“I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was Your good pleasure.” (Matthew 11:25-26)
Is Jesus praying to himself?
Those who claim that Jesus is God must not have read this verse, where Jesus prays to God. If Jesus were God then he would be essentially praying to himself. That would make every word of this prayer ridiculous.This open prayer of Jesus to God illustrates Jesus' loving relationship with the Supreme Being.
"I praise You" is the statement of a devoted lover of the Supreme Being. We see throughout the Scriptures evidence that praising the Supreme Being is an act of devotion pleasing to the Supreme Being.
We also can see from this statement that Jesus enjoys an loving relationship with the Supreme Being. He is understanding that the Supreme Being is in complete control. This is confirmed by his reference to God as:
"Lord of heaven and earth."This illustrates clearly there are two individuals involved in this statement: Jesus, who is praising the Supreme Being, and the Supreme Being, who is being praised. They are not one and the same as purported by so many ecclesiastical teachers and their institutions.
Rather, it is clear from this that Jesus enjoys a confidential loving relationship with the Supreme Being - one "hidden" from those who think they are "wise and learned." A subservient relationship - confirmed by Jesus' praising the Supreme Being as "Lord of heaven and earth."
Does a relationship require two individuals?
In order to have a relationship, there must be two separate personalities, each making a choice to relate to each other. In fact, this relationship between Jesus and the Supreme Being is a relationship that creates the very oneness that Jesus spoke of - which has confused "wise and learned" teachers and their followers for centuries.When there is love and devotion between two persons, each will act in a way that pleases the other. This creates a virtual oneness between them - a oneness of purpose and mission: A oneness of objective.
This is the type of oneness Jesus communicated when he said:
"I and the Father are one." (John 17:30)Many have interpreted this statement by Jesus to say that Jesus is the Supreme Being. Yet they excluded the first part of this statement:
"My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand. I and the Father are one." (John 17:29-30)So we can see clearly that Jesus is not saying he is the Supreme Being, as he says, "My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all." In order for one to give to another, there must be the giver and the receiver: Two individuals.
Jesus makes other statements that affirm his individuality, yet communicate the oneness of purpose between the Supreme Being and Jesus:
“My teaching is not my own. It comes from the One who sent me." (John 7:16)Thus we see the relationship more clearly. The Supreme Being "sent" Jesus - and Jesus is passing on the teachings given to him by the Supreme Being. This creates a oneness between them.
In the statement above, Jesus is praising the Supreme Being for His design of how He hides certain things from those who pride themselves for their wisdom:
"You have hidden these things from the wise and learned"We might ask ourselves; why would this be? Why would God want to hide the Truth from certain people? Jesus specifies who He hides the Truth from: “the wise and learned.”
What does 'wise and learned' mean?
Now since we can accept that Jesus is referring to wisdom here and the fact that wisdom is being withheld, then Jesus must be referring to those who think they are wise and learned. In other words, those who are proud of their supposed wisdom are not being given the wisdom that Jesus is referring to.This makes the operator of this statement pride - being proud of our supposed learning. Jesus is referring to the teachers of the temple institution who were essentially envious of him. This is why they criticized Jesus.
Jesus clarifies that while the Supreme Being has hidden certain Truths from those who are proud of their learning, the Supreme Being reveals the wisdom to “little children.”
Now, who are these little children? Are we talking about literal children, who may have young bodies of two or three years old? Children who don't know how to speak yet? Or children who are playing in the playground?
No. Jesus is referring to “little children” metaphorically - as those who are not proud: Those who are feeling humble and respectful, as little children do (theoretically, at least in those times, children were typically more obedient and respectful of their elders) when they are just learning about life and are humble and attached to their parents.
This is the attitude that allows for learning. In this attitude - feeling oneself to be unknowing - we can hear the teachings of Jesus and the other representatives of God and gain wisdom from those teachings. This is the attitude that allows us to come to know God. Those who are proud of being “wise and learned” are not being granted this wisdom because they feeling too full of themselves.
Like a cup that is already full, they are not ready to learn.
Remember that in most of Jesus’ statements, including about himself, he refers to all of us as God’s children. Since we are all God’s children, we are all given an opportunity to hear from God's representative. Some hear and some do not. Those who are humble are being referred to here as “little.” In other words, God’s humble children are able to understand these truths because of their humility and lack of pride.
Who does Jesus want to please?
Jesus wants to please the Supreme Being:"Yes, Father, for this was Your good pleasure.”Why is Jesus saying this? While many think of God as some kind of vague force, Jesus clarifies that the Supreme Being is a Person: God can be pleased and experience pleasure.
Jesus is stating that the Supreme Being enjoys revealing Himself to those who humbly want to know Him. This gives Him pleasure. Why? Because being introduced to someone is part of relationships. The Supreme Being enjoys exchanging relationships. Just as we all do.
Each of us enjoys having a friend or relative that we share confidential information with. When we can bear our soul to our friend and they can bear their soul to us, we both experience a sense of relationship exchange.
This exchange of relationship is what gives the Supreme Being pleasure. Our desire for relationships originates from the Supreme Being's enjoyment of relationships.
And this is the very reason for our existence: To exchange a unique loving service relationship with the Supreme Being. This is why we exist, and the only thing that will truly give us fulfillment.
This exchange of relationship is what gives the Supreme Being pleasure. Our desire for relationships originates from the Supreme Being's enjoyment of relationships.
And this is the very reason for our existence: To exchange a unique loving service relationship with the Supreme Being. This is why we exist, and the only thing that will truly give us fulfillment.
