The Desire of God: "Gentle and Lowly" Matt 11:25-30, Ex. 33:19

Intro:

So, last week y’all were scared that I was going to clamp those hand cuffs on myself by accident. Show of hands, who was thinking that every time I put them on my wrists? I can’t pass this up, what a good picture of the danger of picking up old sinful patterns.

Another way of thinking about being a slave to righteousness is the picture not of being bound to someone’s are with handcuffs, but rather, being joined with someone to do the three legged race.

Book, Gentle and Lowly

Today we will be looking at the Hear of God as revealed throug His Son.

Outline:

God’s Will: “Gracious” (vs. 25-26)

Chosen Revelation: “Knowing God” (v. 27)

Rest: “Gentle and Lowly” (vs. 28-30)

Summary: God’s good pleasure is to provide another way to shoulder life’s burdens that will give you rest

Prayer:

God’s Will: “Good Pleasure” (vs. 25-26)

Hidden (vs. 25)

At that time- Context, Jesus has just cleared up expectations from John’s disciples and denounced those cities that have rejected Him, that were unrepentant (even in light of all of the “mighty works” that were done). Now He is going to turn and speak of those that will declare their need for Him, repent, and find rest. After this, we will deal with the weight of the pharisees expectations on the people in following the law.

Jesus declared,- he responds to what has been talked about

“I thank you, - Jesus prays

Father,

Lord of heaven and earth,

that you have hidden these things from- knowledge about Jesus as the Son of God, the one who “is to come”(The blind see, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, deaf hear, and the dead are raised, poor have good news preached to them). The mighty works that attribute Jesus as the Messiah.

the wise

and understanding and -Those that do not see a need for dependance on God. The gospel is not for the laudy dau pie in the sky people, that are the only ones intellectualy able to understand it. No.

Revealed (vs. 25-26)

revealed them to little children; Those that acknowledge their dependance on God. Only a chosen few. This section has been discussed and argued for years. It begins the Calvanist and Arminain debate.

yes,

Father,

for such was your gracious will- “good pleasure”, Eph 1:5 “he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,” -His desire!

Application/Implications:

It is God’s desire, his good pleasure, to make the gospel accessable to even the children in our midst. But that doesn’t mean that everyone will accept it. Who else does that? What other club, orgainization, academic institution, etc. does that?

God is not stingy with His gracious gift, His Son, it pleased Him to send him and reveal redemption to His creation. Sometimes we can think, “God is holding out on me, why are you not showing me your will, this would be so much easier if God would just reveal what He wants me to do”. but there is a key first step- Humility. God does not reveal himself to the arrogant, self-sufficient, all-knowing individual that think they are capable of doing life on their own.

Jesus prayer here is pretty short. You don’t need to have long prayers all the time. When was the last time you prayed and thanked God for revealing His good pleasure to you?

Humility is the gateway to understanding God. If you heart is hardened and you do not see your need for God then you will never come to know Him or His good pleasure.

Transitional phrase: If we do not see God’s desires as being good than it will be very difficult to see Him and know Him for who he really is. God is accessible for those that are humble. God can be known by those who recognize their need.

Chosen Revelation: “Knowing God” (v. 27)

Giving (v. 27a)

All things- in the context of the knowledge of God’s plan of redemption

have been handed over to me- authority

By my father-Giving, unselfish, “My”, not “the” Father.

Knowing (v. 27b)

No one

knows the Son- “There were many in the first century who held that the essential being of God is quite unknown; he dwells in unapproachable mystery.” Knowing is experiential knowledge, an intimate relationship. Not merely an intellectual acumulation of facts.

“The” Son- not just a son, this is “The Son of God”. The Jews rejected this. Even the disciples struggled to understand this fully until Peter makes the great proclaimation which Jesus follows up by saying “flesh and blood had not revealed that to you but my father”.

Leon Morris, The Gospel according to Matthew, The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI; Leicester, England: W.B. Eerdmans; Inter-Varsity Press, 1992), 294.

except the Father- God the Father was the only one with the intimate understanding of who Jesus really is.

No one

knows the Father- You might be thinking, “What about all the study that the Jews did, certainly they had some knowledge of who God was”.

except the Son- to know one is to know the other. They know each other in the fullest sense. There is no one that understands them better.

It is possible to know Jesus and it is possible to know the Father, but you cannot know one with out the other.

And anyone

to whome the son chooses- wish, want

to reveal him- “revealed” is the same root as before. You will not get a better look at Father than you will through the Son. You will not get a better look at the revelation of God unless you are in relationship with Jesus.

Application/Implications:

What do you know about Jesus today? What do you know about the Father? Is your answer sound more like a wikipedia article or the testimony of a close friend?

Maybe you are listening today and you do not know Jesus or the Father this way. Humble youself, ask Him to reveal himself to you and expose your need for him.

Who knows you the best out of anyone on this earth? Would you trust that person to give you an accurate version of who you are to someone that doesn’t know you? Have you seen the shoe game at a wedding reception? You know, how well does the bride and groom know each other? you think you know the person you are marrying in that moment pretty well. But in reality, you will know them way better by year 5-10-20-40… Now take that and think, Jesus has spent eternity past with God the Father, I think He knows Him better than we ever will and we can trust what He tells us about the Father.

Transitional phrase: In order to understand who God is, how He has reavealed himself, you need to know the Son. You need to start with what God has given through the revelation of his son and His word.

Rest: “Gentle and Lowly” (vs. 28-30)

Come and Rest (v. 28)

Come to me-adverb, interjection, not a command. Not, “You better come to me or else!” This invitation is only recorded in Matthew. Access to the Father only comes through Jesus! He doesn’t say come to religion, come to baptism, come to church, come to the sacriments, come to moralistic behaviour, come to self-sacrifice, come to poverty, etc. NO! The invitation is to come to a person- JESUS!!!

All- check your footnotes, are there any exceptions? Any alternate translations? No! “All” really means “all”. The invitation is universal, no one is left out. “The distinction between the two categories of individuals is therefore not intellectual but volitional”. Coming to Jesus is not just an act of the intellect, it is an act of the will

Craig Blomberg, Matthew, vol. 22, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1992), 194. This is an open invitation with some conditions:

who labour (speaking of need not work)- “To exhaust or get tired through overuse or great strain or stress”. Those who are continually weary and in need

and are heavy laden- “to fill or place a load on”.

Where do these come from? In the context, the exhaustion of trying to understand God without a relationship with Jesus! Those that are trying to live life and find their purpose through self effort and not the revelation of Jesus! Those that are trying to get access to the father without the son.

and I will give you- there is a transaction here: come with your labour and heavy laden burdens and I will take them and give you something in return

rest- “To cause someone to take a break from their ativities in order to be refreshed”- revive, rest, reamin quiet. “The verb seems not to imply the rest that is the complete cessation from labor, which is made clear when Jesus goes on to speak of his “yoke,” of learning, and of his “burden.” The rest in mind is the rest that enables the worker to go back to the task with renewed vigor.

Leon Morris, The Gospel according to Matthew, The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI; Leicester, England: W.B. Eerdmans; Inter-Varsity Press, 1992), 295.

Take and Learn (v. 29)

Take my yoke upon you- this is an imperative, a command. “Yoke”- Stable-gear that joins two draft animals at the neck so they can work together as a team. There is an animal yoke and a human yoke. The animal yoke is used to put two animals beside each other to work. The human yoke used in Jewish teaching was focused on the willing acceptance of an aid to carrying. A yoke implies obedience. Jeremiah was instructed to wear a yoke to symbolize bine und the yoke of the king of Babylon and encouraged the children of Israel to do the same lest they be punished with famine, sword, and pestilence (Jer. 27).

Could be the yoke of social or political oppression (Gen. 27:40; Ex. 6:6-7; 1 Kgs. 12:4-14)

Could be the yoke of heavy burdens and unreasonable demands of the scribes (23:4).

Could also encompass unreasonable legal demands (Acts. 15:10) and life’s difficulties.

We don’t really think of this much today, but what about being yoked together with someone to run the 3 legged race?

and learn from me- another imperative, a command. “Learn” to gain knowledge or skills. to learn is to become a disciple.

for I am

gentle- meek, humble like the word used to describe his entry into Jerusalem, Matt 5:5 ““Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.”

and lowly- humble, modesty, not arrogant or prideful

in heart- the essence of who He is.

and you will find

rest for your souls

Easy and Light (v. 30)

For my yoke

is easy

and my burden

is light- “Jesus did not escape the hard life, but he could experience rest and refreshment in its midst. Christians are not promised freedom from illness or calamity, but they may experience God’s sustaining grace so that they are not crushed or driven to despair (2 Cor 4:8–9).”

Craig Blomberg, Matthew, vol. 22, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1992), 194.

Application/Implications:

What are you labouring exhaustively towards these days? Is it trying to learn a new skill, trying to understand your children or loved one? Someone’s acceptance or approval?

What is holding you back from coming to Jesus and growing in your understanding of who God is and the desires He has for your life? Jesus wants us to learn something from this passage, the yoke of life is meant to be burdensome, it is meant to crush you, it is meant to drive you to dispaire, it is too heavy to carry, etc. Why? Because you need the work the Saviour!

we are all slaves to something or someone, we all carry burdens, we all present ourselves as obedient slaves to something in this life.

Summary: God’s good pleasure is to provide another way to shoulder life’s burdens that will give you rest

Discussion questions

Worship- Renew the Mind (Scripture)

1. What passage of Scripture did we look at? Summarize it in your own words.

2. What does Jesus prayer about in verse 25-26?

3. According to verse 27, how are the Father and the Son known?

4. What is Jesus’ invitation in verses 28-30?

Grow- Engage the Heart (Conversation)

1. Do you believe that God is stingy or holding out on you? How might this come accross in your daily life? In what ways does this text challenge that thought?

2. In what ways has your knowledge of the Son and the Father become more like a Wikipedia article and less like a relationship? In other words, on a scale of 1-10 (10 being amazing!), how is your relationship with Jesus going this week?

3. What are you taking from Jesus that is making the burden lighter? What are you learning about Jesus’ gentle and lowly heart this week?

Serve- Enlist the Body (Action)

Write out a prayer of humility to Jesus thanking Him for for revealing his good pleasure to you. Come prepared to share your prayer.

Write out the top 5 descriptions that you believe about God. Write out the top 5 descriptions of Jesus. In what ways are they similar/different? Which description surprised you the most?

How can you help someone else this week with the contents of their “backpack” of life?