Matthew 11:25-30

their sin exposed before all. So what happens?

They hide. Because here's what people fear. They

fear that if people really knew me, they would

not want me. I would be rejected. And it's to

these weary people that Jesus speaks words of

comfort and he says, come to me, you who labor

and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

In our text this morning, it's very easy to see,

Jesus makes an offer of rest to those carrying

this heavy burden from which they cannot free

themselves. They must come to Christ. Jesus'

offer of rest, it is good news. And what is good

news? It's the gospel. And we see here this morning,

the gospel of Christ does not demand that we

come and try harder, that we come and do more.

Rather, there's a promise. The Son of the Living

God offers to remove the crushing burden and

give people true and lasting rest to any weary

soul who will come to Him. This is the promise.

Now we've been in Matthew 11 for several weeks

now and this chapter really is all about differing

responses of the ways in which people responded

to Jesus. Some, we see at the very beginning,

were confused by Him. Some flat out rejected

Him and some embraced Him. Matthew 11 begins

with John the Baptist. Remember John the Baptist

is sitting in prison and it begins to have some

doubts. He's confused. Is Jesus truly the Messiah

or should we look for someone else? And of course

Jesus sends back objective testimony. Go and

tell John all that you've seen and heard and

he lists all the miracles. But then we move from

John the Baptist to three cities that are mentioned.

We talked about these last week. They're there

in Galilee, northern Israel, Chorazin, Bethsaida,

and Capernaum. And these cities were the ones

in which Jesus did most of his miracles. Yet

despite the incontrovertible evidence of his

miracles, by and large these cities rejected

him. And today this chapter will end with a group

who receives Jesus and his offer of rest. Last

week was all about judgment. Jesus pronounced

judgment upon those who had seen His miracles,

had first -hand access to His ministry, but they

didn't repent. They didn't change their lives

in light of His coming. And immediately the Lord

then announces a woe, an impending judgment upon

these people. But after He does so, after pronouncing

judgment, He prays. He prays to His Father, thanking

Him for the wisdom of His plan. And you see that

in verses 25 and 26. Jesus said, I thank you,

Father, Lord of heaven and earth, he's the only

Lord, that you have hidden these things from

the wise and prudent, and you have revealed them

to babes, even so, Father, for so it seemed good

in your sight. Some were confused by Jesus, some

rejected Jesus, and some received Jesus. Why?

What made the difference between the three groups?

We don't have to wonder our Lord clearly lays

out the answer to that question Jesus said to

his father You have hidden these things from

the wise and prudent and you have revealed them

to babes. What made the difference? God God made

the difference Now this is just what the text

says to some he revealed the truth about Christ

and For others he allowed that truth to remain

hidden Very clear what he's saying there. Jesus,

in fact, says God the Father had hidden these

things. What are the these things to which Jesus

is referring that were hidden? It refers to the

truth of Jesus and his identity as Messiah and

Savior. Some were given eyes to see Jesus as

Messiah. Others were not. And Jesus said that

was God's good plan. Even so, Father, so it seems

good in your sight. Human initiative and natural

human understanding can never discern the truth

of Jesus that is only ever given as a gift from

God. Paul wrote about this in the second chapter

of 1 Corinthians, verse 14. The natural man,

that's the man that's born of Adam, that's all

of us before coming to Christ. The natural man

does not receive the things of the Spirit of

God. He doesn't receive them for their foolishness

to him, nor can he know them. It's impossible

because they are spiritually discerned. What

does it mean to be spiritually discerned? They

are revealed by the Holy Spirit of God. That

means man, without God's grace or unaided by

grace, is incapable of understanding and discerning

spiritual truth. Or we could say it this way,

man cannot see unless God grants him grace to

see. He will remain blind. The only way you or

I or anyone else living on this planet can understand

the truth of God is if God opens the heart and

the eyes of that man or woman to see and understand

the truth of the Son. That's it. Now this is

easily seen in Peter's confession. Remember the

Apostle Peter. He is the leader of the apostolic

band. He's the one that rose to the top. When

they're all mentioned, Peter's always the first.

Now, in Matthew 16, Peter makes that great confession.

When Jesus came into the region, Caesarea Philippi,

he asked his disciples, who do men say that I

am? Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?

So they began answering. Well, some say you're

John the Baptist. Some say you're Elijah, and

others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets. And

he said, well, who do you say that I am? He's

asking plural. Who do you all say that I am?

Peter, the leader, answered and said, you are

the Christ, the Son of the living God. You are

Messiah. You are the promised seed to come, in

other words. Jesus, not denying it at all, but

affirming it, he answered and said to him, blessed

are you, blessed, favored by God are you, Simon

bar Jonah, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and

blood, humanity, your own natural inclination

has not revealed this to you, that my Father

who's in heaven. The reason, Peter, you understand

that is because my Father, the one in heaven,

revealed it to you. And this gives us incredible

insight. Jesus said that the fact that the Apostle

Peter had come to know and understand that he,

Jesus, was the Messiah was because the Father

had chosen in his good pleasure to reveal that

to Peter. That means the confession that he just

made did not come through his own insight, nor

did it come through his own reason. Now keep

in mind all that Peter had seen. Peter had been

with Jesus from the beginning. He had seen Jesus

do extraordinary miracles. He was there at the

Sherman on the Mount when Jesus taught with such

authority that no other scribe or Pharisee had

ever done. He saw with his own eyes the Lord

heal the sick, including his own mother -in -law.

Remember, she had a fever and the Lord raises

her up in Peter's house. He saw Jesus cleanse

lepers by touching them. There were blind men

that were given sight. He granted hearing to

those who could no longer hear. He granted speech

to the mute. Lame men from all from birth were

made to walk. And he had even witnessed Jesus

raise the dead. He was there when Lazarus was

raised. Peter had seen Jesus multiply bread and

fish from his own hands. He was there when Jesus

turned water into wine. Peter was the one who

saw Jesus walk on water. And he was there when

the wind and sea were made to be calm by the

word of Jesus himself. And Jesus said, in spite

of all that, none of that was sufficient to allow

Peter to see who Jesus really was. God the Father

had to reveal it to him. That is how blind mankind

truly is. Jesus said, Peter, you have been blessed.

You have been favored by God. Because to you

is granted understanding of who I really am.

You see me not merely as the son of Mary and

Joseph, but rather as the son of the living God.

And that's something only my father can reveal

to you. Now we think, well, come on pastor, come

on. Of course Peter came to see who Jesus was.

I mean, look at all the intel. Look at all the

information he enjoyed. Yeah, but Jesus said

that wouldn't have been enough. That's not why

Peter saw Jesus as the Son of the Living God,

the Messiah. See, divine revelation is a gift.

It's not a product of human achievement nor intelligence.

And we may not like this, but God chooses when,

how, and to whom His truth is revealed. It's

what the text says. We must understand something

though. God is not obligated to reveal himself

to anyone at any time. God's indebted to no one.

He owes no man anything at all, ever. Which means

if he reveals something, it is always a gift

of divine grace. Grace means it is not owed.

Grace means it is not earned. Grace means it

is a gift. Now having said that, that does not

mean God's revelation is arbitrarily or capriciously

given. What do I mean by that? Jesus said that

God hid the truth from the wise and prudent.

Now, why would you hide it from the wise and

prudent? Jesus is using sarcasm here. Those who

are wise and prudent in their own eyes. See,

this comes on the heels of those cities who should

have repented and didn't. Believing they were

wise, they were actually unwise. And this was

especially true of Israel's leaders. This was

especially true of the scribes and Pharisees.

They were arrogant. They were proud people who

thought they can understand God by their own

wisdom. God does not reveal the truth of a son

to those who think they already know better.

It's not the way he works. James 4 tells us God

resists the proud. So those who are proud cannot

discern their own spiritual blindness because

they think they already can see. See, they're

deceived, but it's a self -deception. They assume

they see fine. So unless God, in His grace, removes

that blindness from them, they will never see.

So He resists the proud, but James 4 verse 6

James 4:6

tells us He gives grace to the humble. And notice

the text. You have hidden them, Father, these

things from the wise and prudent, but you have

revealed them to babes. The word babes is the

word Greek word nepeos. An infant can mean someone

like a suckling child, a minor. It's really used

as someone who's dependent upon another. So Jesus

is not using this to refer to chronological age

at all. It's rather referring to those who are

humble of heart. They know they don't have what

it takes. They have a heart disposition that

makes them open to the truth. They're humble.

They did not come and come with their own preconceived

notions of what the Messiah should be or even

presuming of how God should work. See, that's

where Israel's leaders tripped over Jesus. They

had a preconceived notion of what the Messiah

would be like. Jesus didn't fit the bill. Regardless

of how many miracles he did, they rejected him.

But these babes, these humble ones, they didn't

come like that. They were open. They weren't

presuming to know how God would work. And as

a result, the humble were granted, because God

revealed it to them, the ability to receive truth,

and yet that same truth remained hidden to those

who were proud. And this is why God works. And

it's not just here in Matthew. I've said this

so many times. If you look at the kingdom of

God, it's as though God takes the values of man's

kingdom, turns them upside down in his kingdom.

It's almost like you can shift it on its head,

if you will. In man's kingdom, Strong and mighty

ones are chosen. But in God's, he says, it's

the weak who are chosen. In man's kingdom, it's

the wise, the humanly wise are chosen. But in

God's kingdom, he says, I choose the foolish

man. 1 Corinthians chapter 1, Paul wrote about

1 Corinthians 1 · chapter mention

this. But God has chosen the foolish things of

the world to put to shame the wise. Again, these

are people wise in their own eyes. And God has

chosen the weak things of the world to put to

shame those things which are mighty. and the

basings of the world, and the things which are

despised, God has chosen, and the things which

are not, to bring to nothing the things that

are. And why is God doing any of that? Why is

he working in such a manner as that? So that

no flesh should glory in his presence. You ever

wonder why so many men with tenure in universities

and earned PhDs reject Christ? The mighty, the

noble, the powerful, the elite, most of them

aren't Christians. They scoff at this faith.

It's backwards, it's backwoods. Sure, it's good

for his people of Appalachia, but not for the

sophisticated halls of academia. God has chosen

the weak things. Doesn't flatter our ego, does

it? But boy, it gives God glory. What Christ

is clearly telling us is that man by his own

natural faculties cannot discern, nor can he

understand God's wisdom. It must be revealed

by grace. The knowledge of the Son is revealed

by the Father. But look at verse 7. There's a

converse here now. The knowledge of the Father

must be revealed by the Son. Look at verse 27

of Matthew 11. All things have been delivered

to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except

the Father. Nor does anyone know the Father except

the Son, and notice the addendum here, and the

one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him, wills,

chooses to reveal Him. Now Jesus said, all things

have been delivered to me by my Father. What

are the all things? It's a good question. All

things include all authority. All authority has

been given to Christ. Matthew 28, 18, Jesus came

speaking to his disciples. He said, all authority

has been given to me in heaven and on earth.

There is no authority that exists that hasn't

already been delegated and given to Christ. He

reigns as the supreme potentate. All things include

all judgment. John 5. For the Father judges no

one, but he's committed all judgment to the Son.

authority has been given, all judgment has been

granted. In other words, Jesus is the Father's

one and only, and here's a big word you don't

even know, plenipotentiary. Okay, now what's

that? I just learned this word and so I'm using

it and it's like a $10 ,000 word, but it actually

fit really well here, okay? A plenipotentiary,

I'd never heard the word before, but a plenipotentiary

is a diplomat who is invested with the full power

of independent action on behalf of a government.

Now let me explain because this is really kind

of neat. So we have ambassadors. We're familiar

with ambassadors. Those who are representatives,

you have an ambassador to Denmark, an ambassador

to Greenland or Mexico, whatever. An ambassador

acts in the absence of the king or the president.

But he still must get the approval of the king

because he only serves as a representative. But

a plenipotentiary has the full power of independent

action. So if he could independently sign treaties,

he acts with the full power of the King himself.

So meaning if the plenipotentiary is present,

there is no need to even talk with the King because

that plenipotentiary has been given the same

authority as the King. So Jesus is not merely

an ambassador. He's not like a delegate sent

from heaven. No, he comes with the full authority

of God in his own person. As Colossians would

tell us, he is the fullness of the Godhead in

bodily form. Jesus said, if you've seen me, well,

you've seen the Father. It's not that he and

the Father are the same person, but they are

one God, eternally existing in three distinct

persons, Father, Son, and Spirit. If you know

me, you know the Father. If you know the Father,

you know me. instead of one seeing the other.

In fact, Jesus said here in Matthew 11, no one

actually knows the Father except the Son, and

no one actually knows the Son except the Father.

Okay, what's Jesus? Is that not double speak?

No. The Father and Son, the Father, God, the

Father, God, the Son, know each other in a mutually

exhaustive and intimate way like no one else

could ever know them. But, although Jesus knows

the Father, He's not the only one who knows the

Father. So do all those whom Jesus wills to reveal

him. Look at verse 27. It's very, very clear

there. Jesus said, if you're going to know the

Father, no is a relational term, not talking

about cognitive ability. If you're going to know

the Father relationally, That depends on Jesus's

willingness to reveal Him to you. This means,

again, knowledge of the Father, knowledge of

God, is a special gift of God. In other words,

let me just say it this way. The triune God cannot

be figured out. It's an impossibility. He must

be revealed. And our Lord says that He is the

mediator of that knowledge. If you know Him,

you know the Father. John 17 verse 3, Jesus said,

John 17:3

and this is eternal life. What is it? That they

may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ

whom you have sent. Eternal life is not merely

life that never ends. It's a participation in

the very life of God. Peter would say we are

partakers of the divine nature. But to participate

in the life of God, you must come through faith

in Jesus Christ. So the Father must reveal the

Son, the Son must reveal the Father, and if neither

one of them does that, that knowledge remains

hidden, and it particularly remains hidden to

those who are wise in their own eyes. Because

only the grace of God makes that knowledge known.

Now Jesus, according to Hebrews 1, is the express

image of His person. Jesus is the express image

of the Father. He alone can reveal the Father.

And this is the gospel. This is the good news.

He invites weary sinners to come to Him and find

that knowledge that will bring true rest and

salvation. Look at verse 28. Come to me, all

you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will

give you rest. To whom does Jesus reveal the

Father? To the people who are crushed and weighed

down by their sin. He reveals the Father to those

who know they need Him. To those who understand,

I cannot do it. Throughout scripture, there is

a beautiful, mysterious pattern that emerges.

We will see God's sovereignty, and you do. You

can't deny it. Matthew 11, verses 25, 26, and

Matthew 11:25

27. God's sovereignty is there, but it's always

going to be juxtaposed with man's responsibility.

Almost always they're juxtaposed. They're side

by side. So if you would look at this. You see

God's sovereignty because God must open the eyes

and reveal Christ. It's His prerogative. But

we see man's responsibility in that anyone, anyone

who's weighed down and wants relief from their

sin, you're invited to come to Christ. Come to

me, all who are weary. Do you see it? They're

friends. God is sovereign. Man is responsible.

Jesus gives a true invitation. Come to me. Let

me just say that would be a terribly audacious

statement if Jesus were not God. But He is God.

And as such, He's the only one who can offer

your soul satisfaction. So go to Him. Run to

Him. And He says, Jesus made a glorious promise

here, that whoever comes to Him in faith, He

said, I will grant you rest. I will give you

rest. What kind of rest? You need a nap? No.

You will find rest for your souls. I love that

phrase. Rest for your soul. Your soul disturbed.

Is it noisy? Or is that peace? Soul rest. This

is a rest in which Jesus removes from you that

guilt, that shame and burden of your sin, that

soul -crushing weight that hangs over the human

conscience. The alienation, the separation that

we experience from God because of our sin, it

is removed in Christ. So Jesus is saying, come.

Does that sound good to you? Jesus is the one

that brings us home. He brings us home to the

Father. See, the invitation is open to all, but

not all will come. It's open to all. It's universal.

Come. You want, you can come. Jesus is willing

to reveal the Father to all who know they need

him. and are willing to accept accept his yoke

and learn from him look at verse 29 the first

part of it take my yoke upon you and learn from

me for i'm gentle and lowly in heart then go

down to verse 30 for my yoke is easy and my burden

is light now we don't typically think of a yoke

as a light thing before studying for this particular

sermon I learned the word plenipotentiary this

week, and I also learned what I think this yoke

is. Now when I had seen this, I always had assumed,

and I'd always heard, that the yoke that Jesus

is referring to was an animal yoke that harnessed

two animals together to plow a field or pull

a cart. However, most scholars, many scholars,

I don't know about most, I haven't read all the

scholars, many scholars say no, the yoke that

Jesus is referring to is actually a human yoke.

You see behind me, you see the animal yoke, you

see the human yoke. So this human yoke was born

by a single person, which would evenly distribute

the weight across your shoulders to make a burden

easier to carry. For example, if you're carrying

pails of water, it would be easier to carry with

a yoke than without it. And this is what Jesus

is saying. This is the word picture. Many were

carrying heavy burdens. Now those heavy burdens

probably refer to the strict and unreasonable

demands that the religious leaders had placed

upon the people. The scribes and Pharisees had

added a lot to the law. So they had added hundreds

and hundreds of detailed laws and scrupulous

traditions which came with constant pressure

to prove you're righteous. No one could live

up to it. No one. They didn't even live up to

it themselves. Now the reason we think that the

burdens Jesus is referring to are these demands

of the religious leaders because in Matthew 23

Jesus said that. Verse 4, for they, scribes and

Pharisees, bind heavy burdens hard to bear, hard

to carry, and lay them on men's shoulders, but

they themselves will not move them with one of

their fingers. Do you see what's happening here?

The religious leaders placed a heavy weight upon

the people. There's a weight it was impossible

to bear. Constantly have to improve yourself.

Constantly have to try to earn righteousness,

prove you're righteous. And Jesus said, no, take

off that yoke and put on mine. Well, they didn't

have a yoke. They were just carrying it themselves.

He said, put on my yoke. For you who are carrying

burdens that are too heavy, Jesus offers a yoke

which would make life easier rather than harder.

Now, what do I mean by that? His yoke would not

bring further hardship. It brings relief. It

brings rest. In his commentary, R .T. France

said, we should remember that the rest Jesus

offers is not a relaxation of the demands of

righteousness. No, go back and read the Sermon

on the Mount. The Sermon, not in the mouth, the

Sermon on the Mount. He says, you have heard,

but I say to you, he lifted, he elevated righteousness.

So that's not why he's not relaxing the standards

so that we can now jump through the hoop. No,

he elevates it. But here's what he is doing.

There's a new relationship with God which now

makes it possible to fulfill them. Christ has

done it for us. It's not the removal of any yoke,

but a new and kind yoke which makes the burden

slide. Okay, so that means Jesus does not set

you free. He does not liberate people so that

you can go on and live life any way you want.

That's not the freedom. That's not the freedom

Christ promises. Because, but, here's what he

is saying, when one is in fellowship with him,

when you are in fellowship with Christ, you will

see that the burden of Jesus is not a heavy burden.

He doesn't remove the need for our obedience.

If you love Him, keep His commandments. He's

not removing the need for obedience, but He changes

the weight and gives you a new source of strength.

His burden is light. Why? This is the key. His

burden is light because life with Him is how

life was meant to be lived. It's what you were

created for. To walk with His yoke is to live

life the way the God has intended. It's to live

life for the very purpose for which you were

created. So that means the weight of sin that

would have crushed us is removed in Christ. See,

salvation, it's a gift. It's a gift to be received.

It's not a goal that you achieve. That is such

a huge difference. But aren't we still called

to obey? Yes, you are. But our obedience now

stems from the love for the Lord and because

we have a relationship with God in Christ. Yes,

you're still called. Deny yourself. Take up your

cross. Those commands are still there, but you

no longer fear, well, if I'm not perfect, then

God's going to reject me. You are no longer trying

to earn God's love because love has been given

to you in Christ fully and completely. So the

work that God calls us to, church, it still may

be difficult. But we work as our souls at rest.

There is peace in our soul because there is peace

with God. See, Jesus, the truth is before he

ever asked you to follow him or do anything for

him, he first invites you to come and rest in

him. That's what you have to see. So Matthew

11, it gave us different ways that people responded.

Some rejected, others received. And we're reminded,

this is the thing that we're reminded of in this

chapter, Christianity is not about what you must

do for God. The true Christian faith is what

God has done for you in Christ. Come, receive

it. Before you work, you rest. So are you tired?

Are you tired this morning? Are you weary? You

feel crushed. There's that constant cloud. Jesus

invites you to come. But he doesn't say, come

and do more, come and try harder. He says, come

and find rest. It's a heavy thing to carry the

burden of your sin. I wonder, are you tired of

shame? Tired of the guilt? You don't have to

labor that way. Jesus has come today, find rest

in him, because he's gentle, and he's lowly in

heart, and he promises something. There will

be rest for your soul. So if you're willing to

come, He is willing to receive you. Now church,

we're getting ready to commune with the Lord.

We're getting ready to come to the special table

and fellowship with God in the way that He has

prescribed. As the elements are being distributed,

praise God. Thank God for the revelation that

He has given to you of His Son. And thank Him

for the rest that He gives to your soul. Let's

pray. Father, Lord, you are very kind to us.

Lord, you are very gracious and merciful to us,

Lord. Lord, we must remember the depth of our

depravity and sin. There was nothing in us that

would commend us, Lord. It's not as though that

we were stellar candidates, and Lord God, you

chose us because Lord, we have been so kind,

so good, and such morally upright, exemplary

people. Father, your word tells us that you choose

the weak, the base, the foolish. That's what

we are Lord if we would understand in light of

who you are Lord God Yes, there's nobility in

the humanity Lord because we're creating your

image that Lord we have defaced that Lord God

we have we have marred the image of God Deserving

judgments real righteous judgment from your throne

yet instead of giving us judgment You gave us

clemency you gave us mercy Lord you pardoned

us in Christ Our soul is set free Lord. We're

no longer trying to earn your favor We're not

trying to get in your good graces. We receive

what you offer as a gift, which is salvation

in your son, the one who as a son has life. Lord,

thank you for the gift of Jesus. Lord, thank

you that our soul finds satisfaction in him.

Lord, as we now enter in the time of communion,

Lord, we pray for the spirit of God to make this

effectual for your people. Strengthen our faith,

Lord, as we partake of the elements. We ask this

in Jesus' name, amen. Beacons, if you would come

and prepare the table.