[0:00] Seeking the Lord's blessing, let us turn back to the portion of scripture that we read together, the Gospel according to Matthew chapter 11, and we'll read from verse 25.
[0:16] At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast said these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them into babes.
[0:30] Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in thy sight. All things are delivered unto me of my Father, and no man knoweth a son but the Father, neither knoweth any man the Father save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him.
[0:47] Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 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.
[1:00] For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. Matthew brings before us that Jesus has finished giving instructions to his disciples, and he goes away to teach and to preach in their towns.
[1:23] Then he turns to the question raised by John the Baptist, which leads to important teaching about Jesus as the Christ.
[1:34] Then we have the condemnation of the cities, who had been given great privileges, but who rejected and who remained unrepentant.
[1:47] And the question that I ask is, how does Jesus respond to all this? How does Jesus respond to the rejection and the criticism that is hurled at him?
[2:00] And Matthew tells us here in verse 25 that Jesus prayed. At that time, that is, in the midst of all the hostility and the rejection and criticism that he faced, that in the midst of all that, he turns to prayer.
[2:26] And that is a great instruction for ourselves. When we come to face hostility or rejection, or when there's criticism hurled at us, what do we do?
[2:42] Well, we should follow the example of Christ, who went to his Father, who prayed. Scripture presents Jesus to us as a man of prayer.
[2:55] Sometimes he sets himself apart to prayer. Prayer is always appropriate and always a priority in all our circumstances.
[3:10] We find here that in the life and experience of Jesus, that at many crucial moments of his life, that he is found praying. The writer to the Hebrews says, regarding Jesus, who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears.
[3:35] You will remember how, at the grave of Lazarus, we are told that Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me, and I knew that thou hearest me always.
[3:52] He prayed at his baptism, as he came out of the water. He prayed before he chose his disciples. He prayed before that moment on the Mount of Transfiguration.
[4:05] He prayed before he entered into the Garden of Gethsemane. The intensity of his prayer is most clearly seen there in the Garden of Gethsemane, where he wrestled in prayer that was so passionate that his sweat became as great drops of blood.
[4:27] The Gospel brings before us that he prayed early in the morning and late at night. Often we read that he withdrew himself into the wilderness and prayed.
[4:38] So, Jesus was an example of us of how important prayer is, as he exercised prayer in his own life.
[4:49] Of course, the prayer life of Jesus brings before us the servitude of Jesus in the days of his humiliation here on earth.
[5:03] It brings before us that in his servitude that he was totally dependent on the Father and the Spirit.
[5:14] He never drew from his own divine nature. Even in performing the miracles, he did not draw on his own divine nature.
[5:26] He was dependent upon the Father and the Spirit. And so that the subjection of Jesus in his office as the mediator to this necessity of prayer illustrates to us as Hugh Martin says, the true nature of his humiliation.
[5:52] That Jesus should be a man of prayer is required by the terms and the conditions of the covenant that took place between himself and the Father, the covenant of redemption.
[6:06] That covenant which imposed upon him certain obligations also made him many promises. And every prayer rests on a promise.
[6:22] The promise is the motive to prayer. No promise, no prayer. Because you have a right to God for everything that he has promised to you.
[6:39] And those promises given to Jesus in covenant required that he should obtain them in prayer. We have, for instance, that brought before us in Psalm 2, where we read, Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.
[7:03] That was promised to him in covenant, but he had to ask for it. Whatever was needful for the preservation of his person or for the building up of his kingdom, the Father engaged to bestow all that on him, but required that the Son would ask for them.
[7:30] The strength, the grace, the support, and consolation needed by Jesus personally had all to be sued out in prayer, as also the fruits of his death and the ingathering of his church.
[7:47] And so we read that he is still praying. He is praying in the intercession that he makes in the presence of the Father. He is praying so that the benefits of his redemptive work would be given to those given to him by the Father.
[8:08] He is praying for the fruits of his death. He is praying for the ingathering of his church. And he shall continue to pray until they are all gathered together, until he brings them before the Father and presents them before the Father and say, Behold I and the children that you gave.
[8:31] to me. So that in all things by prayer and supplication for thanksgiving, he must make his request known to God.
[8:44] But who is praying here? Well, the answer is that it is the very God. God manifest in the flesh. That the one who is praying here is the one who has been made in the likeness of men.
[8:59] That the one who is praying here is the one who is in the form of a servant. So when we look at the prayer life of our Lord Jesus, it surely should lead us to value prayer.
[9:13] So what do you know the value of prayer? We have been looking at Moses and how often the children of Israel grumbled at him, even threatening, as we saw this morning, to kill him.
[9:29] And what did Moses do? He brought the whole crisis to God in prayer. The hymn writer says, Oh, what peace we often forbid.
[9:42] Oh, what needless pain we bear. All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer. How with trials and temptations, is there trouble anywhere?
[9:54] We should never be discouraged. Take it to the Lord in prayer. And Jesus sets before us this great example of prayer.
[10:09] Maybe you find prayer difficult. Perhaps the image that comes into your mind is that of those who give long and eloquent prayers.
[10:22] Well, Jesus' prayers recorded for us in the Bible were short prayers. In fact, Jesus gave rebuke for long and repetitive prayers.
[10:37] Jesus said, When thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets that they may be seen of men.
[10:50] Verily I say unto you, they have the reward. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet. And when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret.
[11:04] And thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.
[11:17] Be not ye therefore like unto them. For your Father knoweth what things ye have need of before ye ask him. Remember the story of the tax collector and the Pharisee in the temple.
[11:34] Remember what he said of the tax collector. That he would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God, be merciful to me, the sinner.
[11:50] And what did Jesus say about this man? He said, I tell you, this man went down to his us justified rather than the other. For everyone that is exalted himself shall be abased, and he that tumbleth himself shall be exalted.
[12:05] The Pharisee's prayer was much, much longer than the tax collector, and yet it is the tax collector with his short prayer, but with an earnest prayer that went down to his house justified.
[12:25] Now here, Jesus prays to the Father, and he says to the Father, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast said these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.
[12:45] Here Jesus shows the intimacy, the relationship of intimacy that is between himself and his Father.
[12:56] Remember how Jesus taught his disciples to pray, Our Father, so that when we pray, Our Father, we're praying to the same Father as Jesus prayed to.
[13:10] And the Father is as ready to hear your prayers as he was to hear the prayers of Jesus. Of course, we need faith in prayer.
[13:24] We need faith to pray aright, because prayer is an expression of faith. And that's the remarkable thing of Jesus in his servitude, that he exercised faith.
[13:44] And when he came to pray, it was an expression of his faith. When we pray, we need to believe that God is a gracious Father who delights to hear our prayers, and that he is a sovereign Father who can answer our prayers.
[14:07] We must come believing that he hears our prayers, and that he is able to answer our prayers. The unbeliever never receives an answer to his prayer, because it is not a prayer of faith.
[14:26] We read in Psalm 66, If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me. Or as it can be translated, If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened, but truly God has listened.
[14:45] He has attended to the voice of my prayer. When we ask for forgiveness, we must believe that the Father forgives.
[14:59] You see, the hindrance very often in our prayers is unbelief. The act of not believing.
[15:10] unbelief. And if you pray and you cherish unbelief, the Lord will not hear such prayer. If you regard iniquity in your heart, the Lord will not hear you.
[15:26] And the greatest iniquity is unbelief. Not believing. That's the greatest sin that we could cherish in our heart. It's not believing.
[15:38] unbelief. But here Jesus prays to the Father. All the hostility, all the criticism around him could not destroy this intimate relationship between himself and the Father.
[15:58] And so he prays giving thanks to the Father. Jesus said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth.
[16:11] You may ask, how could he pray a prayer of thanksgiving with all the rejection, all the hostility, all the criticism that was going on around him?
[16:23] How could he be brought to the place where he thanks the Father? Well, listen how he prays. he says, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth.
[16:41] Now what does he do at the very beginning of his thanksgiving prayer? He acknowledges the sovereignty of the Father. He says, despite all the rejection and despite all the hostility and despite all the criticism that is going round about me and hurled at me, yet I know, Father, that you are sovereign and that you are in complete control.
[17:14] And you know, my friend, that ought to be, for the believer, a great comfort in the midst of all hostility and challenges and criticism that is hurled at you, at the church, at the cause of Christ.
[17:29] It should be a great comfort for you, that you know that the Father is sovereign, that God is sovereign, that God has not lost control, that the wicked are in his hands, that those who hurl a criticism at you is in the Father's hands.
[17:51] He is in control, he is sovereign. And he goes on and he says, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast said these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.
[18:11] Well, what are these things of which Jesus is speaking here? Well, Jesus does not define these things, but it is possible that these things is a reference to the mighty works that Jesus did, and which the Jews in general were unable to understand as signs of the kingdom.
[18:33] He spoke there of the cities in which mighty works had been done, and yet the people had not recognised these works as signs of the kingdom.
[18:46] Or maybe Jesus thanks the Father on this occasion was on account of the way that God made his revelation known, the way that God revealed himself.
[18:59] Because God's revelation of himself is through the Son, it is through Christ. And God's revelation of himself through Christ remains it, not because God has completely concealed them from the world's wise ones, but rather it is in his plan that the way of knowing this revelation is not by way of human excellence or human wisdom.
[19:29] Remember what Paul says, he says, for it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.
[19:40] Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this world? Hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world, for after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God.
[19:57] It pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. The great things of the gospel have been hidden from the wise and the prudent, because to them it is all foolishness and a strange thing.
[20:19] To the wise of the world, the gospel of Christ and him crucified, of a man hanging on a cross, that through his death there is salvation, all these things are foolishness.
[20:35] It sounds a strange thing. Matthew Henry says, men may dive deeply into the mysteries of nature, and into the mysteries of state, and yet be ignorant of and mistake about the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, for want of an experience of the power of them.
[21:01] Of course, this does not mean that all the wise and prudent are lost, but it does mean that knowledge of God and of the kingdom of heaven does not depend upon human wisdom.
[21:22] It says here, but what is sitting from the wise and prudent, he has revealed to babes. A reminder to us that we are not saved by our intellectual knowledge and wisdom.
[21:41] We are saved by simple trust in Jesus Christ. John Newton says, regarding the wise of this world, they have such a high opinion of their own wisdom and penetration as to suppose they can understand the scriptures without the assistance of the spirit.
[22:09] But we must become as babes. We must humble ourselves and we must come to the place where we acknowledge that we need the spirit of God to assist us in order to understand the scriptures.
[22:30] we need the spirit to come and as it were to breathe upon the word so that we can come to understand the word.
[22:47] Or John Newton says, their worldly wisdom teaches them that these things are not worth their inquiry. And that's how the wisdom of the world looks upon the gospel.
[23:02] They don't see a need for the Holy Spirit. They don't see a need for the assistance of the spirit to make them understand the word of God, to make them understand Golgotha, to make them understand the cross and the work of Christ.
[23:20] And the wisdom of this world thinks that these things are not really worth to inquire about. and so these things remain hidden from them.
[23:37] But what is hidden from the wise and prudent he has revealed to babes? Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in thy sight.
[23:48] Jesus is saying that the Father planned this way because he never intended that the knowledge of his kingdom should be such that would only be to the wise and the prudent that it was only they that could find it.
[24:03] But it was his goodwill that the lowly, the humble could find the way and that if the clever would find it, it would be in the same way as the lowly found it.
[24:15] If the wise man was to find it, it would be in the same way as the babe found it. And Jesus goes on to say and he says, All things are delivered unto me of my Father, and no man knoweth a son but the father.
[24:34] Neither knoweth any man the father, save the son, and he to whom soever the son will reveal him. As the mediator he receives his power and authority on and all judgment is committed to him.
[24:53] Again he speaks there of the intimacy that there is between himself and the father. And here he reminds us that the revelation of God can only be known through Jesus Christ.
[25:08] If we're going to have knowledge of God, if God is going to reveal himself to us, it is only through Jesus Christ. If we want to know God, then the way to know God is to know Jesus Christ.
[25:29] Remember in the upper room the conversation with Philip, Jesus said, if ye had known me, ye should have known my father also. And from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.
[25:41] Philip saith unto him, Lord, show us the father, and it sufficeth us. Jesus saith unto him, have I been so long time with you? And yet hast thou not known me, Philip?
[25:54] He that hath seen me hath seen the father, and how sayest thou then, show us the father? Believest thou not that I am in the father and the father in me?
[26:04] The words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself, but the father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. Believe me that I am in the father and the father in me, or else believe me for my very work's sake.
[26:17] In other words, he is saying to us, he is the revelation of the father. If you want to see the father, you see the father in Jesus Christ, because they had both won.
[26:33] And then he comes with this gracious invitation, and he says, come, come unto me, all ye that labor and revelation, and I will give you rest.
[26:46] Come, who is he speaking to? Those who have up to this point rejected him, and shown hostility towards him, and he is saying to such, come to me, come to me.
[27:03] Salvation is in me alone. Salvation is in Jesus alone. On Thursday, we noted what Jesus said to Peter when he inquired what was to happen to John when he says, if I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee?
[27:22] Follow thou me. Come to me, follow thou me. Matthew, the writer of this gospel, was sitting at his tax booth when Jesus met with him, and Jesus said to him, follow me, and he arose and followed him.
[27:41] Peter and Andrew, they heard the same words when Jesus was walking by the sea of Galilee and he saw them. They were casting their net into the sea and he says, follow me and I will make you fishers of men.
[27:56] And straightway they left the nets and they followed him. And so here he gives this invitation to those who had up to this point rejected him and showed hostility towards them and criticized him, but he says to them, come unto me.
[28:16] Come unto me. And tonight he is saying through the gospel the same to me and to you. He says, come to me. Come to me.
[28:27] You may say, well, how do I come to Jesus? How can I follow him? You may be saying, well, if you knew what is going on in my life, if you knew the baggage that I carry, how can I come and follow Jesus?
[28:46] You may be saying, well, I am not ready to commit myself to Jesus. Well, hear what he says, come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden.
[29:00] He is calling all who are wearied with life's burdens. It is said of the lost son in Luke 15 that when he came to himself, he said, how many hired servants of my father shall have bread enough unto spare, and I perish with hunger.
[29:20] I will arise and go to my father and will say unto him, father, I have sinned against heaven and before thee, and I am no more worthy to be called thy son, make me as one of thy hired servants.
[29:35] He was wearied with life's burdens, but where when he came to himself, where did he set his focus? It was to come to the father.
[29:49] It was to come to the father. And you tonight who may be weary with life's burdens, then you should focus your attention on the father.
[30:03] Remember how Jesus told of a certain man who made a great supper and invited many and sent his servants at supper time to say to them that were put and come for all things are now ready.
[30:16] The same message as he is here when he says come unto me. he sent forth the servants to invite those who had been burdened to come for all things are now ready.
[30:33] And the gospel message tonight is the same. Come. Come to Jesus. Come for all things are now ready.
[30:46] And what did they do? they all with one consent began to make excuse. You know for the person who says tonight I am not ready.
[30:59] Well your readiness is your need. Your readiness is your need.
[31:13] Jesus said to the servants go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city and bring hither the poor and the maimed and the blind. Have you seen yourself as one who is in need who is poor and crippled blind and lame spiritually?
[31:31] And the Lord said and the servants said Lord it is done as thou hast commanded and yet there is room. And the Lord said unto the servant go out into the highways and hedges and compel them to come in that my house may be filled.
[31:49] You see Jesus is ready to receive you for he has made all things ready. He has gone to the cross, he has gone to Golgotha, all things are ready.
[32:04] come and Jesus is ready to receive you because he has made all things ready for you but you are unwilling to come and like those people you make your own excuse whatever it is you are making your excuse come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest and I will give you rest take my yoke upon you and learn of me for I am meek and lowly in heart and you shall find rest into your souls Charles Wesley wrote the hymn rest for my soul I long to find saviour of all if mine thou art there is no doubt that within the context here he was speaking to those who were oppressed by the heavy load of rules and regulations placed upon them by the scribes and the
[33:18] Pharisees which later on Jesus makes reference to how they were a heavy burden upon the people all these rules and regulations that the scribes and Pharisees placed upon them if only when as if only obedience was the way obedience to these rules and regulations was the only way whereby they could be saved the scribes and Pharisees preached that a person must earn his salvation by keeping those rules and regulations and traditions the Pharisees all said do this obey these rules and regulations and traditions and you will be saved but what Jesus says is come to me come unto me all ye that labor and that heavy laden and
[34:22] I will give you rest Christ's urgent invitation here speaks to such weary and heavy burdened ones and says come to me and I will give you rest a person who tries to earn salvation by what lives live in a world of uncertainty and fear but here Christ promises rest and this rest is the one who comes to Christ and who finds this rest there is no uncertainty and fear connected with this rest that Jesus will give instead it is a peace of mind and a peace of heart so that when Jesus says take my yoke upon you and learn of me for I am meek and lowly in heart he is placing his teaching over against that to which the people had become accustomed namely the strict legalism of the scribes and the
[35:30] Pharisees who said you must obey these rules and traditions that we are laying down before you receive salvation but what Jesus here is doing he's calling them to accept his teaching that a person is saved by means of trust in him trust in Christ you see we must make sure that we do not keep people away from Jesus by your rules and regulations and traditions we must not lay out preconditions for a person to come to salvation like you must be this and you must be that you must say this and you must say that you must wear this or you must wear that we must not lay out preconditions for a person to come to salvation like the Pharisees and the scribes did but simply saying to come to
[36:35] Jesus because that is what Jesus teaches us here come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest take my yoke upon you and learn of me for I am meek and lowly in heart and you shall find rest into your souls for my yoke is easy and my burden is light no rules no regulations no traditions simply trust in Jesus Christ and in his finished work salvation is not Jesus plus this and plus that salvation is simply Jesus alone trust in him and him crucified and he says for my yoke is easy and my burden is light when a person comes and trusts in Jesus his commands are no longer burdensome but his commands are a delight and this invitation that we have here shows the concern that
[37:49] Jesus has for all those around him here he reminds us in this passage that the knowledge of God spoken of here is something more than just to know that there is a God it is for us for me and you tonight it is one thing to know that there is a queen that rules over our nation but it is another thing to know the queen to have liberty of access to her that's another thing completely different you see Jesus did not come to tell us that there is a God because the devils know that and they tremble but Jesus came to reveal to us such a knowledge of God that would stand good for us to teach us how poor guilty hell deserving sinners may draw near to
[38:51] God and hope in his mercy and be unable to call him father come to Jesus you have a good reason to come to him because he is a mighty saviour he has been given all authority and he came on purpose to save sinners like me and you he has assured you that all who comes to him he will in no wise cast them out he says come unto me all ye that labour and have ever laden and I will give you rest and he has said that all those who will come to him he will in no wise cast them out he assures you that none that shall sincerely seek him will seek him in vain my dear friend think of meeting him at the judgment throne as you will have you an answer ready when he shall ask you why did you refuse that gracious invitation that
[40:17] I gave to you to come to me and to have eternal rest and that invitation you refused and you cast it behind you he says to you tonight come and he says to you tonight he that cometh shall never hunger and he that believeth on me shall never thirst he that will come will share the goodness and the blessings of God share the goodness and the blessings of that covenant that was made between himself and his son and today he is saying to you come come unto me he is saying to you tonight how often or how often
[41:19] I would have received you if only you would have come I would have received you I would not have cast you out how often I would but you would not you would not that's where my friend it ends is it not you cannot blame God you cannot blame Christ if in hell you appear because the gracious invitation is to you tonight come unto me come unto me and you will have life come unto me and you will have everlasting life come unto me and you will receive the blessings of God the goodness of God come unto me and you will have salvation you will be free from the punishment and the condemnation of your sins come unto me may the
[42:31] Lord bless our thoughts says you are for them if they can guys go