21 At that time Jesus was filled with joy by the Holy Spirit and said, “Father, Lord of heaven and earth! I thank you because you have shown to the unlearned what you have hidden from the wise and learned. Yes, Father, this was how you were pleased to have it happen.
22 “My Father has given me all things. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and no one knows who the Father is except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”
23 Then Jesus turned to the disciples and said to them privately, “How fortunate you are to see the things you see! 24 I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see what you see, but they could not, and to hear what you hear, but they did not.”
Read Luke 10:21-24 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!
If we were to take a poll and ask people what point in history they would have wanted to live, we would likely discover that one of the greatest, most desirable points people would choose would be living in Judea during Jesus’ life on earth.
While the disciples knew they were special and privileged, they probably didn’t realize just how special they were in the whole timeline of history. While we often look back and perhaps have wanted to have seen Jesus with our own eyes, hear His teaching with our own ears, and experience His miracles first hand, those of us living after Jesus walked the earth are not alone in this desire.
In Luke’s gospel, he records Jesus turning to the disciples and telling them this same idea about those living in the past – before Jesus walked on the earth. Luke describes what happened by saying, “Then Jesus turned to the disciples and said to them privately, ‘How fortunate you are to see the things you see! I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see what you see, but they could not, and to hear what you hear, but they did not.’” (v. 23-24)
Those living before Jesus arrived on earth longed to see that day. Even going as far back as Adam and Eve, they believed their first son, Cain, was the one God had promised.
But even though we don’t get to be a part of the privileged group of disciples who spent 3+ years with Jesus, we are more privileged than those who lived before Jesus because we have the gospel record that we can look back on. Those living before Jesus came to earth had the symbolic sacrificial system as their promise pointing forward to Jesus and His ultimate sacrifice, but those of us living after can actually see how amazingly Jesus fulfilled every part of the Jewish sacrificial system.
This leads me to purposefully decide to focus on where God has placed me in “His Story”. I may not be a part of the early church, but that doesn’t stop me from being a significant part of His church today. God created me at this point in history for a reason and He knows what He is doing. Just because I didn’t get to see Jesus’ ministry with my own eyes the first time around doesn’t mean I will never see Him. It simply means I have something extra special to look forward to when arriving in heaven!
This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!
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