The holy spirit joy of jesus

THE HOLY SPIRIT JOY OF JESUS
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
Luke 10:21 At that time Jesus, full of joy through the
Holy Spirit, said, "I praise you, Father, LORD of
heaven and earth, because you have hidden these
things from the wise and learned, and revealedthem
to littlechildren. Yes, Father, for this is what you were
pleasedto do.
Amplified In that same hour He rejoiced and gloried
in the Holy Spirit and said, I thank You, Father, Lord
of heaven and earth, that You have concealedthese
things [relating to salvation]from the wise and
understandingand learned, and revealedthem to
babes (the childish, unskilled, and untaught). Yes,
Father, for such was Your gracious will and choice
and good pleasure.
BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
The Gladness Of Gratitude, Etc
Luke 10:21

W. Clarkson
Our thought is directed to -
I. THE GLADNESS OF GRATITUDE. "Jesus rejoicedin spirit, and said, I
thank thee, O Father." Joyand thankfulness are here united, as indeed they
are everywhere. It is gratitude that holds the key to happiness of heart and
life. Who are the miserable? Not the poor; they are often the most contented.
Not the afflicted; they are often very cheerful under great privation. Notthe
lonely; they are found happy in their solitude, conversing with the departed
greator communing with the Highest. It is the ungrateful who are the
unhappy; it is they who take every kindness shownthem by their fellow-men
in a spirit of surliness, as if they deservedmore than they have received;it is
they who acceptinnumerable mercies and the "unspeakable Gift" at the hand
of God without response, unmindful of the one, unappreciative of and
ungrateful for the other. Who are the happy? Notthe rich because they are
rich; not the strong because they are strong; not those who have many friends
because they have them. These may be burdened, wearied, wretched, and
their life be darkly shadowed. It is the grateful who are the happy souls;it is
they who receive with appreciation and thankfulness whateverman may give
them, whether of love, of confidence, ofsympathy, of practicalhelp; it is they
who have a deep sense ofthe kindness of the heavenly Father, and of the grace
of the Lord Jesus Christ. The heart that is full of gratitude is the heart that is
full of joy; and such joy is both pure and lasting.
II. THE HERITAGE OF THE HUMBLE-HEARTED. "Thou hast hid these
things from the wise,... andrevealed them unto babes."
1. In our Lord's time the scribes and lawyers "rejectedthe counselof God;"
they refused the wisdom of the Wisest;and the supercilious Sadducees stood
alooffrom the kingdom of Divine truth, from the kingdom of God. The "wise
and prudent" were too haughty of heart to part with their beloved prejudices
and to welcome the new truth which the greatTeacherbrought them. But the
"common people heard him gladly;" all "the people" were "very attentive to
hear him." The fishermen of Galilee left their nets and their ships to follow
him.

2. In the time of the apostles the same results were found (see 1 Corinthians
1:26-28).
3. In our own time we find that they who have gathered togethera little
human learning are apt to think that they are competentto solve, unaided, all
the greatproblems of their being and their destiny, and they close the gates of
their mind againstthe greatverities of the Christian faith. But they who know
how little they have graspedof all that is to be acquired, and who stand as
"babes," as very little children, before the Divine Father, are ready to
welcome to their souls all that he is ready to revealto them, and theirs is the
blessedheritage of spiritual truth, of heavenly wisdom, of eternal life.
III. THE REFUGE OF THE PERPLEXED. "Evenso, Father;for so it
seemedgoodin thy sight." We have our perplexities now, and they, may
weighupon our spirit with crushing power. We cannot understand God's
doings or his inaction in the wide human world, or in the Church of Christ, or
in the more limited sphere where our own interests and efforts lie. The more
we think the more we are assuredthat we are baffled and beaten. The various
solutions proposed do not reachthe heart of the difficulty. What, then, can we
do? Just retreatto that safe refuge - the strong, immovable assurance thatall
things are in the hands, and are subject to the guidance, of a holy, wise, loving
Father. - C.
Christ glorifies His Father and magnifies Himself
W. Burkitt.
Learn hence —
1. That till God reveals Himself, His nature and will, no man can know either
what He is, or what He requires — "Thouhast revealed."
2. That the wise and knowing men in the world have in all ages despisedthe
mysteries of the gospel, and have therefore been judicially blinded by God —
"Thou hasthid these things from the wise and prudent." When men shut

their eyes againstthe clearestlight, and say they will not see, Godcloses their
eyes and says they shall not see.
3. That the most ignorant, if humble, and desirous of spiritual illumination,
are in the readiestdisposition to embrace the gospelrevelation — "Thou hast
revealedthem unto babes."
4. That this is not more pleasing to Christ than it is the pleasure of His Father
— "Even so, Father, for so it seemedgoodin Thy sight."Observe — Our
Saviour magnifies Himself:
1. His authority and commission — "All things are delivered unto Me";that
is, all power is committed unto Me, as Mediator, from God the Father.
2. His office to revealHis Father's will to a lost world — "No man knoweth
the Fatherbut the Son, or the Sonbut the Father";that is, no man knoweth
their essenceand nature, their will and pleasure, their counseland consent,
their mutual compactand agreementbetwixt themselves, for saving a lost
world, but only themselves, "andthose to whom they have revealedit." Learn
thence, That all saving knowledge ofGod is in, by, and through Christ; He, as
the GreatProphet of His Church, reveals unto us the mind and will of God for
our salvation.
(W. Burkitt.)
Lessons
James Foote, M. A.
1. Let me ask you if you resemble Christ in rejoicing at the successoftrue
religion? He greatlyrejoicedin spirit, and gave thanks to His Father, that
Satanwas dethroned, and that, though some were obstinate, others were
blessedwith a saving discovery of Divine things.
2. Beware ofbeing proud of your own wisdomand prudence, and cherish the
humility and teachablenessofbabes.

3. We should learn, from the twenty-secondverse, never to separate the truths
of what is called natural religionfrom the gospel. The idea that there is, or can
be, any true and acceptable religionwhatever, apart from the revelationof
Christ, is here shown to be quite preposterous. The true Witness declares that
no man can know the Fatherexcept he to whom He shall reveal Him.
4. Let us be thankful for the precious religious privileges which we enjoy, and
careful to improve them. " Blessedare the eyes which see the things that ye
see."
5. Lastly: Are we blessed, becauseour eyes see, andour ears hear these
things? — then, Christian benevolence should lead us to feel for those who
enjoy no such privileges, and to do everything we can to extend them to the
utmost corners of the earth.
(James Foote, M. A.)
The Saviour's joy
Van Oosterzee.
The sublimity of this joy we feel the more, when we compare with it that of the
seventy. They rejoice in the greatthings, He in the goodbrought to pass;they
have their joy directed to the outer, Jesus His to the moral world; they rejoice
alone in the present, Jesus also in the past and the future; they are disposedto
self-praise, Jesus to thankful adoration.
(Van Oosterzee.)
Christ's joy
Van Oosterzee.
1. An example of the joy which the Lord sometimes experiencedupon earth.
2. An image of the joy which He now experiences in heaven.

3. A presage ofthe blessedness whichHe shall hereafter taste when the
kingdom of God shall be fully perfected.
(Van Oosterzee.)
The joy of Jesus
C. H. Spurgeon.
It is remarkable that this is the only instance on recordin the Gospels in
which our Lord is said to have rejoiced. Yet I do not think it would be fair to
infer from the factof a solitarymention of His rejoicing that He did not
rejoice at other times; on the contrary, our Lord must, despite His sorrow,
have possesseda peaceful, happy spirit. He was infinitely benevolent, and
went about doing good;and benevolence always finds a quiet delight in
blessing others. Moreover, our Lord was so pure that He had a well of joy
within which could not fail Him. Besides, ChristJesus was a man of faith;
faith's highest exposition and example. He it was, who "for the joy that was
setbefore Him endured the cross, despising the shame." His faith must,
therefore, have anticipated the reward of His passion, and have brought the
joy thereofhome to Him even while He sorrowedhere. It is clearthat joy was
not a distinguishing feature in our Lord's life, so as to strike the beholder.
Peace mayhave sat serenelyon His brow, but nothing of the exuberant spirits
which are seenin some men, for His countenance was marred with lines of
care and grief. The words here used are very emphatic. "He rejoiced." The
Greek word is much strongerthan the English rendering; it signifies "to leap
for joy." It is the word of the blessedVirgin's song, "Myspirit hath rejoiced
in God my Saviour." Strong emotions of delight were visible upon our Lord's
face, and were expressedby the tones of His voice as well as by His words. It is
clearthat He was greatly glad. The text also says, He "rejoicedin spirit": that
is, deep down in the very centre of His nature, in that largestand moat
capacious partof His human being, the Redeemerrejoiced.
I. Our Lord's joy was JOYIS THE FATHER'S REVELATION OF THE
GOSPEL.

1. I callyour attention to the fact that He ascribed all that was done to the
Father, and joyed that the Fatherwas working with Him.
2. The Saviour's joy was that through the Father's grace men were being
enlightened.
3. Further, our Saviour's joy lay very much in this, that this revelationto men
was being made through such humble instruments.
4. And yet, further, His greatjoy was that the converts were of such a
characteras they were.
5. Our Lord's joy sprang from one other source, namely, His view of the
manner in which Godwas pleasedto save His people. It was by revealing
these things to them. There is, then, to every man who is saveda revelation,
not of anything over and above what is given us in the Word of God; but of
that same truth to Himself personally and with power. In the word is the light;
but what is needed is that eachman's eye should be opened by the finger of
God to see it.
II. OUR LORD'S MODE OF EXPRESSIVE HIS JOY.
1. His joy finds tongue in thanksgiving.
2. He found expressionfor His joy in declaring the Father's sovereignty.
3. He delighted in the specialactof sovereigntywhich was before Him, that
the Lord had "hid these things from the wise and prudent, and had revealed
them unto babes." His voice, as it were, went with the Father's voice;He
agreedwith the Father's choice, He rejoicedin it, He triumphed in it.
III. Thirdly, and briefly, I want you to see OUR LORD'S EXPLANATION
OF THE FATHER'S ACT.
1. The Father had been pleasedto hide these things from the wise and prudent
and to revealthem unto babes, and Jesus Christ is perfectly satisfiedwith that
order of things, quite content with the kind of converts He has and the kind of
preachers that God has given Him. The Lord Jesus does notneed prestige.

2. See how the Lord explains it yet further, by showing that human wisdom
cannot find out God. Next, learn that the sovereigntyof God is always
exercisedin such a waythat the pure in heart may always rejoice in it. God
never did a sovereignactyet that the loving Christ Himself could not rejoice
in. The ultimate honour of the gospelis securedunto God alone, let that be
our lastlesson.
(C. H. Spurgeon.)
Revealedthem unto babes.
Why God reveals to babes
J. Leckie, D. D.
The babe is the representative of the receptive spirit. Its characteristic is trust,
openness to impression, and freedom from prejudice. The disciples were
babes who lay open to the Divine message,and did not interpose theories and
traditions. They were poor and knew it, and were willing to become rich. To
them God revealed. But the revealing to a certaindisposition is of necessity
the hiding from its opposite.
I. TO REVEAL TO BABES HARMONIZES WITH GOD'S CHARACTER
AS A FATHER AND ILLUSTRATES IT. "Babe" is the counterpart to
"Father" — "wise and understanding" has no such relation. The wise and
understanding might have a specialrelation to an almighty Taskmaster, an
infinite Schoolmasterand Prizegiver; but certainly not to an infinite Father. A
father's heart is not attractedto the brilliance or powerin his family, but to
the want. The gospelis salvationby the free gift of God. Any true conception
of the evil of sin, and its effects on the soul, renders other ideas of salvation
incredible. We call GodFather, and ask His forgiveness. Salvationby grace is
bound up with the Divine arrangement, which reveals to babes. The
distinction of the babe is just here — he is adapted to salvation by grace.
II. IT GLORIFIES GOD AS LORD OF HEAVEN AND EARTH TO
REVEAL TO BABES. That God is Lord of heaven and earth makes His

lowliness not less, but more needful and credible. The more you extend the
empire of God, the more necessaryit is for the heart to feel that God is lowly,
and to have abundant proof of it. The higher and mightier you conceive God
to be, the less it will appear credible to you that He should show preference to
force of any kind.
III. BY REVEALING TO BABES THE FATHER AND LORD OF HEAVEN
AND EARTH MANIFESTS THE SUPREMACYOF THE MORAL
ELEMENT. Whata calamity it would have been if the highest blessing had
been in any way speciallyassociatedwith intellectualqualities. This would
have been to confirm and glorify the false estimate already so prevalent and so
disastrous. But when God passes by the soaring imagination, the lofty
intellect, the keenunderstanding, and puts His main blessing into the lowly
heart and open spirit, when He comes downto the very lowestform of the
moral and spiritual, the mere sense ofwant, the mere hunger for better
things, and gives infinite eternalwealth to that — what a rebuke He conveys
to pride of intellect; what honour He confers upon plain heart and conscience.
Now is the false judgment of the world reversed. Now substance is put in place
of show. Now spirit is exalted over form. Now right is put on the royal seat.
IV. IT GLORIFIES GOD AS FATHER AND LORD OF HEAVEN AND
EARTH TO REVEAL TO BABES;FOR IT SHOWS HIS DESIRE TO
REVEAL AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE, AND TO AS MANY AS POSSIBLE.
Had God then revealedto the wise and understanding, He would have hidden
from the world as a whole. By revealing to babes He gives hope to universal
humanity. The babe slumbers in every soul howeverartificial or proud, and
may be wakenedup by some simple touch of pathos, or glimpse of memory, as
well as by disaster. God who reveals to babes shows that it is man himself that
He wants, not man's accomplishments, notman's energies, anddistinctions
and elevations, but man.
V. THE APPOINTMENTOF A PERSONALSAVIOUR GLORIFIES GOD
AS FATHER AND LORD OF HEAVEN AND EARTH, AND IS
PECULIARLY ADAPTED TO BABES. Jesus is the typical original Babe, the
perfect, infinite example of the receptive spirit; therefore He reveals the
Father, and is the refuge of men and the restfor the weary. On accountof the

very vastness ofthe lordship of heaven and earth a personis neededto bring
God near, to show that it is a lordship, and not a mere system; and that there
is a heart at the centre. The gospelis salvationby a person. Trust in Christ
saves us. This suits the babes, and, therefore, at bottom, all men.
(J. Leckie, D. D.)
The child-heart
Bishop Boyd Carpenter
I. THE INTELLECTUAL CONTRAST.The world, Christ would tell us, is
divisible into the simple and the wise. Our Lord rejoices that the larger
sectionis not excluded from participation in the things of the kingdom of God;
that men do not need worldly wisdom and the prudence of experience in order
to knowing the truths of salvation. No exclusive sentence is written over the
portals of Christianity. It is adjusted to the lowestand meanestcapacity.
Christ's mission was to all humanity, and He rejoicedin that fact.
II. THE MORAL CONTRAST. He wishes to tell us what is essential — that it
is only to the child-heart that revelationwill be made. We know the contrast
betweenthe childheart and a heart sophisticatedby life. Worldly and
hardened hearts cannot receive the revelationof the things of heaven.
1. It is even so in regard to the world of beauty around us. We fill our hearts
with cares, and immerse ourselves in business, so that we cannotsee the
beauty of a landscape which entrances the child-heart.
2. It is true also of noble actions or ideas:only the care-free childheart feels
their beauty and sublimity.
3. When a greatevil is to be dealt with, we notice how slowlythe consciences
of worldly-wise, practicalmen rise to a greatpublic duty, and how swiftly the
child-heart perceives the line betweenright and wrong.

III. THE PRACTICAL RESULT. Christ rejoices thatnone are excluded from
His kingdom. But no gigantic effort of intellect will enable us to climb over the
battlements of heaven. Wisdom is nearerto us when we stoop.
(Bishop Boyd Carpenter)
Revelationto the lowly
W. F. Adeney, M. A.
I. THE FACT.
1. A childlike mind is required in those who would receive Christ and His
kingdom.
2. The first disciples were children and men of childlike mind.
3. In the presentday, the gospelis for the childlike.
II. THE SECRET.
1. The nature of the truth revealedrequires a childlike mind for the reception
of it.(1) Its novelty. It is not contrary to true reason;but it is aside from and
different from the old results of human reason.(2)Its unwordliness. The eyes
that are weariedwith poring over earthly lore are often too worn to bear the
light of heavenly truth. This requires a healthy, fresh vision.(3) Its lowliness. A
gospelfor the simple is not necessarilya simple gospel.
2. The method of the revelation requires a childlike mind for the receptionof
it. It is not given by logicaldemonstration, but through act and life. We must
see it with the soul's eyes. For the clearness ofthis spiritual vision we need
(1)simplicity and self-forgetfulness,
(2)trustfulness,
(3)purity — children's graces.
III. THE THANKSGIVING. Why?

1. It is according to God's will.
2. It redounds to the glory of God.
(1)As an evidence that the revelation comes from heaven and is not got by
man's wisdom. It is not stolenPrometheanfire.
(2)As a proof of the power of God. He can teachhighest truth to lowliest
scholars.
(3)As a sign of the goodnessand condescensionofGod.
3. It proves the breadth of revelation.
4. It brings to us the best discipline in revelation.
(W. F. Adeney, M. A.)
The kingdom of God
Van Oosterzee.
1. This is not different:
(1)In the days of the Saviour;
(2)In later ages;
(3)In our time.
2. This cannotbe different.
(1)Objective cause in the nature of the gospel.
(2)Subjective cause in the human heart.
(3)Supernatural cause in the counselorGod.
3. This may not be different; for, even in this way —
(1)The divinity of the gospelis confirmed;

(2)The requirements of the gospelare satisfied;
(3)The trial of the gospelis assured.
(Van Oosterzee.)
Divine truths hidden and revealed
B. Wilkinson, F. G. S.
Whilst Jesus deemedit needful to warn His disciples againstself-exaltation
because ofwhat they had been the means of doing, He Himself found in the
successes whichhad accompaniedtheir labours a ground for grateful
rejoicing. In these successesHe saw the firstfruits of a rich and glorious
harvest; and He broke out into the exclamation — "I thank Thee, O Father!"
&c. By the expression, "these things," our Saviour meant the greatDivine
truths which He had come into the world expresslyto reveal, which He had
commissionedthese seventy disciples to announce in the towns they visited,
and for the rejectionof which He had a little while before upbraided the cities
of Galilee. With respectto these Divine truths, Christ here makes a two-fold
statement.
I. HE SPEAKS OF THEM AS HAVING BEEN HIDDEN FROM SOME.
1. Divine truths were not hidden from these people through any want of
outward revelation.
2. Northrough any lack of intellectual ability to understand them. They were
"the wise and prudent."
3. Northrough any influence exerted by God for the purpose. "Thou hast
hid," &c., must be interpreted in the broad light of our Saviour's teaching as a
whole.
4. In what sense, then, are we to understand that Divine truths were hidden
from these people? To answerthis question we must first answeranother,
namely, Who were the wise and prudent from whom these truths were
concealed?(1)Theywere not really the wise and prudent.(2) They supposed

themselves to be so, and gloried in the supposition. There is in such a case an
element of retribution of which we must not lose sight. The retribution
consists in this — that these people, having wilfully shut their minds against
the revelations of God's truth, are left by God to the consequencesoftheir
self-inflicted blindness.
II. HE SPEAKS OF THEM AS HAVING BEEN REVEALED TO OTHERS.
The word "babes" is clearly intended to be antithetic to the words "wise and
prudent." As by the wise and prudent, the Saviour meant those who were
proud, ostentatious, self-sufficient, thinking of themselves more highly than
they ought to think, and looking down on others with a cold indifference or a
supercilious contempt; so by babes He meant those who were humble,
teachable, self-distrustful, feeling themselves to be destitute of all real good,
and being willing to receive help and blessing from whatever quarter or in
whatsoeverwayit might come. To such as these Divine truths were revealed,
and only to such.
1. It was not because they had been favoured with a greateramount of light
respecting these truths.
2. It was not because they had been supplied with better means of preparation
for the receptionof these truths.
3. It was not because they had been made the exclusive objects of a selecting
love.
4. It was because theywere in a fit and proper mood for the receptionof
spiritual truths. With respectto this revelation of Divine truths to the humble
we have to notice two things, eachof which suggests a practicallessonwell
worth learning:(1) It was a source of grateful joy to the Saviour's heart.(2)It
had His cordial and unqualified acquiescence.In conclusion, let us remember
that if we would be as babes to whom Divine truths are revealed, we must not
only bow before God in self-abasementand contrition, but we must look for
the revelationof those truths through Jesus Christ. This point comes out in
ver. 22, "All things are delivered," etc.
(B. Wilkinson, F. G. S.)

The simplicity of mystery
J. Parker, D. D.
In that hour Jesus rejoicedin Spirit. How few such occasions occurredin His
life! What hour was it? When He saw, humanly speaking, a glimpse of God's
method of unfolding His governmental purposes, and His beneficent plans and
designs. "I thank Thee that Thou hast hid these things from the wise and
prudent," from intellectual giants, from merely cleverpeople, from so-called
genius, and sagacityand intellectual power. "Who is greatestin the kingdom
of heaven?" Jesus did not summon the proudest king, or the mightiest
thinker, but He seta child in the midst of them, and said, "The child is always
the greatest." So you will find it all throughout life, that when you have been
most happy, when you have been most childlike, you have seenthings most
clearly; not when you have put on the cap of your genius, and have takenthe
sceptre of your power, and robed yourself in the official dignity of a passing
moment or a transient situation; but when you have stripped yourself of your
own greatness,and have satdown, and said, "Lord, teachme." Religion, as
propounded to us by Jesus Christ, is not a riddle to be solved by the
intellectually great. It is a revelation to the heart; it is a word spokento sin; it
is a gospel breathed upon sorrow;it is a word of liberty delivered to those that
are bound; a subtle sympathy — something not to be named in high-sounding
phrases, or to be wrought out in pomp of words. If you have been in the habit
of going to church for the purpose of settling some criticalargument, for the
purpose of hearing the minister through the medium of your scholastic
accumulations and of your native power of intellect, I do not wonderyou are
numbered with the lean kine who, having devoured much, are none the better
for their gluttony; but if you go hungering and thirsting after righteousness, if
you have left your big self outside, and have come in, just enoughof you to
breathe and confess sin, just enough to be a mere spot on the floor of the
sanctuary — a mere cripple, with only breath enough to say, "Godbe
merciful to me a sinner," you were never disappointed. If in hymn, or psalm,
or high anthem, or exposition, or reading of the Word Divine, you have
receivedsatisfaction, greatanswers, infinite gospels, youhave secretlyblessed

God for His revelations. The disciples were comparedto babes, and the babes
receivedthe greatrevelation. It will be found that simplicity itself is the chief
mystery of God. Some things are so simple that we won't believe them. I know
scepticalminds who, if they were asking me which is the way to the Thames,
and I were to say "This," woulddoubt the answerbecause ofits brevity and
simplicity. If I could have conveyedthe indication of the route by a
roundabout process, theymight, perhaps, have been led to believe that I
meant what I said, though they did not know what I meant. Do not look so far
from home for your blessings;do not make mysteries where God intends you
to find simplicity.
(J. Parker, D. D.)
The babe-spirit
J. Parker, D. D.
Observe, I am speaking about the beginning, in developing this doctrine of the
babe-spirit, and not about the end. And even at the end thou shalt find out the
greatmystery of the unity betweenthe man and the child that He, the child
Jesus, and the man Christ Jesus are one and the same. The greaterhis
modesty; the more wonderful his power and influence, the greaterhis
readiness to consider, and oblige, and do good. From the greatestexpectthe
best; from the mastermore than from the servant; from the disciple rudeness
and rejection, from the Master, "Forbid them not, let them come."
(J. Parker, D. D.)
God revealedunto babes
Dr. Martineau.
That the sage shouldmiss what the infant can see seems atfirst but little
possible, and still less a subject for thankfulness. It would appearto
discourage the highest attributes of our nature, to throw contempt on the

patience of thought, and cruelly to visit the prayer for light with the deeper
darkness. Canit be that the more pains we take to know, the less will the truth
be found; that the rich and practisedmind is at a disadvantage comparedwith
the inexperiencedand empty? And if so, why exult in the frustration of the
noblest of human aims, and the confiscationofthe prize to those who have no
aim at all? dwells with a savage satisfactiononthe supposedexclusionfrom
the kingdom of God of whateverwe hold fair and great in the old heathen
world, and richestfor the adornment of all time; and exults in peopling it with
hordes of triumphant barbarians like himself. Is this the spirit of Christ's
thanksgiving? Are we required, out of sympathy with it, to believe Socratesan
outcastand clapour hands as he vanishes from hope? to stifle our reverence
for AEschylus and Plato, for the Scipios and Antonines — and declare God's
preference for mendicant monks and illiterate missionaries? Mustwe
condemn as secularand carnal our own natural admiration for the gifts of
wisdom — the disciplined powers, the large and supple thought, the accurate
expression, of a wellcultured nature — and force ourselves into harmony of
taste with the raw religion of unmellowed sectaries, theirloud voice, their
rude speech, their narrow zeal, their tumultuous aspirations? Farfrom it. It is
not intellect from which God hides Himself, but selfishness and pride; which
may belong alike to taught and untaught, and darken the soul of sophist or of
clown. There is light both in the "base" and in the "wise":but in the former it
is wholly spontaneous;in the latter it is chiefly derivative. In its infancy the
soul simply apprehends what is given it to perceive, lies confidingly in the
bosom of nature, and lets the morning beams come into the full and
wondering eyes. It is the loss of the habit of natural trust, the tendency to
anxious quest of something distant insteadof pure repose on what is here, that
according to Christ's prayer, hides God from the wise and prudent. And,
conversely, it is the surrender to spontaneous light and love, the simple
passing out upon it into life, without doubt of its guidance or scrutiny of its
claims, that reveals Him unto "babes." How profoundly true this is — that in
Divine things the little child may know what the great philosopher may miss
— will appear if you only think what God is, and whether He is likely to be
discoveredon any explorer's track or by any artifice of calculation. Two
things science enables us to do, from which all its triumphs spring. It shows us
how to put the parts and products of nature into true classes;and it qualifies

us to foresee phenomena else unsuspected. But Godis neither a being to be
classified, nor a phenomenon to be foreseen,
(Dr. Martineau.)
It is the greatmarvel of the Christian character
Dr. Martineau.
that the completestself-sacrifice gives the completestself-possession;that only
the captive soul, which has flung her rights away, has all her powers free;and
that simply to serve under the instant orders of the living God, is the highest
qualification for command. This is the meaning of that greatsaying of
Cromwell's:"One never mounts so high as when one knows not whither one is
going":a saying which the wise and prudent scornedas a confessionof
blindness, but which reveals to simpler minds the deepesttruth.
(Dr. Martineau.)
Two types of human greatness are
Dr. Martineau.
there — the Paganand the Christian — the moral and the religious — the
secularand the Divine. The former has its root and essencein trying hard; the
latter, in trusting gently: the one depends on voluntary energy; the other on
relinquishment of personalwill to castevery burden upon God.
(Dr. Martineau.)
To commune with God
Dr. Martineau.

there is need of no subtle thought, no foreign tongue, no newestphilosophy:
"the pure in heart shall see" Him; and Fox and Bunyan canmore truly make
Him known, than "Masters ofSentences"and"Angelic Doctors."
(Dr. Martineau.)
Learning the alphabet of religion
Handbook to Scripture Doctrines.
A man came to his pastorone night to learn the way of salvation. He was a
very learned man, but he said: "I know nothing of Divine truth. I come to you
to learn — as a child. I come to learn the very alphabet of religion." His
pastor replied: "My friend, when you return home, open your Bible and read
prayerfully the third chapterof John. Think of it. Study it. That will be A.
Then turn to Isaiah, fifty-fifth chapter. Study it. Believe it. That is B. A B, ab,
almost Abba Father."
(Handbook to Scripture Doctrines.)
Humility of Pascal
Life of Pascal.
The curate who attended Pascalonhis dying bed, struck with the triumph of
religion over the pride of an intellect which continued to burn after it had
ceasedto blaze, would frequently exclaim, "He is an infant — humble and
submissive as an infant!"
(Life of Pascal.)
The receptive spirit
The Rev. John Foster, whose scepticaltendencies were the source of much
distress of mind, was finally led to say: "I have felt the necessityof dismissing

subtle speculations, and of yielding a humble, cordialassentto mysterious
truth, just as and because the Scriptures declare it, without asking 'How can
these things be?'The gospelis to me a matter of urgent necessity. I come to
Jesus becauseI need pardon."
The Son will reveal Him.
Deity revealed
J. Irons.
I. THE MYSTERYOF DEITY IN SELF-EXISTENCE. He is an unknown
God where there is no supernatural revelation of Him. Reasonis baffled,
because it is under the fall. Eternal self-existence. How wonderful! It exceeds
all power of calculation.
II. THE INCARNATE SON OF GOD REVEALING. NOW mark, I beseech
you, that all this glory of the Father, made to shine in the face of Jesus Christ,
is unknown to the sinner as long as he is blinded.
III. THE SALVATION SECURED THEREBY. Contrivedand bestowedby
God the Father. Carried out by God the Son. It is, therefore, infallible, and it
secures the glory of Jehovah.
(J. Irons.)
The powerbestowedon Christ by the Father
Van Oosterzee.
1. Unlimited.
2. Legitimate.
3. Beneficent.
4. Ever-enduring.

(Van Oosterzee.)
The unique relation betweenthe Son and the Father
Van Oosterzee.
1. How far it is the objectof our faith.
2. How far it can be the objectof our knowledge.
(Van Oosterzee.)
The relation betweenFatherand Son
Van Oosterzee.
1. The highest mystery.
2. A revealedmystery.
3. Even after the revelation yet continually a partially concealedmystery.
(Van Oosterzee.)
Christ the RevealerofGod
W. Dorling.
Christ, as you see here, speaks ofHimself. What does He say of Himself?
1. Does He not claim to be Divinely constituted as a RevealerofGod? "All
things are delivered to Me of My Father."
2. Our Lord speaks here also ofthe glorious mystery of His own personand
character. No man, nor angel, nor archangel, nor any intelligence in this or in
the heavenly world, knowethwho the Son is but the Father. It takes an
Infinite Being to comprehend an Infinite Being.

3. Christ alone knows God in perfection — "No man knowethwho the Father
is but the Son." What an awful sense of loneliness — a loneliness which is
unutterable — would be involved in our idea of God, unless we had some light
given to us by Jesus Christ, concerning His relation to the Father.
4. Jesus Christis and can alone be the Revealerof Godto us — "And he to
whom the Son will revealHim."
(1)He can be known to whom the Son will revealHim.
(2)The wayto the knowledge ofGod is by meekness, humility, submission,
trustfulness, love.
(W. Dorling.)
STUDYLIGHT RESOURCES
Adam Clarke Commentary
Rejoicedin spirit - Was truly and heartily joyous: felt an inward triumph. But
τῳ πνευματι, τῳ ἁγιῳ, the Holy Spirit, is the reading here of BCDKL, six
others; the three Syriac, later Persic, Coptic, Ethiopic, Armenian, Vulgate, all
the Itala exceptone, and Augustin and Bede. These might be considered
sufficient authority to admit the word into the text.
I thank thee - Bishop Pearce justly observes, the thanks are meant to be given
to God for revealing them to babes, not for hiding them from the others. See
on Matthew 11:25;(note).
Thou hast hid - That is, thou hast not revealedthem to the scribes and
Pharisees,who idolized their own wisdom; but thou hastrevealed them to the
simple and humble of heart.
Copyright Statement

These files are public domain.
Bibliography
Clarke, Adam. "Commentary on Luke 10:21". "The Adam Clarke
Commentary". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/acc/luke-
10.html. 1832.
return to 'Jump List'
Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible
In that same hour he rejoicedin the Holy Spirit, and said, I thank thee, O
Father, Lord of heavenand earth, that thou didst hide these things from the
wise and understanding, and didst reveal them unto babes:yea, Father;for so
it was well-pleasing in thy sight.
THE REJOICING OF CHRIST
Significantly, this rejoicing of Jesus was "in the Holy Spirit," indicating that
even his emotions were in harmony with that Spirit which, without measure,
dwelt in him. The true joy of the redeemed issues automaticallyin the
outpouring of prayers of thanksgiving to the Father.
Hide these things ... God did not hide capriciously his revelation from the wise
and understanding of earth; for they receivedexactlythe same revelation as
the "babes," withthis difference: "The revelationto those with the wrong
attitude, when they persistently rejectedit, was takenaway from them, and
they were permanently confirmed in their spiritual blindness."[19]
ENDNOTE:
[19] NorvalGeldenhuys, op. cit., p. 308.
Copyright Statement
James Burton Coffman Commentaries reproduced by permission of Abilene
Christian University Press, Abilene, Texas, USA. All other rights reserved.

Bibliography
Coffman, James Burton. "Commentary on Luke 10:21". "Coffman
Commentaries on the Old and New Testament".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/bcc/luke-10.html. Abilene
Christian University Press, Abilene, Texas, USA. 1983-1999.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible
In that hour Jesus rejoicedin Spirit,.... In his human soul: his heart was filled
with joy, not so much at the successofthe seventydisciples, and the subjection
of the devils to them, as in the view he had of the spread of the Gospel, and of
the revelationand application of the truths of it to multitudes of mean and
despicable persons, while it was rejectedby the wise and learned; and
particularly at the sovereignand distinguishing grace ofGod towards the
elect, whose names are written in heaven; upon the mention of which his soul
was so affected, that he broke out in, an exulting strain, into thanksgivings to
God, in the following manner,
and said, I thank thee, O Father,.... In three ancient copies ofBeza's, and in
the Vulgate Latin, Syriac, and Ethiopic versions it is read, "in the Holy
Spirit"; and the Persic versionreads, "he spake, orconfabulated with the
Holy Spirit": but the former reading and sense are best. See Gill on Matthew
11:25, Matthew 11:26
Copyright Statement
The New John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible Modernisedand adapted
for the computer by Larry Pierce of Online Bible. All Rightes Reserved,
Larry Pierce, Winterbourne, Ontario.
A printed copy of this work can be ordered from: The Baptist Standard
Bearer, 1 Iron Oaks Dr, Paris, AR, 72855
Bibliography

Gill, John. "Commentary on Luke 10:21". "The New JohnGill Exposition of
the Entire Bible". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/geb/luke-
10.html. 1999.
Geneva Study Bible
5 In that hour Jesus rejoicedin spirit, and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord
of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the h wise and
prudent, and hast revealedthem unto babes:even so, Father; for so it seemed
goodin thy sight.
(5) The Church is contemptible, if we considerits outward appearance, but
the wisdomof God is most marvellous in it.
(h) Of this world.
Copyright Statement
Text Courtesyof BibleSupport.com. Used by Permission.
Bibliography
Beza, Theodore. "Commentaryon Luke 10:21". "The 1599 Geneva Study
Bible". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/gsb/luke-10.html.
1599-1645.
Robertson's WordPictures in the New Testament
In that same hour (εν αυτηι τηι ωραι — en autēi tēi hōrāi). Literally, “atthe
hour itself,” almost a demonstrative use of αυτος — autos (Robertson,

Grammar, p. 686)and in Luke alone in the N.T. (Luke 2:38; Luke 10:21;
Luke 12:12; Luke 20:19). Matthew 11:25 uses the demonstrative here, “at that
time” (εν εκεινωι τωι καιρωι — en ekeinōitōi kairōi).
Rejoicedin the Holy Spirit (ηγαλλιασατο τωι πνευματι τωι αγιωι —
ēgalliasato tōipneumati tōi hagiōi). First aorist middle of the late verb
αγαλλιαω — agalliaō forαγαλλω — agallō to exult. Always in the middle in
the N.T. save Luke 1:47 in Mary‘s Magnificat. This holy joy of Jesus was
directly due to the Holy Spirit. It is joy in the work of his followers, their
victories over Satan, and is akin to the joy felt by Jesus in John 4:32-38 when
the vision of the harvest of the world stirred his heart. The rest of this verse is
preciselylike Matthew 11:25., a peculiarly Johannine passagein Matthew and
Luke, but not in Mark, and so from Q (the Logia of Jesus). It has disturbed
critics who are unwilling to admit the Johannine style and type of teaching as
genuine, but here it is. See note on Matthew 11:25 for discussion. “ThatGod
had proved his independence of the human intellect is a matter for
thankfulness. Intellectual gifts, so far from being necessary, are oftena
hindrance” (Plummer).
Copyright Statement
The Robertson's WordPictures of the New Testament. Copyright �
Broadman Press 1932,33,Renewal1960. All rights reserved. Used by
permission of Broadman Press (Southern BaptistSunday SchoolBoard)
Bibliography
Robertson, A.T. "Commentary on Luke 10:21". "Robertson's WordPictures
of the New Testament".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/rwp/luke-10.html. Broadman
Press 1932,33. Renewal1960.
Vincent's Word Studies

The best texts omit Jesus.
Rejoiced
See on 1 Peter1:6.
In spirit
The best texts add τῷ ἁγίῳ , the holy, and render in the Holy Spirit.
I thank
See on Matthew 11:25. From this point to Luke 10:25, compare Matthew
11:25-27, and Matthew 13:16, Matthew 13:17.
Prudent
See on Matthew 11:25.
Copyright Statement
The text of this work is public domain.
Bibliography
Vincent, Marvin R. DD. "Commentaryon Luke 10:21". "Vincent's Word
Studies in the New Testament".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/vnt/luke-10.html. Charles
Schribner's Sons. New York, USA. 1887.
Wesley's ExplanatoryNotes
In that hour Jesus rejoicedin spirit, and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of
heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent,
and hast revealedthem unto babes:even so, Father; for so it seemedgoodin
thy sight.

Lord of heaven and earth — In both of which thy kingdom stands, and that of
Satanis destroyed.
That thou hast hid these things — He rejoicednot in the destruction of the
wise and prudent, but in the display of the riches of God's grace to others, in
such a manner as reserves to Him the entire glory of our salvation, and hides
pride from man. Matthew 11:25.
Copyright Statement
These files are public domain and are a derivative of an electronic edition that
is available on the Christian ClassicsEtherealLibrary Website.
Bibliography
Wesley, John. "Commentary on Luke 10:21". "JohnWesley's Explanatory
Notes on the Whole Bible".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/wen/luke-10.html. 1765.
The Fourfold Gospel
In that same hour he rejoicedin the Holy Spirit, and said, I thank thee, O
Father, Lord of heavenand earth, that thou didst hide these things from the
wise and understanding1, and didst revealthem unto babes: yea, Father; for
so it was well-pleasing in thy sight.
That thou didst hide these things from the wise and understanding,
and didst revealthem unto babes. See .

Copyright Statement
These files are public domain and are a derivative of an electronic edition that
is available on the Christian ClassicsEtherealLibrary Website. These files
were made available by Mr. Ernie Stefanik. First published online in 1996 at
The RestorationMovementPages.
Bibliography
J. W. McGarveyand Philip Y. Pendleton. "Commentaryon Luke 10:21".
"The Fourfold Gospel".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/tfg/luke-10.html. Standard
Publishing Company, Cincinnati, Ohio. 1914.
James Nisbet's Church Pulpit Commentary
THE JOY OF THE LORD
‘In that hour Jesus rejoicedin spirit.’
Luke 10:21
What were the grounds of our Lord’s joy?
I. That the Father had passedby the worldly-wise and prudent, and had
revealedthe glorious things of the Gospelto those whom the world regarded
as ‘babes’ in intellect, in power, and in knowledge. These‘babes,’then, are
not children of tender years, but children in docility, humility, and simplicity;
those who not only ‘from a child have known the Holy Scriptures,’ but who,
as a child, have receivedthem into their understandings and hearts. Now let
us pause and press the inquiry, Has the Gospelbeen revealedto you? Has it
pleasedGod to revealHis Son in you?
II. That the sovereigntyof God was thus displayed.—Seeing that the Gospel,
hidden from the wise, was revealedunto babes, and resolving this into the
sovereignwill and discriminating grace ofGod, He rejoicedin spirit, and said,
‘Even so, Father, for so it seemethgoodin Thy sight.’ And here it is we must
find a solution to what would else, in our poor ken, appear partial, unjust, and

inexplicable in God’s testimony of His grace—whythe Gospelshould be a
hidden thing to one, a revealed thing to another; why one should be calledand
another left, we canonly explain and understand in the exercise ofthat Divine
sovereigntywhich belongs essentiallyto God. ‘He giveth no accountof any of
His matters.’Who art thou, then, O man, that repliest againstGod? Shall not
He, the Judge of all the earth, do right? Has He not a right to do with His own
as He will? And in the merciful decisions ofHis grace, andin the awful
decisions ofHis providence, and in the yet more tremendous decisions ofHis
judgment, He, the most upright, will be guided by the eternal principles of
righteousness, rectitude, and wisdom. Beware, then, how you quarrel with
God’s sovereignty!
Rev. Dr. Octavius Winslow.
Illustration
‘It is a frequently-quoted remark of one of the Fathers that Christ was often
seento weep, but never once to smile. We doubt both the correctness andthe
wisdom of the statement. Our Lord was a man of joy as wellas a man of
sorrow. He must, in the fathomless depths of His holy soul, have been as
intimately acquaintedwith gladness as with grief—with the emotion of joy as
with the feeling of sorrow. And canwe picture Him to our mind thus rejoicing
in spirit, the oil of gladness poured upon Him without measure, and
insinuating itself into the innermost depths of His being, without a gleam, a
smile of joy lighting up that benign, placid, and expressive countenance which
more than all others must have been a perfect index of the soul’s hidden,
varied, and profound emotions? Impossible! A portrait of Christ with nought
but shadows—shadowsofgrief and sorrow darkening the entire picture—
would be wanting in one of its most essentialand life-like features.’
(SECOND OUTLINE)
THE JOY OF THE LORD’S PEOPLE
If Christ was a man of joy we, who are Christ’s, should be joyful too. And yet
how much this Christian grace is overlooked!
Considersome grounds of the Christian’s joy.

I. His possessionofChrist.
II. The work of Christ for him.
III. The coming of the Lord to receive him unto Himself.
Rev. Dr. Octavius Winslow.
Illustration
(1) ‘A Persianallegorytells how there was a beautiful fragrance aboutsome
common clay. When askedthe reasonthe clay replied, “I have been near
where a rose tree grows.” So allwho come near Christ are near the Fountain
of Joy.’
(2) ‘Then may the life, which now on earth I live,
Be spent for Him, who His for me did give.
Oh! make me, Lord, in all I will and do,
Ever to keepThy glory in my view.
And when my course is run, and fought the fight.
Life’s struggles o’er, and faith is changedto sight,
Then all triumphant I shall everbe,
Safe in Thy Home, for I belong to Thee.
“Fullness of joy” with all Thy ransom’d there,
In Thy loved presence I shall evershare;
With them I’ll sing the love that made us free,
The grace that taught us we belongedto Thee.’

Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Nisbet, James. "Commentaryon Luke 10:21". Church Pulpit Commentary.
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/cpc/luke-10.html. 1876.
John Trapp Complete Commentary
21 In that hour Jesus rejoicedin spirit, and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord
of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and
goodin thy sight.
Ver. 21. I thank thee, O Father, &c.]With this prayer the Anabaptists of
Germany usually began their sermons, thinking thereby to excuse their lack
of learning. (Scultet. Annal.) And then protestedthat they would deliver
nothing but what was revealedto them from above.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography

Trapp, John. "Commentary on Luke 10:21". John Trapp Complete
Commentary. https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/jtc/luke-
10.html. 1865-1868.
Sermon Bible Commentary
Luke 10:21
Both in substance and in circumstances these words are unusually profound,
even among the profound sayings of our Lord.
I. First, they mark the almost solitaryexception to the pervading gravity, not
to say sorrowfulness, ofHis demeanour and life. In prophetic anticipation He
lookedonwardto the final triumph, when the processesofHis salvation
should be completed, when the moral influences of His Cross should subdue
men's hearts, and He, the Crucified, should "draw all men unto Him." And to
the spiritual Jesus there was in this an unutterable satisfaction. Breakings in
of millennial glory would irradiate His sorrow, so touchingly indicated by this
one solitary recordof His joy.
II. The occasionwhichelicited this expressionof spiritual joy from our Lord
is also very remarkable. The lower adulterated joy of the Seventy suggeststo
our Lord a higher and purer spiritual joy. Their miracle over the external
phenomena of demoniacalpossessionsuggestsafreshto their Lord His
spiritual triumph over the moral power of evil. "You," He says, "see the
devils subject to you: I see Satanas lightning fall from heaven." "In that
hour" He beganto see the "travail of His soul." He first realisedthe spiritual
satisfactionthat was to comfort and sustain Him amid outward
discouragement, rejection, and infliction.
III. It is worthy of notice that our Lord's most piercing spiritual visions, and
His most profound words of spiritual wisdom occurin connectionwith His
acts of devotion. More than once our Lord permitted His disciples to overhear
His communings with His Father. His prayers are ever the utterances of His
greatestthoughts, of His deepestfeelings.

IV. The sentiment itself is one of the many expressions ofthe greatChristian
paradox—that the kingdom of God is accessible,not to men of great
intellectual power, as such, but to men of childlike hearts.
H. Allon, Penny Pulpit, new series, No. 326.
The Simplicity of Mystery.
I. "In that hour Jesus rejoicedin spirit." What hour was that? When He saw,
humanly speaking, a glimpse of God's method of unfolding His governmental
purposes, and His beneficent plans and designs. It is always so. Now and then
God seems to lift the veil, and we are allowedfor one moment to see what He
is doing, and how He is doing things; and I have never yet had one of these
revelation glimpses without saying afterwards, "This is Divine; this is
sufficient; this is infinite in beauty. God is doing all things well."
II. Religion, as propounded to us by Jesus Christ, is not a riddle to be solved
by the intellectually great. It is a revelation to the heart; it is a word spokento
sin; it is a Gospelbreathed upon sorrow;it is a word of liberty delivered to
those that are bound, a subtle sympathy, something not to be named in high-
sounding phrases, or to be wrought out in pomp of words. "And hast revealed
them unto babes." It will be found that simplicity itself is the chief mystery of
God. The fact of the matter is, that things are so simple that we will not
believe them. We look for mystery, and therefore we miss the thing that is
close athand. The notion of the day would seemto be the notion of intellectual
power, intellectual efficiency, intellectual culture. If we are babes what may
we expect from the world? Ridicule. Let us understand the terms under which
we go into this kingdom, and that is, that we return to babyhood. The greater
the man, the greaterthe simplicity; the greaterhis acquisitions, the more
beautiful his modesty; the more wonderful his powerand influence, the
greaterhis readiness to consider, and oblige, and do good. From the greatest
expectthe best; from the mastermore than from the servant; from the
disciple expectrudeness and rejection; from the Master"Forbid them not, let
them come." As thou dost increase in gentleness,thou wilt increase in
modesty, and the increase ofthy manfulness and valour shall be an increase of

gentleness, andthou shalt find thy highestjoys in succouring many, in
blessing all.
Parker, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xiii., p. 72.
References:Luke 10:21.—Homiletic Magazine, vol. vii., p. 265;Ibid., vol. xi.,
p. 206;Preacher's Monthly, vol. viii., p. 222;Spurgeon, Evening by Evening,
p. 85. Luke 10:21, Luke 10:22.—Ibid., Sermons, vol. xxvi., No. 1,571;W.
Wilson, Christ setting His Face to go to Jerusalem, p. 421. Luke 10:22.—W.
Dorling, Christian World Pulpit, vol. ix., p. 142.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Nicoll, William R. "Commentary on Luke 10:21". "SermonBible
Commentary". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/sbc/luke-
10.html.
Expository Notes with PracticalObservations onthe New Testament
Here we find our Saviour glorifying his Father, and magnifying himself.
1. He glorifies his Fatherfor the wise and free dispensationof his gospelgrace
to the meanestand most ignorant persons, while the greatand learned men of
the world undervalued and despises it: I thank thee, Father, that thou hast
revealedthese things to babes.
Learn hence,
1. That until God reveals himself, his nature and will, no man can know either
what he is, or what he requires: Thou hast revealed.

2. That the wise and knowing men in the world have in all ages despisedthe
mysteries of the gospel, and having therefore been judicially blinded by God:
Thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent.
3. That the most ignorant, if humble, and desirous of spiritual illumination,
are in the readiestdisposition to receive and embrace the gospelrevelation:
Thou hast revealedthem unto babes.
4. That this is not more pleasing to Christ than it is the pleasure of his Father:
Even so, Father, for so it seemedgoodin thy sight.
Observe, 2. Our Saviour magnifies himself.
1. His authority and commission: All things are delivered unto me; that is, all
poweris committed to me as mediator from God the Father.
2. His office to revealhis Father's will to a lostworld: No man knoweth the
father, but the Son, or the Sonbut the Father;that is, no man knows their
essenceand nature, their will and pleasure, their counseland consent, their
mutual compactand agreementbetweenthemselves, forsaving a lostworld,
but only themselves, and those to whom they have revealedit.
Learn thence, that all saving knowledge ofGod is in, by, and through Christ;
he, as the greatprophet of his chruch, reveals unto us the mind and will of
God for our salvation: None knowethbut he to whom the Son revealeth.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Burkitt, William. "Commentary on Luke 10:21". ExpositoryNotes with
PracticalObservations onthe New Testament.
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/wbc/luke-10.html. 1700-1703.

Greek TestamentCriticalExegeticalCommentary
21.]The words τῷ ἁγίῳ cannotwell be excluded from the text; the expression
as thus standing, forms an ἅπαξ λεγ., but is agreeable to the analogyof
Scripture: cf. Romans 1:4; Hebrews 9:14; 1 Peter3:18; see also Romans
14:17;1 Thessalonians 1:6. The ascription of praise, and the verses following,
are here in the very closestconnexion, and it is perfectly unimaginable that
they should have been inserted in this place arbitrarily. The same has been
said of their occurrence in Matthew 11:25; and, from no love of harmonizing
or escaping difficulties, but from a deep feeling of the inner spirit of both
discourses, Iam convincedthat our Lord did utter, on the two separate
occasions,these weightywords; and I find in them a most instructive instance
of the way in which such central sayings were repeatedby Him. It was not a
rejoicing before (in Matt.), but a confession:compare the whole discourse and
notes.
That the introductory words ἐν αὐτῇ τ. ὥρᾳ, = ἐν ἐκ. τῷ καιρῷ, may have
been introduced from one passageinto the other, and perhaps by some one
who imagined them the same, I would willingly grant, if needful; not that, in
the presence ofsuch truths, such a trifle is worth mention, but that the
shallow schoolof modern critics do mention, and restupon such. On Luke
10:21-22, see notes onMatthew 11:25-27, observing here the gradual
narrowing of the circle to which our Lord addresses himself, Luke 10:22,
στραφ. πρ. τ. μ.,—thenLuke 10:23 the same, with κατʼἰδίαν added.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Alford, Henry. "Commentary on Luke 10:21". Greek TestamentCritical
ExegeticalCommentary.
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/hac/luke-10.html. 1863-1878.

Charles Simeon's Horae Homileticae
DISCOURSE:1514
THE GOSPELREVEALED TO BABES
Luke 10:21. In that hour Jesus rejoicedin spirit, and said, I thank thee, O
Father, Lord of heavenand earth, that thou hast hid these things from the
wise and prudent, and hast revealedthem unto babes: even so, Father; for so
it seemedgoodin thy sight.
DEEP and mysterious are the ways of God, and “as far above our thoughts
and ways, as the heavens are above the earth.”Butthe more they are
contemplated, the more will they approve themselves to to us; even where they
are most inscrutable, and where the heart of the natural man would be most
ready to rise againstthem, a humble and pious mind will find abundant cause
both for submissionand joy. Of our blessedLord we are often told, that he
groanedin spirit: for indeed he was altogether“a man of sorrows, and
acquainted with grief,” as his daily and hourly companion: but on one
occasionit is said, that “he rejoicedin spirit;” and it was in an hour when he
had been particularly contemplating the dispensations of his Fatherin
relation to his Gospel. To the proud indeed this would be a subjectof
complaint and murmuring; but to the humble it was a proper ground of
gratitude and thanksgiving. This is evident from the words before us; for the
fuller understanding of which I will shew,
1. The conduct of God in relation to his Gospel—
Two things are here specified:
1. “He has hid it from the wise and prudent”—
[By “the wise and prudent” we are not to understand those that are truly wise
and truly prudent, but those who are “wise in their own eyes, and prudent in
their own sight,” who are just objects of God’s heavy displeasure [Note:Isaiah
5:21. with Romans 12:16.].

From these “God has hid” his Gospel. Notbut that they have the same access
to it as others, and might attain to the knowledge ofit as well as others, if only
they would seek it in a becoming spirit: for God does nothing either to
withhold it from them, or to incapacitate them for the perception of it. God is
said to do what he permits to be done [Note: Compare 2 Samuel 24:1. with 1
Chronicles 21:1.]: and it is not by any active exertion of his which man cannot
withstand, but by such means only as leave men altogetherresponsible for
their own blindness, that he hides his truth from the minds of any.
The Gospelis hid from this description of persons, partly, through the very
constitution of the Gospelitself: for it reveals such a way of salvationas a
proud conceitedmind cannot receive:“it is foolishness to the natural man;
neither canhe receive it, because it is spiritually discerned[Note: 1
Corinthians 2:14.].” The doctrine of the cross is to the Jews a “stumbling-
block, and to the Greeks foolishness[Note:1 Corinthians 1:23.].” It was
foretold by the Prophet Isaiah, that the same personwho should “be for a
sanctuary to his believing people, should be for a stone of stumbling and for a
rock of offence to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the
inhabitants of Jerusalem, many amongstwhom should stumble, and fall, and
be broken, and be snared, and be taken [Note:Isaiah8:14-15.].” And to the
same effectwas it said of Jesus, by the holy man who took him in his arms,
that “he was setfor the fall, as well as for the rising, of many in Israel, and for
a sign that should be spokenagainst, that the thoughts of many hearts might
be revealed[Note: Luke 2:34-35.].”
It is yet further hid from them through the agencyof Satan, to whom the
blindness of unbelievers is especiallyascribed, and who labours incessantlyto
prevent “the light of the glorious GospelofChrist, who is the image of God,
from shining unto them [Note:2 Corinthians 4:4.].”
Doubtless it is also still further hid from them through their being given up by
God to judicial blindness. “God’s Spirit will not always strive with man [Note:
Genesis 6:3.].” After having been long resisted, he will ceaseto “work upon
their minds [Note: 1 Thessalonians 5:19.]:” they will then be given up to
believe their own delusions [Note:2 Thessalonians2:11], and to be taken in
their own craftiness;and all “their wisdom and prudence will be brought to

nought [Note:1 Corinthians 1:19; 1 Corinthians 3:19.].” In this way vast
multitudes have been blinded in former ages [Note:Romans 9:7-8.], and are
blinded at this very hour.]
2. But “it is revealedunto babes”—
[The term, “babes,” includes not only those who are weak in respectof
intellectual attainments, but those also, who, though of vigorous and
cultivated minds, are sensible of their inability to discern spiritual truths
without having first a spiritual discernment imparted to them.
To these the Gospelis revealed;and they have such a perception of it as
brings peace into their souls, and holiness into their hearts and lives. Of
course, we must not suppose that the mere circumstance of any person’s being
weak in understanding will procure for him this blessing:but if he seek this
blessing in God’s appointed way, the circumstance of his being of weak
understanding shall not preclude him from the benefit. And in this respect
persons of this description have an advantage, which is, that they are more
easilyconvinced of their need of Divine teaching than persons of learning and
refinement are; and are thereby more easilyinduced to seek of Godthe
teaching of his goodSpirit: and hence it is that many of them attain divine
knowledge, whilstfrom the great mass of others it is hid.
That this preference is shewnto them is evident, both from the records of
God’s word and from daily observation. Whom did our blessedSaviour
choose forhis Apostles? Notthe learned of the Scribes and Pharisees, but a
few poor fishermen. To the proud he spoke in parables; which afterwards to
his child-like Disciples he explained; saying to them, “Unto you it is given to
know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to others in parables; that
seeing, they might not see, and hearing, they might not understand [Note:
Luke 8:10.]:” and hence of the Rulers and of the Phariseesit is asked, “Have
any of them believed in him [Note: John 7:48.]?” In like manner the Apostles
themselves found little successamong the greatand learned: “Notmany wise
men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble were called:but God
chose the foolishthings of the world to confound the wise, and the weak things
to confound the mighty, yea, and things base and despisedto bring to nought

those which were high in worldly estimation, that no flesh might glory in his
presence [Note:1 Corinthians 1:27-29.].” And is it not so at this day? Who are
the people that experience the enlightening, comforting, and transforming
efficacyof the Gospelnow? Are they the rich, and the great, and the learned?
Would to God they were!But it is not so: it is to “babes, and not to the wise
and prudent, that the Gospelis revealed” atthis hour, as well as in former
days: the Gospelhas still the same stamp and characterupon it as ever, in
that “it is preached chiefly, if not exclusively, to the poor [Note:Matthew
11:5.],” and that “the common people hear it gladly [Note: Mark 12:37.].”]
That the Divine conduct in this respectmay not be an offence unto us, let us
consider,
II. The dispositions with which it should be contemplated by us—
We should be duly sensible that this is indeed the conduct of Godin relation to
his Gospel:and we should evince,
1. Our submissionto it, as an act of sovereignty—
[Certainly in this matter God acts as a sovereign, who has a right to dispense
his blessings to whomsoeverhe will: “it is even so, Father, for so it seemeth
goodin thy sight.” God might have revealedhis Gospelto all, or hid it from
all, if it had pleasedhim; and none would have had any right to complain. As
well might the fallen angels complain that man alone had a Redeemer
provided for him, as any child of man complain, that he has derived less
advantage from the Gospelthan another. Had any other of Paul’s hearers
reasonto complain, because “the Lord opened Lydia’s heart to attend to the
things that were spokenby him?” Assuredly not: God’s grace is his own; and
he may dispense it as he pleases, according to his own sovereignwill and
pleasure [Note: Ephesians 1:5. Philippians 2:13.]. He himself asks, “Is it not
lawful for me to do what I will with mine own?” and if we claim such a right,
much more may He, who is, as Jesus calls him, “Lord of heavenand earth,”
and who consequentlymay dispose both of heaven and earth according to his
will, and “without giving to us an accountof any of his matters [Note: Job
33:13.].” When therefore we behold this, shall we presume to strive with God,
or to sayunto him, ‘What doestthou?’ Shall the clayarraign the conduct of

the potter, or “the vesselsayto him that formed it, Why hast thou made me
thus [Note:Romans 9:20-21.]?” “He that reproveth God, let him answerit
[Note:Job 40:2.].”
Many, who see that God does indeed dispense his blessings according to his
own goodpleasure and the inscrutable counselof his own will, endeavour to
get rid of the notion of his sovereigntyby asserting, that God has respectto
some goodness in man which he has foreseen;and that he regulates his
dispensations in accordancewith some worthiness which he knows will at a
future period appear in the objects ofhis choice, bestowing his favours on
those who he knows will make a gooduse of them, and withholding them from
those only who he foresees wouldabuse them. But, if this be so, how shall we
understand those declarations of our Lord both in the preceding and
following context? He turned him, we are told, to his Disciples, and said
privately, “Blessedare the eyes which see the things that ye see:for I tell you
that many prophets and kings have desired to see those things which ye see,
and have not seenthem, and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not
heard them [Note: ver. 23, 24.].” In this place the sovereigngrace ofGod in
the disposalof his gifts is clearly asserted. Butyou may say, ‘True; God gave
to some what he withheld from others: but he gave to those who he knew
would duly improve his gifts: and the persons from whom he withheld them,
were involved in no responsibility on accountof them. In order to prove the
doctrine which has been insisted on, you must shew me, that God has
bestowedthe means of salvationon those who would not improve them, and
withheld them from those who would have improved them: shew me this, and
I grant that the point is establishedbeyond a doubt. Look then at what our
Lord asserts in the contextrespecting Tyre and Sidon, and Bethsaida and
Chorazin. To these latter were means of convictionafforded, which were
withheld from the former. Were these latter better than the former? Quite the
reverse:had our Saviour’s miracles been wrought in Tyre and Sidon, they
would long ago have repented, sitting in sackclothand ashes;but when done
in Capernaum, they had no other effect than thrusting her down the deeper
into hell [Note:ver. 13–15.].Now allthis must have been foreknownto God,
else Jesus couldnot so positively have assertedit: yet here is evidence, that
God withheld from some the very means which they would have duly

improved, and imparted to others those very same means which he knew they
would abuse to their own more aggravatedcondemnation. What shall we say
then to these things? God himself tells us what to say: “Be still, and know that
I am God[Note: Psalms 46:10.],” who “have mercy on whom I will have
mercy, and have compassiononwhom I will have compassion[Note:Romans
9:15; Romans 9:18.].”]
2. Our gratitude for it as an act of mercy—
[Suppose that the Gospelwere to be understood only as the deepersciences
are, by men of erudition and learning, in what a deplorable condition would
the poor be! They have no time for laborious investigations, nor any of the
endowments necessaryfor philosophical researches.Theytherefore could
have no hope of ever attaining the knowledge ofsalvation. From absolute
necessitytheir days must be consumedin making provision for the body: and
unless they were so occupied, the whole world must be in a state of stagnation
and want. But God has shewnno such partiality for the rich as to confine the
knowledge ofhis Gospelto them. Earthly comforts indeed he has given in
richer abundance to them; but spiritual blessings he has rather reservedfor
the poor: as St. James hath said; “Hath not God chosenthe poor of this world,
rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that
love him [Note:James 2:5.].” Thus, where most there seems to have been an
inequality in his dispensations, he has shewnan impartiality, making up to the
one in spiritual blessings whathe has withheld in temporal; and giving
advantages in reference to eternity to those who have the less favourable lot in
respectof the things of time and sense.
And is not this a ground, a just ground, of joy? Who, that sees whatprivations
are often experiencedby the poor, must not rejoice to be informed, that,
taking both worlds into the account, there is a preponderance in their favour?
Our blessedLord rejoicedin this; yea, and leaped for joy [Note:
ἠγαλλιάσατο.]:and we also, if our minds be constituted like his, shall from
our inmost souls contemplate it with gratitude and thanksgiving.]
Let us learn then,
1. Rightly to appreciate divine knowledge—

[We would on no accountutter a word that should detractfrom the excellence
of human knowledge. We readily allow that learning does elevate and expand
the mind, so as to raise its possessorfarabove his fellows in many respects:
but when comparedwith spiritual knowledge, it is a poor, and low, and
grovelling attainment. St. Paul was excelledby none of his contemporaries in
mental attainments: yet, valuable as he once esteemedthem, he, when truly
convertedto God, said, “Whatthings were gain to me, those I count but loss
for Christ; yea, doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellencyof
the knowledge ofChrist Jesus my Lord [Note:Philippians 3:7-8.].” And such
must be your estimate also of this knowledge;for it is this only that will
render us truly happy, either in this world or in that which is to come — — —
]
2. To seek it in God’s appointed way—
[Human sciencesare to be attained by study; but the knowledge ofthe Gospel
must be gained by prayer. In the words immediately following my text, our
Lord says, “No man knoweth who the Son is, but the Father; or who the
Father is, but the Son, and he to whom the Son shall reveal him.” Know ye
then that, though the study of the Holy Scriptures is necessary, it is not
sufficient: for in the same place where you are told to “seekfor wisdom as for
hid treasures,”you are told to “lift up your voice, and to cry unto God for it;
for that it is Godalone who gives it [Note:Proverbs 2:1; Proverbs 2:6.].”
Meditation and prayer must go hand in hand: and if you will seek for
knowledge in this way, though you be but a babe, you shall attain it; and,
though you be a mere “foolin all other respects, youshall not err therein
[Note:Isaiah 35:8.]” — — —]
Copyright Statement

Bibliography
Simeon, Charles. "Commentary on Luke 10:21". Charles Simeon's Horae
Homileticae. https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/shh/luke-
10.html. 1832.
Hawker's PoorMan's Commentary
(21) In that hour Jesus rejoicedin spirit, and said, I thank thee, O Father,
Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hasthid these things from the wise and
goodin thy sight.
I desire to refer the Readerfor my observations on this verse to Matthew
11:25-26.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Hawker, Robert, D.D. "Commentary on Luke 10:21". "Hawker's PoorMan's
Commentary". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/pmc/luke-
10.html. 1828.
Johann Albrecht Bengel's Gnomonof the New Testament
Luke 10:21. ἠγαλλιάσατο, exulted)The crowning point of the fruits of Christ’s
office was reachedat that time. He Himself rejoicedin the joy of His disciples
describedin Luke 10:20, But rejoice, etc.— κύριε τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καὶ τῆς γῆς,
Lord of heaven and earth) Satan is castout from heaven and earth: the

kingdom of God stands in heaven and on earth.—[ νηπίοις, babes) Such were
the Seventy, and those who had receivedtheir testimony.—V. g.]
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Bengel, JohannAlbrecht. "Commentary on Luke 10:21". Johann Albrecht
Bengel's Gnomonof the New Testament.
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/jab/luke-10.html. 1897.
Matthew Poole's EnglishAnnotations on the Holy Bible
Ver. 21,22. See Poole on"Matthew 11:25", and following verses to, Matthew
11:27, where we met with these words of our Saviour.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Poole, Matthew, "Commentaryon Luke 10:21". Matthew Poole's English
Annotations on the Holy Bible.
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/mpc/luke-10.html. 1685.
Cambridge Greek Testamentfor Schools andColleges

21. ἠγαλλιάσατο. ‘Exulted,’a much strongerword than the ‘rejoiced’ of the
A.V[224]; and most valuable as recording one element—the element of
exultant joy—in the life of our Lord, on which the Evangelists touchso rarely
as to have originatedthe legend, preservedin the spurious letter of P.
Lentulus to the Senate, that He wept often, but that no one had ever seenHim
smile. The word ἐνεβριμήσατο τῷ πνεύματι (John 11:33)expresses the
opposite extreme of emotion.
ἐξομολογοῦμαί σοι πάτερ. Literally, “I make grateful acknowledgmentto
Thee.” Forthe verb see Romans 14:11. It has this sense often in the LXX[225]
It also means ‘to confess,’Matthew 3:6, &c.
ἀπὸ σοφῶνκαὶ συνετῶν … νηπίοις. Here we have the contrastbetweenthe
‘wisdom of the world,’ which is ‘foolishness with God,’and the ‘foolishness of
the world,’ which is ‘wisdom with God,’ on which St Paul also was fond of
dwelling, 1 Corinthians 1:21; 1 Corinthians 1:26; 2 Corinthians 4:3-4;
Romans 1:22. Forsimilar passagesin the Gospels see Matthew 16:17;
Matthew 18:3-4.
νηπίοις, i.e. to all who have “the young lamb’s heart amid the full-grown
flocks”—toallinnocent childlike souls, suchas are often those of the truly
wise. Genius itself has been defined as “the heart of childhood takenup and
matured into the power of manhood.” God, says Gess, metthe pride of
intellect by blindness, and rewarded truth-loving simplicity by revelation.
ναὶ ὁ πατήρ. The nom. is here used in a vocative sense, as in Luke 8:54, ἡ παῖς
ἔγειρε; Matthew 27:29, χαῖρε ὁ βασιλεὺς τῶν Ἰουδαίων. This is especiallythe
case with the imperative, as in Luke 12:32, μὴ φοβοῦ τὸ μικρὸν ποίμνιον. The
meaning is not howeverexactly the same as in the πάτερ at the beginning of
the verse, but ‘Thou who art my Father.’
εὐδοκία ἔμπροσθένσου. A Hebraism. Exodus 28:38.
Copyright Statement

Bibliography
"Commentary on Luke 10:21". "Cambridge Greek Testamentfor Schools
and Colleges".https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/cgt/luke-
10.html. 1896.
PeterPett's Commentary on the Bible
‘In that same hour he rejoiced(‘was thrilled with joy”) in the Holy Spirit, and
said, “I thank you, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you hid these
things from the wise and understanding, and revealedthem to babes. Yes,
Father, for so it was well-pleasing in your sight.” ’
‘In that same hour.’ This closelyconnects whatfollows with what has gone
before. It is important that His disciples have their hearts and minds centred
on what is of primary importance, and not be taken up with the idea of the
casting out of evil spirits. God Himself must always take precedence overHis
work (compare Luke 10:42).
‘Rejoicedin Spirit.’ Note in the passagethe build up of joy. The disciples
returned with joy. They are rather to rejoice that their names are written in
heaven. Now comes fullness of joy in that God has revealedHimself to His
own.
We learn here first of all that Jesus is still ‘full of the Holy Spirit” (Luke 4:1),
for He ‘rejoices’(is ‘thrilled with joy’) as a result of the Holy Spirit at work
within Him. And through the same Holy Spirit He thanks His Father, Who is
Lord of heaven and earth, because it has pleasedHim, while hiding ‘these
things’ from the wise and understanding, to revealit to those who are babes in
wisdom and understanding. ‘These things’ include the authority and powerof
Jesus overevil spirits by virtue of Who He is. The disciples could do what they
did because within their hearts, even if not fully in their heads, they knew
Who Jesus really is. Thus the Father has given them a revelationof Who and
What the Son is. And He has done it because it was pleasing in His sight. It is

of His sovereignwill, and not of their deserving. Thus we have here
confirmation that, although they may not have been able to put it into words,
they are within them aware of the full divinity of Jesus.
‘He rejoicedin the Holy Spirit.’ This is indicating in Jesus’unique case what
was previously expressedin terms of ‘being filled with the Holy Spirit’. But
because He is continually full of the Holy Spirit (Luke 4:1) this filling is ever
within Him, thus when prophesying He rejoices and exults in the Holy Spirit
Who is continually within Him in full measure, rather than receiving a filling.
He is unique. The Holy Spirit is not given to Him by measure (John 3:34). He
continually enjoys His total fullness. These words that follow are then
specificallyto be seenas ‘prophecy’, the forthtelling of what comes from God
in inspired form, similar to the prophecy we saw in chapters 1 & 2, but this
time through a perfect channel.
‘You hid these things from the wise and understanding, and revealedthem to
babes.’In Psalms 8:2 we read, ‘Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings you
have establishedstrength.’ Jesus may well have had these words in mind in
the form in which He cited it in Matthew 21:16, replacing ‘strength’ with
‘praise’. The babes praise because they are given the understanding that
others lack, compare Luke 18:16-17, and thereby are made strong for God.
For the whole principle of comparisonbetweenthe weak and the strong in
God’s purposes see 1 Corinthians 1:18-20;1 Corinthians 1:26-29. The wise
and understanding from whom such things are hidden include the chief
priests, the Scribes and the Pharisees.And even past kings and prophets did
not know them because they had not yet been revealed(Luke 10:24).
Copyright Statement
Bibliography

Pett, Peter. "Commentary on Luke 10:21". "PeterPett's Commentaryon the
Bible ". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/pet/luke-10.html.
2013.
Whedon's Commentary on the Bible
21. In that hour—At the seasonofthat transaction.
Father, Lord of heavenand earth—Forit was from God the Father Almighty,
as above stated, that the omens of triumph were given, both to the Seventy
and to the human spirit of the blessedJesus.
Rejoicedin spirit—Rather triumphed or exulted in spirit. The revelations of
the hour gave to him his joy and triumph, as wellas to the Seventy theirs.
From the wise and prudent— From not only the statesman, the general, and
the prince, but from the rabbi, the priest, and the pontiff; from Herod,
Caiaphas, and Gamaliel. Jesus was soonto encounter these wise and prudent
at the FeastofTabernacles.
These two verses, 21, 22, show that Jesus, in illustrating his mystical unity
with the Father, rose into precisely the style of his discourses as reportedin
the GospelofJohn.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Whedon, Daniel. "Commentary on Luke 10:21". "Whedon's Commentary on
the Bible". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/whe/luke-10.html.
1874-1909.

Expository Notes ofDr. Thomas Constable
The Holy Spirit"s role in Jesus" ministry was anotherspecialinterest of
Luke"s. The record of Jesus" similarprayer in Matthew 11:25-26 lacks the
references to joy and the Holy Spirit. The phrase "rejoiced...inthe Holy
Spirit" (NASB) probably means that the Holy Spirit was the source ofJesus"
joy (cf. Acts 13:52). He gave it to Jesus. This notation strengthens the force of
what Jesus proceededto say. All three members of the Trinity appear in this
verse. The Sonempoweredby the Spirit addressedHis Father. This, too,
points to a very significantstatement to follow.
Jesus praisedGod for something the Fatherhad done. He addressedGod
intimately as His Father(Gr. pater, the equivalent of the Aramaic abba, cf.
Luke 11:2). The title "Lord of heaven and earth" was a common one for Jews
to use. It came from Genesis 14:19;Genesis 14:22, and it draws attention to
God"s sovereignty. This allusion was appropriate in view of what Jesus
thanked God for. Jesus probably meant that He praised God that although He
had hidden the gospel of the kingdom from the humanly wise, He had,
nevertheless, revealedit to the humble (cf. Luke 1:48-55;Luke 8:10; 1
Corinthians 1:18-31). The lastsentence evidently means, "Yes, O Father, I
praise you because this was your will (and I agree with it)." The wise and
understanding people that Jesus had in mind were probably the Jewish
religious leaders, and the babes were His disciples. Jesus rejoicedin the
privilege these disciples had had of understanding God"s ways as they
participated in His mission.
Copyright Statement

Bibliography
Constable, Thomas. DD. "Commentaryon Luke 10:21". "ExpositoryNotes of
Dr. Thomas Constable".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/dcc/luke-10.html. 2012.
Schaff's Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Luke 10:21. In that hour. This definite mark of time joins this utterance of
our Lord (Luke 10:21-22)with the return of the Seventy.
Joyed. A strong word, applied to our Lord only here. The one hour of joy was
in sympathy with His faithful preachers.
In the Holy Spirit. This is the sense, according to the best authorities. The
expressionis indeed unusual. We have here a remarkable grouping of the
Three Persons of the Trinity.
I thank thee, etc. See on Matthew 11:25-27, where the same expressions occur
in a different connection. Our Lord probably uttered these weighty words on
both occasions.In Matthew, moreover, they form a confession, here a ground
of rejoicing in connectionwith the triumph of the ‘babes.’The language
reminds us of the profound passagesin the GospelofJohn. The important
truth respecting our Lord’s relation to the Father, here setforth, underlies all
the Gospels.
These things. In this connectionall that is implied in the phrase: ‘that your
names are written in heaven.’
Copyright Statement

Bibliography
Schaff, Philip. "Commentary on Luke 10:21". "Schaff's Popular
Commentary on the New Testament".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/scn/luke-10.html. 1879-90.
The Expositor's Greek Testament
Luke 10:21 is almostverbatim, as in Matthew 11:25, only that Lk. has
ἀπέκρυψας for Mt.’s ἔκρυψας.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Nicol, W. Robertson, M.A., L.L.D. "Commentary on Luke 10:21". The
Expositor's Greek Testament.
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/egt/luke-10.html. 1897-1910.
George Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary
He rejoicedin the Holy Ghost. In almostall Greek copies, we readin spirit,
without holy. And it is expounded of Christ's own spirit. (Witham) --- I give
thanks, &c. In this verse we see plainly refuted the hereticalMarcion, and his
followerManicheus, who assertedthat God was not the creatorof the earth,
or of any thing existing on the earth. St. Epiphanius says, that in a gospel
written by Marcion, the words Father and earth were entirely omitted. Who
does not here deplore the blindness of heretics, who, in order to spread their

errors, do not hesitate thus to corrupt the originalScripture receivedby the
whole Christian world!!! (Denis the Carthusian)
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Haydock, George Leo. "Commentaryon Luke 10:21". "GeorgeHaydock's
Catholic Bible Commentary".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/hcc/luke-10.html. 1859.
E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes
Jesus. Om. by all the texts.
rejoiced= exulted.
in spirit. Greek. en (App-104.) pneuma. See App-101. But all the texts read
"by the Spirit, the
Holy [Spirit]". App-101.
I thank. See notes on Matthew 11:25-27.
Lord, &c. Havingtherefore absolute power. App-98. B. b.
hast hid = didst hide,
from. Greek. apo. App-104.
hast revealed= didst reveal.
so = thus.
seemedgood= was it well-pleasing.

in Thy sight = before thee.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Bullinger, Ethelbert William. "Commentary on Luke 10:21". "E.W.
Bullinger's Companion bible Notes".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/bul/luke-10.html. 1909-1922.
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Unabridged
In that hour Jesus rejoicedin spirit, and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of
heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent,
and hast revealedthem unto babes:even so, Father; for so it seemedgoodin
thy sight.
In that hour Jesus rejoiced[ eegalliasato (G21), or'exulted,'] in spirit - giving
visible expressionto His unusual emotions, while the words "in spirit" express
the depth of them.
And said, I thank thee , [ Exomologoumai(Greek #1843)soi(Greek #4671)] -
rather, 'I assentto thee;' but with the idea of full or cordial concurrence,
expressedby the preposition. (See the note at Matthew 11:25.)
That thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed
them unto babes: even so, Father;for so it seemedgoodin thy sight.
PRECEPTAUSTIN RESOURCES

C. H. SPURGEON,
It is remarkable that this is the only instance on record in
the gospels in which our Lord is said to have rejoiced. It
stands alone, and is, therefore, the more to be prized—“In
that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit.” He was the “man of
sorrows and acquainted with grief” for our sakes, and
therefore we are not astonished to find few indications of joy
in the story of His life. Yet I do not think it would be fair to
infer from the fact of a solitary mention of His rejoicing that
He did not rejoice at other times. On the contrary, our Lord
must, despite His sorrow, have possessed a peaceful, happy
spirit. He was infinitely benevolent, and went about doing
good—and benevolence always finds a quiet delight in
blessing others. The joy of the lame when they leaped, and of
the blind when they saw must have gladdened the soul of
Jesus. To cause happiness to others must bring home to a
sympathetic bosom some degree of pleasure. Sir Philip
Sydney was known to say, “Doing good is the only certainly
happy action of a man’s life,” and assuredly it is hard to see
how the love of Jesus could refrain from rejoicing in blessing
those around Him. Moreover, our Lord was so pure that
He had a well of joy within which could not fail Him. If it is,
indeed, true that virtue is true happiness, then Jesus of
Nazareth was happy. The poet said— “What nothing earthly
gives, or can destroy, The soul’s calm sunshine and the

heartfelt joy, Is virtue’s prize.” Such calm and joy must
have been the Savior’s, though, for our sake, He bowed
beneath the heavy load of sorrow. The perfectly holy God is
the perfectly happy God, and the perfectly holy Christ, had
it not been that He had taken upon Himself our griefs and
sicknesses, would have been perfectly happy. And even with
our griefs and sicknesses there must have been a deep peace
of soul within Him which sustained Him in His deepest woe.
Did not the Father, Himself, say of His beloved Son, “You
love righteousness, and hate wickedness: therefore God,
Your God, has anointed You with the oil of gladness above
Your fellows”? Nor is this all, for our blessed Lord lived in
unbroken fellowship with the Father, and fellowship with
God will not permit a soul to abide in darkness for, walking
with God, He walks in the light as God is in the light. Such a
mind may, for certain purposes, come under clouds and
glooms, but the light of God is sown for the righteous, and it
will speedily break forth as the dawn of day. Those nights of
prayer, and days of perfect service must have brought their
own calm to the tried heart of the Son of God. Besides,
Christ Jesus was a man of faith—He was faith’s highest
exposition and example. He is “the author and the finisher of
faith,” in whom we see its life, walk, and triumph. Our Lord
was the incarnation of perfect confidence in the Father—in
His life all the histories of great believers are summed up.
Read the 11th chapter of Hebrews, and see the great cloud of
witnesses, and then mark how, in the 12th chapter, Paul bids

us look to Jesus as though in His person the whole multitude
of the witnesses could be seen! He it was, who, “for the joy
that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the
shame.” His faith must, therefore, have anticipated the
reward of His passion, and have brought the joy there home
to Him even while He sorrowed here. His joy was a light
from the lamps of the future which were to be kindled by His
death and victory! He had meat to eat that His disciples
knew not of, for His long-sighted eyes saw further than they,
and while they mourned His departure, He saw the
expediency of it, and told them that if they loved Him they
would rejoice because He was going to the Father! Be sure of
this, that our Lord felt, beneath the great floods of outward
affliction, an under-current of joy, for He said, “These things
have I spoken unto you, that My joy might remain in you,
and that your joy might be full.” What
did He mean by this if He had no joy in His people? Could
He have spoken so many happy words, and so often have
said to His disciples, “Be of good cheer,” if He had been
always downcast? But it is still remarkable that our text
should be the only recorded instance of His joy, so far as the
evangelists are concerned. It is clear that joy was not a
distinguishing feature in our Lord’s life so as to strike the
beholder. Peace may have sat serenely on His brow, but
nothing of the exuberant spirits which are seen in some men,
for His countenance was marred with lines of care and grief.

We do not hear that He laughed, though it is thrice recorded
that He wept, and here, for once, as quite unique, we find the
inspired assurance that He rejoiced. Because of its
singularity, the record deserves to be looked into with care
that we may see the cause of delight so unusual. The words
here used are very emphatic. “He rejoiced.” The Greek
word is much stronger than the English rendering—it
signifies “to leap for joy.” It is the word of the blessed
Virgin’s song, “My spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.”
Strong emotions of delight were visible upon our Lord’s
face, and were expressed by the tones of His voice as well as
by His words. It is clear that He was greatly glad. The text
also says, He “rejoiced in spirit,” that is, deep down in the
very center of His nature—in that largest and most
capacious part of His human being, the Redeemer rejoiced!
Man is body, soul, and spirit, but the spirit is the nobler, and
most vital part, and it was with a spiritual, inward, and most
living joy that the Lord Jesus Christ rejoiced. It was joy of
the truest and fullest sort which made the Savior’s heart
dance! Let us come, then, near to this rejoicing Savior who
wraps the garments of praise about Him, perfumed with
delight! Let us see if we cannot learn something from His
joys, since, I trust, we gathered something from His griefs.
I. First, let us look at our Lord, and note that His joy was
JOY IN THE FATHER’S REVELATION OF THE
GOSPEL. “I thank You, O Father, that You have hid these

things from the wise and prudent, and have revealed them
unto babes.” He rejoices in His Father’s revelation of the
gospel! It was not joy in the fame which had gathered about
His name insomuch that John heard of it in prison. It was
not joy in the manifest tokens of power that went forth with
His commissioners, though they rejoiced that devils were
subject unto them. No, it was joy in God’s revealing the
gospel to the sons of men! I call your attention to the fact
that He ascribed all that was done to the Father, and
rejoiced that the Father was working with Him. His disciples
came back to Him and said, “Even the devils are subject
unto us through Your name.” And they spoke not amiss, for
the name of Jesus was their strength and deserved honor.
But the Lord, with that sacred self-abnegation which was so
natural to Him, replies, “I thank You, O Father, that You
have revealed these things.” He takes no honor unto Himself,
but ascribes the glory unto the Father who worked with
Him. Imitate Him, O you who call Him Lord! Let the work
of the Father be your joy! If God gives us any success in the
preaching of the gospel, let our joy be that the Father’s
power is going forth with the word! We are not so much to
joy in our instrumentality as in the hand which uses the
instrument, and works by it. Oh, misery! Misery! To be
attempting gospel ministry without God! But oh, bliss,
unspeakable bliss to feel that when we lift our hand, God’s
hand is lifted, too, and when we speak the word, the voice of
God is ringing through our feeble speech, and reaching the

hearts of men! It is to true believers a great joy that the
Father is bringing home His wandering children, and
receiving penitents into His bosom! The Savior’s joy was
that through the Father’s grace men were being enlightened.
The 70 disciples had been from city to city, working
miracles, and preaching the gospel, and their Master was
glad when they returned with tidings of success—“In that
hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit.” It pleases Jesus when the
gospel has free course, and God is glorified thereby. Then, in
a measure, He sees of the travail of His soul and is filled with
satisfaction. Shall we not find our joy where He finds His?
Shall we not enter into the joy of our Lord? Whenever we
hear good news of a village evangelized, of a township moved
by the glad tidings, of a country long shut up from the gospel
at last opened to the word of God, let us feel our highest and
deepest joy! Rather let us rejoice in this than in business
prosperity, or personal advantage. What if we can find no
joy in our own circumstances? What if even spiritual affairs
within our soul are full of difficulty? Let us joy and rejoice
that God the Father is revealing the light of His gospel
among the sons of men! Be this our highest wish, “Your
kingdom come,” and in that coming kingdom let us find our
utmost happiness! Be sure that the joy which warmed the
heart of Christ can do us no harm—it must be a pure,
sacred, and ennobling joy, and therefore let us indulge in it
very largely! Christ’s joy lay in the Father’s sending forth
His light and His truth—making men to see things which

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