#1261 Matthew 11 Part 3 Childlike

 

25 At that time Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; 26 yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. 27 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. 28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Matthew 11: 25-30 ESV

Matthew 11: 25-30 

21 At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do.

22 “All things have been committed 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.”

23 Then he turned to his disciples and said privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see. 24 For I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.” Luke 10: 21-24

13But we should always thank God for you, brothers who are loved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning to be saved by the sanctification of the Spirit and by faith in the truth. 14To this He called you through our gospel, so that you may share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 15Therefore, brothers, stand firm and cling to the traditions we taught you, whether by speech or by letter.… 2 Thessalonians 2: 13-15

I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth - There is a lot more to unwrap in these 6 verses than one could hope to do in a post, and it is a beautiful caption of the relationship between God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It is following the time that the Apostles (Christ's ambassadors) had been sent out, following their teaching, Jesus's teaching, miracles, and the now mounting rejection of the religious rulers of the day. Those that reject Christ also reject His Kingdom, and He had pronounced judgments on Capernaum and other places that had seen many miracles and heard the gospel of the Kingdom, but turned away. Jesus ministry is marked with much prayer, talking to His Father, and here, thanking Him, but for what? He had just been rejected, but He acknowledges that this is all part of God's sovereign plan. He refers to His Father as Lord of heaven and earth, over all that is made by Him and over all that happens here. People are blind who cannot glimpse this majesty. Have you ever stood at the ocean, looking out at the vastness of something you cannot see across, then imagined yourself doing this as you look down from the perspective of space? There is not a drop of water, a sparrow, a soul, that God cannot see or is unaware of, it is unfathomable. To realize the sovereignty of God, the majesty of God, your inadequacy as a created being, and your offense as a sinner, that is the light reflecting off the cleft of the rock. You can't be the same after that. 

…2He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no stately form or majesty to attract us, no beauty that we should desire Him. 3He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief. Like one from whom men hide their faces, He was despised, and we esteemed Him not. 4Surely He took on our infirmities and carried our sorrows; yet we considered Him stricken by God, struck down and afflicted.… Isaiah 53: 2-4

That You have hidden these things from the wise and understanding - A touch of sarcasm here, and this was the problem of the Pharisees, Sadducees and the scribes of both sects, they saw themselves as too wise. They had created systems by which they were lifted up, practices based on human merit, religious show, asceticism, and liberal materialism. They enjoyed titles and greetings in the market, the praise of men, but they could not hear the wisdom of God, and definitely didn't need a savior that would die for them, just one who would vanquish their enemies. In their minds they were good people.

…8as it is written: “God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that could not see, and ears that could not hear, to this very day.” 9And David says: “May their table become a snare and a trap, a stumbling block and a retribution to them. 10May their eyes be darkened so they cannot see, and their backs be bent forever.”… Romans 11: 8-10

18For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.” 20Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?… 1 Corinthians 1: 18-20

6Among the mature, however, we speak a message of wisdom—but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. 7No, we speak of the mysterious and hidden wisdom of God, which He destined for our glory before time began. 8None of the rulers of this age understood it. For if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.… 1 Corinthians 2: 6-8

Revealed them to little children - Christ's followers are contrasted to the so called wise as children. They are dependents, and humility has taught them as much. What does the Scripture say, "you must be born again", something quite contrary to human wisdom, to self will, no one calls themselves into being. His followers aren't to be wise in their own eyes, but rely on the wisdom that is from above. If I am a sinner then the answer to that is Christ, if I am a spiritual baby, which we all must be if we are born, then I look to Christ's words for nourishment, the Holy Spirit will always point to human inadequacy and direct you to Christ. So to become wise is to grow in the realization of one's dependence of Christ. The Pharisees and Sadducees were infants in denial, they needed milk, but they thought they were eating and serving meat, the gospel was beneath them, and so they would not lay hold of it, though it would save them.

…25But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: ‘They hated Me without reason.’ 26When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father— the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father— He will testify about Me. 27And you also must testify, because you have been with Me from the beginning.… John 15: 25-27

…2Jesus invited a little child to stand among them. 3“Truly I tell you,” He said, “unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.… Matthew 18: 2-4

For such was your gracious will - We know as Calvinist that it is not according to the desire of man, but the will of God, Who causes that desire to be born in a man. This is not nor should ever be a place of pride in the one who understands, again, it is in the cleft of the rock, knowledge reserved for those of humility and child like faith. It puts aside all pretense to works of merit, it is only the works of Christ that save.

…26Brothers, consider the time of your calling: Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were powerful; not many were of noble birth. 27But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28He chose the lowly and despised things of the world, and the things that are not, to nullify the things that are,… 1 Corinthians 1: 26-28

…43“Stop grumbling among yourselves,” Jesus replied. 44“No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day. 45It is written in the Prophets: ‘And they will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard the Father and learned from Him comes to Me—… John 6: 43-45

…15For He says to Moses: “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” 16So then, it does not depend on man’s desire or effort, but on God’s mercy. 17For the Scripture says to Pharaoh: “I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display My power in you, and that My name might be proclaimed in all the earth.”… Romans 9: 15-17

All things have been handed over to me by My Father - The divine prerogative, Jesus shares in this, for He is God the Son, and has added humanity to His deity in order to save those the Father has called.

Christ, as God, is equal in power and glory with the Father; but as Mediator He receives His power and glory from the Father; has all judgment committed to Him He is authorized to settle a new covenant between God and man, and to offer peace and happiness to the apostate world, upon such terms as He should think fit: He was sanctified and sealed to be the sole Plenipotentiary, to concert and establish this great affair. - Matthew Henry

…21For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom He wishes. 22Furthermore, the Father judges no one, but has assigned all judgment to the Son, 23so that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.… John 5: 21-23

No one knows the Son except the Father - Christ is the God Man, and this is the only way to be right with God, and that was for Him to take on human flesh, to humble Himself even to the cross. Three Persons, One Being, it is the staggering reality of the Trinity, as dumbfounding as eternity.

Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him: Since Jesus referred to Himself as the Son, we have another staggering self-focused statement from Jesus. Here He proclaimed that only He had a true relationship with God the Father, and that the Father could only be known through the Son (to whom the Son wills to reveal Him). These are astonishing self-claims.

i. Matthew 11:27 reveals much to us about the relationship between God the Father and God the Son.

· There are no secrets between the Father and the Son.

· There is no one who knows the Son as well as the Father does.

· There is no one who knows the Father as well as the Son does.

· The Son chooses to reveal the Father to some.

ii. There is an important difference in the way that the Son knows the Father, and the way we may know Him. We know God the Father because He stoops low to us to make Himself known. God the Son knows God the Father because they are equal in nature, completely compatible with one another. - Enduring Word

…8Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us.” 9 Jesus replied, “Philip, I have been with you all this time, and still you do not know Me? Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me? The words I say to you, I do not speak on My own. Instead, it is the Father dwelling in Me, performing His works.… John 14: 8-10

All who labor and are heavy laden - This takes us back to the Sermon on the mount again, Matthew 5, blessed are the poor in spirit, He reaches out with an initiation to those who know they are spiritually bankrupt. He beckons those tired of trying to earn the kingdom, who realize that they can't, but here is the One Who alone can. Become a child, blessed are they who do hunger and thirst after righteousness, cry out then, so you can be filled.

“‘Come’; he drives none away; he calls them to himself. His favorite word is ‘Come.’ Not, go to Moses – ‘Come unto me.’ To Jesus himself we must come, by a personal trust. Not to doctrine, ordinance, nor ministry are we to come first; but to the personal Saviour.” (Spurgeon)

I will give you rest - There was no end to the ceremonial yoke, no matter how many bulls or sheep were slain, sin was not done away, and the Pharisees only added to these things their traditions, making more work for men, useless work. Here is Christ, the fulfillment of the sacrificial law, the ceremonies, and the answer to men's need according to their breaking of the moral law. Blessed are they that mourn for they shall be comforted.

1Therefore, while the promise of entering His rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be deemed to have fallen short of it. 2For we also received the good news just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, since they did not share the faith of those who comprehended it. 3Now we who have believed enter that rest. As for the others, it is just as God has said: “So I swore on oath in My anger, ‘They shall never enter My rest.’ ” And yet His works have been finished since the foundation of the world.… Hebrews 4: 1-3

Take My yoke upon you - Jesus does not bring about complacency, this is not Woodstock or some socialist movement, there is still work to do, but He will give you that which He has walked in before you. The yoke is representative of obedience to the will of Christ, being led by Christ, and empowered by His spirit.

…6And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7in order that in the coming ages He might display the surpassing riches of His grace, demonstrated by His kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not from yourselves; it is the gift of God,…

…9not by works, so that no one can boast. 10For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance as our way of life. 11Therefore remember that formerly you who are Gentiles in the flesh and called uncircumcised by the so-called circumcision (that done in the body by human hands)—… Ephesians 2: 6-11

I am gentle and lowly in heart - Oh, to have a boss like that, who teaches and exemplifies meekness.

My yoke is easy and My burden is light - It was time to take off the unnecessary load of the religious rulers. 

When training a new animal (such as an ox) to plow, ancient farmers often yoked it to an older, stronger, more experienced animal who bore the burden and guided the young animal through the learning process.

ii. “The word easy is in Greek chrestos, which can mean well-fitting. In Palestine ox-yokes were made of wood…The yoke was carefully adjusted, so that it would fit well, and not gall the neck of the patient beast. The yoke was tailor-made to fit the ox.” (Barclay)

iii. This isn’t a call to a lazy or indulgent life. There is still a yoke to bear and burden to carry. Yet with and in Jesus, they are easy and light. “Jesus’ yoke is easy, not because it makes lighter demands, but because it represents entering into a disciple-relationship.” (France) - Eword