Once again, thank You, LORD, for Your faithfulness in walking with us through another week! And blessings to you on this Friday morning, my friend!Read Matthew 11:20 – 30.
The section header in my Bible for the first half of today’s reading says “Woe to the Impentitent Cities”; and my thesaurus tells me that synonyms for “impentitent” include “remorseless”, “shameless”, and “callous”. In these verses, Jesus Himself rebukes a number of cities that failed to repent – although they directly received the ministry of both John the Baptist and Our Lord Jesus. Indeed, the listing of places being chastened by Jesus through these verses are familiar to us, because it is in these very same sites Jesus performed many of His greatest miracles (vv 20, 21, 23; John 21:25).
As I consider this passage, I question what Our Lord would say today to our cities?
And then in vv 25, the Lord abruptly shifts from rebuke to a joyful thanks to the Father for those who have received Him and the salvation He purchased for each of us. As you examine vvs 25 – 27, notice the intimate and comfortable nature of the dialogue between Father and Son (we know there is a dialogue taking place, because vv 25 opens with “At that time Jesus answered” – Jesus answered the Father!). Also of note in these few verses – Jesus thanks the Father because it is the innocent – the childlike – “the babes” that respond to His message. It is “the babes” that repent and accept Him as Savior.
Lord, restore our childlike wonder of You! Amen!
Finally, Our Lord Jesus ends the passage with an astonishing invitation to each of us (vv 28) – “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”. My brother, think about it – your Creator and your Savior is offering Himself to you as a place of refuge and rest! Since these are the days when every piece of bad news occurring across the face of the entire planet is delivered to us instantly – since these are the days when it seems that we have every reason to feel guilty, be accused, or take (misplaced) responsibility simply because we have been assigned to that group or associated with those people or placed in that “bucket”. Since these are THOSE days, Jesus’ invitation to each of us is both timely and essential!
Here is how Charles Spurgeon addresses this issue: “Many servants of God are made to feel their weakness in another way, by an oppressive sense of responsibility…. Do not take an exaggerated view of what the Lord expects of you. He will not blame you for not doing that which is beyond your mental power or physical strength…. We are not the Father, nor the Saviour, nor the Comforter of the Church. We cannot take the responsibility of the universe upon our shoulders.”
Brother, as we head into the weekend, mark the remainder of Our Lord’s invitation (vvs 29-30): “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.”.
Friend, if you are trying to fix something you cannot fix; if you have taken on a problem that is too big for you; if you are frustrated or burdened or overwhelmed – you can give it all to Jesus. He will take it from you, and He will give you His rest – today, and forever! Amen!
