Invitation to the Messiah (Part 2)
Notes
Transcript
/// Cornerstone Church Creed
The Bible is the Word of God.
The truth of the Bible will change my life.
Lord open my heart and awaken my mind and give me grace to respond.
Change me for your glory and my joy. Amen.
*This morning we are going to finish Chapter 11 in Matthew’s Gospel.
*from the beginning of Chapter 11 Jesus has been dealing with negative responses to Him and his teachings about the Kingdom of God
*first there was a negative response of doubt seen through the question from John the Baptist, which Jesus answered.
*then the was the negative responses of criticism and indifference.
criticism from the Jews in that they did not accept John or Jesus. They called John a demon and Jesus a glutton and drunkard. Both of them were bringing the same message, but they disliked them and criticized them differently.
ii. Then there was the negative response of indifference. People in Chorazin, Bethsaida and
even Capernaum (Jesus’ home base), saw all of the miracles, heard all the proclamations
and teachings, but just didn’t care. They were indifferent.
But last week we saw that as Jesus then moves into verses 25-30, even in the midst of doubt and unbelief, he offers an invitation.
And while there is only one invitation given by Jesus in the New Testament, he offers it in many different forms:
Jesus’ Invitations
John 1:39: “Come and see”
John 7:37 “Come and drink”
John 21:12 “Come and dine”
Mark 10:21 “Come take up your cross and follow me”
Revelation 3:20 (ESV)
20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.
It is an invitation into the Kingdom of God. and this word “eat” or “sup” in the KJV points to the last meal in the evening before the new days begins. So in the last chapter of the Bible, the end is very near and he is calling men to come unto him before it is too late. Because the night is eternal, darkness, seperation from God, but morning brings a newness of life forever with the Father. So he knocks, waits for an open door, open heart, and then extends an invitation for salvation....rest.
But there is another invitation I want you to see in Luke 14. So turn there…
15 When one of those who reclined at table with him heard these things, he said to him, “Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!”
So Jesus is about to give them a parable.
16 But he said to him, “A man once gave a great banquet and invited many. 17 And at the time for the banquet he sent his servant to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’
So this many is giving a very big meal and invites everyone he knows to come to the feast. And apparently everyone agreed to come, so when it was ready they were told to come. But look what happened....
18 But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it. Please have me excused.’ 19 And another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to examine them. Please have me excused.’ 20 And another said, ‘I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.’
They said they would come, they were just waiting for the word that everything was ready....then… they made excuses.
This was the condition of the Jews in that day. They had looked for a Messiah, the were waiting, the were eager to see him, welcome him, but when he was right there… they refused to Come.
But the parable doesn't end there.
21 So the servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house became angry and said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in the poor and crippled and blind and lame.’
So what is this saying to us? Remember the...
Matthew 11:25 (ESV)
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;
…he had hidden these things. But who did he reveal them to? little children.
Look here at Luke 14, who did he allow to come to his feast?
Luke 14:21 (ESV)
21 So the servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house became angry and said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in the poor and crippled and blind and lame.’
Jesus came first for his chosen people: The Israelites or the Jews, but they were not ready, so turned t the outcasts, the hurting people, the humble…and they came.
So lets goo back to Matthew 11. In Revelation Jesus said I want to come in and fellowship with you. In Luke 14 Jesus says come there is a feast for you… but usually the people who truly respond to the invitation of Christ for salvation are those who are hurting. Those who understand that life is meaningless because they don’t have them as their Savior. They simply cannot live the life they have because it is empty, and they need to something or someone to fill it. There is an old Christian song that goes like this… “There a God-shaped whole in my heart that can only be filled by you.”
People who come to God in repentance, faith, and belief that he is God and what the Bible says about him is true, will begin a life with that hole filled because God has know entered their life.
So the key verse to this section that we mentioned last week is verse 28:
28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
And last week we saw that the Jewish understanding of rest, was salvation (Hebrews 3)
So as we ended last week with the words of Jesus thanking god for hiding something from the wise and understanding, not because they are smart, but because they are too smart. They think they know it all, and in their own intelligence some smart people will not grasp onto something that they can not touch or see. So he gives the example of little children or babes who are dependent on someone else. They are humble. They cant do it themselves, so they show humilty, and not pride.
Humility was the first essential element for one who would accept an invitation for rest.
Now before We start in verse 28, there are two things from last weeks message that I missed.
In the Scripture from Revelation 22:17 last week
Revelation 22:17 (ESV)
17 The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.
I said that the bride is Jesus, but that was not true…the bride is the church.
2. I didn’t finish verse 26 here is Matthew 11:
26 yes, Father, for such was your gracious will.
In verse 26 Jesus points back to verse 25 and say yes, it is you will that you have hidden these things from the intelligent but not the children (or another way to say to say it would be that it is his will to hide these things from the proud, but not the humble.
So the first element of the invitation is humility. The second one is revelation. revelation.
Humility
Revelation
->>>now don’t think that I am talking about the book of Revelation, the last book of the Bible. the word revelation means to unveil, to reveal. Now keep that in mind as we take about revelation.
So now lets move to verse 27.
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.
Now there is a lot of things going on here, and we can easily get confused, so lets that this verse little by little....
First look at the way it begins...
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.
Two things are shown here.
1. This is a statement of his deity....he is God. ...”handed over to me by my Father...”
Jesus is God. And if anyone would deny that Jesus is God he will not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. John 10 he said “I am the Father are one.”
2. Jesus has been given complete authority.
In Matthew 28:18 Jesus said that “all authority is given unto me in heaven and earth.” Authority over everything! Satan, sickness, sin, life, righteousness, the body, the soul, death....everything. He has all authority.
Then he says...
Matthew 11:27 (ESV)
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.
Now if the Son is God, then no one can truly know the Father because only God can know God. Think about that, we cannot truly know God. Our human brains cannot fully understand the complexity of God. But Jesus is saying because I am God, I truly know the Father.
And this was a slap in the face of the religious Pharisees of that day… they talked and were proud because they said they knew God, but Jesus said only the Father knows me. Then he says...
Matthew 11:27 (ESV)
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.
No one knows the Father except the Son. So what is all of this saying. What is only known between the Father and the Son?
He is saying that all of the knowledge of divine truth and understanding of the gospel is bound up in them. No man could ever truly understand that he is in need of that truth unless what...
Matthew 11:27 (ESV)
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.
So here are all of these Jewish people who had awaited the Messiah, looking for him, constantly, but they would not open their minds and allow the Son to reveal to them the truth.
So the invitation must fall on one who has humility first, then is open to a revealing of himself (revelation).
Humility
Revelation
Repentance
Look at verse 28.
28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
There are so many people who believe that they have to do this or do that to obtain God’s favor. And it they do these things, God will accept them into heaven. That’s what the Jewish people were doing. The Pharisees had put so many rules and restrictions on them that they could not keep up. They were loaded down with doing things hoping to be accepted by God. They were burdened, pushed down, carrying large amounts of guilt, and Jesus says, that’s not what I want! Jesus says…give me your heart. That’s it....give me your heart. Because when you give him your heart, everything else will happen. You will do good works for him, but not so that he will accept you, but because you want live for him.
So when Jesus says “Come to me” you will turn away from your sin, and the things that bring you down. To repent means to turn away and go the other direction. His invitation is to turn to him…repent…and live.
The path to salvation, rest, and accepting an invitation goes through repentance. If you don’t turn away from your old life and turn to God, there is no change…there is no rest, no salvation.
Just like those people in Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Caperneum, they did not repent and he said to them....WOE…destruction.
Humility
Revelation
Repentance
Faith
28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Jesus says… “Come to Me” Faith tells us where we turn and who we turn to.
Paul in Act 20 tells the Ephesian Elders where we should place our faith:
Acts 20:18–21 (ESV)
18 And when they came to him, he said to them: “You yourselves know how I lived among you the whole time from the first day that I set foot in Asia, 19 serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials that happened to me through the plots of the Jews; 20 how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you in public and from house to house, 21 testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.
Faith is not repeating something over and over. It is not just going to church. Faith is not a preacher or pastor. It is not a set of rules and rituals. The object of our faith is in Jesus Christ.
He says come unto me. What does that mean? BELIEVE IN ME. We talked about that last week....come and believe go together.
In Acts 10 it says...
Acts 10:43 (ESV)
43 To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”
John 3:16 (ESV)
16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
The invitation goes out to someone with humility comes before Christ, then Christ reveals himself, then that person sees their sin, turns from it to Christ and puts their faith in him and believes. Is that it? Is that all there is to the invitation and the acceptance of the invitation? No. You see many people stop there but there there is one more essential element to the invitation.
Humility
Revelation
Repentance
Faith
Submission
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.”
Look at verse 29...”Take my yoke upon you.” What does that mean. The yoke was a device that was used for cows in preparing the fields for cultivation.
When these cows are put together with a yoke for cultivation, one doesn’t walk over here without the other. They must both move in the same direction…they must submit there own wants and will to the other. And Jesus is saying when you submit to me, you need to take this yoke upon yourself. But when we submit to this yoke, it isn’t like what the Pharisees expected the Jews to do.
The Pharisee placed a yoke of oppression on the Jews people and it was so much that they could not handle it. But Jesus doesn’t place his yoke upon us, he invites us to take his yoke upon ourselves. To fully submit. Not just in a moment of prayer because you don’t want to miss heaven. But a submission that shows he is the author and sustainer of your life.
Because look what he says about this yoke....learn from me, for I am gentile and lowly in heart, and you will find>>>>rest>>>> for your souls.
Couple of things:
Learn from me: be one of my disciples
For I am gentle and lowly in heart: he will not oppress you, he will not give you something you can’t carry
This is complete opposite of works based salvation. If you believe you can make to heaven because of your good deeds, your good works, I need to tell you something, you will never see heaven. But that’s ok, because when we submit to Christ, giving him everything that we are, taking his yoke which is light and easy, then, and only then will we fully accept an invitation and find rest.
Will you bow your heads?