Come to Me...

“The Coming Day of Judgment and Rest for Your Souls”

(Matthew 11:20-30, Preaching: Pastor Stephen Magee, July 29, 2007)

Matthew 11:20-30 ²⁰ Then he began to denounce the cities where most of his mighty works had been done, because they did not repent. ²¹ "Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. ²² But I tell you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you. ²³ And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You will be brought down to Hades. For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. ²⁴ But I tell you that it will be more tolerable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom than for you." ²⁵ 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; ²⁶ yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. ²⁷ 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. ²⁸ Come to me, all 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."

Introduction

We live in a time of great spiritual confusion. We imagine that contradictory beliefs are actually somehow the same. A Catholic man and a Jewish woman went to see a rabbi because they wanted to get married. They had talked over their religious differences and had decided that it really was not be a problem. The rabbi said, “No it won’t be a problem except that your husband will teach your children that Jesus is the Son of God, and you will teach them that he isn’t the Son of God. Besides that it won’t be a problem.” The rabbi of course knew that it was a problem; that is if they wanted to truly follow their faiths. There are many stories like this in our generation, but we should not think that our place and time is the first one that can be characterized as spiritually confused.

More Tolerable for Sodom (20-24)

In the previous passage in Matthew, Jesus poked fun at those who rejected John for being too serious and ascetic, but who then rejected Jesus for celebrating too much and eating with sinners. In the verses before us today we learn that the indictment that Jesus had against Israel was not just a matter of a few bad rabbis. Whole cities who had seen the Lord’s amazing miracles, but had refused to repent, were warned about judgment by the Lord of mercy.

Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum were places where Jesus taught and performed many miracles. Nonetheless, they remained committed to their sin and did not turn to the Lord as their true teacher. Jesus said that it would be better for Tyre and Sidon, and for the land of Sodom than for the cities in Israel that saw the works of Jesus and still would not follow Him. Tyre and Sidon were one “country” – a league of cities to the north of Israel that turned away from commitments of friendship and sold Israel into the hands of powerful enemies (See Amos 1:9-10). Sodom was the place described in Genesis that was beautiful to look at, but full of immorality. God told Abraham through his messengers that He would have saved Sodom if there were ten righteous there. Only Lot and his daughters were rescued from the sulfur and fire that reigned down from heaven on the land and destroyed it. These were places that were known as exceptional targets for the coming judgment of God, but Jesus said that they would have repented had they seen the miracles that Jesus did in Israel.

Does it seem unlikely to you that a whole land would have the kind of change of heart that could be called true repentance? Remember that Ninevah repented when Jonah preached. Also, in the days of Elijah when it seemed like almost no one wanted to follow the Lord, when fire came down from heaven, a previously uncommitted crowd of Israelites were immediately changed. “When all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and said, "The LORD, he is God; the LORD, he is God." ” (1 Kings 18:39)

Things like this can happen. But when the Son of God raised the dead, the towns where he did most of His miracles did not repent. They were very hard hearted. When thousands of people were later converted through the preaching of Peter and the apostles in Jerusalem, it was not because the miracles that the apostles did were more amazing or numerous than those of Jesus. It was because, in the purposes of God, the time had come for people to believe that the man who they had rejected had indeed risen from the dead, and that it was time to repent, and to follow Him. People everywhere are commanded to repent (Acts 17:30) and they should do so. But often they do not, even when there is very ample evidence in front of them that God is real and that He should be followed.

What was especially challenging about the cities where Jesus ministered is that so many were absolutely convinced that they were all going to heaven, even though they would not repent and follow Jesus. Look at verse 23: “…will you be exalted to heaven? You will be brought down to Hades.” That’s what Jesus said would happen to those cities. Jesus says that Sodom had a better excuse than them, and whatever Sodom’s excuse might have been it did not do much for them in Genesis 19. A Day of Judgment is coming. The fire and sulfur that destroyed Sodom was nothing compared to the punishment due 1^st century Capernaum. Why is that? The ones to whom much has been given have much required of them. Capernaum had been given much, and they still would not follow Jesus.

The Father’s Gracious Will (25-26)

There is something of an abrupt change in the passage that begins in verse 25. The focus turns away from guilt and turns toward the grace and electing love of God. Jesus addresses God as “Father,” and also as the ruling “Lord of heaven and earth.” What Jesus speaks of in prayer is the choice of God to hide the wonder of His glory from the wise and the arrogant, while at the same time choosing to reveal these great things to simple untrained disciples who Jesus calls “little children.” The reason for such electing power is merely God’s good pleasure rather than anything commendable among the men who were chosen by God. This is truly marvelous.

It is striking to hear much about sin and hell at all in our day. When I first came to Exeter… (story about woman who kept on walking when I told her I was a Presbyterian minister. “I heard a Presbyterian minister in Alaska once. Sin and salvation… I didn’t sleep for a week.”) I am sad to think that my preaching might seem at times to begin and end with sin. There is a problem with messages like that. They do not adequately draw our attention to God and His good pleasure, which should be our chief delight. Preaching should help us to enjoy God. Too much about our sin without leading people to the greatness and glory of God does not work holiness in people. But to focus on the greatness of God and His electing love enlivens the weary soul and strengthens us for humble service.

The Father and the Son (27)

With that in mind, let us take a close look at a truly extraordinary verse in this passage (v. 27) that makes two amazing affirmations about God the Father and God the Son.

1. “All things have been handed over to Me by My Father.” In this simple phrase Jesus claims to have authority over everything, and this by the free choice of His heavenly Father. Think about that for a moment. Jesus Christ must be completely trustworthy and completely capable. If Jesus were not trustworthy and capable, surely the Father would never have entrusted all things to the Son. Meditating upon this fact can bring you true quietness of mind. Jesus says, “All things have been handed over to Me by My Father.”

2. “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.” Only God the Father had exhaustive knowledge of God the Son, and only God the Son had exhaustive knowledge of God the Father. Furthermore, Jesus is the only gateway to the knowledge of God. Meditating upon this second fact can bring you to the only source of a genuine knowledge of God – Jesus, His Son.

The note on this verse from the Geneva Bible of 1599 says this: “There is no true knowledge of God, nor quietness of mind, but only in Christ alone.” What a marvelous gift to us is this great Son of God. Through Him we know God, and through Him we can have a quiet mind, since Jesus is both perfectly capable and fully trustworthy, and He has all things given to Him by His Father.

Come to Me (28-30)

It follows then that anyone who wants to know God or who wants to have quietness of mind should come to Jesus. This is what Jesus invites everyone to do at the end of this passage. He speaks these wonderful words of verses 28-30. To all who toil and are burdened, the Lord says I will refresh you. His answer is not to opt out of life and to relax because nothing matters anyway. (See 1 Cor. 15:10, 58.) He says, “Take my yoke (a word used to speak about the law) upon yourself.” He says “learn from me.” The word “learn” in that phrase was the word used in John 7:15 to refer to learning that someone would receive from a rabbi. Jesus is giving us this directive: “Let me be your rabbi.” You may be wondering what is going wrong in your life. The answer is not for you to walk away from your commitments and your calling. Could it be that day by day you have been following the wrong rabbi? This is one way to think about repentance. Let Jesus be your rabbi and then follow where His word leads.

Why should you let Jesus be your teacher? He gives two great reasons here. 1. He says, “I am humble.” Let the lowliness and gentleness of our Savior both comfort and invite you. 2. He further says, “You will find rest for your souls.” Many people seem to be almost without souls. Jesus can make your soul feel alive again. His commandments are good for you. Are you becoming aware of the soul that God has placed within you? Is that soul disquieted or without any real knowledge of God? The Son of God is the answer. The cross-burden of sin that He bore was His alone. It is ours simply to believe and to follow Him diligently in love in the calling He has for each of us. In all his instructions, He has our good in mind and he is wonderfully aware of our humble capacities.

Questions for meditation and discussion:

1. What do we know from the Bible about the specific cities in Israel that Jesus mentions in this passage?

2. What is the story of Sodom and why does Jesus bring up the land of Sodom here?

3. What lessons do we learn in verse 27 concerning the special relationship between Jesus and the Father?

4. We know that even Christians face troubles and work in this life. How does this relate to verses 28-30?