The Kingdom Given to Infants
Jesus’ delight / the Father’s pleasure
Luke 10:21 In that hour Jesus rejoiced in the Spirit and said, “I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth,
that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and revealed them to babes. Even so, Father,
for so it seemed good in Your sight. 22 All things have been delivered 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 the one to whom the Son
wills to reveal Him.”
I. WHAT IS THE FATHER CONCEALING FROM SOME BUT REVEALING TO OTHERS THAT MAKES JESUS SO
DELIGHTED?
A. The true identity of the Son and the Father
1. The Father reveals that the man Christ Jesus is the anointed messiah and co-equal ruler with Him over the
Kingdom. He reveals the deity of Christ.
Matthew 16:15-17 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” 16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the
Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed
to you by man, but by my Father in heaven.
1. Flesh and blood cannot reveal the true identity of Jesus, only the Father can do that. We must have divine escort.
2. The Son reveals the true identity of the Father.
Luke 10:22 - no one knows who the Father is except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.
II. WHO DOES THE FATHER DELIGHT TO REVEAL HIS TRUE IDENTITY TO?
A. Babes or infants
Matthew 18:3-4 And he said: “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the
kingdom of heaven. 4 Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
1. An infant here is not someone that is foolish or ignorant. From Matthew 18 we see that the quality of childlikeness
that Jesus affirms is humility. Children are happy to depend on their parents for all their needs. Infants are utterly
dependant and void of self sufficiency. They are confident that the things they are hoping for and the things they can’t
see will be provided for them by their parents and so they are full of faith. They rest in their parent’s sufficiency. They
are content and happy in weakness (Philippians 3).
2. Children were the bottom rung of the social ladder in Jesus day. They weren’t honored or respected like they often are
in our culture. Jesus is telling us that we have to be in touch with our spiritual poverty if we want to access the kingdom.
Matthew 5:3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
3. Our lives of worship, prayer, and service need to be fueled by our great awareness of our spiritual poverty. I want
to pray fervently because I’m in touch with my spiritual poverty, not because I’m under the compulsion of external laws,
schedules, traditions, or human comparisons.
4. This is the kind of person the Father delights to revealing His identity to, the person who, in the midst of being fully
in touch with his spiritual poverty, confidently rejoices in the Father’s favor, and freely accepts the invitation to rule the
kingdom with Him.
III. WHO DOES THE FATHER DELIGHT TO HIDE HIS TRUE IDENTITY FROM?
A. The wise and prudent
B. There are two kinds of wisdom – God’s wisdom and the wisdom of men.
1 Corinthians 1:20-24 Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made
foolish the wisdom of this world? 21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it
pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. 22 For Jews request a
sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; 23 but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the
Greeks foolishness, 24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the
wisdom of God.
IV. THE CROSS OF CHRIST IS THE POINT OF DIVISION
A. Man’s wisdom regards the cross as foolishness while to God it is His great wisdom. The cross makes humans look
dependant and helpless and infant-like, and magnifies God as the all sufficient, inexhaustible fountain of life, who is
graciously offering us pardon, adoption, and Bridal partnership with Him without charge.
B. God hides Himself from people who want to pursue truth and righteousness apart from the cross. If we want to
be self-reliant and depend upon our own resources in pursuing truth and meaning apart from the grace of God, God
will hide from us.
C. The credit for anyone discovering God will go to God alone.
1 Corinthians 1:21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God.
D. God will not allow man to discover Him without a divine escort. No one will do hum drum, business as usual
with the Father. Jesus rejoices in this.
V. THE CONTRAST BETWEEN “THE WISE” AND “INFANTS” IS NOT TALKING ABOUT THE EDUCATED AND
UNEDUCATED.
A. Scripture encourages us to ponder, think and seek understanding through objective, concrete, and natural means.
The written word, creation, historical facts.
2 Timothy 2:7 Consider (reflect, think) what I say, and may the Lord give you understanding in all things.
Proverbs 2:2-6 Make your ear attentive to wisdom, Incline your heart to understanding; For if you cry for discernment,
Lift your voice for understanding; If you seek her as silver and search for her as for hidden treasures; Then you will
discern the fear of the LORD and discover the knowledge of God. For the LORD gives wisdom; from His mouth come
knowledge and understanding.