Unveiling Divine Love: Jesus’ Joy and the Command to Love God and Neighbor (Luke 10:21-28)

In the Gospel of Luke (Luke 10:21-28), we see a beautiful moment where Jesus rejoices in the Holy Spirit, praising the Father for His ways and revealing His nature. This joy flows into a teaching that encapsulates the very heart of the faith: the command to love God and neighbor. Let us explore how these two aspects—God’s self-revelation and His commandment of love—are deeply intertwined in our lives.

Jesus’ Joy in Revealing the Father (Luke 10:21-24):

“At that very time, He rejoiced greatly in the Holy Spirit and said, ‘I praise You, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants. Yes, Father, for this way was well-pleasing in Your sight.’” (Luke 10:21, LSB)

Here, we witness a glimpse of the inner life of Jesus. He rejoices in the Father, the Lord of heaven and earth, for revealing His truths not to the wise and learned but to “infants”—those who approach God with a simple, humble heart. This revelation points to the nature of the Father, Yahweh, who desires that all come to know Him not through worldly wisdom but through childlike faith.

Jesus continues, saying, “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, LSB). The profound truth here is that Jesus, the Son, is the unique revealer of the Father. It is through Jesus’ ministry and message that we come to understand who the Father is.

The essence of this revelation is God’s love. In John 14:9, Jesus says, “He who has seen Me has seen the Father.” Jesus’ life and teachings reveal a God who is loving, gracious, and just. Therefore, when we turn to the next part of the passage, we see that the commandment to love is not arbitrary; it is rooted in the very nature of God.

The Commandment to Love God and Neighbor (Luke 10:25-28):

As we continue in Luke 10:25-28, a lawyer stands up to test Jesus, asking, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus responds by pointing him back to the Law, asking, “What is written in the Law? How does it read to you?” The lawyer answers correctly, quoting Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” Jesus affirms this answer, saying, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.”

Here, Jesus connects the lawyer’s knowledge of the Law to the deeper reality of God’s revelation. The command to love is the natural response to knowing God, for “God is love” (1 John 4:8). The joy Jesus expressed earlier in revealing the Father is the joy of introducing people into a relationship of love with God. And from that relationship flows the command to love others as oneself.

The revelation of God that Jesus rejoices in is not merely about knowledge but about entering into a relationship of love. To know the Father, as Jesus reveals Him, is to encounter a God who loves us and calls us to love Him in return. This is why the greatest commandment is to love Yahweh, our God, with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. And this love extends to our neighbor, reflecting God’s love for the world around us.

As Jesus Himself summarized the Law and the prophets, “In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for this is the Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 7:12, LSB). The revelation of God in Christ and the commandment of love are inseparable. The more we know God through Jesus, the more we are drawn into the love that He embodies and commands.

Conclusion:

Brothers and sisters, Jesus rejoices in revealing the Father to us so that we may know Him, love Him, and live out that love in our daily lives. Our love for God and our neighbor is not something we can fulfill by sheer willpower; it is the overflow of our relationship with the God who first loved us.

Let us, therefore, approach God with the humility of little children, receiving His revelation in Christ. And let that revelation move us to love Yahweh with our whole being and to extend His love to our neighbors. In doing so, we will embody the greatest commandments and find the life that Jesus promises.

Amen.

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