The Gospel and the Kingdom - Matthew - Jesus' Revelation - Part 2

 

TEXT: Matthew 11:27-30 – “²⁷ All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father. Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him. ²⁸ Come to Me, all you 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.”

Today, we will conclude this chapter by looking at Jesus’ revelation that He is the only way to the Father. Do you want to know God? We start with the Illumination that Jesus gives in verse 27. We conclude with the Invitation in verses 28-30.

First of all, what is a yoke? Some of you think you know. It’s the yellow part in the middle of an egg, right? Well, that’s a yolk, but not the kind we’re talking about. 

The kind of yoke that Jesus was referring to was a wooden device used to link two oxen together to help them pull a load or a burden. You see, by using a yoke and linking the oxen together, the two were much stronger than the one.

Pulling a heavy load was much easier with help. Listen to what Jesus says in verses 28-30. 

First of all, Jesus says to come to Him and He will give us rest. How many of you need rest from the troubles of the world and the curse of sin in your life? I know I do! I need the gift of rest from Jesus and He has said, “Come to me . . . and I will give you rest.” Jesus says that there is no condemnation for those who come to Him. There is hope for all of us who are weary and burdened. 

Jesus then says, “Take up my yoke and learn from me.” Jesus is essentially saying, “Join yourself to me. Let me carry some of the burden of life for you. Let me teach you the ways of God.” Jesus says He will help us, He will give us rest, He will help us with the burden of living this life. 

Remember, Jesus said only He can show us the Father. Well, Jesus says in verse 29, “Learn from me.” He wants to teach us about Himself and the Father. We must come to Him and learn from Him.  

Jesus says He is lowly and humble. Even though He could, He did not come proclaiming Himself to be wise and special.

• He came humbly and lowly.
• He came as a servant.
• He came offering a blessing to others, rather than asking to be served and to have others bless Him.  

Come to Jesus, because He is low and humble. He wants to give to you, He wants to bless you. In Jesus, we will find rest for our souls. 

• We need rest from the curse of sin.
• We need rest from trying to be moral enough to be accepted by God.
• We need rest from the falsehoods of this world.
• We need rest from trying to impress other people.
• We need rest from the bitterness in our hearts.
• We need rest from the abuse from which we’ve suffered.
• We need rest from the hurt we’ve suffered from others.
• We need rest from the hurt we’ve dealt to others.
• We need rest from false religion.
• We need rest from broken homes, broken churches, broken hearts, broken governments, broken relationships, broken minds, broken lives.
• We need rest for our souls. 

Why will we find rest for our souls? Because Jesus’ yoke is easy and His burden is light. It’s not to say that life as a Christian is simple or easy, but it is to say that when you have Jesus, everything else doesn’t seem as heavy or burdensome in your life.

The blessings of being yoked to Jesus creates a new reality in us, which changes everything about us. We finally see true wisdom, we finally understand God the Father, we finally receive the rest we so desperately need, and we finally realize that the troubles of this world are light and easy compared to the glories of Jesus. 

Folks, we need to know God! God wants to know us and He’s made it possible through Jesus.

That takes us to our bottom line: Bottom Line: God chose to reveal Himself to us and to bless us through Jesus It’s through Jesus that we can know God. It’s through Jesus that we’re blessed by God. It’s through Jesus that we receive new life and rest for our souls. 

Ask Jesus to reveal the Father to you. Jesus only reveals the Father to those whom He chooses to do so. Ask Jesus to reveal more of God to you. 

Ask Jesus to give you His yoke.  The yoke of Jesus is not lighter because it is less important or because He demands less from us. Jesus wants all of us! Jesus’ yoke is lighter because He helps us carry the burden! His yoke is better and He carries the burden of sin. He carries the burden of fulfilling the law of God. He helps us carry the burden of this life.