Hide or Reveal

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE

HIDE OR REVEAL

Luke 18:31-34

31 Jesus took the Twelve aside and told them, "We are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled. 32 He will be handed over to the Gentiles. They will mock him, insult him, spit on him, flog him and kill him. 33 On the third day he will rise again." 34 The disciples did not understand any of this. Its meaning was hidden from them, and they did not know what he was talking about.

NIV

Because we have all the prophets, the gospels, and further writings by Paul, Peter, James, John, and Luke, plus the complete revelation of Jesus that was given to John, we know the whole story. Everything has been revealed to us because the Holy Spirit has led us into all the truth. However, his disciples did not understand because it was hidden from them. We know there are people today who the truth is hidden from them because they do not understand the truth. It is not that the disciples did not want to know the truth. They had been following Jesus for several years, hearing all his teachings, seeing all the miracles, watching him heal hundreds of people, give sight to the blind, speech to the mute, clear leprosy, the lame walk, and they had knowledge of the prophets, yet this truth was hidden, or concealed, covered, which is the direct meaning in the Greek word translated as hidden from them. What this proves to us is the absolute sovereignty of our Lord. He can hide, he can reveal, and it is totally in his hands, or authority to give knowledge or to withhold knowledge. If we think we are the ones who obtain all the knowledge through our efforts, or studies, we think we are deceiving ourselves. It does not matter how many years of study, how many degrees we might hang on our wall, or what position we hold in the body of Christ, the truth is either revealed to us, by the Spirit, or hidden from us by the same Spirit. This also means that it does not matter if we have not spent years of study, gathering degrees, it is the Spirit who reveals or hides the truth. However, Jesus promised that he would send the Spirit who would reveal the truth, so if we accept this baptism in or of the Spirit, allowing him to not just dwell within us, but to have his influence over us, flowing through us, filling us, then we will understand, nothing will be hidden from us, but all truth will be revealed. Let us constantly walk in the Spirit, walking in his revelation of the truth. Still, it is up to God to hide or reveal.