Matthew 11:28-30

Greeting

New Series for the Easter Series… The Heart of Christ (Gentle and Lowly, Dane Ortland)

Steady diet of preaching = books of the Bible

BUT occasionally its good to see what the Bible or the NT says about a particular subject.

This mini series = expositional series over a topic

This text = helping to set the stage for the rest of the series

Stand and Read

Pray

Intro

I want to ask a question… (you answer to yourself)

Who is Jesus?  How would you describe Jesus?

Some answers:

He is fully God.  He is fully man.  He is the savior. He is our substitute.  He is perfect.  He is the creator.  He is the way.  He is the truth.  He is the life.  He is just.  He is the suffering servant.  He is the King of kings

All of those things, are absolutely true.  And we could come up with many more things about who Christ is. 

But this morning we come to a text, that is the only text in the Gospels, in which Jesus describes HIMSELF as who he is in his inner being. 

V. 29

In heart…

For us the heart = emotions and feelings

That’s not the Jewish understanding of heart.

For them the heart = inner being…

This verse > “at the core of who Jesus is, he is gentle and lowly.”

Gentle

Gentle = “meek”

Matt. 5:5 = Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth

Gentle = “humble”

Matt. 21:5 (Zech. 9:9) = Your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey

“Jesus is not trigger-happy.  Not harsh, reactionary, easily exasperated.  He is the most understanding person in the universe.  The posture most natural to him is not a pointed finger but open arms.” – Dane Ortlund

Lowly

Lowly = usually transl. humble. 

But the meaning of it should not be understood so much as a virtue, but more of your position in life.  One who is considered lowly is being forced downward by the circumstances of life.

And the point that I think Jesus is trying to make is that he is accessible to people.

“No one in human history has ever been more approachable than Jesus Christ.”  - Dane Ortlund

This is what we are looking at this morning and is what I have entitled the sermon:

The Gentle Heart of Christ

This is not the way that Jesus is towards everybody (we’ll see this in a moment)

Jesus is speaking to those whom he identifies as little children (v. 25)

So he is speaking to people who have sought to follow after Christ, and to whom the Father has chosen to reveal who Jesus is.

So if you’re here this morning, and you’re attitude is such that you think that you don’t need Jesus, and that you’re good enough on your own, then Jesus is NOT gentle towards you. 

And you need to hope and pray that your heart is softened to who Jesus is.     

Sermon

There’s three things that I would like us to see this morning in regards to the Gentle heart of Christ that’s seen here in Matt 11

1. The Gentle Heart of Christ Opposes Legalism

V. 28b – all who labor and are heavy laden

Context…

Before…

Woes upon cities…

Just a bad day?

No, they rejected Jesus and his message

Refused to repent…

Wanted to continue their legalistic ways…

Their own actions = please God

After…

Misunderstanding on the purpose of the Sabbath…

The ultimate Sabbath = Jesus

Between = Invitation of Christ…

Invitation for the weary and the downtrodden

For those who knew they could never be righteous enough on their own

For those who felt beat up running on the treadmill of works based righteousness

Jesus’ message is diametrically opposed to this.

His message is not “do more…”

It’s just, “come to me”

A shocking statement…

Our faith = a works based faith…

But the difference between every other religion is that the work has been accomplished. 

Any teaching that says you have to do something or look a certain way… = a lie from the pit of hell

2. The Gentle Heart of Christ Leads You To Soulful Rest

V. 28a,c, 29c

Such good news…

Two commands…

Come…

Take…

Result = Rest

Question: What is rest?

Dict. Def.:

Cessation from action, motion, labor, or exertion.

Freedom from that which wearies or disturbs

Something that is fixed and settled

Being confident and trustful

Leaning, reposing, or depending on.

I’m here to tell you that rest in Christ fulfills all of those definitions:

Rest in Christ causes you to cease from all your works in trying to earn your salvation

Rest in Christ gives you freedom and peace from the cares and burdens of the world that attempt to rob you of your joy.

Rest in Christ is to have assurance of your salvation; your salvation is fixed and settled…

Other teachings…

Rest in Christ gives us confidence and trust in his promises

Rest in Christ means that we can now fully depend on God our Father to supply all of our needs. 

ILLUS: OT example of Israel…

Struggle to stay in God’s rest…

Unbelief…

> Exile

In the same way, when people today refuse to believe in Jesus, they are attempting to do things their own way, and therefore they will be denied entrance into the kingdom rest of God’s salvation.

And the reason that we now have access to this rest, is because Christ did all of the work!

That’s why his statement form the cross is so significant!

It is finished…

Stop those sacrifices

Get that veil down

Get those priests out of there

Let the fire stop burning

Quit making the bread

Go ahead, and let the temple come down

Why? Because the work of salvation is now done!  The payment for our sin has been PAID IN FULL.

There is no longer a debt that you owe to God.

That’s why you can find rest for your soul.       

3. The Gentle Heart of Christ Brings You To Submission

Sounds contradictory…

But notice, these vv. do not say Christ = yoke free. No, it says that we will have the yoke of Christ upon us. Jesus is our master…

V. 29 a,b, 30

Now what is a yoke?

Yoke: heavy wooden bar, placed on an animal…

Before Christ you were yoked to the things of the world, or even religious things, or morality...  You were yoked to the burden of legalism, or your sinful flesh.  You were enslaved to them.

And the result = life was toilsome, burdensome, brokenness, and destruction, and would eventually lead to spiritual death

But when you come to Christ, you now put His yoke upon you.  He doesn’t just set you free and then let you do what you want.  He binds you to himself. 

This is why Paul and other biblical writers identify themselves as slaves or bondservants of Christ Jesus. 

But his yoke is a yoke of grace and mercy

And the result of the yoke of Christ is rest for your soul.

ILLUS: BURDEN of a life preserver 

This burden saves your life and brings you to rest. BUT it’s a rest that doesn’t leave you in inaction. 

No, being in the rest of Christ now empowers you…!

It gives you new motivations and desires to live for Christ!

ILLUS: Texting with a deacon from one of my previous churches:

Legalism vs. Obedience

Here’s what that deacon said said (and I told him I’d steal this):

“The line between legalism and obedience is attached to the heart. Oftentimes they each include the same actions, the only difference is our motivation.”

Notice what Jesus calls these people to do:

Take my yoke and learn from me

Growth and maturity…

But these things are easy and light

Why?  Because you are not doing them to earn righteousness…, you are now ABLE to do them because Jesus gives you the ability and the desire…

Jesus will empower you for what he calls you to do, and in him it is now your JOY to follow Christ and obey him because he saved your life!

Application

· As I conclude, and seek to apply this, I think there are 2 kinds of people (Christians) in this room. 

Christians prone towards legalism…

What does this look like?

Check-box Christianity…

“God is not going to be happy with me unless…”

You need to remember: God’s pleasure =/= what you have done…

Christians prone towards antinomianism…

Jesus did everything so I can now live how I want…

In some ways they are still enslaved to their flesh…

Paul’s epistles: first half… second half…

If that’s you, you need to remember two truths:

Jesus has saved you to be like him…

AND he has empowered you to defeat sin…

In some ways, both of these people… are living lives enslaved to things from which Jesus has set them free… 

> laboring and heavy laden…

“Some in this place are panting for rest.  In this great city there must be much trouble, sorrow, unrest, misery, and distraction.  When I look on this congregation, I know that I could not bear to hear the talk of sorrow that would be unfolded if each man were to tell his inward anguish.  We look cheerful, but many a cheerful face covers a sad heart.  The weight of human misery is enough to make the axles of the earth to break.  Oh, what a blessing it is that there is One who can lift us up—who can make the poorest to be better than if he were rich, and the sad to be happier than the merry, and the afflicted to be more blest than the prosperous.  Jesus is here in our midst with hands loaded with mercy.  May He prove His presence among us by giving rest to all those who came in here labouring and laden.” - Charles Spurgeon

Prayer

Time of Response