Matthew 11:25-30

Intro

Hey Y’all how are you doing? Everybody good? This weather is nasty today, good nap taking weather. Anyone like to take naps on rainy days? Big fan.

So a couple weeks ago I was playing Golf with my friend & cousin, well is LL cousin, but we are good buddies. Anyways, he is also a Pastor in the Methodist church, not across the street but in Alabama. While we are playing golf, we are talking about ministry and everything that goes in to it, we were both just talking about the weight of ministry, and he was feeling bogged down by it. I felt that. Don’t get me wrong I love everything about what God has allowed me to do, I love that I get to be with you, I get be in your lives and you in our lives. But I will say, for every fun cool thing we get todo, all of the good moments of growth we get to see in y’alls lives, we also see the brokenness, that some of you guys are going through things that when were growing up were not a thought for a high schooler and middle schooler. We love what we do, it can be a heavy thing. Its a good weighty heavy thing. We love what we do, and we will continue to wade in to life’s problems with you.

My friend as he was talking was explaining how sometimes he wishes he could just move off to a monastery and just live a quiet life of prayer, and not worry about the heaviness that comes with ministry. He wasn’t being 100% percent seriousness but I could feel the weight in what he was talking about. He was bogged down by the busyness of ministry, the pressure to do all of the things at all of the times. be here, be there, do this, do that, have this, have that. Church down the street is doing something, we need to do that as well. It is easy to get caught up in the mindset that if we don’t have a specific thing geared for everything specific thing, another church is going to take people, people may not stay, people may not see any relevance to what we are doing. We can take this organism that is the church and treat is as an organization who just does things to do things. Not as a living breathing organism. I could feel the weight in how he was talking.

Now I don’t think the solution is to just back away form the world and not doing things. I don’t think we should all become monks and just sit in silence while the world burns. I don’t think that was my friends solution either. But I do think he was on to something, i think he was on to something that scripture speaks to. This rhythm of rest and grace, this rhythm of rejuvenation that can only be found in Christ. This pace of life centered around prayer.

So as we look through this text what I want us to see this the rhythm of grace through rest, that rest is a way Christ shows grace on our lives.

That is where I want our heads to be, as we look through this -- think about how do you find rest. We love to fill every moment of our lives with something, we, me you, all of us do not like silence or stillness. We are in constant need of some sort of stimulation. So think about it, while we read through this and talk about it, how do we find rest?

Context

So let’s get in to it, we are going to be in Matthew 11:25-30,

I know we have been in Luke for most of this study about the life of Christ but we need to see this passage about the heart of Christ here in Matthew.

In all of christ’s teaching all of his sermons, all of his debates and conversations, this is only passage where he reveals his heart. Who He is at his core.

So let Matthew 11:25-30 let me give you some context as to what is going on here

Also does anyone need a bible? If you need a bible go ahead and throw a hand up. Anyone need one? Cool. Matthew 11:25-30, let me give you some background.

Jesus is going around teaching and preaching, He is still in that phase of His ministry. He is teaching and preaching and healing people where ever he goes. He is calling people to repentance, He is calling people to be his messengers.

Jesus is setting the pace for his ministry. Doing all the things that are necessary in ministry, preaching, teaching, feeding, caring for the sick, looking out for the least of these, showing people the way to the Father, through Him.

Jesus is telling people that The Kingdom of God is at Hand. The Kingdom is coming, there is an urgency to His preaching. He is preaching to anyone who would listen. Jesus has quite a following, he also is making some enemies, The Pharisees are not fans, they are plotting to kill him. Jesus is saying he can forgive sins and this has made the religious class, the smart class, the high class people angry. They are mad at Him.

and that is where we get this passage, that is what is going on in Jesus’ life at the moment, and this is the scene that Jesus speaks this in to.

This passage is part prayer and part teaching, so we need to look at it in that light. So that is where we are at

So Matthew 11:25-30, y’all pray with me for our time in the word before we read this. Pray with me.

Matthew 11:25–30 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; 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.”

The Gospel is simple

Alright, so what we see here is a prayer, we see Jesus praying to His father. he starts by saying “I thank you Father, Lord of heaven and earth” Jesus is giving God the Father his due glory, and what is he thanking The Father for?

He is thanking Him that he had hidden these things from the wise and understanding, and revealed these things to little children. and that that was the Will of the Father.

So what is that about? Why is Jesus glad about that?

Have you ever met someone who was too smart for their own good? Like someone who had a ton of knowledge but didn’t know what to do with it? They’ll make things harder than they have to be. I had a buddy in seminary who was unbelievable smart, probably one of the smartest people I’ve ever known, but if something was too simple he couldn’t wrap his head around it, we would be playing a game and he would just try to make it too complicated. You ever met someone like that?

For me it is probably math, I just am not great at math, that is not my jam. It is probably not that hard, i’ll just over think things and then i’ve messed up.

That is the Pharisees in this, they had all of this understanding, they knew everything about the law, they were considered the wise. they just didn’t get it, they had missed it, and were angry at how, Jesus was saying he is the way, that Jesus could forgive sins, they were the ones who made sacrafices, they were the ones who were in control of who was able to come to God

Jesus is saying Thank you father, for making this simple. You have made this to where children can understand this.

So what do we do? This is telling us that the Gospel is simple. if you’re writing things down, write that down. The Gospel is simple. You do not have to be a crazy smart person to understand what the Gospel is. Jesus is saying that is the fathers will that he was to come and save those who are lost, those who know they are lost. The Pharisees wouldn’t know what Lost was, christ is available to them, but they are not seeking Him.

The Gospel is simple. and this means a few things, and it also doesn’t mean a few things.

What it doesn’t mean is that Christianity is anti-intellectual, that Christianity is not for smart people.

See, Christianity has a rich history or intellectualism, some of the greatest philosophers, scientist, what ever have been Christians. Issac Newton looked for order in the universe because he knew there was an order giver.

I saw this week on twitter that this verse was used to say that Christianity does not care about philosophy, or intelligence, that Christianity is anti-intellectual. that could not be farthest from the truth. Christianity has a robust history of answering hard questions. So if someone ever tells you that Christianity doesn’t care about being smart, know that is not true. It does mean that it being smart is not a prerequisite for being a christian.

What is does mean is,

The Gospel sounds simple because it is simple. Who was here Sunday?

Pastor Randy Sunday summed up the Gospel in 3 sentences. Anyone remember?

Jesus came to save and to seek the lost,

Jesus died on a cross and rose from the grave so that anyone who calls on the name of Jesus will be saved

Jesus will make all things new.

If that is too much for you, you can sum it up like this,

God is Holy, You are not and need a savior, Jesus is that savior and fixes the relationship.

17 words, thats the Gospel.

So this is what Jesus is saying — i have come to save and to seek the Lost, thank you Father for letting me do this.

Thank you God for being accessible to anyone.

God’s plan was for people to know God, the knowledge of God never stops, you can never learn enough about God. The Gospel is for everyone, the gospel is simple and endless.

We can rest in the fact that The Gospel is simple, the Christ is the one doing the heavy lifting.

Jesus is there to all who wish to find Him

So let’s keep going let’s look at this next part here, Jesus shifts tone here and begins to show us more about Himself, we see a little bit of Christ’s full glory in this. verse 27 jesus says, Matt 11:27

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.

Jesus is saying I have all power, all authority, over all things. The Father has handed these over to the Son. The echos what John is talking about in his gospel at the very beginning, You don’t have to flip over there but I want to read it John 1:1-3

John 1:1–3 ESV

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.

Jesus is saying The Kingdom of God is at hand, the Son is coming to restore all things.

Then jesus says he reveals himself to who he chooses.

Now this is something. This sounds like controversy, this sounds like we don’t have a choice in the matter. What do we do with this?

What is jesus saying here?

So, It could mean that Jesus picks and chooses who he wants to save, it could mean that.

Is that what jesus is telling the people who are hearing him?

I don’t think that is his main point.

now do I think Jesus is in control of all things, absolutely, I Christ the one who saves, and is Christ the author of salvation, the one who causes salvation to happen, absolutely.

Is how we understand how we are saved that cut and dry, where predestination reigns supreme? It could be but I think there is some mystery there,

I don’t think we are going to fully understand how salvation works out, as far as human responsibility and God’s sovereignty are concerned.

Jesus in this passage is not worried about that, and neither should we be, Christ in the next sentence says Come to me all, all, everyone. All of y’all.

Jesus is there to all who wish to find Him. if you are writing things down, write that down, Jesus is there to all who wish to find Him. He is there because he has come to seek and to save the Lost. If you are genuinely looking for Christ, Christ will be right there, because he is there. Christ is the one who is there.

Seeking after Jesus is like playing hide and seek but you are both looking for each other. You are going to find Him, and sometime even if you aren’t looking for Him, he’s looking for you.

Jesus reveals Himself to who he chooses, and all who seek Him will find Him.

Jesus is saying that there is only one way to the Father, that is through Himself. You cannot know the father without knowing the son.

Come next to Christ and Be in His presence

So let’s keeping going, we are almost done. Let’s look at this last bit here, this is one of the more famous verses in the bible. Matthew 11:28-30

Matthew 11:28–30 ESV

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.”

This is where we really get to see in to Jesus’s heart, where we really get to see who Jesus is. In all of scripture, this is where Jesus actually tells us what his heart is like.

i love how Eugene Peterson put this in the message translation.

“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”

So Jesus here, is telling the people that he has not come to put another law on them,

The Law is weighty, the Law will crush you, legalism will weigh you down. Christ says he has come to give rest, forget the weight of the law, I have come to ease your burdens.

We see Jesus say, come to me, all who are heavy burdened.

Jesus takes out class, status, morality, all barriers, your only requirement to come to Jesus is that you are heavy burdened, that you are worn down by this world.

Come to me all.

— The way in this world is my way, the way in this world is Gentleness and Humility.

This is who Christ is, he is standing there as the most understanding person. What ever sins you have, what ever addictions you migh be dealing with, what ever background you come from, what ever you think you might have done to disqualify you from the grace of God, is what qualifies you, that you have baggage, and burdens, that you are weighed down by this world.

Christ is saying come sit next to me, come be in my presence, come learn from me. Come sit down, stay awhile, rest. See that I am all you need.

Christ knows what we need more than we do, we need rest. We need Him, we need to rest in Him.

How does the Gospel shape us? Invitation to worship

So we need to ask the question, how does the Gospel shape us? How does this text shape us in light of the Gospel?

First, we need to find rest. Christ knows that we need rest, Christ knows more than anything that we need him.

This world is broken, we know that, if you don’t know that, look around the world, look at whats going on here, look at the situation Ukraine, didn’t have land war in Europe on my 2022 bingo card. No one can get along in anything. I’m dreading election season just because it brings the brokenness front and center.

Not only is this world broken, we are also fallen creatures, we do not have everything together. This world will crush us if we let.

Our flesh wants us to do everything at all times. Christ is saying slow down, come next to me, find rest.

Christ knows our souls need rest. We need rest in Christ. Rest that only Christ can give us.

So remember my friend from the beginning, he wanted to get away, just live a life of solitude of prayer. I don’t think that is the solution but that is a starting point.

This passage is telling us that we need to be in the presence of Christ. we need to find the rest that only Christ can give. We want to do all of the things at all of the times, but we cannot, we will get worn down and broken if we do not try to rest. We need to have the rejuvenation that only comes from being in the presence of Christ.

The reason why is, we are better people when we have been in the presence of Christ, you are a better classmate, teammate, employee, you are a better picture of Christ when you have been in the presence.

Our lives need look like we know Christ. We need to live lives marked by the glow of Christ. That is how you can be in this world and not give in to its brokenness.

One of my favorite preachers use the phrase “our lives need to have the aroma of heaven”

how many of y’all like Waffle House? I love waffle house, but what happens when you go to waffle house? you smell like waffle house, LL won’t go eat waffle house with me if she has anywhere else to be that day, because she doesn’t want to smell like waffle house. That smell just gets on you, nothing you can do about it, and then the rest of the day, everyone knows you’ve been to waffle house.

Same thing with Christ, once you’ve been in the presence you look, smell, act like you’ve been there. You are marked by Christ.

So what do we do with this? Whats the point?

The point of this is that this world is broken, we are broken and need rest.

If you are a follower of Christ, this text is calling you to slow down, take inventory of how your life is ordered right now, do you have a spot where you spend time in the presence of Christ. Is there a time where you are finding rest for your soul? Have you laid your burdens down to him? If you are a follower of Christ, slow down. We are all guilty of it, find rest, make it a point to see Christ, let him be who you rest in.

IF you are not a follower of Christ or you don’t know what you believe, this passage is for you to, come lay your burdens down for the last time, Christ is calling, Christ is saying come to me. Christ wants to give you rest. Follow Him. If you have any questions come talk to me, i’ll be right over there, talk to an adult, talk to a friend, talk to someone. Come see Christ as Lord, come see Christ as King.

Y’all pray with me.