Matthew 11:25-30

This month's Series is on The Gospel According to Matthew. The previous post covered Matthew 11:20-24. Here is the summary:

Jesus said that rejection had occurred, both on an individual and group basis, when principles were directly taught by John and Himself. Jesus stated that cities of the past would have responded to the type of teaching and works that had been done during Jesus' time. Clearly, people weren't able to handle direct teaching of principles like they had in the past. Things had changed...

Jesus then summarized this transitional chapter...


MATTHEW 11:25-30
"25 At that season Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou didst hide these things from the wise and understanding, and didst reveal them unto babes:
26 yea, Father, for so it was well-pleasing in thy sight."

(Jesus stated that it was the intention of the Father that the people who were wise in their own understanding would NOT recognize Jesus' Ministry! This is a fine line...)

(EVERYONE is ABLE to recognize Jesus' Ministry because it is available. However, the people who have WITHIN THEMSELVES a thought process that believes they are "in need of nothing" (pride) will NOT be able to process Jesus' Ministry. The Father's intention was for the people in pride NOT to recognize Jesus' Ministry.)

(This story began in Matthew 11:15 with Jesus stating "15 He that hath ears to hear, let him hear." Matthew showed the portion covered in today's post was a part of the same teaching by showing Jesus alluded to the same concept: People being able to hear what Jesus was saying. Everything we've covered in yesterday's and today's post was essentially foundation and understanding to support Jesus' conclusion.)

(Notice: In front of these people, Jesus thanked His Father who was the Lord of heaven and earth. Clearly, Jesus indirectly referred to God, while directly stating He was speaking to His Father. This was another example of Jesus indirectly stating He was the Son of God. Jesus continued speaking in this way...)

"27 All things have been delivered unto me of my Father: and no one knoweth the Son, save the Father; neither doth any know the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son willeth to reveal him."

(Jesus referred to Himself as the Son of the Father...but He did not directly/plainly refer to the Father as God.)

(In verses 25 and 26, Jesus thanked God that the things of heaven were revealed to the babes (the humble) and not the wise and understanding (the prideful people who relied on their own wisdom and understanding instead of God's. Remember, earlier Jesus stated that "this generation" was like people to whom "children" piped and wailed. Now we see the "humble children" were people who were believers...and, in the case of Jesus and John the Baptist, people who spoke for God.)

(Verse 27 continued this thought by stating that Jesus reveals Himself to those who are humble. Notice, Jesus did not state that He reveals Himself against the will of the individual or that when He reveals Himself people will automatically receive Him...otherwise, the beginning of this passage wouldn't have covered cities that would be judged more severely because they didn't repent when Jesus revealed Himself through His mighty works. In fact, this entire story wouldn't have begun with Jesus encouraging people to intentionally hear Him.)

"28 Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."

(Remember, rest meant "to cease from the occupation of being a first cause". Jesus stated that those who were weary from working in their own strength ought to come to Him and rest...cease from doing works in their own strength and allow God to do His Will through them...which would require humility. Again, this verse fit the context of the previous verses that contrasted the prideful who relied on their own wisdom and understanding with the babes who were humble.)

"29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."

(Jesus specifically called those who were in need! Jesus called the Yellow Light People!)

(Jesus called people who were currently LABORING to REST. Rest ONLY comes after work.)

(Taking Jesus' yoke involved LEARNING of Jesus AND finding rest for your SOUL/MIND...NOT physically. This was a reference to GRACE. The yoke causes TWO to work at the same pace. One of them can't get ahead of the other. This does not mean each has to do the same amount of work. Just that they will go the same pace.)

(So, the imagery was that we are yoked to the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit cannot make more progress with us than we can make. Let me take a moment to make sure I am clear about this. When it comes to the part that YOU DO, the Holy Spirit isn't going to require you to do something greater than what you can do. The Holy Spirit isn't going to access doctrine that isn't in you. The Holy Spirit isn't going to make you speak French if you have never spoken French. Before you get riled up, continue to read the next paragraph for further explanation...)

(Jesus stated in this passage that the yoke was light...so The Holy Spirit is doing most to all of the work. This means all we can really do is hold back the work of The Holy Spirit in our lives. It is the Holy Spirit that does EVERYTHING Good...and our responsibility (the thing we can get judged for) is how much we hold back the Holy Spirit. Calvinists and other superficial people (those who can't handle answering two or three questions in a non-contradictory manner or follow a thought beyond a one-dimensional presentation) think that credit and responsibility are ALWAYS linked. The credit for our Salvation is due to Jesus. The responsibility for our Salvation is due to us. Every other explanation is contradictory and NOT supported by the Bible.)

(For example, God parted the Red Sea THROUGH Moses. Exodus 14:26 documents that God told Moses to stretch out MOSES' hand over the sea. Moses was ABLE to stretch out his hand. If Moses had NOT stretched out his hand, the Red Sea wouldn't have parted. However, Moses was NOT the person who parted the Red Sea...he does NOT get the credit for it. The credit belongs to God. However, Moses was responsible for parting the Red Sea...and the requirement was something he was ABLE to do, i.e., stretch out his hand. God would not have said to Moses, "Do a triple salchow and I will part the Red Sea", if Moses wasn't a very good ice skater.)

(You are responsible for YOUR thought processes. You are responsible for the doctrine YOU have inside of you. It is YOUR responsibility to clean up your thought processes and get your doctrine based on God's doctrine. If you chose to follow man-made doctrine instead of God's doctrine, then YOU are hindering the Holy Spirit. It is contradictory, superficial, and unbiblical to believe that God will override your abilities and will in order to make sure that you have a good thought processes and Biblical doctrine. This belief is actually justifying one's self...which was the Original Sin.)

(Notice also that our earthly existence is a struggle between our flesh with the enemy AGAINST our spirit with The Holy Spirit that occurs on the battlefield of our brain. The deciding vote is our Mind/Soul...which is ultimately OUR responsibility.)

(Jesus said that being yoked to Him would cause your Mind/Soul to rest. The Holy Spirit would be leading us to fix the area that our flesh and the enemy attack: the brain. The result would be a brain that is getting its thought processes repaired. However, if your thought processes are too Unprofitable, you won't even be able to recognize that you need to be yoked with Jesus...just like the beginning of this passage references!)

(Jesus SPECIFICALLY stated that He was MEEK and LOWLY in heart. The CJB translates this to gentle and humble in heart. I believe this is another reference to GRACE. This was Jesus stating that He took complete direction from God the Father through The Holy Spirit and did NOTHING of Himself. Remember John 8:28? That was WHY Jesus stated that you could only know the Father through the Son. The CJB uses the phrase "fully know"...which alludes to Fellowship and Grace. So, I believe Jesus was giving the HOW/WHY by showing that WHAT He was asking us to do was something He had already done!)


SUMMARY
Things have changed. Jesus laid the foundation to explain WHY people won't Understand Him. Jesus confirmed that the generation He spoke to was worse than past generations because people from past generations would have responded to His message and works. However, this did not stop Jesus from reaching out to people for their benefit.

Jesus told us to learn of Him! He stated His yoke was easy and His burden was light...because he did nothing of Himself. He only did what God influenced Him to do via the Holy Spirit...which is Grace...which requires humility, meekness, and being lowly in heart! The end of this story spoke of the difference between believers and unbelievers...which made the beginning of the story mean that those who responded to causes from God with Ad Hominem attacks PROVED they were NOT believers AND deserved JUDGMENT!

Now, we can look at a chapter filled with the important practical applications of this chapter...

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