Luke 10:21-24 Blessed Are The Eyes That See
We are still with Jesus and the group that has just come back from their missionary journey. Jesus is very pleased with the reports and results from this group. He is doing a Holy Spirit jig!
Luke says that “in that same hour” Jesus was rejoicing in the Holy Spirit and giving thanks to God, His Father. He was thanking God for how He used these simple men to do mighty works for the Kingdom. This group of seventy two men had been going town to town healing the sick, binding up demons and proclaiming the Kingdom of Heaven; ALL in Jesus’ name. They took none of the credit for this work as their own. And they were shaking the gates of Hell.
The Father bypassed all the expected routes in His plans. The scribes, Pharisees, Sadducees, Herodians, and any other religious leader should have been the preferred route when reaching out spiritually to the nation of Israel. This group thought so. Surely God would rely heavily on them when sending His message and Messiah. After all, God placed them in their positions.
But that’s not what God chose to do. This group had become so self-important and manipulated God’s word to suit their needs that it no longer resembled what He had originally given Moses and the prophets. How could He possibly trust them with the most important message of all? I wouldn’t be surprised if they would have claimed exclusive rights to salvation if they had the chance. And that is NOT what God had in mind. So He hid the truth from them. They were blind to what Jesus was actually up to.
Instead God used an ordinary group of unlearned men to carry the greatest message to the people. Men willing to learn at Jesus’ feet. Men who didn’t have their own entrenched religious theology. Men willing to do whatever Jesus said, no matter how crazy it sounded to them.
These men saw the truth of who Jesus was. And they only saw that truth because God allowed them to. God gave them eyes to see what no one else did. Many would see later, but this group was blessed with the first glimpse at God’s plan. No, they didn’t understand it all, but they trusted Jesus to share it with them when the time was right. They were specially blessed.
Father God, I have often wished I could have been there with these men as they met Jesus on the dusty streets of Israel. Would I have seen the truth or would I have been blind? I am often the skeptic with new things. Would I have been open to the message Jesus was sharing? I pray so. I pray I am open to His entire message today. I don’t want to pick and choose which parts of Your word to follow. I have trouble understanding some aspects, but I accept the truth of them none the less. The area of miraculous healing still has me tied up. I KNOW that You work this way but I don’t know how, when and why. Thank You that You don’t need my understanding to be able to work Your plan. Thank You that You reveal to me what I need when I need it too. I will simply trust You to know work YOUR plan in my life in whatever way You think best.
