Hiding the Truth from the Brilliant Unteachables
Hiding the Truth from the Brilliant Unteachables.
“In that same hour, Jesus rejoiced greatly (“agalliao”) in the Holy Spirit and said, ‘I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have concealed these things relating to salvation from the wise and learned, and revealed them to babes (“nepiois”). Yes, Father, for such was Your gracious will and good pleasure.” (Luke 10:21, also Matthew 11:25-26).
God seems to love playing “hide and seek” with His truths. He hides them from the brilliant intellects who think they know it all, the learned ones who have become unteachable, those who are content with their own wisdom and understanding, the scoffers who think God’s truths are beneath them. On the other hand, instead of hiding His truth, God is more than happy to reveal His truth to ‘babes,‘ (“nepiois,” Greek for ‘babes‘), little children in the faith; the immature in Christ; those who are inexperienced, unenlightened, unsophisticated, insignificant. God doesn’t hide His truth from those innocent ones who receive the gospel in simple faith and trust, with no ulterior motives; the unassuming ones who are usually unappreciated in the world but nonetheless are honored by God for their humble receptivity.
“Agalliao” (Greek for ‘excessive rejoicing’): Jump for joy; leap in deep gladness; exult with exuberance; skip with delight; joy multiplied; physically express one’s worship to God. To realize that Jews in general were not shy about expressing themselves physically while in worship or in celebration should give us more sedate Gentiles pause. It is delightful to imagine Jesus jumping and skipping and leaping in joy before the Father.
Jesus literally jumped for joy when the seventy appointed missionaries returned from their journeys. Jesus received them with excessive joy, and He also exulted in the sweet irony of the Father’s wisdom in granting the mysteries of salvation to those who are often overlooked and would not be considered worthy of them. Jesus was overjoyed that the Father finds such pleasure in giving privileges to the overlooked “babes.”
Hidden from the Doubters. It seems that Jesus’ favorite way of revealing mysteries about the kingdom was through digestible little stories, His homespun parables. “I will open my mouth and tell stories. I will bring out into the open things hidden since the world’s first day.” (Matt.13:35, quoting Psalm 78:2). These stories were just as much the Word of God as His sermons. He told imaginative stories that would tend to separate the seekers from the scoffers. Parables would inspire the teachable, and perplex the doubters. For those who didn’t want to take His stories personally or thoughtfully, the main point was clouded over and obscured. So some in the audience didn’t learn a thing with Jesus’ parables. They heard but they didn’t understand. If they didn’t want the seed of truth to grow roots in a fertile heart, they missed the point altogether. On the other hand, those with an open mind and a teachable heart would have all sorts of kingdom mysteries revealed to them. The seeds would grow root and bear fruit in their lives. In this way, the kingdom would spread through the imaginative and pointed use of unexpectedly power-packed stories. The kingdom doesn’t depend on three-point sermons. Stories for the teachable can also get the job done.