke 10:24 (ESV)
24 For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.”
The Anointed Servants of God in times past...
…LONGED to even touch...
…what you’ve already tasted!
But they weren’t permitted!
But YOU…
Lowly
Despised
Poor
Uneducated
INFANTS...
You’re already partaking of it!
Peter wrote this:
1 Peter 1:10–12 (ESV)
10 Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully,
11 inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories.
12 It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look.
Jesus said this about Abraham:
John 8:56 (ESV)
56 Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad.”
Guys, the promises to Abraham...
…were ultimately realized and fulfilled in Christ!
But, how did Abraham “see it?”
Does that contradict Verse 24?
Of course not!
He saw it in this sense:
Hebrews 11:13–16 (ESV)
13 These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.
14 For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland.
15 If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return.
16 But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.
Now, watch this...
It makes piercing application for us:
Hebrews 11:39–12:2 (ESV)
39 And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised,
40 since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect.
1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,
How do we do that?
2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
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Brethren, we have seen and experienced...
…what the Old Testament Prophets and Kings...
…could only dream of...
...while they were on the earth.
And, in a very real sense...
…as “blessed” as the Seventy had been...
(and they stood above Prophets and Kings)
...We who are called to make our earthly pilgrimage...
…on this side of the...
Cross
Resurrection
Ascension...
Have received even greater blessings...
…from the hand of the Lord!
Therefore… Let us look to Jesus!
And, in so doing, let’s...
Lay aside every encumbrance
Run the race that He has set before us
Endure to the end...
Let’s:
Revelation 2:10 (ESV)
10...Be faithful unto death, and (receive) the crown of life.
Let’s Pray