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Matthew 11:25-30 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.”

In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

Our text comes just after Jesus has pronounced woes upon three cities – Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum – who had rejected the message of the forgiveness of sins in Jesus’ name. These cities had seen Jesus work miracles. In Bethsaida, He had healed a blind man. He had fed the 5,000 men plus women and children. Remember the paralytic who was lowered down from the roof? Jesus first forgave his sins then made him walk – that was in Capernaum. These three cities had seen the miraculous presence of Christ, but they had rejected Him. Seeing, they did not see, and hearing they did not hear.

The wise and understanding hearts of these cities rejected the promised Messiah. Now Jesus prays, “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.” Wisdom did not help Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum. In fact just the opposite. They claimed to be wise and became fools (Ro. 1:22).

But God did reveal (lit. “apocalypsed”) His salvation to those who had no wisdom of their own – to the “little children.” All sinners, that includes you, are without understanding. Like Paul in our epistle text (Ro. 7:14-25), you too are a slave to sin. You carry the burden of knowing what is right and good, but you don’t do it. Like Paul, you practice the very things you hate and know to be evil. You reject and deny God’s authority over you.

Notice, though that Jesus says that the “little children” (lit. ‘infants’), those who realize they are utterly dependent, they have the revelation that only God can give. Those who are last, lost, least, and little receive the forgiveness of Christ. This is the gracious act of God. The very people who deserve condemnation, to them God gives forgiveness, life, and salvation.

God is over all things. The Creator has control over every aspect of creation, but notice what Jesus says, “All things have been handed over to Me by My Father.” Jesus says that God the Father is Lord of heaven and earth and has placed everything into Jesus’ hand.

So Jesus is, now and forever, Lord over all things. Notice what Jesus says next, “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.” You cannot come to know God unless Jesus reveals Him to you. Unless Christ chooses to reveal God to you, you are lost.

Salvation is completely out of your hands. Does that scare you? It shouldn’t; it should comfort you because look at what the Savior says next, “Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

Rest. Who doesn’t want rest? God fills our lives with so many good things – good families, good homes, good jobs. But rest, where do we find rest? We search high and low trying to find rest. We try to create little sanctuaries of rest for ourselves. We make our homes places of solace away from the difficult business of our day. We take time off of work to travel to peaceful places in the world and “get away from it all.” No matter how hard we try to find it or create it, true rest alludes us.

Even when we do find rest and solitude, those moments are few and far between. In what might be St. Augustin’s most famous quote he says to God, “Thou hast formed us for Thyself, and our hearts are restless till they find rest in Thee.” The rest that Jesus gives is completely foreign and alien to our normal, everyday existence. The rest Christ delivers is the forgiveness of sins and the end striving against God. That rest is what God wanted us to have so He gave us the third Commandment, “Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.” God wanted us to set apart a whole day when we could find rest in being fed with His Word. Jesus is offering the eternal Sabbath rest that only comes from God.

You see, beloved, God is over all, and the Son of God, who rules over all, is for you. Jesus says, “Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and be discipled by 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.”

What is this “yoke” that Jesus speaks about? The word refers to an instrument that makes work easier. The word is used for the frame that was used to control animals who were pulling a cart, but the word is also used to describe the contraptions slaves would use to make carrying heavy burdens easier. Maybe it is comforting to imagine being harnessed to a cart with Jesus, but that is not what Jesus is referring to. Instead, as a slave of Christ, you trade the yoke of your sin for the perfect yoke of rest that Christ gives. This yoke is “easy” or literally, “good, useful, fulfilling its purpose for you.” This yoke removes your burden completely.

The prefect yoke of Jesus gives you, who have been overly burdened, the eternal Sabbath rest for your soul. Jesus goes on in Mt. 12 to prove that He is Lord of the Sabbath who gives this rest. But that tale is for another time.

Today, brothers and sisters, know that Jesus has taken your burden of sin and borne it to the cross, so that you can have that Sabbath rest. Learn from Him who gives you that Sabbath rest here and now as you come to His table and receive His yoke of the forgiveness of sins in the bread and wine. Amen.[1]

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

[1] The title for this sermon was taken from Dr. Jeffrey Gibbs’ commentary on this passage.