Matthew 11 27

Matthew 11:27 kjv

All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him.

Matthew 11:27 nkjv

All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father. Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.

Matthew 11:27 niv

"All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.

Matthew 11:27 esv

All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.

Matthew 11:27 nlt

"My Father has entrusted everything to me. No one truly knows the Son except the Father, and no one truly knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him."

Matthew 11 verses

Matthew 11 27 Meaning

Matthew 11:27 is a profound declaration by Jesus concerning His unique relationship with the Father and His exclusive role as the revealer of God. It asserts that all authority, knowledge, and revelation proceed from the Father to the Son, establishing Jesus as the sole mediator through whom true knowledge of God is obtained. This means that access to God the Father is exclusively dependent on the Son's sovereign choice and revelation.

Matthew 11 27 Context

Matthew 11:27 follows a critical shift in Jesus' ministry narrative. Immediately preceding this verse (Matt 11:25-26), Jesus offers a prayer of thanksgiving to His Father for hiding divine truths from the "wise and intelligent" but revealing them to "infants" or "little children." This "hiding" and "revealing" implies a divine sovereignty over knowledge and understanding. Verse 27 then serves as the theological basis for this sovereign revelation. Jesus possesses absolute, unique knowledge of the Father and has been given all authority to reveal Him according to His own will. The overall chapter also features John the Baptist's disciples questioning Jesus' identity (11:2-6) and Jesus' strong pronouncements against unrepentant cities (11:20-24), highlighting humanity's spiritual blindness and need for divine illumination. The verse places Jesus as the indispensable and sole bridge to God the Father, countering any self-sufficient path to God, whether through Mosaic Law, human wisdom, or other religious systems prevalent at the time. It implies a direct critique of intellectual or self-righteous approaches that reject Jesus as the revealer of truth.

Matthew 11 27 Word analysis

• All things (πάντα - panta): Denotes totality, absolute comprehensiveness. This includes all authority, power, judgment, knowledge, creation, and aspects of the divine economy. It signifies absolute ownership and control.
• have been handed over (παρεδόθη - paredothē): An aorist passive verb, indicating a completed action done by another party – the Father. It speaks of a definite transfer or entrusting of authority and stewardship. It implies appointment and commission, not acquisition. This authority is divinely bestowed.
• to Me by My Father: Emphasizes Jesus' unique identity as the Son, distinct from and yet in perfect unity with, the Father. This explicit designation of relationship establishes the divine source and legitimate authority of the Son.
• and no one knows (ἔγνω - egnō): The verb refers to a deep, intimate, experiential knowledge, not merely intellectual apprehension. It's the knowledge of communion and essential understanding.
• the Son except the Father: A statement of unparalleled uniqueness. No creature, no angel, no human, however wise, can fully grasp the Son's divine essence, being, and purpose, except the Father Himself. This implies the Son's deity and co-equality with the Father, making His nature incomprehensible to finite beings.
• nor does anyone know the Father except the Son: This reciprocates the previous statement. Just as the Father uniquely knows the Son, the Son uniquely knows the Father. This knowledge is not learned but inherent to their divine relationship. It highlights the Father's own incomprehensibility apart from His self-revelation through the Son.
• and anyone to whom: Introduces the human element and the condition for receiving this divine knowledge.
• the Son wills (βούληται - boulētai): "Wills" here signifies an active, deliberate intention or sovereign choice, rather than a passive desire. Revelation of the Father is not automatic, nor is it based on human merit or striving. It is solely dependent on the Son's sovereign prerogative.
• to reveal Him: This is the action of disclosure. The Son makes the Father known. The hiddenness of God to the "wise and intelligent" (11:25) is precisely because the Son has not willed to reveal Him to them in their unrepentance, whereas He has chosen to reveal Him to the "little children" (11:25) who humble themselves and receive His truth.

Words-group analysis:

• "All things have been handed over to Me by My Father": This phrase establishes Christ's supreme and universal authority. It demonstrates a pre-existent divine council where the Father formally entrusted everything concerning creation, providence, judgment, and revelation to the Son. It sets Jesus apart as uniquely commissioned by the ultimate divine authority.
• "no one knows the Son except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father except the Son": This is the core of Jesus' divine self-consciousness and claims to unique deity. It reveals an exclusive, essential, and reciprocal knowledge within the Godhead, signifying the Son's co-equality and intrinsic unity with the Father. This intimate communion makes the Son the only authoritative revealer of the Father's true nature.
• "and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him": This part clarifies the means of revelation and underscores its sovereign nature. Access to true knowledge of the Father is not a human achievement but a divine gift, mediated by the Son's deliberate, gracious choice. It grounds human knowledge of God in divine election and revelation, emphasizing the Father's mystery without the Son's self-disclosure.

Matthew 11 27 Bonus section

This verse establishes Jesus' pre-eminence, divine nature, and His essential role in mediating the relationship between God and humanity. It means that any understanding or experience of God the Father outside of Jesus Christ is either partial, distorted, or superficial. True, salvific knowledge of God is inherently trinitarian: revealed by the Father through the Son and, as elsewhere in scripture, applied by the Holy Spirit (cf. 1 Cor 2:10). The context of Matthew 11, particularly Jesus' lament over cities rejecting Him and His invitation to the weary (11:28), highlights the tragedy of resisting the Son's gracious revelation. Only those who receive Him in humility can genuinely come to know the Father whom He perfectly knows and reveals. The passage underscores that human wisdom, societal standing, or religious fervor cannot substitute for the personal, divinely granted revelation through Christ.

Matthew 11 27 Commentary

Matthew 11:27 is a profoundly theological statement, often referred to as a "Johannine thunderbolt" due to its echoes of John's Gospel's high Christology. It reveals Jesus' divine self-awareness and sets Him apart as unique. His claim to have "all things" handed over by the Father means that His authority is absolute and divinely bestowed, encompassing the totality of God's saving purposes and providential control. This also grounds His later commission to make disciples of all nations (Matt 28:18).

The mutual, exclusive knowledge between the Father and the Son ("no one knows the Son except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father except the Son") speaks to the incomprehensibility of the Trinity to human reason alone and highlights the unique, essential intimacy within the Godhead. It asserts Jesus' full deity and co-equality with the Father, transcending all other prophets or religious figures. It implies that true understanding of who God is can only come through His Son.

Furthermore, the sovereign element, "and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him," emphasizes that spiritual revelation is a divine act of grace, not a human achievement. God the Father, through His Son, graciously determines who will come to a saving knowledge of Himself. This teaching aligns with the earlier verse where wisdom is hidden from the "wise" but revealed to "infants" – those who are humble and receptive rather than relying on their own intellect or efforts. It means salvation and true knowledge of God are entirely dependent on divine initiative, demonstrating both God's sovereignty in salvation and the Son's indispensable role as the only mediator.For practical usage, this verse reassures believers that their knowledge of God is a divine gift, not earned. It compels evangelism by clarifying that Christ is the only way to the Father (Jn 14:6) and motivates humility in seeking truth, knowing that genuine revelation comes from Him. It also offers comfort that despite life's complexities, Jesus holds "all things."