Matthew 11:25-30

Matthew 11:25-30

In that moment, Jesus said while answering, “I acknowledge thankfulness to you, Father, Lord of heaven and of the earth, because you kept these things secret from wise and insightful ones and you revealed these things to small children.  Yes, Father, because in this manner this was pleasing in your opinion.  All things were being handed over to me by my Father.  And nobody knows the Son except the Father; neither does anyone know the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son should desire to reveal.  Come to me, all who toil and who have forced to carry a heavy load and I will cause you all to be refreshed.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me because I am humbly submitted and gentle in spirit by my heart.  And you all will find refreshment for your souls.  For my yoke is easy to carry and my burden is light.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

Jesus is not condemning intellect of wisdom when He speaks these opening words.  In fact, we know that the Old Testament Speaks of wisdom as that which belongs most closely to God.  God does not have any issue with wisdom, intelligence, and knowing things.  What God does have a problem with intellectual pride.  God has a problem with people who lean upon their own understanding.  That’s actually what makes us like children.  Children are dependent upon their parents for many things – understanding the world around them is chief on the list!  Thus, what Jesus is saying here is that He is thankful that God has revealed wisdom to those who are humble enough to know that they cannot come to wisdom on their own.  Those who are humble and seek wisdom from God will find it.

How much do you suffer from academic or intellectual pride?  Why do you think intellectual pride is so common among those who are highly educated?  Do you think it poses as great a barrier to faith as Jesus implies here in this passage?

Second Thought:

In the middle of this passage we hear a confusing passage about who knows the Son and the Father.  Jesus says nobody knows the Son except the Father.  If we take this literally, then boy are we all in world of trouble!  However, in the next line Jesus says that nobody knows the Father except the Son and those to whom He desires to reveal the Father.  This second sentence is the balance to the first.  Nobody is righteous.  The only people who deserve to know each other are the Father and the Son.  We have no business knowing God!  However, because of God’s grace the Son desires us to know the Father.  Because of God’s sacrifice, our relationship with the Father can be restored.  But the truth is that it all starts with Him.  We can respond to God’s invitation of relationship, but we do not initiate it on our own merits.

How mindful are you that salvation is only through God’s grace?  In what manner does your life play out this truth?

Third Thought:

In the last third of this passage, Jesus gives us a teaching that is often misquoted.  Jesus does not tell us that following Him will be easy.  Nor does He tell us that following Him will make us prosperous and have a good life.  Rather, Jesus tells us that following Him will be refreshing on the level of our soul.  Jesus tells us that following Him will lead to submission and gentleness.  There are expectations in following Jesus, but they will be easy to carry because they will make sense.  When we experience the ways of God and see the order they bring to the chaos of life, they won’t seem like burdens.  When we are in the habit of living a godly life, we will find refreshment in our faith as opposed to the constant worry and distress of the ways of the world.

Are you refreshed by the ways of God?  Do you see obedience to God as easy and refreshing?  In what ways does Jesus prove through His life that He is submitted to God and thus worthy as an example in our life of the godly life?

Passage for Tomorrow: Matthew 12:1-8