The Call of a Caring Saviour

Introduction

Last week we went through the scathing judgement of Christ upon the unbelieving cities, cities that were not centres of outward wickedness but were exposed to the truth of the Gospel, the signs and wonders coupled with the authoritative preaching of the Gospel of the Kingdom of God. Jesus was harsh, comparing these cities to infamous cities of wickedness and saying that those cities would not feel the same punishment that the cities in which Jesus preached would experience because they had witnessed the truth, and yet they had refused to repent.

Now, Jesus does not leave us on a note of judgement, but rather balances that fearful message of woe and judgement with a message of mercy to the burdened and broken-hearted.

In this text, we see the sovereignty of God, the paradoxical way God calls his children, and the merciful call to those who are burdened by their sins to take up the light and easy yoke of Christ, which becomes a joy to those who were previously weighed down by their own sin.

Hidden to the Wise, Revealed to the Simple

I thank you, Father - The word translated in the ESV as I thank means literally to confess agreement. Jesus is praising God by agreeing with the way in which God has done things regarding the salvation of the simple which we will get into soon. Here, Jesus prays out loud for the purpose of instructing his disciples through example. Jesus’ prayer shows a humble and exalted submission to God’s will, not only passively submitting to God’s will but actively agreeing with and praising God for the way he brings about salvation. We may, in our flesh, imagine ways we would prefer God’s salvation and his sovereign will to take place. Perhaps we would like God to immediately take us up to heaven, perhaps we would like God to make salvation universal to all people, perhaps we would like salvation to be accompanied by physical or visible signs and wonders that would make faith less necessary, but we must submit ourselves to the way God has brought about the salvation of humanity.

Lord of heaven and earth - Jesus addresses God as both Father and Lord of heaven and earth. Jesus here exemplifies the way we are to approach God, both as imminently our loving Father in Christ and as transcendentally our Lord and the Lord of heaven and earth. This also highlights that the sovereignty of God that is shown in this prayer, concerning who God hides from and who God reveals himself to. God, as our sovereign Lord, has the right to hide himself from the proud and reveal himself to the humble in heart, and he does so for the sake of his glory.

The content of Jesus’ praise to the Father is that these things have been hidden from the wise and understanding and revealed to little children. These things refer to the things of the Kingdom, the Gospel that came with great power through the mighty works of Jesus empowered by the Holy Spirit. They are the things that the cities of Galilee had rejected and refused to respond in faith, and it seems that it is these that Jesus refers to when he refers to the wise and understanding.

Jesus does not praise God that the Kingdom of Heaven is hidden from some, but that those to whom it is revealed are the simple rather than the wise.

Why does God hide these things from the wise and understanding? After all, the Bible often encourages us to seek wisdom and understanding. What we need to understand is that Jesus is not speaking of true wisdom that is founded on the fear of God. He is not talking about the true knowledge of God that Peter talks about in 2 Peter 1:3

2 Peter 1:3 ESV

His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence,

It is not this wisdom and knowledge that Jesus is talking about, for there is a wisdom that draws us nearer to God and a knowledge that gives us eternal life; the knowledge of the Gospel of Jesus Christ gives us the assurance of salvation that we need.

So who are these wise and understanding that these things are hidden from? It is those who are assured in their own knowledge, theology, and intelligence. It is the proud who, assured by their knowledge of the Scriptures or their intelligence, have the Gospel hidden from them.

1 Corinthians 3:18 ESV

Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise.

John Calvin:

Commentary on a Harmony of the Evangelists Matthew, Mark, and Luke Matthew 11:25–30; Luke 10:21–22

human wisdom is justly thrown down, that it may not obscure the praise of divine grace.

Those who are assured in their own knowledge, their own intelligence, their own theology, have the Gospel hidden from them. The prime example are the Pharisees. They knew the Scriptures well, they sought to keep the law perfectly and even added their own rules to make sure they didn’t come anywhere close to breaking the law. Naturally, we would think that these would be the first to identify the Messiah when he came, but to them the Gospel of the Kingdom was hidden. It was not that they didn’t hear it, nor that they didn’t witness the wonderful works Jesus was doing, proving that he was the Messiah, but their hardness of heart kept them from accepting the truth of the Gospel. 2 Cor 3:14

2 Corinthians 3:14 ESV

But their minds were hardened. For to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away.

Why were their minds hardened? Because this is the way all hearts are until they come to know Christ. We are born in sin, and are naturally dead in our trespasses and sins and we need our hearts softened and our eyes opened to see the glory of God revealed in the coming of Jesus Christ.

We have already seen a long while ago in the Beatitudes at the beginning of the sermon of the mount that that the Kingdom of Heaven is the inheritance of the meek, the lowly, the poor in heart, the hungry and thirsty for righteousness that they themselves don’t have. These are the ones that receive the Kingdom of heaven.

These are those that are called children in our text. They are not called children because of their immaturity or ignorance, but because of their humility of heart and their trusting attitude. Just as a child does not worry about finances or where supper is going to come from, these are unable to provide for themselves spiritually and they know it. Regardless of their intelligence and theological knowledge, they are humbled by their poverty of spirit. They recognize that there is nothing they can do to please God or make themselves right with God apart from Christ. They are hungry and thirsty for what theologians call an alien righteousness, that is, a righteousness that does not originate in themselves but in someone else, having that righteousness, that rightness before God, transferred to them by faith.

These children will be invited at the end of our text, where they are described as burdened with their sins. They are troubled with the fact that they are unable to please God. They realize that their good works are meaningless, filthy rags as the Scriptures say, in the light that they themselves are completely wicked, like a disgusting insect that one would like to stamp out with their shoe. The holiness of God finds us all guilty of sin against a holy God that deserves eternal punishment.

While those who are “wise and understanding” find comfort in themselves, their knowledge and intelligence, the children find no support in themselves. They are spiritually hungry, unable to feed themselves. They are spiritually naked, unable to clothe themselves. They are without love in this world, and are desperate for something else, something they cannot give themselves or do for themselves. They are needy and they know it. All they can do is cry out for mercy, as the tax collector did in the parable who went home justified.

To these God reveals this Gospel, not just to their ears through preaching, not just to their eyes through the miracles of Christ, for the unbelieving cities witnessed plenty of this, but to their heart. To these poor in spirit, God lifts up the veil and shows them the answer to their problems. To the hungry, God uncovers the banquet, to the thirsty God reveals the spring of the water of life, to the naked God offers the clothing of the righteousness of Christ, to the poor in spirit God offers the riches of eternity through the work of Christ. Those who see themselves as sufficient have this Gospel hidden from them because they don’t think they need it or they rely on their own imaginations in how salvation should work, but to the needy God offers the simple Gospel of the Kingdom of Heaven. This Gospel did not come in the way that the Jews expected, nor did it solve the problems that most of the Jews thought the Messiah would solve, at least not in the first coming. Instead, Jesus came to deal with the main problem: sin. Therefore, only those who are not only convinced of their sin but deeply convicted of it will see the value of the Gospel.

All Things in Jesus’ Hands

Jesus thanks God, even though it was Jesus who brought this to be. “Such was your will” has the implication that God’s will was done, though the Father did not actively do it. It was the Son who came to do the will of the Father. This is confirmed in verse 27 where Jesus makes the bold claim that all things have been handed to him by the Father. He calls him my Father to suggest the unique relationship he has with the first person of the Trinity. Jesus came on earth not only to preach the Gospel and display its power, but also to open the eyes of these little children while the minds of the proud and self-righteous remained closed to the message of the Kingdom. This, again, is confirmed when Jesus says no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.

The sovereignty of Christ is put on full display here. It is beyond doubt that was is being described here is the outcome of the election of the saints. It is not we who choose God, but he who chooses us. God alone can open a mind to receive the truth and humble a person to the point where the Gospel is a sweet relief rather than a foolish doctrine.

Now we must be careful that this doctrine of election does not cause us to be passive. We cannot say, “well if God wants to save me he will do so, there’s nothing I can do about it so I’ll just sit back and see if he saves me or not.” To such a person I would say, see the great danger you are in. Are you really satisfied to go to hell because you are not sure if you are elected or not? Why not rather seek God and show yourself to truly be elect? You do not know God’s will or the list of those who are elect or not, but you do know that those who seek God diligently and come to him humbly through faith in Jesus Christ are his. So strive for that, and if you do you will find that you were chosen by God before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight through faith in Jesus Christ. This is the only perspective that makes sense of the invitation Jesus gives later in the text, which we will now get to.

The Invitation

This invitation mentions two burdens, the weighty burden of sin and guilt and the light yoke of following Jesus.

The Burden of Sin

First, let us look at the burden of sin. This burden is most obvious in those who have tried their best to keep the law, but were not able to bear it.

Acts 15:10 ESV

Now, therefore, why are you putting God to the test by placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear?

The burden of the law is only a burden because of sin. Our sinful nature goes against the will of God, and so putting ourselves under the law is a yoke that we are unable to bear. The word yoke refers to the frame that attached cattle to a plow. Here, it refers to the divinely imposed responsibility that humanity has before God. It boils down to the responsibility to love God as God in all our being.

So Jesus addresses with warm invitation those who labour and are heaven laden. The word labour refers to the burden of work rather than the work itself. The point is that they are burdened, tiered, and weary, unable to carry on by themselves. What are they burdened by? They are burdened by their sins, their inability to keep the law, their shame, their guilt, their hopelessness of ever being able to be pleasing to God in and of themselves. Jesus specifically and purposefully does not invite those who are comfortable, content with their life, lulled by their sense of self-righteousness, or secure in their own religiosity. He calls those who are burdened, who labour under the intense weight of a guilty conscience, who are aware of their lost state and who feel the fear of the eternal judge before whom they have no excuse. They labour under the law, but it is useless in freeing them from this burden and they are hopeless. These Christ calls to himself as a source of rest.

However, he goes on to invite them to take his yoke upon them. Doesn’t this mean a burden? Jesus is quick to qualify that his yoke is easy and his burden is light. We all serve something, either sin leading to death or Christ leading to righteousness. To the true convert, the yoke of Christ gives us rest for our souls. How can this be? Well, we know that rest is not always doing nothing. Everything you do to rest means doing something. Even when you sleep your brain is hard at work, so we must do away with the idea that rest means doing nothing. Rather, true rest is doing what is not burdensome, and the burden of Christ is not burdensome. It is not heavy but light. The will of God, for the true convert, is not hard to do because through the work of the Holy Spirit our natures change as we die to self and come alive in Christ Jesus. We desire him and we want to follow him, and following him is not difficult because we are no longer under the burden of sin, but rather our nature now desires and pursues the will of God.

Chrysostom:

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers 1.10: Saint Chrysostom: Homilies on the Gospel of Saint Matthew Homily XXXVIII

He said not first, “Take my yoke upon you,” but before that, “Come, ye that labor and are heavy laden;” implying that sin too hath labor, and a burden that is heavy and hard to bear.

Calvin:

Commentary on a Harmony of the Evangelists Matthew, Mark, and Luke Matthew 11:25–30; Luke 10:21–22

He speaks of them as labouring, or groaning under a burden, and does not mean generally those who are oppressed with grief and vexations, but those who are overwhelmed by their sins, who are filled with alarm at the wrath of God, and are ready to sink under so weighty a burden.

The Burden of Christ

Leon Morris

The Gospel according to Matthew 3. Jesus’ Invitation, 11:25–30

It is not enough to indicate that one would like to be a follower of Jesus; to commit oneself to him means to commit oneself to a learning process.

Chrysostom:

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers 1.10: Saint Chrysostom: Homilies on the Gospel of Saint Matthew Homily XXXVIII

Not this or that person, but all that are in anxiety, in sorrows, in sins. Come, not that I may call you to account, but that I may do away your sins; come, not that I want your honor, but that I want your salvation. “For I,” saith He, “will give you rest.” He said not, “I will save you,” only; but what was much more, “I will place you in all security.”

Those who see themselves as strong and powerful are not able to bear the yoke and burden of faith in Christ, but paradoxically those who are weak and lowly in heart will find that burden light.

2 Corinthians 4:17 ESV

For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison,

Conclusion

Augustine gives the analogy of a building; how the higher a building may be constructed, the deeper the foundation needs to be laid. So it is that the higher we would ascend into the wisdom and knowledge of God and receive glory on the last day, the deeper must be our humility of heart.

Calvin

Christ enjoins them to come direct to himself, in order to obtain certainty of salvation. The meaning therefore is, that life is exhibited to us in Christ himself, and that no man will partake of it who does not enter by the gate of faith.