“…Jesus prayed this prayer, “O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, thank You for hiding the truth from those who think themselves so wise and clever, and for revealing it to the child-like. Yes, Father, it pleased You to do it this way!” – Matthew 11:25-26 (NLT)
Jesus had just finished rebuking groups of people (Korazon, Capernaum, and Bethsaida) because they saw and heard Him firsthand but stubbornly refused to repent of their sins and believe in Him. (Matthew 11:20-24).
Similarly, nations and cities with churches on every corner and Bibles in every home will have no excuse on judgement day if they do not repent and believe.
Jesus mentioned two kinds of people in His prayer (Verse 25):
- The’ wise and clever’ thinking people
- The child-like
The wise and clever are arrogant in their own knowledge. Here, pride is implied. Moreover, they are characterised by complexity, further limiting access to God, while simplicity grants access.
God’s good pleasure was to hide things from the proud and arrogant but reveal them to the humble, lowly, and receptive.
Child-like: We must differentiate between ‘childlike’ and ‘childish.’ Childish refers to immaturity, rash and uninformed behaviour, selfishness, and emotional drive.
Childlike means: trusting, tender, loving, relying less on one’s intellect, reason, and focusing more on the childlike simplicity of the Gospel.
Jesus spoke about how God uses childlike faith to reveal His Gospel. We must be humbly open to receive the truth of God’s Word. Our hearts must be innocent!
Brethren, are you wise in your own eyes, or do you seek the truth in childlike faith, realising that only God holds the answer?
Let us be grateful for the revelation of God by Jesus to us, as well as His truth and how we can know them.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, thank You for allowing us to realise that knowing You and understanding You is displaying childlike faith. Help us to walk humbly before You in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Read: Ephesians 1:17-18; 1 Peter 2:9
Bible Reading Guide: Psalm 113; Ephesians 5:8-33; Isaiah 65:17-25; Isaiah 66