Sending the Seventy, part 28: The Knowing

All things have been handed over to Me by My Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him. " (Luke 10:22 NASB)

Every day I think, "Wow, this is a great verse!" The next day, I look at the Scripture and think, "Wow, this is even better!" Today is one of those days when I started meditating on the verse saying, "Lord, won't you please give me something I can understand?" Before He was through, however, I was saying, "Wow, this is a awesome verse!" I think you will agree.

This business of "handing everything over" is indicated by the word paradidōmi, translated as "handed over". It might be better understood as "entrusted to me to manage and care for". God has placed Jesus in charge of everything, including us.

The next part of the verse is very encouraging. "No one knows who the Son is except the Father". The word ginōskō, translated as "knows", does not mean that only the Father knows Jesus' name or that only God the Father can recognize Him. This "knowing" is not a casual acquaintance. It is a complete understanding on a deep level. We might say, "He knows me through and through. He knows everything about me." Look at the Leanna Paraphrase and see if it helps. "No one understands me completely except the Father. No one understands the Father completely except the Son, Jesus, and anyone to whom the Son, Jesus decides to reveal the Father." Jesus totally understands the Father, of course, because they are both parts of the One Triune God. 

Jesus can "reveal" the Father to whomever He chooses. This revealing is like uncovering something that is hidden to reveal the treasure inside. In John 10, a passage about the Good Shepherd, Jesus tells us that we, too, can know the Father in the same way He does.

"I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me, even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep." (John 10:14-15 NASB)

The same word for "know" is used in both verses. ginōskō. If we belong to Jesus, if we give our hearts and lives completely to Him, we, too, can know the Father in that same way that Jesus knows Him. We will know God the Father because, as we follow the Good Shepherd, Jesus, we will begin to know Jesus. The longer, and closer, we follow Jesus, the better we will know Him, and, when we know Jesus, we know the Father. Do you want to understand God better? Then get to know Jesus.

How exciting it is that, by simply obeying our Good Shepherd, we can come to know Him inside and out, just as He knows us and, as we know Him, we will also know the Father. Our obedience is the key that unlocks the "revealing", the uncovering of the hidden depths of treasure in our Almighty God. When we understand that fact, we begin to see the great riches we gain in exchange for our efforts at obedience. What we gain is infinitely more than what we give up. Dear ones, the walk of faith and obedience is worth it, so press on. You'll be so glad you did.