The Great Reward

For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him. He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken. On God rests my salvation and my glory; my mighty rock, my refuge is God. Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us. Selah

COMMUNION:

As we move on to our time of communion, I would like to share a thought I was reading the other day about what we call the sacraments. Just so we are clear there are two things that The Lord Jesus has given to the church that we are to do that we call sacraments. those tow are Baptism and The Lord’s Supper. Baptism, just so you know was given to the church most explicity in a text that we have read every week for the past 32 Sundays, Matthew 28:19

Matthew 28:19 ESV

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

Communion there are a few places we could go, one we will read later, the text we go to every communion Sunday in 1 Corinthians 11, but also in Luke 22:19

Luke 22:19 ESV

And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”

So what these to have in common is that they are both instituted by Jesus, but there are some important differences. Baptism is a once for the rest of your life sort of thing whereas communion we repeat over and over again for the nourishment of our souls. The question that I would like to ask is WHY? While there are a few good answers we could give, here’s the point I read, and what I would like to share. It is because these sacraments are sacraments of a different type of Love.

Baptism is, in some sense, a sacrament of Our Love towards God. Shortly this is why we believe in Believers baptism. But baptism is a declaration that, as the song Goes, i have decided to follow Jesus. While it is true that God uses it to strengthen us, yes, The power of Baptism originates not in me, but in God, the proclamation is of my love for the triune God in whose name we are baptized, The father, the son and the Holy Spirt.

Communion, on the other hand is a sacrament of God’s love. In seeing the body and blood of Christ we see the great love that God had for s. We see the fullness of God’s love that those the father calls the son saves and the Sprit seals. Thus the sacrament communicates God’s love. Communion shows us the great love that causes the father to send his only son. the son to willingly offer himself and the spirit to teach our heart these things. The love starts at God here and comes down to us.

Which lead me to some contemplating on why we need one once and one over and over again. and this is because, as we have talked about for the last two sermons, our love is fickle, it wanes, we struggle with doubt, we are imperfect. God’s love, on the other hand, is constant, and always available. Whereas even my love must be sanctified and made better, for I am so fallen and miserable that I cannot seem to love God the way I should, his love is, in a real sense, that thing by which we move and have our being, it sustains us. It is by his grace and love that we are hear today, it is only thorough his grace and love that we will be here tomorrow. So we need communion over and over again, because we need God’s love at all times and in everything.

So today as we prepare our hearts for communion, I would like to encourage you, relish the greatness of God’s love that we celebrate here as we come to the table. his body was broken that we may find healing, he has been good to us. The cup in the new covenant in his blood, by which we are washed clean, all our sins are removed from us and we now walk in the righteousness of christ!

SO before we even pass the elements out, we are going to start with a time of prayer and reflection, repentance and even worship. Paul, in first Corinthians warns the Corinthian church that

1 Corinthians 11:27 ESV

Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord.

So what is a worthy manner, it is humble admission that we need him, it is peace with one another (See Matthew 5) it is peace with God. It is remembering that as 1 John says: .

1 John 1:9 ESV

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

SO lets begin with a time of silent prayer, repentance and reflection.

FINISH COMMUNION!

Sermon

Good Morning Church! I was glad when they said to me let us go and worship in the house of the Lord.

Well I need to begin by going back to last week. And I need to apologize. When I was a youth pastor I used to tell my kids, if I say something wrong, The proudest day of my life will be when you correct me. Well last week that was put to the test. Over the course of One point dealing with Sodom I said two regrettable things. And I would like to credit Zach and Dali for letting me know. One, I said that Lot bargained with God, that was just a brain fog said the wrong name, just so you know it was Abraham. the other one is in my opinion worse. I said that the argument went 10,5,1 but it didn’t. It went 50, 45, 40, 30, 20, 10. While my point does not change (the point was, if you are a city you REALLY don’t want to be compared to Sodom) i was wrong.

Why would I say that misspeaking some numbers is worse than saying the wrong name? It is because I know my heart. You know how long it takes me when writing a sermon to check a cross reference? Max 10 seconds. I write my sermons in my bible software and so it would involve a click a typing of genesis 18 and enter. But i decided that I would not just double check the story of Sodom and Gomorrah because, I know that one. And so in doing so did not just do something I endeavor to never do, which is what David Helm calls “going above the line of Scripture” but worse: I invented a whole new line.

But with that out of the way we can now turn our attention to our text for today, Matthew 11:25-30, Matthew 11:25 to the end of the chapter. It is also the end of the John the Baptist interlude after the missions discourse. And this morning we will begin by reading our text.

Matthew 11:25–30 ESV

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; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. 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. Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 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. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

These are the words of the Lord for us this morning, Lets open with a word of Prayer

PRAY.

I am pretty sure most of us have heard this text once or twice in our lives. The most popular Christian book of the last year was based Jesus description of himself in this text. this is a familiar and beloved passage. And If I would ask you: what is it all about? you would probably answer: Rest, for that is how it is most often taught, and the thing that quite frankly our soul need the most and so what resonates within us. Furthermore, if you were to ask the ESV translators, what is this about, I know they would say “rest” because that is what they have titled this passage by summarizing verse 28: “Come to me, and I will give you rest.” But here is a time when the CSB gets it closer with “The son gives knowledge and rest” and don’t tell anyone I said this, the NIV actually I think nails it with: “The Father revealed in the Son.”

This passage is about something much bigger than just the rest we get in christ, though that is certainly here. I have called this portion “The great reward” and let me let context explain. If we remember back two weeks ago, John the Baptist and his doubt were front and center. And Jesus said, I am the messiah, my actions, and just WHO I AM vindicate that fact, he who has an ear let him hear. But then he switched, Jesus talked about the ministry of John the Baptist to the unbelieving world all around. He showed the weight of their unbelief ans they could not hear, they could not see, and tragically they refused to believe. So Jesus culminates THAT thought with the woes to the cities. because they will not believe, there are going to have a rough time come judgement.

But there is a thought, what about people like John the Baptist, what about those who WILL believe, either the disciples who endure, or those that gladly accept their message as they go to the world. and THAT is what Jesus will focus on here, it is more than just rest, though it is certainly rest, it is larger than that because this is the reward for faith. And so this morning I would like to break up this text to see three thoughts that Jesus give us here that are nourishment for your souls. The way that we will approach this text this morning is by seeing what we gain from faith, belief, and I would say from some specific Knowledge that Jesus will give us, and then what that particular knowledge gains us.

So lets just dive in, the first is to see that to have UNDERSTANDING YOU MUST KNOW YOUR PLACE

To have UNDERSTANDING know YOUR PLACE

We open this section with a prayer. Specifically a prayer of thanksgiving. Matthew 11:25-26

Matthew 11:25–26 ESV

Jesus is thankful, but thankful for what? He is thankful for i would argue verse 26 specifically God’s gracious will. But what is God’s gracious will? this is where it gets incredible. God’s will was to hide “these things” - we will come back to that - but he hides these things from the wise and understanding. But those very same things are revealed to the little children.

SO this is where the idea of “your place” comes in. note in just this short two verses two important distinctions are made. The first distinction is between the creator and the creature. God is the “Lord of heaven and earth. h rules and reigns. he has a gracious will and also, implied here, is that he has a sovereign will. The first distinction, and where we had better learn our place is in this sort of cosmic scale. It is a juxtaposition, on one had God - He is the “Lord of heaven and earth”, the one who hides, the one who reveals, the one whose perfect sovereign will reigns supreme. We, on the other hand are those who rely on this revealing.

But this is where the second distinction comes into play. for even in the creature level there are some to which these things are hidden and some to which they are revealed. The ones who have no idea - those are the ones who THINK they are wise and understanding. the ones who truly have wisdom and understanding - they are one of Jesus favorite terms for his disciples - little ones or here little children. God has seen fit to humble the wise and uplift the humble. He has, according to the graciousness of his will chosen to reveal these things to the less than, fishermen and tax collectors, sinners and wretches - that is who he reveals these things to.

As Leon Morris writes: It has always been easy for the world’s wise ones to trust in their wisdom. They realize how their wisdom makes them superior to the foolish and accordingly come to rely on that wisdom. Their self-sufficiency means that they do not easily come to trust God for salvation. This does not mean that none of the world’s wise and clever people will come to know it. In every age there have been wise and clever people who have rejoiced in the revelation Jesus has made known. But the point is that they came to know it by their simple trust in Jesus, not by their intellectual skills and their knowledge of abstruse research methods. And that simple trust is open to the humblest of us all, to the babies among us.

Which leads us to the final thought here - what are the “these things” to which we have been given understanding. And here is the beautiful thought. It is, as Morris alluded to the mystery of salvation. It is in some sense the gospel. it is fully the message Jesus has been preaching, the message John the Baptist was preaching and the same message that The disciples were commanded to preach: the KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS AT HAND. Fully what has been revealed is the hope for the little ones of new life and salvation. What has been reveled to us are things that Peter says: angels long to see. What has been revealed to us are the great truths of Scripture, what he revealed is the identity of Jesus, full God and fully man and the only hope for sinners. what has been revealed is everything we need for life and godliness. It is this and more, I would be hard pressed to find more loaded phrase than Jesus saying that “these things” have been revealed!

Which leads me to the next point: TO HAVE PEACE KNOW THE SON

To have PEACE know THE SON

Matthew 11:27 ESV

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 you might be thinking, OK David, where is peace mentioned in this text - and I will admit - it’s not. But bear with me for just one second, because this is, as theologians would say: on of the most Christ-ologically rich texts in all of Matthew.

Here’s the main point and then we will dive in, maybe you have seen the bumper sticker, I haven’t seen it for a long time, but it says: NO God, NO peace - KNOW God, KNOW peace. Ignoring that a bumper sticker is probably not the most effective means of evangelism, especially when you cut people off - the thought contained is correct. But What Jesus says here is even more beautiful.

Jesus is claiming here to be the focus and more to the point the lenses that all revelation of God comes through us too. In fact, he has been given “ALL THINGS” by he father. So here authority - as we see in Matthew 28 - but also wisdom, and understanding, also he has given to the son the position of being the one by whom all knowledge of god is filtered through. He continues. No one knows the son except the father and no one knows the father except the son. And if you will forgive me this is where we will wax philosophical for a second, but these are important thoughts.

What Jesus is claiming here gives us insight into what we often talk about as THE PERSON AND WORK of Jesus. First the person.

Far from just being just a throw away mysterious saying of Jesus, jesus is claiming a divine right and power. He is claiming to be God. WE often look to John, to the famous “I AM” statements of Jesus, but what he says here is no less shocking. He is claiming that God has given him all things, that places him on an equal footing as God, so he must be God. He is also claiming exclusive knowledge of God. NO ONE knows the father except the son. This is a more profound statement than NO ONE COMES TO THE FATHER EXCEPT THROUGH ME - it is a statement about an exclusivity of knowledge. the fullness of knowledge of God rests in Jesus.

Another way to think about it is this: Who truly knows God? like fully and completely knows him. the answer is only God. For Only God is strong enough, smart enough, omniscient enough, omnipotent enough to have all knowledge that is of God who is infinite. Yet if Jesus says he knows the father he is saying that he has the fullness of that knowledge. Jesus, is God.

But that is the person - now the work - as the second person of the trinity, Jesus serves in an illuminating - and a revealing role. We have been ending the verse with no one knows the father but the son, but Jesus continues - AND ANYONE TO WHOM THE SON CHOOSES TO REVEAL HIM! The work of Jesus, part and parcel to salvation, and I would carefully argue - more important than even salvation - Is to reveal the glory of God to all the world. Jesus is not just the lens by which we see god, but he is the fullness of God’s glory revealed to us.

John 1:18 ESV

No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.

That is still true, no one has sen God, for as Moses is told - no one may see God and live - and yet in the revealing work of Jesus God is known to us. SO here is the point - while i is true that NO God NO peace, and KNOW god KNOW peace - the only way w know God is to know the Son. And this gets us to the very nature of Christ

There are some things we believe, because we think this is what scripture reaches, so we hold to it, but allow for some disagreement - we will not baptise babies - but offer no condemnation for those that do. We take communion once a month - some do more - some do less - that is OK. But there are some things we believe because we must believe. and Who Jesus is is one of them. As Paul would warn about in 2 Corinthians that some would preach a different Christ and says in Galatians that if someone preaches a different gospel let him be accursed, what we believe about Christ is essential.

per the Athanasius creed: Whoever desires to be saved should above all hold to the catholic faith. Anyone who does not keep it whole and unbroken will doubtless perish eternally. then the assertions: Now this is the true faith:

That we believe and confess

that our Lord Jesus Christ, God's Son,

is both God and human, equally.

He is God from the essence of the Father,

begotten before time;

and he is human from the essence of his mother,

born in time;

completely God, completely human,

with a rational soul and human flesh;

equal to the Father as regards divinity,

less than the Father as regards humanity.

Although he is God and human,

yet Christ is not two, but one.

He is one, however,

not by his divinity being turned into flesh,

but by God's taking humanity to himself.

He is one,

certainly not by the blending of his essence,

but by the unity of his person.

For just as one human is both rational soul and flesh,

so too the one Christ is both God and human.

We must know the son to have any peace, and in knowing his we have access to all the riches and grace of heaven. and in knowing him we see the payoff, what we have all be looking for: we see how we can have REST!

To have REST know YOUR SAVIOR

-but we must be clear as to the nature of this rest: it is not a “vacationing, do noting, sit on the couch and zone out” sort of rest. Instead, it is a deep and lasting rest in our souls as we rest in the savior who is both gentle and lowly. It is an all consuming and deep rest from longing and wondering as we rest on the work of our savior who is kind and merciful. It is a lasting and complete rest as we stand on the power of Christ and his justice and goodness. It all these and more. Importantly for us, it is a rest that comes as we labor, a rest that derives from contentment and completeness, a rest when the labors that we once toils in that were meaningless and futile (vanity of vanities) are now rewarding and fruitful service to the king. it is a rest that is described by Matthew Henry: “The convinced sinner is heavy-laden with guilt and terror; and the tempted and afflicted believer has labours and burdens. Christ invites all to come to him for rest to their souls. He alone gives this invitation; men come to him, when, feeling their guilt and misery, and believing his love and power to help, they seek him in fervent prayer. Thus it is the duty and interest of weary and heavy-laden sinners, to come to Jesus Christ. This is the gospel call; Whoever will, let him come. All who thus come will receive rest as Christ’s gift, and obtain peace and comfort in their hearts. But in coming to him they must take his yoke, and submit to his authority. They must learn of him all things, as to their comfort and obedience. He accepts the willing servant, however imperfect the services. Here we may find rest for our souls, and here only. Nor need we fear his yoke. His commandments are holy, just, and good. It requires self-denial, and exposes to difficulties, but this is abundantly repaid, even in this world, by inward peace and joy. It is a yoke that is lined with love. So powerful are the assistances he gives us, so suitable the encouragements, and so strong the consolations to be found in the way of duty, that we may truly say, it is a yoke of pleasantness. The way of duty is the way of rest. The truths Christ teaches are such as we may venture our souls upon. Such is the Redeemer’s mercy; and why should the labouring and burdened sinner seek for rest from any other quarter? Let us come to him daily, for deliverance from wrath and guilt, from sin and Satan, from all our cares, fears, and sorrows. But forced obedience, far from being easy and light, is a heavy burden. In vain do we draw near to Jesus with our lips, while the heart is far from him. Then come to Jesus to find rest for your souls.”