What does Luke 10:22 reveal about the relationship between Jesus and God the Father? Text of the Passage “All things have been entrusted to Me by My Father. 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.” — Luke 10:22 Immediate Literary Context Jesus has just watched the Seventy-Two return from their evangelistic mission (Luke 10:17-21). He praises the Father for hiding divine truths from the proud while revealing them to “little children,” then turns to the disciples and utters v. 22. The verse therefore functions as the climactic theological rationale for the disciples’ successful ministry: their authority and insight flow entirely from Jesus’ unique relationship with the Father. Mutual, Exclusive Knowledge: Ontological Equality 1. The Father alone “fully knows” the Son. 2. The Son alone “fully knows” the Father. Mutual exclusive knowledge between two Persons can exist only if both are infinite in nature; finite beings cannot exhaustively comprehend the infinite. Thus the verse identifies Jesus as sharing the Father’s divine essence (cf. John 10:15, John 14:9). Functional Distinction: Economic Subordination “All things have been entrusted to Me by My Father.” The verb implies voluntary delegation, not inferiority. In salvation history (the “economy” of the Trinity) the Father sends, the Son accomplishes, and the Spirit applies (cf. John 20:21-22). Ontological equality and functional order are perfectly compatible, paralleling the biblical model of equal-yet-ordered marriage (1 Corinthians 11:3). Christ as the Exclusive Mediator of Revelation Because only the Son knows the Father exhaustively, only the Son can make the Father known. This confirms: • John 1:18 — “No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son… has made Him known.” • Hebrews 1:1-3 — “[The Son] is the radiance of God’s glory… and sustains all things by His powerful word.” Salvific revelation is therefore particular, not universalistic; access to God hinges on Christ’s self-disclosure (Acts 4:12). All-Encompassing Authority The aorist “have been entrusted” echoes Daniel 7:14’s Son of Man receiving “authority, glory, and sovereign power.” Jesus wields cosmic jurisdiction—exorcisms (Luke 10:17), healing (Luke 5:24), dominion over nature (Luke 8:24). Post-resurrection, He states the corollary: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me” (Matthew 28:18). Coherence with a Unified Canon Old Testament monotheism (Deuteronomy 6:4) is not compromised but clarified. Isaiah 48:16 presents the Speaker (“Lord Yahweh has sent Me, and His Spirit”) hinting at plurality within the one Godhead, realized in Luke 10:22. The Father-Son relationship is foreshadowed in 2 Samuel 7:14; Psalm 2:7; Proverbs 30:4. Patristic Confirmation • Irenaeus (Against Heresies 4.6.2) cites Luke 10:22 to refute Gnosticism, insisting that only Christ reveals the otherwise unknowable Father. • Athanasius (On the Incarnation 54) argues the verse demands the Son’s full deity. These early-to-mid 2nd- and 4th-century witnesses predate organized conciliar theology, demonstrating that Trinitarian reading is original, not imposed. Practical Theology • Worship: Believers rightly render to Jesus the same honor they give the Father (John 5:23). • Evangelism: Because revelation is Christ-centered, proclamation of the gospel is indispensable. • Humility: Insight into God is a gift, not an achievement; therefore, “rejoice that your names are written in heaven” (Luke 10:20). Summary Luke 10:22 discloses a relationship of ontological equality, functional distinction, and exclusive reciprocal knowledge between Jesus and the Father. The Father entrusts universal authority to the Son; the Son alone mediates saving revelation of the Father. The passage therefore undergirds Trinitarian theology, affirms Christ’s deity, and grounds Christian exclusivism in salvation and knowledge of God. |
    |