In that same hour he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.” (Luke 10:21-22)
This first little notation is just beautiful – Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit.
Jesus had just finished telling the seventy-two who had returned and were rejoicing in demons being subject to them in Jesus’ Name not to rejoice in that but to rejoice that their names were written in heaven. And then the next thing we read is that He rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and with thanksgiving declares that the Father revealed such things to little children and that no one can know the Father and Son except to whom it is revealed to by the Son.
This is not the first time in Scripture we see people rejoicing in the Lord and where the Spirit gives utterances and joy. We see a song of rejoicing from Moses and echoed from Miriam, when God had brought His people safely out of Egypt and across the Red Sea in Exodus 15. We see a song of praise when Mary had visited Elizabeth, where she said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God, my Savior…” (Luke 1:46-47)
Have you ever seen a beautiful landscape, or a sunrise or sunset with all the wonderful colors that fill the sky, or a flower or plant that’s eye-catchingly unique, or someone hear the truth of God’s word and believe, or someone make a decision to follow Jesus? How did witnessing those things make you feel? When we see things in life that clearly have God’s fingerprints on it, it should make our spirit leap for joy. And the thing is, God created all things, so when we see things in our everyday life, should that not cause us to rejoice?
We, as followers of Christ who have been redeemed by Him, have every reason to rejoice. Jesus said that no one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. If you know Jesus, the Son, and the Father, whom you can call, “Abba! Father!” being children of God by receiving the Spirit of adoption in Him – that’s because Jesus has chosen to reveal Himself to you! Even if you have nothing else in this life going for you except for knowing God, THAT is a reason to rejoice!
So my fellow sibling in Christ, let’s rejoice in the God of our salvation today, following in the footsteps of our Savior as we rejoice in the Holy Spirit and heed the exhortation of Paul to Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. (Philippians 4:4)