You will find rest for your souls...Come and share your master’s happiness!’

Matthew 11:7-30

Jesus’ Tribute to John

⁷ As these men were going away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John, “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? ⁸ But what did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ palaces! ⁹ But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and one who is more than a prophet. ¹⁰ This is the one about whom it is written,

¹¹ Truly I say to you, among those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist! Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. ¹² From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and violent men take it by force. ¹³ For all the prophets and the Law prophesied until John. ¹⁴ And if you are willing to accept it, John himself is Elijah who was to come. ¹⁵ He who has ears to hear, let him hear.

¹⁶ “But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the market places, who call out to the other children, ¹⁷ and say, ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.’ ¹⁸ For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon!’ ¹⁹ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Behold, a gluttonous man and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.”

The Unrepenting Cities

²⁰ Then He began to denounce the cities in which most of His miracles were done, because they did not repent. ²¹ “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles had occurred in Tyre and Sidon which occurred in you, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. ²² Nevertheless I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you. ²³ And you, Capernaum, will not be exalted to heaven, will you? You will descend to Hades; for if the miracles had occurred in Sodom which occurred in you, it would have remained to this day. ²⁴ Nevertheless I say to you that it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for you.”

Come to Me

²⁵ At that time Jesus said, “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants. ²⁶ Yes, Father, for this way was well-pleasing in Your sight. ²⁷ All things have been handed over to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.

²⁸ “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

In today's text from the daily reading in the One Year Bible(link available on links page of this site), we read  Jesus words contrasting the fate of the unrepentant with that of believers. He begins with an affirmation of John the baptist as a true messenger or prophet of God. Verse 12 is an interesting statement,  From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and violent men take it by force. There is a struggle, a  battle that goes on in the spiritual realm, where the powers of evil try to control the things of earth. There is a need for us to take part in this battle it says we take it by force. This is a real life and death struggle we are all engaged in. Jesus says "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly."(John 10:10) That's the battle death or abundant life. The good news for us is that though it says there is a violence involved in this apprehending of the kingdom, Romans 16:20 says The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. We have victory in Christ who;   having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross (Colossians 2:15)

Jesus continues pointing to the hardness of peoples hearts and their lack of repentance. First He notes,   "John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon!’ ¹⁹ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Behold, a gluttonous man and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’" There are those today as well, who have determined not to recieve the message of the gospel. It will make no difference to these whether we show mercy and grace, the message of God's love or the coming judgment, we can not convince those who have hardened their hearts to the truth of God's love and redemption. Yet there is none so lost that the Holy Spirit can not draw them. Our place is to be faithful to sow, nurture and reap as God leads us. Ecclesiastes 11:6 says, Sow your seed in the morning and do not be idle in the evening, for you do not know whether morning or evening sowing will succeed, or whether both of them alike will be good. The work of conviction is a work of the Spirit, that is not our responsibility or job.

 The judgment that Jesus speaks of the unrepentant cities will surely be true of many in our present society. Jesus points to the miracles that were done as the evidence of the kingdom of heaven. We need to continue to be faithful to preach and share the good news that the kingdom of heaven is at hand. As we proclaim God's truth, He will be faithful to provide the miracles as signs confirming the word. When the kingdom of heaven touches earth, earth will change.

Jesus closes with these words: “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

This idea of being yoked to Jesus is somewhat lost in our culture. We think of a yoke almost as shackles, it is sin that shackles us. The yoke He refers to is the implement by which two animals were joined together to work or pull a load. The strength of two increases exponentially compared to one. So this yoke is not restrictive, rather it is an instrument of rest for the weary. Jesus says we should take His yoke and learn from Him. Often the animals that were paired together were a younger untrained one with a stronger and better trained partner. The untrained would learn to work together with his partner. Jesus wants us to partner with Him in that way. As we accept the benefits of being yoked to Him, learning from Him two things happen. First our load is lightened as Jesus takes the bulk of the load upon Himself. But, we also grow stronger. As we walk with, work with and learn from Jesus our faith and spiritual strength grow. As we are faithful to follow Him, He will trust us more, until we become teachers and disciplers ourselves. Teaching others to follow Jesus.

That's our future hope and promise. That as we are yoked to Jesus, as we learn from Him and as we grow in Him, one day we will hear the words of our Lord and Savior:

‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’

To God be the glory. Thank You Lord. Amen